Phantom Hollow We're only about twenty miles from Ravenscar here.

He didn't know...! Meerkat's mouth fell ajar when Reyes admitted to scruffing Caracal "pretty hard." She could see the regret written into every line of his body, particularly etched into his face, and she felt sorry for him despite herself.

She even felt her heart lurch a little bit when he mentioned he might be barred from seeing his children ever again. Meerkat couldn't particularly help it; giving everyone the benefit of the doubt was just part of her coding. Maybe she could talk to Towhee on his behalf.

But what if he'd actually harmed Caracal? That thought really gave her pause. Maybe she should reserve her sympathy for her innocent baby brother, not the man who'd attacked him. Suddenly, the yearling's lips pressed together into a hard line. Towhee was a hothead but even she wouldn't just chuck Reyes unless he'd done something really harmful.

"You don't even know if he's okay," she repeated, disbelief coloring her tone. Why should she listen to you? But Meerkat couldn't quite bring herself to say something so antagonizing. Instead, she warned softly, "You should probably stay away. Far away."