Blackfeather Woods wildcards, men from mars

When she and Zephyr crossed eastward through the mountains, Meerkat did something funny to her ankle. She ignored the dull twinge as they resumed their trip, refusing to let it slow them down. But when her companion split, she took a day to rest in the foothills on the far side. And when she woke the following morning, her foot was painful and swollen.

As she turned around and began to climb, Meerkat grappled with some difficult emotions. She was frustrated and sad that she must quit her search, likely for a while. But she was also relieved to be going home. Frankly, though, the pain wiped her mind clean of almost everything else as she simply focused on getting there.

She made it up and over the crags, only to stop on a patch of ground between a creek and stretch of woods. Meerkat gasped and flopped to her haunches as her ankle throbbed. The cold water had soothed it but now it was more agonizing than ever. As she sat there, her left foreleg cradled carefully to her chest, she remained oblivious to fact she was very near to Zephyr's homestead.