Phoenix Maplewood stoned at the nail salon

As Rye spoke, Meerkat wondered how they hadn't managed to cross paths. She felt her stomach tighten when she realized he must be talking about Niamh. She hadn't lived back at the caldera yet then, which explained how they hadn't crossed paths before this. What was more interesting to her was how this stranger shared some history with her family and some of its darkest drama of late. He had left it for whatever reason, sort of like she had also recently sought escape.

For several moments, she pondered how exactly to answer his question. "She's doing okay now. She's been through some really rough stuff lately but things are on a little bit of an upswing lately." Meerkat said that as much for her own sake as his, since it was impossible not to feel some guilt about her own departure. "There's never really a good time," she mused, only one side of her mouth lifting into a wry smile as she met Rye's eye, "is there? But I was just there and, yeah, things seemed as okay as they ever get."

Now that they had found this mutual camaraderie, Meerkat reconsidered asking the questions she'd decided against just a moment ago. "Will you tell me about your pack?" Maybe it could be an option, after all. The fact that Rye knew her mother was a consideration, though this encounter was already proving she didn't want to check out as completely as she thought. She definitely still needed space, some new scenery, but Meerkat didn't want to cut ties completely or anything like that.