The Heartwood But now it's like the night is taking sides

That strange, nameless emotion continued to plague Meerkat day after day, until it began to thieve her of her otherwise constant cheer. There were increasingly long spells of listlessness, where she sought somewhere to rest and simply give into this... longing. She didn't understand why she found herself pining like this, though she had begun to realize it had to do with the Firebirds. Every time she thought of them, the peculiar ache swelled in her and she found herself daydreaming of the copse.

Blinking out of one of these reveries, the youth discovered herself cloaked in darkness, seated near the foot of the mountain. She turned and began climbing up to the grove where she shared a den with her older brother. She hadn't mentioned any of this to Bronco yet, though now that she had finally started to pinpoint the feeling, she wondered if he might be able to fill in the rest of the blanks and help explain it.

When she reached their little abode, she found it empty. Meerkat blinked in the gloom and considered going inside and waiting. But she was too restless. Instead, she backpedaled and tried to track Bronco's scent. The freshest trail she could find led her back down the slopes, toward the neighboring glen, then through it. She didn't hesitate. She was going to meet with her brother soon enough, hopefully, and she figured she was old enough now to venture on her own a bit.

There were woods on the far side of Firefly Glen. She paused at the edge of the trees, sniffing the ground, then lifting her head into the air. In the distance, she heard the telltale sound of paws trampling through underbrush. Meerkat's ears pricked and she began to pick her way toward the sounds.