Dragoncrest Cliffs starcrash

Val caught his mistake. Meerkat didn’t know what to say, really, so she only shot him a fleeting smile. It was meant to be reassuring, though there was a stiffness to her expression that betrayed a vague trace of enmity she couldn’t help.

It didn’t happen here, she was quick to clarify, though it was really cold comfort. And I sure hope so, she added a bit more quietly, a lump forming in her throat at hearing it put so frankly.

She took a moment to take a couple deep breaths and try to swallow it. They’d hung in there these past few days, so the chances were good they would make it, right? Meerkat’s jaw clenched.

They’re being looked after in the roja den, she repeated, feeling an abrupt and inexplicable flare of anger as she blurted, like I said.

She inhaled sharply. Where had that come from? She was under a lot of duress, though that wasn’t an excuse to be rude. Meerkat prided herself on her ability to remain calm and collected in the face of adversity and this wasn’t that. She wanted to apologize immediately but found her jaw wired shut.