Duskfire Glacier Remember when, I was young and so were you

Of course, even if she could could unsay the words, would she? When Rye spoke again, her heart broke for him. He swore to leave no stone unturned in his endeavor to locate his wife and child. Meerkat could only nod her understanding, even as her insides wanted to wither at the thought. How many days, weeks, months had she spent poring through the wilderness in search of one wayward wolf or another, only to come up empty-handed? When had it ever panned out?

"But," Rye said and the yearling's slightly panicky eyes drifted back and forth across his face as he gently rejected her offer, insisting the search might take months and she was needed here instead. Despite herself, her lips parted to argue, though he was right, of course. And he was giving her an out, without realizing how much she needed one.

"Oh, Rye..." she said rather uselessly, her expression and voice full of sympathy. "You're right. The pack is in a weird spot right now. But I want to help. I was planning on going to the caldera anyway, so I can search between here and there, then leave word with them to keep an eye out. You could come with me, unless you think splitting up and covering more ground would be a better idea."

Meerkat hoped he would go for the former option, though she said nothing else, leaving the choice up to him. Wishing for him to accompany her was entirely selfish and her problems with petty jealousy did not hold a candle to what Rye was going through right now.