Sun Mote Copse i'm the pretender, i'm not what i'm supposed to be

<3 fun thread!! lmk when you're up for more?

arcturus was riveted watching mother and daughter play. he reacted belatedly as the stick swung his way -- almost as if he were a puppy again, he chased after it and pounced, turning around with a wide grin only to see towhee had kept her rogue daughter restrained by means of clutching her tail.

arcturus stowed away the grin, letting the stick clatter to the ground as towhee announced their farewell. he was sure she had many things to do and he hated to keep her, though a small part of him was sad to see the two of them go. "no problem - any time." his tone was genuine, as was the look in his gaze as he caught towhee's glance for what seemed an unusually long time. the spell was broken by meerkat's chirping voice -- arcturus wagged his tail and waved a paw in response as he saw them off. "good bye meerkat - try not to trample anymore evidence!"

he didn't wait much longer after he saw the two of them disappear. there was still a swathe of border to inspect, so arcturus headed there feeling his heart was full and yet, strangely alone.