Haunted Wood Mother laid her elbows on the bed, whispering her wishes to the threads

Meerkat sorely missed her younger siblings while she spent several days away from the caldera, searching for any sign of her dad and Neema to the south. She missed her mom, the others and even the Hobbit Hole too, almost to the point of distraction. But this was an important task, so she focused on it until it was time to head back home to check in with Towhee and get some rest.

Her sandy feet carried her through a dark forest as she made her way back north. She couldn’t stop picturing her reunion with her baby brothers and sisters. Meerkat hardly paid any attention to her surroundings, so when a harsh voice suddenly cut through the trees, she blinked and skidded to an abrupt halt to look around a little owlishly.