Sun Mote Copse sea of trees

Njord didn’t think his heart had ever felt so free!

He careened across the copse with Meerkat and weaved in between the tall pines pillars of sunbeams, and the late September flowers as they left their marks upon the land. Soon, all would know this place as theirs. Their own piece of the Hinterlands.

But before Njord could realize it, the sun began its descent. Vibrant colors touched the distant mountain peaks to the East, the forest bathed in gold. Meerkat led him to a cold river where he drank his fill – and everything felt right in the world.

Meerkat practically tossed herself into the bed of grass and Njord’s expression warmed as he admired her. It, everything, just felt right.

He lay beside her and watched light shimmer atop the moving water. “It couldnae be better timed,” he observed. “Our girls are at the right age tae explore. Tae ken this new land. When they lay eyes upon it… they’ll no fancy leavin’ either.”

He wrapped a paw around Meerkat. “Aye, tomorrow, then,” he agreed as the first stars began to twinkle in the sky.