Moonspear telepath

When she heard Seal’s cry, Meerkat wondered if she’d ever heard a sweeter note. As the girl—young woman, rather—flung herself at her mother, Meerkat laughed out loud and clutched at her. Her arms wrapped around Seal’s shoulders as she tucked kisses wherever she could reach.

When they pushed apart, Seal hurriedly provided some news. Meerkat’s eyes glimmered as her daughter spoke of the bittersweet visit to Moonglow. Although a foot or two separated them now, she reached out to grasp one of Seal’s paws, holding it gently between both of hers.

I’m glad you were able to be involved with that, although I’m sure it was… Meerkat paused, searching for a word, deciding on, heavy.

But there was no opportunity to discuss the details of that excursion any further. In the very next breath, Seal informed Meerkat of Orca’s absence. Not only was she gone, she quickly gathered that she hadn’t spoken a word to anyone about where she was going.

It felt as though Meerkat’s heart froze in her chest. She suddenly gripped Seal’s paw so tightly it must hurt, though she wasn’t aware of it. She tried to think back to her last conversation with Orca. She’d been a little upset about her parents’ move, which was very understandable. It had been difficult to leave both girls behind, though they’d wanted to stay at Moonspear.

So why would she leave? Meerkat struggled to make sense of it, wondering if perhaps it was some form of rebellion. That didn’t seem like Orca at all, though the girls were essentially teenagers now. And she took some comfort from that. At least her wayward daughter wasn’t a helpless child any longer.

I’m sorry, she whispered, gently releasing her grasp on Seal. I think she was more upset about the move than we realized. Maybe she needed to be alone with her thoughts. She shouldn’t have left without saying something to you—or to anyone at all—but hopefully she’ll come back when she’s ready…

She wiped the back of her paw at the tears gathering in her eyes, gazing wetly at Seal. Of course, there were the more nefarious possibilities, though Meerkat refused to entertain them. Orca was nearly a woman now, who could look after herself.