Sun Mote Copse And the vodka came diluted

She spent the morning meandering near before the borders, pondering the great big world out there. Now that she'd had a taste, she wanted more! But Towhee had specifically instructed her not to leave the copse without an escort. The call of the wild was not nearly as strong as the bond with her mother.

As noon approached, Meerkat decided to head back toward the rendezvous site to see if her mom was there. She wanted to see her (and maybe beg to be taken on a trip) but, more importantly, she was hungry! On the way, she smelled something strange. She stopped to sniff at the air, then continued moving.

She found herself coming up behind a wolf who reminded her of her Neema. But his junk and his smell pegged him as a dude. He seemed a little familiar, though Meerkat couldn't quite place him. She caught up to him and swung wide to get a look at his face, then got distracted by the object in his mouth.

-"WHOA, what's that?"- Meerkat asked, shouting the first half before remembering and lowering her voice.