Sun Mote Copse Brother Hunter

Although Meerkat didn’t think much of her mother’s extended absence—Towhee had always been pretty candid about her traveling habits—she still missed her. She took up some more patrols in her mother’s stead, happy to have an outlet for her tumultuous energy. She tried to redirect her thoughts from her estranged son to the children present in her life, though she didn’t always succeed.

It helped if she kept them close. Today, Meerkat officially lifted Skipjack’s sentence, inviting both him and @Otter to join her on her walk along the copse’s fringes. They fell into step eagerly, though she noticed her son wasn’t quite as exuberant as his sister. She might even use the word reserved to describe the little fellow’s mannerisms. Meerkat wondered if she ought to worry, though it seemed silly to fret over a calm, obedient child.

They were nearly done with their circuit when someone called out from a part of the borders they’d already passed. Meerkat motioned the bairns to a halt, trying to place the voice. She thought she knew it. If it really was Rodyn, then it was safe to take the kids along to meet him. But before she could say a word about it, Skip asked to be excused.

There was a brief argument then, when Otter offered to go with him and Skipjack insisted he didn’t need a guide. Meerkat waited to see if they would work it out themselves before cutting in to suggest Skip go on and head back to The Taigh—or elsewhere if he liked, as he was no longer grounded—and then asked Otter to go and fetch “something interesting” from one of the pack’s caches.

Finally, the lady of the copse made her way to her caller, smiling a little when she saw Rodyn’s face. Although she hadn’t seen it herself in quite some time, Towhee sometimes talked about him and his sons. Njord spoke well of the man too. And, of course, she’d only ever had pleasant exchanges with him, though it had been long enough that she couldn’t really pinpoint when they’d spoken last.

Rodyn, Meerkat greeted, how are you?