Northstar Vale moss, mourne

She didn’t realize how much she really needed to get away from the coast and all the bittersweet memories there until she and her three children were en route to Mereo. As excited as she felt about introducing them to her parents and the rest of the family living there, Meerkat maintained a slow, steady pace. She hoped the kids would enjoy the trip, though they were both young and inexperienced, so it would be hard on them.

After a few days of following the Sunspires southward, Meerkat guided @Stingray, @Swordfish and @Mercy through the bottleneck between Lone Star Mountain and Mount Apikuni. They were drawing quite close to their final destination now, she knew. Perhaps they would make it to the canyon before nightfall.

But then Mercy begged for a break. She was hungry and tired. Meerkat led the trio upward into the foothills a bit so they wouldn’t be out in the open. The family of four stopped by a shady outcropping, her daughter quite dramatically slumping to the ground and insisting she would never walk again.

Snorting a laugh, Meerkat turned to her sons and said, I’m going to try to find something to eat. I need at least one of you to stay here with your sister. But I could also use a sidekick…

I’m putting this in Epoch’s forum for visibility, although they’re currently meant to be in the mountains east of the vale (I plan to nudge them nearer in my next post).

tamar will be there when u arrive!

a month had passed so quickly!

zulema, zosime, and antigone grew strong. they had begun to eat chewed meat, and tamar had seen how swiftly her milk had begun to dry.

the body of a mother was intriguing indeed.

the young morphe was out today, patrolling as she had not done since giving birth. the sun was warm upon her. she stopped amid scarlet flowers to simply look around, breathing in the impossible beauty of the place where she and arsenio had chosen to make their home.

At this point in their journey, Swordfish was already tired. He looked weary on his legs, half asleep with a heavy-lidded stare at the distant stone. He’d fixated on a mossy portion of it that looked like the shadow of a seagull if the seagull had a giant head. That little mossy bit was all that had carried him to where they stopped.

So, when Meerkat asked for one of them to stay behind with Mercy, Swordfish did not hesitate.

Me.

The boy shifted until he had found a comfortable spot and then dropped to his belly. His eyes shifted between his sister and his mom. He imagined Stingray would probably enjoy accompanying their mother to wherever it was she was going. Swordfish was hoping that he could convince his sister to take a nice long nap. His hopes were high.

I’ll stay. Take Ray with you. Ray was the best sidekick anyway.

At almost the precise second Swordfish volunteered to remain behind with Mercy, Ray hollered, not it!

Well, that was easy. He should have known his brother would be inclined to remain here and rest, but he wanted to be absolutely sure he wouldn't be the one left behind. Who knew when Fish would suddenly express a desire to see the whole world at Meerkat's side? He thought highly of his brother, of course, and would welcome the blossoming of a more adventurous spirit, but Ray was also a little selfish.

Unlike his siblings, the journey hadn't tired him one bit. Okay, maybe a little bit, but he was too busy absorbing all the new sights and smells to notice how sore his paws were. This was his calling! How could he ever return to a simple, idyllic life at the Sapphique rendezvous after such a grand adventure? Out here, it was easy to forget all his troubles.

Not that Ray had many of those. He lived unapologetically in the moment. Even Njord's continued absence had slipped his mind, and Mr. Bubbles was no longer around to make fun of him. Giving his brother and sister each a sloppy parting kiss, Stingray scrambled after Meerkat, eager to rustle up some grub.

Well, that works out! Meerkat said brightly, giving each child a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Have I told you guys you’re awesome? I apppreciate you. It was deliberately cheesy, yet nonetheless quite sincere.

After giving Fish and Mercy some quick ground rules, Meerkat motioned for Ray to join her and began trotting further up the rocky slopes. With terrain like this, there might be all sorts of prey opportunities, though mostly she was keeping an eye out for small game.

Rather than catch the scent of a squirrel, stoat or something similar, she abruptly smelled wolves. Meerkat ground to a halt, signaling for Stingray to do the same. She tilted her muzzle into the air, sifting through the wealth of information in the scents.

There’s a pack near here, she mused, her eyes speculative as they rested on her son’s face. We should stop by and say ‘hi.’ I don’t want to risk hunting so close to their territory without introducing ourselves.

Following her nose, the young mother began trekking toward the borders, which involved climbing up until the ground evened out underfoot. When she ventured a few feet further, Meerkat could see down into the vale. She gasped.

when tamar glanced up against the sun, she thought that she saw a face.

and she knew it was so, and she trotted into view of the watchers with a pleasant, curious expression. "hello!" she called brightly.

who were they? tamar would wait for them to make their way down.

Ray pranced after Meerkat, feeling rather grown-up to be out on an adventure with mom in foreign land. He snuck a backward glance at his siblings, curious if they were already regretting their decision or not, then faced forward and began to sniff the air.

There were all kinds of new and interesting scents here, and chief among them were wolves. They smelled a lot different from the wolves of home. Meerkat identified this collection of scents as a nearby pack and began leading the way up to a shelf of rock overlooking a verdant valley below.

As if on cue, a denizen of the vale strode into the open and Stingray cocked his ears when her voice bounced off the mountain to his ears. Hello! said Tamar, and the mountains around them whispered, hello, hello, hello! in response.

Ray tittered. He didn't know the mountains could talk! He sidled up beside his mom, practically vibrating with excitement. HALLOOOO! he hollered back, only to fall into a fit of giggles when the mountains mimicked him.

As soon as someone materialized, Meerkat made sure to keep her head and tail respectfully lowered. She turned to make sure Ray did the same, though before she could comment on his posture, the she-wolf drew close with a cheerful greeting on her lips.

Hello! she replied at the exact time as her son, her voice drowned out entirely by his shout. Meerkat smiled and shook her head at Stingray before repeating, Hello. I’m Meerkat and this is my son, Stingray. Please excuse his big mouth. She shot him a look, though her tone was fond. We’re traveling to Mereo and were hoping to take a break to hunt nearby when we smelled a pack here in this valley, she finished, facing the sandy stranger again.

tamar's eyes were soft.

"hello, meerkat. hello, stingray. this is epoch, and i am tamar." her gaze flickered between them. "will you come in? we are — friendly with mereo." 

she still did not understand.

but she would be hospitable.

I was gonna nudge this one toward a wrap, if you’d like to fade this with your next post, Ebony? :)

The invitation took her by surprise, which probably showed on her face. Meerkat exchanged a glance with her son, then turned back to Tamar with a smile. It was very nice of her to ask, though she refused to impose. Anyway, her other two were waiting on them and a hot, fresh meal.

I appreciate that, Tamar. My two other children are actually waiting on us, though, so if it’s alright with you, we’d just like to hunt in the surrounding area, Meerkat replied, dipping her head and waving her tail.

Last one for me. <3

He recovered from his giggle fit just in time for Tamar to invite them into her home. Heck yeah we do! said Stingray, already picking his feet up to follow Tamar into the vale when Meerkat graciously declined the offer.

Oh. Well, okay then! Nevermind I guess! Ray amended with a shrug and a grin, tacking on a polite, I like your mountains! before turning to follow his mom.

fading! <3

tamar laughed. "i will be close!"

to the boy she added, "they are lovely places. you will learn to love them very much."

she saw them off with a smile, wishing she could join them for the present.