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

Still clutched tightly in Bronco's embrace, Meerkat could only shrug at his question. She had no idea where the feeling had come from or why it afflicted her now, months after leaving home. She hadn't felt like this the day they'd left, nor after their first visit. It was confusing and inexplicable, though talking to him about it definitely helped her make some sense of it.

-"Yes, I'd definitely miss it. I swear I don't want to leave."- She paused thoughtfully. -"Although..."- But she let the thought trail off and didn't finish her sentence, instead lapsing into a thoughtful silence as she hashed out her own thoughts for a moment. When she spoke again a beat later, she said, -"I do really miss certain places in the copse. I didn't even think about it at the time, I was just so excited to get going. But I miss the rendezvous site... seeing Weejay's garden... the river..."-

Abruptly, she found herself thinking of Nüwu. Meerkat hadn't known about homesickness at the time, yet that must've been what her friend had experienced while temporarily displaced from her home. She found herself wondering if Nüwu and her mother had ever returned to their island, with sand similar to the silt that lined the river winding along the edge of Sun Mote Copse. Her heart twinged in her chest and she tipped her head to peer up into Bronco's eyes.

-"This is totally random but if I wanted to take a trip somewhere—other than the copse, I mean—would you go with me?"-