Duskfire Glacier Don't go sharing your devotion, lay all your love on me

Sleep did not come easily to her after her encounter with Issorartuyok. She returned to the glacier with a ponderous step, then bedded down beneath the shelter of some pines, only to stare ahead into the darkness for long hours. Her mind stayed wide awake as Meerkat wondered if she'd made the right choice to stay here rather than accompany the settler to his destination.

Just before daybreak, she gave up on the enterprise entirely and headed out to greet the sunrise. The air was surprisingly chilly, though she imagined that was due to the colossal block of ice casting its shadow over the land. Meerkat smiled to herself as she wandered toward the lake to cure her cottonmouth.

When she arrived by the lake, she spotted Rye and immediately smiled, tail waving. "Morning!" she called out to him, taking a quick sip before picking her way over to him where he sat on a stack of stones. She paused below, wondering, "Mind some company?"