Whitefish River the light is always on

She hoped her dad would materialize, in part because she realized she wanted to escape this conversation. Meerkat just didn't know how to feel toward Maegi, nor what to say to her. It was easier to just keep it to small talk or, preferably, keep it brief. Maybe she should just go ahead and head out without Phox, catch up with him later.

But then Maegi apologized and the yearling knew she needed to acknowledge it somehow. She brought her roving gaze back to her face, drawing in a slow breath as she processed the words and tried to figure out how to respond. Her inner diplomat wanted to accept the apology at face value and avoid conflict, especially considering what Maegi and Mou had done for her in the past.

Maegi hadn't been there that day when she'd come looking for Phox and Niamh, though she had certainly aided and abetted the whole lie. "Why did you guys lie to us?" she found herself asking, her heart lodging in her throat. She hadn't actually talked to her dad about this in too much detail yet, though it was plain as day they'd kept him in the dark too. "We've been searching, desperate and heartbroken, for months. And you guys knew, that whole time! You knew Niamh was dead and you—you kidnapped the kids. How could you do that to us? We're family."