Nova Peak even in a hurricane of frowns

The red-furred woman jerked her head and said, "Nearby." Meerkat stared at her a moment before her sleepy brain comprehended. Oh, she lived nearby. Blinking a few times as her brain continued booting, her brown eyes flicked in the indicated direction.

"You live at Sapphique?" she blurted at the same time the stranger asked, "You alone?" Too drowsy for anything but simple, honest answers, Meerkat said, "At the moment, yes," and then waited to see if she would get an answer to her own query.