Sun Mote Copse the fortune lady came along and walked beside,

no answer save silence. Arcturus’ ear turned as he heard Towhee sink to the ground besides him. he expected any minute an explanation would come — but instead, a long and hideous wail of true grief split from her muzzle.

his stomach tensed. he felt for her in every sense of the word — meerkat had been her daughter and obviously given all the contextual clues, this had not been a mutually-agreed upon parting. selfishly, Arcturus was more concerned about Meerkat than Bronco; he had always felt that maybe, even though Towhee had said it was not true, that he might have been responsible for her existence. that he was told he was not Meerkat’s father gave him no relief. now that she was gone, he felt more than ever he had not spent nearly the time with her she deserved.

all of this rumination made him feel worse — for one dreadful moment Arcturus wanted to reach out and hug Towhee. the temptation was over in a split second, for he recognized there was a barrier (some of it put up by him) there that could not be crossed.

frowning, Arcturus shifted a twig around in his paws and waited for a break in between Towhee’s cries. can’t we just go and tell her she needs to come back?