Broken Antler Fen they will see us waving from such great heights

"I don't get another birthday for four years," Meerkat replied solemnly before cracking a smile. Toad wouldn't get the joke, since she didn't know she'd been born on Leap Day. "I think I was born at the beginning of spring though," she added to actually answer the question. If it had snowed during her early days, she certainly didn't remember it.

Meerkat tried to maintain her focus as Toad spoke about how snow impacted hunting, though her mind kept flitting to Atlas. It was very distracting and she felt disingenuous, even though she couldn't help it. The snowflakes were so pretty and so darned triggering. She drew in a deep breath, reminding herself that Atlas would wait for her. They'd both waited this long for it to snow, what was a few more hours?

Maia's shout made Meerkat jerk and then grin in the space of a heartbeat. "Maia! Hiya!" the youth replied, keeping up the tradition of her rhymed greetings. "We came to check out your new digs and see how things were going," Meerkat declared, bounding closer and pressing her nose briefly to Maia's jowl.