Cedar Sweep ambience

She’d asked her mother to spread the word: they were officially recruiting. Ideally, she and Njord would love to find another mated pair, though Meerkat would be happy to take in anyone who might better their new, small village. They weren’t desperate, yet they were certainly eager to formally establish their claim on the copse and that required additional support.

Meerkat spent the day tidying The Taigh, then decided to look for some items to spruce up the earthen cottage. She headed south, dead leaves crunching under her paws as she searched in vain for any last wildflowers. They were all crumbled to dust by now, though she didn’t lose hope. There were always evergreens. She could gather up some pine cones as well as some sprigs of needles; they would bring some freshness to the large burrow.

It was the smell of cedar that ended up drawing her attention in particular. She perused the sweep looking for the perfect boughs to drag back home as the November sky grew dark. Meerkat preferred the longer, drooping, blue-green needles of the Cedrus deodara. She found a particularly fragrant cluster of needles at the foot of one and couldn’t help but think it might work as a makeshift broom.

Well, she thought, lips twitching, it is called Cedar Sweep. Laughing to herself, she bent to pluck the end of the branch in her teeth. While her head was lowered, her eyes flicked upward and immediately noticed the dark shape of a wolf curled up just a few yards away.