Duskfire Glacier wind and stream in the ardennes

Her heart lodged itself in her throat at Issorartuyok's words. So, he'd noticed. But he didn't seem particularly upset by the fact she'd left him behind without a word. Meerkat supposed she should've been relieved, yet it made her skin prickle uncomfortably. They'd talked about it so much and she'd really beat herself up about going without him, yet he didn't seem very bothered. She didn't know what to make of that. Did that mean he'd never really cared that much? Why did she suddenly feel like someone had punched her in the throat?

Fortunately, Caracal readily took over the conversation. "Wow, I don't think I can pronounce that," he rejoined with a grin. "This is only my second scouting trip," he went on. "My dad took me and my sister to Sapphique a couple weeks ago. Mom says I've got some sort of 'bug' now. I want to travel everywhere." He ran out of breath.

Meerkat gently cut in then, saying, "I'm sorry I went without you." She really was sorry about that, even though it didn't seem to be a big deal to him. What a double edged sword. "I just needed to get away for a bit. And I wanted to help Rye look for Imaq and Liak. But I just smelled their scents. Have they come home?"