Sun Mote Copse Hit your heart.

Meerkat had just punched her mother in the gut, figuratively speaking.

Towhee stared, unfocused, at the spot in the brush where her daughter had disappeared several moments prior, off to fetch a friend and go exploring. Meanwhile, the Sovereign tried to catch her breath as the conversation replayed in her mind.

-"Hey, mama, could I go visit Moonspear again soon? I'll take a buddy!"-

-"I would prefer to be the one to go with you when you visit other packs. We'll go again sometime in the near future."-

-"Okay! What if..."-

-"What if...? What if what?"-

-"What if I stayed there for a while? I wanna be an ambassador, wouldn't that be a good way to learn?"-

-"...stay there, as in leave Firebirds and join Moonspear...?"-

-"Yeah!"-

-"No. Absolutely not. You're nowhere near old enough. No."-

Towhee felt guilt churning in her gut as she blinked back to the present. Meerkat had accepted her mother's knee-jerk reaction with a graceful nod and nothing more before scooting off to find a scouting buddy. Along with the conversation, the sight of her daughter sashaying away into the copse had hit Towhee upside the head. Meerkat would fill out more in time, yet she was now the size of an adult. And she had gone off to work on her trades. Which was also why she'd brought up Moonspear.

"Mother fucking shit..." she whispered under her breath, tears stinging at her orange eyes.

Maybe @Phox? But all welcome! :3