Sun Mote Copse keep the heid

Just because no one volunteered today did not mean she couldn’t rope in someone else later. Meerkat didn’t worry about it too much, slanting her pale face toward Njord as he concluded the rendezvous with an announcement about Towhee Jr’s promotion.

Her whisky gaze found her younger sister. Meerkat beamed at her, tail waving. She grinned at her husband’s choice of words, though the expression slipped from her face a little when she saw Fennec hustle away. She hoped Jr would’t notice, returning her own attention and clapping her paws together.

It eventually occurred to her that this was silly—neither Towhee could hear her applause, for crying out loud—but not until after she’d already jostled Skipjack into snorting awake. Meerkat smiled sheepishly and put a steadying arm around his shoulders.