Phoenix Maplewood Noahtakmiut

She hoped he knew her well enough by now to understand she meant no offense with the question. She was genuinely curious. When Issorartuyok replied, she listened astutely. His response made her think of Kukutux and Sialuk. Ah, perhaps she should've sent him their way.

Before she could do that, he posed a question of his own. Issorartuyok wanted to know what had made a master scout settle down so stolidly in one spot, which was fair. Meerkat let out a breath, brow furrowing as she thought of how to word her answer.

"I guess you could call it burnout. Before I came here, I spent many months searching for missing relatives, specifically my dad, his mate and their children. I ended up exhausted in every possible way. I needed some distance from all of that, so I came here to rest and recover, in a way."

She paused, running her tongue over her teeth and glancing away into the maple woods for a moment before her brown eyes drifted back to his face. "I'm still not ready to travel. In fact, that pack mate I mentioned is taking a message to my family for me, since I didn't feel up to the trip just yet."

Clearing her throat, Meerkat changed tack, lest she forget. "I should tell you about Moonglow. I know you want to start your own pack but if you do decide to join one instead, I think you might get along well with Kukutux and her village..."