Firefly Glen the woodchuck song

wc:594

He tried not to frown when Meerkat said that she had feelings for Atlas- real feelings. His own reaction made him feel disappointed in himself for being so sullen and spiteful, but given how things were in his life at the moment, he couldn't honestly appreciate that his sister was going through her first real crush. He wasn't even sure he could force himself to say what he might've said, had he not felt so heartbroken about Fennec's disappearance, and he found himself struggling to think of something to say that wasn't simply a warning. He hated disappointing his sister, but at the same time, he would never want her to feel the way that he felt right now.

She didn't seem to be terribly concerned about the possibility that her feelings might be unrequited- in fact, she seemed to think he liked her back. The lines on his forehead deepened slightly. So- obviously the two had been talking, and potentially spending time together. She admitted to it. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to stand for this- as he was her guardian, he wasn't sure if it was expected also that he make sure she wasn't willingly wearing her heart on her sleeve so that it could get broken. Phox and Towhee were a decent jaunt away, so Meerkat couldn't have been expected to go back and forth to ask them questions about dating and relationships so...He supposed, he might have to do. But what would Phox and Towhee want him to say, and was that the stance he was supposed to take?

Part of him wondered why it was that it bothered him now, that Meerkat and Atlas were spending time together. He wondered what Altas' intentions were, and if he should have a talk with him just to make sure that he was aware that Meerkat had real feelings for him. It was one thing to flirt a bit, but he did not like the idea that someone might intentionally string his little sister along, only for her to find out later that they'd had no actual intentions of returning those feelings. Atlas didn't seem like the type but...

...One could never be sure. One moment he'd been invited to spend the winter alongside someone, and the next, she'd vanished.

He sighed. He was definitely not in the right state to be handling this, but he couldn't avoid the topic now that it'd come up. “I...I don't think him being a beta would change things, no,” He said. “He'll have a different role at the borders, and for pack decisions, but otherwise...His life is probably just about the same as it was before,” He said. After all- in Bronco's opinion, the only difference between being a beta and being a general member of the pack was that a beta could make executive decisions and admit a new wolf into the pack. Others could only vouch for them. “Plus, he's not alone. It's a team of all three of them,” He said, before he went back to considering the fact that she had feelings- actual feelings.

“Just...Make sure you guard your heart a little bit though, OK?” He asked. He didn't want to tell her to prepare for heartbreak but...He also didn't want her to be completely unprepared for what could possibly happen. If he could spare her the agony of ever feeling heartbreak, he would- but for now this was all that he could do to potentially prepare her to face it on her own, if it ever happened.