Haunted Wood de dragul tău

Not only did he speak, he said more than she had actually anticipated. Focusing on his voice gave Meerkat a chance to ground herself and calm some of her inner reeling, though some of what Issorartuyok said to her made her emotions want to run away again.

Her lips parted when he pointed out she'd never shown an interest. Meerkat couldn't argue with that, having spent the entirety of her time trying to suppress her feelings, much less act on them. But he hadn't shown any particular interest either, at least until today.

"You—you have nothing to apologize for," the yearling said when it was her turn to speak. "You didn't do anything wrong. My mom just assumed, plus she's not exactly the most subtle or tactful." Her lips pressed together momentarily. She was a little angry with her mother, though maybe Meerkat had needed the push to be more straightforward with how she felt.

"I'm not interested in leadership but I do think I want a family. Are those mutually exclusive?" But Meerkat didn't give him a chance to respond before sucking in a breath and plunging ahead. "Did you mean it? Do you look at me that way?" She felt her limbs quivering. "Do you like me, Issorartuyok?"