Grouse Thicket steel in our veins

What a whirlwind of a morning! Meerkat had gone to the caldera to have breakfast with her family, after which Towhee had taken her aside for a chat. It had been quite the fascinating conversation too. Her mother had told her all about @Kaertok and her theories about him, past and present. Towhee had then tasked Meerkat with locating him, providing four possible leads: Heron Lake Plateau (where they'd met); Grouse Thicket (where they'd conceived); Seaside Moors (last known whereabouts of Rusalka); and (most mysteriously) the name Raleska.

Meerkat didn't even really question why Towhee wanted her to find the man who'd quite likely sired her. She simply assumed that was the given reason: she just wanted Meerkat to meet her biological father. And Towhee wouldn't be wrong about that. Although she would never think of any other wolf but Phox as her dad, Meerkat most definitely wanted to meet and get to know this Kaertok, if possible.

That was why she presently stood in the thicket, after a brief foray through the copse just for old times' sake. She would head to the moors from here, after a quick nap. Per the Sovereign's directions, that was where Rusalka lived. Towhee had warned Meerkat that she might not necessarily find Kaertok there, though the wolves who lived there might know of his whereabouts, particularly this Raleska woman.

With a yawn, Meerkat curled up on the cold ground. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if @Bronco had managed to find @Fennec. Would he be concerned about her too, if she was gone for very long? He knew she'd gone to the caldera this morning and Meerkat hoped to hit up Rusalka and head back within the day. Hopefully neither Bronco nor anyone in the glen would miss her. She wanted to do this on her own, though she also didn't want to worry anyone.

I do have a toss away!

Every so often, Bridget found herself idly wandering away from her companions.  She'd always return by end of day, but hunting was easier alone.  Today she hadn't managed to bag anything, but was heading home when she crossed a young stranger's path.

She didn't notice her, curled up, until she was pretty damn close.  Immediately Bridget froze, having no real interest in waking the girl up for no reason.  Who the fuck knew what her reaction would be? Bridget would've bit another wolf's face off for waking her up.  In fact, she'd fought over just that not too long ago.

That memory in mind, she began to attempt to quietly pass by.

WC: 112

Draper was still recovering from his latest dance with death. He'd managed to come away with only a few bruises, lacerations, and puncture wounds. All said and done, he was glad that he'd made it out alive. If he could avoid that sort of scenario again—but who was he kidding? Half the wolves that wandered the earth wanted to kill him, and he'd started to accept that it was just the way things were. Nothing to be one about it except get better at assessing the situation (and slipping out of it when the going got hairy).

He painstakingly made his way through a dense forest today. The thing was a goddamn labyrinth if he'd ever been in one. Draper was glad he didn't actually have anywhere to be. He did think he might return to Broken Antler Fen sometime soon. He had always enjoyed hanging out there. But not before he checked in on Charles, who—while not really a friend—was about as close as Draper had to real company.

His leg got snagged on something, and Draper grumbled.

Can't catch a single break around here.

He was oblivious to the sleeping figure only a few feet away or the other skulking figure nearby.

Hours passed and Meerkat slept peacefully, dead to the world around her. She didn't so much as stir when a pale figure skulked by, paused, then resumed walking. But when something moved noisily in the brush, followed by a grumbling voice, her eyes popped open and her head lifted with nigh comical speed.

"Who—" she blurted, hazy gaze drifting from the she-wolf with cream fur and absolutely lovely markings to the—Meerkat fisted one sleepy eye—dour-looking coyote. It took her a moment to realize she was surrounded.

Slowly, the young ambassador rose onto all fours, peering between the two figures. Neither one looked particularly aggressive, though her attention lingered on the coyote. She'd never met one before and Meerkat was, in a word, intrigued. But she was also still waking up, so she said nothing, shifting from foot to foot as her brain continued booting.

Well, at least it wasn't her fault the stranger woke up.  Bridget froze again as someone made a shit-load of noise off to the other side and suddenly the girl woke up and (rightfully startled) jumped to her feet.  Woah, there, I'm just passin by here.  Didn't mean to bother you.  She shot a look at the guy behind.  Wait, was that a coyote?

Aye, you!!  What the hell, man?  Bridget asked accusingly.  She'd at least made an effort not to wake her and she was not about to have anything about this pinned on her.  If this stranger was going to go off on anyone for waking her up, better be him.

WC: 113

Two others spoke, and Draper realized he was not alone. While he normally did not mind the company of wolves, provided they were not out to kill him, realizing that he was in the company of two of them without any backup put him on edge in a big way. Two on one was not what he would consider good odds, and it likely meant that he was about to be ambushed. Maybe they had done this intentionally, even though they pretended not to know one another. Always suspicious of wolves, Draper felt the need to get the hell out of here before things turned ugly (despite that one wolf looking particularly—dare he say—pretty).

Let's just take it easy, he said, beginning to back away from the other two very, very slowly.

I don't want any trouble. I'll go on my way, and y'all can get back to your business.

Sometimes, this sort of bargaining worked, but Draper was more than ready to do a quick one-eighty and bolt if he needed to. His life was more valuable to him than making nice with these folks. Maybe he would even make it out of here without breaking an ankle. Rushing through this underbrush was not going to be easy if he had to go that route, but he would risk that over trying to fight two wolves at once.

The tension was palpable, even to the sleepy girl. It woke up her up pretty effectively as the two strangers fussed at one another. Meerkat didn't fancy herself especially gifted as a mediator, though her instincts compelled her to put out this small fire before it grew any larger, hotter.

"Hey, it's okay!" she chirped reassuringly, making a placating gesture with one forearm (that happened to resemble the ptero for "chill"). "No one's bothering me. I needed to get up and get back to my task anyway. I'm headed to visit the pack living at Seaside Moors, it's called Rusalka. Are either of you familiar with it?" This question was asked mostly only conversationally, though it occurred to her to ask, "Or wolves by the name of Kaertok or Raleska?"

Well, she didn't seem pissed, so Bridget let it go.  The guy seemed nervous anyway, no use barkin at that one when he already seemed keen on getting out of dodge.

This stranger was actually pretty friendly.  Bridget took a step forward, then sat down, glancing past to see if the coyote was staying too or taking the chance to skedaddle.  She had no personal qualms with his kind so long as they had no shit with her.  Even made a friend or two of them, back in her younger days.  Never heard of them, sorry.  Though I did hit up the coast a while back and didn't come across any packs.  That was a ways south.  It had been on her way up from the coast.

Maybe fumble-foot over there had an idea?

WC: 134

The previously sleeping wolf seemed to want them both to stay, and Draper cast a glance to the other one. She also didn't seem keen on having his hide for lunch, so the coyote relaxed a little bit. In fact, he realized now that Sleepy had the same smells as Charles, the coywolf he had met not that long ago. Perhaps that was why she was not so afraid of his presence.

Unfortunately for her, he did not know any of the names she spoke of, and Draper shook his head.

I only know one pack: Firefly Glen. That's where you're from, isn't it? I'm friends with Charles.

Okay so "friends" was a bit of a stretch, but he had planned on checking in on the kid again.

All this information might be useful though, especially since he already knew the general location of where she lived.

I travel around a lot, so if I come across that pack or those wolves, I can let ya know. So long as you tell your pack not to attack me when I come around, he added for good measure.

And hey, maybe he would even get some recognition out of it. Or, at the very least, maybe he could at least not get eaten every few days.

The she-wolf said she'd never heard any of those names, though she offered up a tidbit of information about the coastal pack situation. Meerkat met it with a blink. Before she could ask any followup questions, the coyote spoke in turn and her attention shifted to him, snaring when he mentioned the glen.

"Yeah! I know Charles," she replied, even more affably following his kind offer. "I'd really appreciate that, though hopefully I'll find them at the moors." Her brown gaze swung back to the other wolf, still curious about her remark. She hadn't had any reason to doubt the pack's location until this stranger's offhanded comment.

"I'm going to head that way. It was nice meeting you both. Oh, well, I guess we kinda skipped the introductions," Meerkat realized with a pause and a laugh. "I'm Meerkat, from Firefly Glen." She nodded toward Draper as she mentioned the pack by name, her warm brown eyes then wandering between the two of them.

Oh.... oh... OH.  Oh hell how had she forgotten RALESKA.  Bridget had a full on moment where she didn't hear what either of the other two said because she was so convinced her brain must have melted out of her ears.  Of all of the wolves to fuckin misplace, she'd gone and apparently blanked on the one she'd most recently categorized as verified badass.  That was a wolf she'd be hangin onto if she could, in whatever capacity practical.

Wait!  I know Raleska.  Holy shit, I met her a while back.  In the mountains south of here, right by the willows.  Bridget shook her head, still amazed she'd forgotten.  No fucking clue where she came from, though.  Some asshole interrupted us and we got a little sidetracked.  She waited a beat, looking between the two, as though rewinding what they'd been saying in her head since she hadn't really been listening.  Fortunately she'd at least, apparently, caught the introduction.  Name's Bridget.  Former Faerie, newly unaffiliated.  She flashed a big smile, the warmth of which pretty much mirrored Meerkat.  There didn't seem to be a reason to be defensive with this lot now.

Draper smiled, glad that any tension seemed to melt away. There was something about Meerkat that was decidedly... easygoing. He wasn't used to that, especially from a wolf, but it was nice. He breathed a sigh of relief when she also mentioned that she knew Charles.

When you head back home, tell Charles that Draper said hello! That's me. I'm Draper, he said.

Bridget had claimed to know Raleska (with quite the enthusiasm), and Draper chuckled a little at her reaction. It was fairly rare for him to feel this comfortable around wolves, but something about these two... he couldn't pinpoint it. Maybe because they hadn't treated him any differently than they were treating each other.

The woman's sudden cry of "Wait!" made all her muscles freeze, even though she was already stationary. It turned out she did know Raleska. Meerkat hung on her every word, though ultimately there wasn't a whole lot of actionable information in there. Nonetheless, she smiled in thanks and repeated Bridget's name in her head, her inner voice tacking on an inquisitive, Fairy?

"Thank you for the information! Again, it was nice meeting you both. I'll definitely let Charles know you said 'hello' the next time I see him," Meerkat rejoined cheerfully. She sort of wished she could stay and chat a little longer, though she was a girl on a mission! She offered both Bridget and Draper one last parting bow of her head and a smile before she dipped.

Her body felt a little stiff from her nap, so she threw in some stretches as she began to walk. Soon, her muscles warmed and she made good time as she circumvented the slough and approached the coastline. Idly, she wondered about Bridget's mention of the mountains and willows, though she tucked that thought into her back pocket for the time being.

When she retraced her steps about two hours later, Meerkat felt a little baffled. If they weren't at the moors, where was Rusalka now? Just to cover her bases, she swung by Heron Lake Plateau, not expecting to find much of anything there. And she didn't.

All of Towhee's geographical leads were a dead end then. Meerkat scratched her head, metaphorically speaking, as she roamed homeward. Maybe she should've felt frustrated by this plot twist, though mostly she was equal parts stumped and intrigued. In any case, she would not give up on finding Kaertok. Perhaps starting with Bridget's leads.

Good luck! Bridget called after with a slightly bemused smile.  She was in a hurry wherever she was going.  Bridget had found that the one good thing about being without a pack was that she had nothing but time to waste.

She probably should get back to the friends she'd left behind, but she eyed the coyote first.  You up for finding a snack, or do you gotta rush off to some meetup somewhere too?  Bridget asked, her grin growing a little challenging gleam.  If he said no she was going to have to assume it was because he recognized the prowess of an a+ hunter when he saw it and couldn't take the competition.  She wanted to nab a little something to take back to the others.

good to fade here!

Will wrap here!

Meerkat promised to pass along the hello, which brought a grin to Draper's face. She really was a sweet something. And honestly, so was the Bridget girl. Maybe he would run into them again someday. And that Rat-sulky girl. Or whatever her name was. Honestly, he'd already forgotten.

The one with the pretty face suggested they hunt, and while Draper tended to scavenge, he couldn't bring himself to pass up the opportunity. Maybe he'd be a hindrance to her, but whatever! She might share the proceeds if they did manage to catch something, and that was very tempting.

Let's go! he proclaimed, letting her lead the way.