Moonspear no, we don't hide when it rains now

A literal black cloud hung over Moonspear, though it would clear in a few hours, unlike the metaphorical one. Njord and Seal were on the mend, that was true, but the entire village mourned alongside Rodyn and his motherless sons. And Phox had gone to be with Towhee, taking the last of Meerkat’s closest natal relatives away from the mount.

Meerkat loathed to leave her husband and daughter for any amount of time but she needed some time away to clear her head, just a few hours to herself to process her feelings. She left in the morning and promised she would return no later than this evening, only deciding on her destination after her sandy paws carried her down the mountainside. The sky cleared as she traveled westward.

Their scents were faded. It was the first thing she noticed. Meerkat’s heart sank a little more as she stood at the edge of the copse and reflected on the day she and Njord had decided to claim it as theirs. The very next day, the wildcat had torn apart their lives. She took a breath, enjoying the sweet odor of freshly fallen leaves as she began plodding deeper into the sunlit spinney.

By the time her husband’s voice rose in the distance several hours later, Meerkat felt restored. She took a final breath of the sweet air in the copse, then hastened back home to the mount. She tried to count her footsteps between one place and the other, though she lost count in her rush to heed Njord’s summons.

She was quite tired by the time she reached the mountainside. Meerkat paused to catch her breath and howl a quick message to her mate: “I’m coming! But don’t wait on me!” She loathed to miss any part of it, though she couldn’t bring herself to regret having taken the time to herself. Meerkat began moving again, eager to get there as soon as possible.

Recycled and reworked a post, hence the novel. :)