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

He refuted her guess but offered no other explanation, which Meerkat found intriguing. Before she could press him further, he pointed out the rarity of the fox's pelt. She shook her head. She hadn't ever seen a black fox before, though she hadn't seen many foxes, period. The few she had spotted were all various shades of reddish orange, kind of like the splashes on her mother's coat.

That thought came out of nowhere and made Meerkat's heart suddenly lurch painfully. She found herself swallowing against an unexpected lump in her throat. Thinking about Towhee always made her miss her mother, yet in a fond sort of way, not painfully like this. It seemed so strange to her that she would only develop this degree of wistfulness several months after leaving home.

-"Hey, Bronco? Have you ever felt like..."- she began to ask, rather apropos of nothing. Meerkat paused, trying to gather her thoughts and find the right words. -"Lately, I've been missing the Firebirds, like, really intensely. I feel almost... sad,"- which was the trippiest bit of all. Since when had Meerkat ever felt sad?