Ghost Lion Crag Alone

Set at the northern edge of Ghost Lion Crag. Anyone is welcome to try and scoop her up!

Night. The temperatures were frigid. The weather, unforgiving. Snow fell in a blinding cascade from heavy clouds. The cold winds whipped, gusting furiously. This was no time for the faint of heart to be out.

But some had no other choice.

Isolated, lost and utterly alone, the dark female had no idea where she was in this vast, foreign wilderness. She had tread cautiously thus far, amber eyes always alert, filled with uncertainty. Now, caught out in the elements, she turned to her more immediate dilemma. Shelter.

The base of two great mountains at the edge of some thinned trees looked promising. With a snow peppered back and wind tussled fur, she moved with an almost hurried gait. The first low rock ledge that looked deep enough, she wedged herself under. Circling to curl in a tight gray ball, eyes forward as she huddled, to wait for a break in the weather.

Meerkat really didn’t want to visit the coast. Even after all this time, the thought of sand and salt soured her stomach. But she hadn’t seen Towhee or @Phox in weeks and soon she would be restricted to the copse. After several days of going back and forth with herself—and probably exhausting @Njord with her fretting aloud—she decided her mother was certainly worth the trouble.

Within moments of reuniting with Towhee, Meerkat was immensely glad she’d decided to come. Her mother seemed so dejected. They stayed at the plateau’s inland border—despite an invitation to visit her mother’s tepee—and she could tell how much this visit meant to the Redhawk matriarch. They talked for hours, mostly about Meerkat’s next litter.

She left after making sure Towhee knew she was always welcome at the copse. Meerkat didn’t mind that it was just her and Njord there, though as she made her way back home, she caught herself wondering about the pair @Heph had mentioned to her. Were @Void and @Meylodi going to make their way to the hinterlands?

Darkness fell and it began to snow. She hadn’t meant to stay out so late. Meerkat picked up the pace, though the wind picked up even faster. Soon it was a veritable snowstorm. The rock corridor below Alpine Lake provided some relief from the elements, though as soon as she made a right at the end of the pass, the wind sank its frigid teeth into her.

It wasn’t often Meerkat cursed, though she muttered a choice few words as she squinted through the flurries. She made for a low rock ledge, where she planned to stow away until the worst of it passed. She didn’t register the fresh scent of a wolf at all, until she ducked her head inside and found herself practically nose to nose with a stranger.

As the wind howled, a few stray flakes of snow snuck their way in to her makeshift shelter. But she didn't care. She was too tired. Too weary.

The brightness of her eyes hidden behind her lids, heavy with the temptation to doze off. Only the few sprinkles of white on her dark coat distinguished her from shadow.

And just when she felt she may plummet into sleep, she felt something warm and living press close. The familiar shape of a muzzle. The smell of kin.

Startled, her eyes blinked open. Scrunching back in her balled state, ears pinned to her ruff, she tried to make way. "Oh-oh s-sorry! Was...was this your space?" She stammered, scrambling to get her bearings. She hadn't smelled any wolven scent here when she first made a dive for shelter. "I can um....I don't mind sharing."

The space was just big enough for two, but it would be tight.

The other wolf stammered out a startled apology, then said something about sharing the space. Having recovered from her own surprise, Meerkat glanced sideways at the increasingly treacherous conditions, then began squeezing into the small space beside the stranger.

I don’t mind sharing, either, she said as she settled down beside the other woman, their sides pressed closer together. It’s probably good to stick close together for warmth, although maybe it would be less awkward if we weren’t complete strangers, she quipped. I’m Meerkat.

The fawn colored wolf began to settle in. She even introduced herself. Meerkat. 

"My name is Nyssa." A touch of warmth crept to her eyes. "I guess we aren't strangers anymore then." The body warmth that Meerkat gave off was inviting. It stoked in her memories. Of her family, all lost.

 "We both got lucky to find shelter when the weather turned." She fell silent again, watching the whipping snow outside. "Are you from the area?"

Just southwest of here, actually, Meerkat shared, shifting her weight so she could insert her forelegs beneath herself. My mate and I live in Sun Mote Copse. It’s just the two us and Reki, though the idea is to build a village someday. How about you? Where are you from, Nyssa?

She wondered if Reki might have turned up in her brief absence. She hated the idea of him being caught alone in this storm… or for Njord to be on his own in this kind of weather, either. He was probably worried about her, though hopefully he was tucked safe and warm in The Taigh.

She couldn't resist. She shifted slightly, as if to lean in closer. Only to pause, fixing Meerkat with a look that asked permission. With the softness to her eyes and the backward slant of her ears, Nyssa clearly wasn't a threat.

She had a mate. Children, perhaps? A place to call home, not far from here. The opposite of her. The lines of her face grew written with increasing sadness. She tried to hold it back, to fight her eyes from watering.

Her throat tightened with the emotion she felt. Just the mention of family, of a home, was enough to stir up her feelings. "Far to the west of here. But...I have no home, no family to go back to."

She barely registered Nyssa’s shifting, her thoughts far away in the cottage she shared with Njord. As soon as the young woman spoke, she blinked her amber eyes and turned to give Nyssa her undivided attention. Meerkat was equally concerned and curious about her situation, though the former ruled. She idly wondered if her maternal instincts were already kicking into overdrive.

You’ll come back to the copse with me, when the weather clears. You can meet Njord and Reki. If you like it there, you can stay with us and help us raise our village.

Come to think of it, Nyssa looked to be about the younger man’s age. Perhaps they could form a pair, though Meerkat didn’t mention this now. That would place a lot of pressure on their meet cute. Things like that should happen naturally. She only offered Nyssa a reassuring smile as the winter winds blew in the background.

Do you want to talk about it? Whatever happened back home?

Wide, yellow eyes blinked softly. This beautiful woman whom she had only just met was offering her a place to stay. She would get to meet her husband, and one other who lived with them. 

She was visibly speechless for a moment. Then, throwing all caution aside, pressed in close to the warmth of her fur. "That's...that's so kind of you. Thank you!" Her voice was muffled. If Meerkat's maternal instincts were indeed being roused, then Nyssa could almost feel their pull.

She shifted now, to block the wind blowing in with her back. To shield them both as best as she could. Heaving a breath, she laid as one would who was truly at ease in the company of another person. "I don't mind, no. I think it will help...to get it all out."

"My family and I...we lived the good life. Our home was an expansive valley, which we inherited through generations. It had all a wolf could ever want, really. But then, all of that came to an end. These...strange two legged animals came. Drove us further and further, taking our land. Our prey scattered. Our home was changed...reshaped by the two legs. We tried to eek out a living...but we weren't welcome. My mom and dad got too close, one day, just trying to get food. They were killed. And my brothers and sisters...they fled, in fear for their lives. I did as well, and we have been separated ever since."

Perhaps it was a kind offer, though of course Nyssa would have to earn her keep. Meerkat didn’t mention that now, instead settling in to listen when her companion indicated she wouldn’t mind unburdening. Her ears cupped forward, her eyes resting on Nyssa’s face, noticing the various shades of gray around her buttery yellow eyes.

It was a lot to process. Nyssa had lost her home, then her family. Meerkat could empathize, to a point. She’d lost homes and loved ones. But she’d never lost everything, all at once. Nyssa had even lost her siblings, in the end, though Meerkat quietly hoped they were alive out there, somewhere, perhaps also snowed in with a kind stranger.

That’s a lot to go through, she acknowledged. I’m sorry for your losses, Nyssa. Nothing can replace your home, or your parents, but maybe you can rebuild with us.

As she spoke, she untucked a paw and extended it to rest on top of one of Nyssa’s. She clasped it loosely for a moment, then gave it a squeeze and withdrew. Meerkat shifted her weight, folding her leg back beneath the warm press of her chest.

Let’s try to get some sleep, then we’ll set out first thing in the morning, assuming the weather’s cleared. The copse isn’t far, she murmured.

The snow fell heavily outside the door, though the cozy space grew increasingly warm from the she-wolves’ body heat. Meerkat felt drowsy. She thought of her visit with her mom, then of Njord surely worrying about her in The Taigh. She sighed, letting her eyes drift closed.

You’re welcome to assume she accompanied Meerkat home, met the others, etc, if you like. We should have another thread soon. :)

Works for me!

"Thank you, Meerkat. It has been tough." Then she added on with a slight smile. "But I think it'll be okay." Her eyes held the eagerness of meeting Meerkat's small group. Nyssa was hopeful.

She nodded in acknowledgement, happy and tucked in close. "Agreed. I could use a good night's sleep." Her voice was sleepy already. "I can't wait to see your home and meet everyone."

A soft nuzzle to her shoulder and then Nyssa shut her eyes. Cozy and secure with Meerkat, she slipped into a sound slumber. 

How she had missed this sense of closeness.