Moonspear gabber style

@Killdeer would have no memory of her, which was a blessing and a curse. Meerkat was incredibly curious about her nephew and whether he would take after his mom and prefer she leave him alone. She prepared herself for this possibility as she watched the girls (@Orca II and @Seal) play nearby and decided, rather spontaneously, to call out to him in invitation.

A call rose up, and he answered, ears swiveling in a bit of confusion. He didn't think anyone really knew him here, and yet he was being summoned.

Fennec mentioned she knew some wolves in this pack. . .

He gave a friendly smile to the tawny woman, and grinned at the pair of pups playing nearby. His tail wagged as he approached, enjoying the sweet little domestic scene before him. Mother and children. The pack was growing.

Hi, Killdeer said, cocking his head. What's up? I don't think we've met properly, yet?

He came at her call, a stocky wolf with a handsome face. His markings immediately made her think of her mom and (adoptive) dad. He really favored Towhee, Meerkat thought, which endeared her to him.

Hi! Thanks for coming, Killdeer, Meerkat greeted enthusiastically, rising from her sit to move toward him. I’m your Aunt Meerkat. These are your cousins, Orca and Seal.

The girls were too preoccupied to notice their guest at the moment, though Meerkat thought they might pop over to say “hello” soon enough. In the meantime, she was happy to have her grown nephew to herself for a few moments.

My older son, Stingray, and my mate, Njord, are around here somewhere too. I’m sure you’ll meet them sometime soon. I just wanted to meet you. Well, we actually met once, when you were a very tiny baby. A keen ear would pick up the nervous edge to her light laugh. Anyway, what brought you guys here to Moonspear?

Hey, Meerkat, he replied, and gave a kind look to the girls. They were busy playing, which was fine. It seemed they had a lot of catching up to do, especially since he had apparently met this woman before—though a long time ago, it seemed.

Uh, long story short, the pack we were in kind of fell apart, so Fennec and I needed a new home, he explained. We picked up Penn along the way and found this place. I was chilling with my boy Caracal on the island, but Ma didn't wanna stay there, so we needed somewhere else. And so, we ended up here.

His mind snapped back to 'Aunt Meerkat.' Wait, how are we related? Killdeer asked, brows drawing together. We've got a big family and I lose track. He chuckled, giving a small, rueful shake of his head.

He was so much warmer than his mother! Meerkat would never mention that aloud, though it made her so happy that he was willing to chat with her. She listened attentively as he explained the situation with Fennec (and Penn). She frowned thoughtfully as she thought of her older sister’s mention of “bullshit,” though hearing Caracal’s name distracted her.

She couldn’t help but chortle good-naturedly as he asked her how they were related, their laughter mingling. She’d actually had a similar conversation with her younger brother not so long ago! The Redhawks family tree wasn’t just big, it was also pretty darn complex.

Your mom is my older sister, for all intents and purposes, although she’s technically my cousin. My biological mom, Towhee, adopted her and her biological dad, Phox, adopted me. And they’re brother and sister, so… yeah, confusing! Meerkat laughed again. So I consider you my nephew, though you’re honestly welcome to categorize me however you want, she finished with a smile.

She neglected to mention the part where his dad was her older brother too. Meerkat still thought of him that way, if only in a vague, nostalgic way. There was no need to make things weird or awkward by inferring Killdeer’s parents were siblings or bringing up Bronco at all. He wasn’t here, which Meerkat knew was a sore point for them all.

Seal and Orca were becoming very good at wrestling! The two played and frolicked together. Seal even experienced her first zoomies as she crawled until a tree root and then galloped around on her nubby little legs.

Killdeer’s arrival went completely unnoticed. Only when Mom and her guest were deep into their conversation did little Seal realize somebody new had visited.

“Ma! Ma!” Seal squeaked excitedly as she bunny-hopped over without any inhibition. Meerkat’s calm posture telegraphed there were no threats, and so this made her daughter immediately go over to the man and sniff his feet.

His brows drew hard together, trying to figure out the family tree. Nephew. . .Towhee's daughter. . .so. . . Oh! You're Caracal's sister? he exclaimed, tail wagging happily.

Before he could address anything futher, one of Meerkat's kids surfaced. Hi, there, Killer said, grinning. Whatcha doin'?

He let the youngster sniff at his paws, staying still. Whatcha smell? he remarked.

Killdeer looked at Meerkat with a kind expression. What brought you here? he asked, and his voice was genuine in its questioning; he surely wondered.

Yep! she replied cheerily, right before their little chat was interrupted by Seal’s excited squeals.

Meerkat watched as her daughter bounded right up to Killdeer. He spoke softly to her, though he didn’t move. He seemed content to the let the puppy scent him while he looked back to the Gamma to continue their conversation.

Sialuk, she replied with a twitch of her lips. It’s a long story but… Njord, Ray, his brother, Fish, and myself lived in Sapphique a long time. There were a couple of bear attacks. Everybody fled. We lost Fish. We came here to help Sialuk raise her village. She and I have been friends since we were little. We actually lived here together, back in the day.

She didn’t mention the fallout and wondered if Killdeer would wonder why they hadn’t gone home. Meerkat would explain if it came down to it, though she would rather bounce the question back to him.

What about you guys?

There were a lot of familial options out there—even if the island with Caracal and Heda was out of the question, there was Mereo with Towhee, Phox et al—but they had wound up here. She was curious what had brought Killdeer and Fennec to the mountain specifically. And where had they been living before?

When the Mister’s attention found little Seal she suddenly became very bashful! Instead of an answer, she caught a contagious case of extreme giggles and ran back to her mom. Seal snuggled right between Meerkat’s forelegs and hid her face... but then, she stole a glance at Killdeer like a game of peek-a-boo until more giggling made Seal bury her head into Meerkat’s pelt.

She really wanted to talk to Killdeer, learn everything she could about her nephew. But Seal’s giggles and bashful clinging were quite distracting. Meerkat chuckled down at her daughter as she started playing an impromptu game of peekaboo with their visitor.

How about we play an actual came with Uncle Killdeer? Meerkat suggested. Orca, come on over here! To both her daughters, she suggested, Maybe we can teach him how to play freeze tag. I’m sure he’s never played that before. I’ll be ‘it’ first!

Meerkat winked at him, hoping he didn’t mind the distraction or the title. Maybe after they tired out the little tykes, they could resume their catchup conversation.

Killer’s going on NPC, so you wanna fade this for us, @Seal? :)

When Meerkat suggested a game Seal’s eyes became big. “Yaaaa!” she cheered enthusiastically. She was really good at tag!

Then, Meerkat declared herself it Seal ran off with Orca and Killdeer, laughing and screaming like a feral mountain child.