Dragoncrest Cliffs dead man's party

Sialuk confirmed the plan she’d spoken of last time, which made Meerkat’s eyes shine. She had thought it might happen sooner, though it sounded as if Sialuk had taken the time to plan and prepare herself properly before returning to claim her birthplace. It all felt so right and part of Meerkat wished she could be there to support her in this endeavor.

She supposed she could, from afar. Meerkat smiled as her husband commended her, reaching over to put her smaller paw over his larger one and squeeze it as she leaned into him. She turned that same smile on Sialuk when she agreed with him, though all this talk of medicine reminded her about their son’s current state.

Our children are strong, she spoke in turn. Our daughter took after me and left us to travel a while back. Our sons are still here. Fish was actually injured recently but he’s strong, Meerkat repeated, and we have every reason to believe he’ll make a full recovery.

She squeezed her husband’s paw again, resting her head on his shoulder briefly, then sat up and let go of him. Even these small shifts of her body filled the air with her powerful scent. Meerkat let out a breath, then decided to address the elephant in the room.

We’re also planning to grow our family soon, she said, ducking her head a moment but laughing, about two moons from now.

Life had dealt them a pretty serious blow recently and the act of coupling with her mate whilst their son lay suffering in his sickbed made Meerkat feel some kind of way. But she could not resist her hormonal impulses, nor squander the pack’s blessing, not after Njord had toiled so hard to mend bridges these past few months.

It was always darkest before the dawn and Meerkat swore she could feel the sun peeking over the horizon, gilding their future.