Firefly Glen but if we go, we go together

A black figure materialized in the distance along the borderline and Meerkat's heart leaped, just to sink once more. She wondered if and when that might ever stop. Drawing in a deep breath to steel herself, she turned to face him, letting Antares come to her. She could tell, just by looking at him, that his brother hadn't returned while she was gone. Swallowing against a lump in her throat, she dropped her head a bit and thought of what she would say to him.

She felt a stab of guilt at his opening words. She glanced at him from beneath her lashes, then down at her paws again. Antares didn't mention Atlas directly, concreting her belief that he must not be here. Swallowing again, she tried to choke down the feelings of failure, guilt and sadness to provide a response.

"It was pretty rough," Meerkat replied honestly, "and... I didn't find Atlas, or any leads on his whereabouts." She confessed right away, looking sideways into the glen—no sign of her own brother, yet—before dragging her amber eyes back to Antares. "I'm sorry," she added, painfully frank and simple. He probably didn't know that she'd caused Atlas's flight directly, unless Bronco or Fennec had told him. Meerkat wondered and waited, letting him get a word in edgewise.