Dragoncrest Cliffs never cry again

She nodded quietly when he recited the original reason for leaving. In hindsight, Meerkat couldn’t believe she’d agreed to let him go, especially all by himself. Even before his absence had drawn out much longer than expected—and she’d accepted she might never seen him again—she’d really struggled much more than she had ever anticipated.

It should’ve made her cautious, yet it just made Meerkat cling all the tighter to Njord as his voice rumbled quietly in the morning air, telling a dire tale. Had Njord even enjoyed a single day’s reunion with his family before it had all gone to hell, she wondered? She didn’t interrupt to ask, listening solemnly. She didn’t even know if she could speak, her heart lodged tightly in her throat as she realized how close she really had come to losing her husband for good.

His father had lost his life in the battle, news which prompted Meerkat to sip in a breath and sling her foreleg around his newly slender waistline and squeeze him. She didn’t know what to say, even if she could speak. She couldn’t fathom losing a parent in such violent circumstances. Towhee would probably be honored to die in battle, yet the thought still sent a shudder through her.

When it seemed he was through speaking for the moment, Meerkat just hugged Njord for a little while. She peppered his face with featherlight kisses on either side, still marveling that he was really here. He might not be in one piece, exactly, but he was alive and well enough. If Njord had died defending his family, she might have never learned the truth of his fate, a possibility which sent another shiver through her.

And what happened, she said quietly after some time, after that?

What had become of his other family members? And what fate had befallen Meares Island, in the end? Was it still standing? Was it the same? Or was it, like Njord, forever marred by the events of that night?