Ankyra Sound thunderbird

Her lips curved, a dry laugh escaping her as the dream replayed in her mind's eye. Njord had come to Duskfire Glacier, demanding Meerkat give him back his land. At first, she'd thought he meant the glacier itself, until she remembered: she had somehow stolen his beach. Ah, the absurdity of dreams! She'd convinced him to join her pack instead, though—now her lips drooped into a frown—before they could even shake on their truce, the glacier had crumbled underfoot, destroying the thieved beach and everything else.

Sighing, Meerkat stood still for a few moments longer. When she began walking again, she altered her course ever so slightly. She knew it was an excuse, yet the yearling couldn't help herself. She would make her way home, eventually, but right now she would seize the distraction at hand. She only wondered if she would be disturbing Njord greatly if she came calling for him this late at night.

Feeling indecisive, Meerkat found herself milling toward the interior sands of the sound, where a second and much more imminent distraction presented itself. From atop a grassy hillock that gave way to sand dunes below, the yearling squinted at a pale figure walking along the waterside below. It was hard to make out details from a distance, especially in the dark, yet she stiffened suddenly as she thought she recognized Fennec.

She should've called out to her older sister, to make sure it was Fennec and then, of course, play a little catch-up. Instead, Meerkat began slinking backward, in the general direction of The Tangle. She was absolutely not in the right mindset to talk to Fennec about her life with Bronco and Killdeer, even after all this time.