Sun Mote Copse Can the child within my heart rise above

Penn was gone and hadn't told her where he was going.  She tried not to be mad... he was an idiot, a boy, why should she care what the fuck he did? But she was worried, and stressed, and missed him, and didn't have his stupid self to talk to and distract her from the seriousness of everyone else and how stupid everything was.

So yeah, she was mad.

In a hell of a mood, she stalked through the trees of the corpse, her ears intent for anything that might be interesting.  Stupid Penn.  Whatever.  Now he couldn't be fuckin mad about her hanging out with Bronco, could he? What a dick.

Today was... less than a good day so far.

It was Meerkat's favorite time of day (second only to lunchtime): time to go! She bounded excitedly at Towhee's side as the Regent led her away from the den site, taking the puppy on her daily venture through the copse. They wandered further afield every day, though still hadn't strayed much beyond the heart of the territory. Of course, little Meerkat didn't really realize any of this. Her world grew a little bigger every day but she was still too young to grasp the true scope of the wilderness.

Her mother fell a little behind, ever watchful but giving Meerkat some space to explore on her own. The puppy happily zoomed ahead, her nose to the ground and her little tail in the air, whipping back and forth. She spotted Fennec first and immediately burst into a sprint toward her older sister. She did not yet grasp Fen's blindness any more than she did her mother's (or her own partial) deafness, though the happy whimpers and thumping of her paws hopefully gave the yearling some warning.

-"FEN!"- the youngster greeted, signing enthusiastically since she didn't know any better. She none too gently headbutted her sister's shoulder, like an overenthusiastic cat. -"HI, FEN!"-

*swoops in*

After his successful hunt, Bronco had dragged a good portion of the elk carcass home, even though it was a tiresome ordeal, to present it to the pack and share it with his packmates. He felt like it was an accomplishment- having brought down a young elk, with the aid of a complete but kind stranger. He'd separated the kill into a few smaller parts, making it easier to stash them away, and there had been a good deal to stash. Even now, days later, he had bits and pieces of the elk kill still stored, and decided to unearth a part he'd been saving as a meal, when he saw Fennec in the distance. 

He found she could be hard to read, sometimes. But from a distance, he noticed the sullen look of her features- and wasn't entirely sure if that was simply how she looked when she wasn't putting on a face for a conversation, or if she did truly feel down. Word had spread that Penn hadn't been seen in a few days, which made Bronco think even less of the guy. He'd witnessed first hand the effect it hd when a family member took off without saying goodbye, and he remembered how much it'd hurt when Nellie disappeared. His mother still ached- and he wasn't sure the two had even made up yet. So he found it inconsiderate of Penn to disappear on the rest of his family and pack in the wake of Elwood and Finley's deaths. 

He also knew that Fennec, for some reason, more-than-tolerated him. He felt jealous, knowing that she would even give him the time of day, considering how much of a dick Bronco thought he was. And so, quietly turning on his heel, he departed, unearthed a good chunk of elk meat, and tracked Fennec down again, hoping to impress her by gifting her with a part of his kill. Only- it wasn't only Fennec that he found. In the time it had taken him to get to his stash and dig up the elk, he'd lost his opportunity at catching Fennec alone...But he'd been told, by his mother, that chicks loved a guy who was good with kids...So this was potentially his chance to double impress her.

He pranced toward the two of them, and called out, "Frhhnnnn,"  puffing air around the morsel of elk meat he carried with him. His gaze was fixed on Fennec and Meerkat- so it took him a moment longer to notice Towhee, who understandably was shadowing her youngster. He humbled himself, and immediately dropped his proud prance, ashamed that he'd even thought to strut, as he continued toward the small gathering. Of course, Fennec wouldn't have seen him prancing his way toward her, but Towhee and Meerkat would have...And that was more than enough to humble him.

It wasn't fair to take her mood out on her sister, but the sharp and happy greeting brought an immediate wave of resentment and annoyance.  She wasn't in the mood for it, and the sullen teenage vibes she was putting out didn't mix with her toddler sibling's enthusiasm.  Still, Fennec knew better... and even though this was her first thread with her baby sister, she loved the kid.  So she took a breath and tried to make the bad disappear.  It didn't work, but it did stop her from a reaction that would probably have made Towhee swoop in.

Hey Meer. she replied, ears tipping back a bit as she paused. Then she heard more footsteps and internally sighed harder.  Of course today would be the day for an ordeal.  Perfect.

And.... heavier steps.  For a moment she thought maybe it was Penn, and her mood lightened, ready to toss some sharp words his way.  But no... she knew that walk.  Bronco.  Cool, you know what?  Fuck Penn.  Bronco.  Hey, you two out together today?  Towhee was too far away for her to notice right now, so she jumped to the conclusion that Bronco was on babysitting detail.

When her big sister greeted her, Meerkat smiled broadly and plopped onto her hindquarters, tail skittering to and fro as she simply gazed up in adoration. When she heard footsteps approaching from the rear, her right ear twitched but her attention remained riveted upon Fen. Only when she heard a strange rumble pitched much lower than Towhee's voice did the pup blink and snap her head sideways to appraise Bronco.

"BUNCO!" the child exclaimed, then remembered to throw in the sign for his name she so loved making. -Bronco!- Her eyes glittered with interest as she noted the hunk of venison in his mouth. The smell filled her nostrils, activating her salivary glands. Meerkat started to drool, licking her chops reflexively even as she kept staring at the meat.

Towhee sidled closer to the young trio and said, "Hey, would you guys mind keeping an eye on her for a few?" She didn't give a reason, just made a jerky gesture before striding away, trusting the yearlings could look out for Meerkat while she took a few minutes to herself.

Meerkat didn't pay much attention to her mother, her focus finally shifting from the chunk of meat in Bronco's mouth back to Fennec. She was too young to be particularly perceptive, so she didn't notice her sister's black mood. But she did note her lack of a smile, something which she wanted to see. Better yet, Meerkat wanted to make her smile. So, apropos of nothing, she stretched out a foreleg and began to wiggle her toes against Fen's ribs with a playful, "Ticka, ticka, ticka!"

"Hrrr," Bronco replied, his voice muffled over the chunk of elk meat he held in his mouth, though he dropped it when he caught Meerkat's attention. He bounded over it and toward the child, dipping deep into a playbow. "Hey, Meer-kitty-kat!" He laughed, preparing to bounce forward and greet the child when he heard Towhee's request, which would've answered, simultaneously, Fennec's question. "'Course," He said, looking down at his younger sister, and giving her a wink. Towhee left, and he felt a little bit better- though Meerkat was still there...She was a kid. He could still flirt with Fennec without the kid really noticing, right?

Well, obviously, Meerkat would be an obstacle of sorts- and seemed apt to contend with his efforts to get Fennec's attention. He sat down, though, content to see exactly how Fennec reacted to being tickled, and goaded his younger sister on. "Git'r, Kitten!" He encouraged. He knew how much his mother absolutely loathed being tickled, so he was interested to see exactly how Fennec took to it.

Fennec was leading up to ask Bronco if he wanted to bounce for a bit when, instead, Towhee asked if they'd babysit.  Oh that was so not a good idea right now.  But... she couldn't really say no, especially since Towhee didn't leave her time to. Now she had something new to be annoyed at, though, which was something.

She just assumes we have nothing else to do, Fennec muttered, loud enough for Bronco at least to hear.  He'd said yes easily enough, though, and it was true.  When did she ever have anything else to do?

Fennec didn't really do polite pretense, so when Meerkat started tickling her, she rolled her sister over with a smile and pinned her (gently) for a moment.  Not today Meer.  But hey, if you're hungry, bet you could totally steal that food from Bronco.  I think you could take him, she said, fake whispering since she knew about her hearing issues.  She might not be as deaf as her mother, but she couldn't be sure at any moment that Meerkat was looking at her, so didn't want to have her miss it.

Bronco encouraged the tickling, though its recipient didn't seem to be on the same page. Meerkat let out a little squeak as Fennec rolled her, then pinned her to the ground. Fen was smiling down at her (mission: accomplished!) and the pup answered it with a grin of her own before she broke into laughter and began to squirm and bat at her sister's foreleg.

She let go while goading Meerkat into stealing the meat from Bronco. The pup's attention flicked to her older brother and she shouted, "GIMME!" right before she sprang at him, clumsy on her over-sized paws as she made to snatch the morsel from his mouth.

What surprised Bronco first was the fact that Fennec didn't seem as keen to babysit, and seemed to begrudge Towhee for leaving her child with them. Bronco snorted, but tried to tell himself to cool it. Fennec wasn't the sort of wolf he wanted to tell off for their sass- because he knew she'd give it back tenfold. "She prolly just wants a break. She's on kid duty like...All day," He said. He knew that between Towhee, his mother and Phox, they had their time filled with every need and want that their children presented. He didn't envy them the amount of time and effort it took to raise the kids- so he didn't mind babysitting so they could have a break. At least with Meerkat, with her being older, he could play. He had no idea how to handle the infants, still. 

He frowned when Fennec discouraged Meerkat from tickling her, and gently turned her over. Meerkat didn't mind, and didn't seem upset to be discouraged in the slightest- but Bronco figured this wasn't just Fennec not wanting to be tickled. She was in a mood. Fennec sent Meerkat bounding toward him, and he'd learned already how to at least distract the young child for a few moments. "Aright, aright," He said, as Meerkat lurched toward the chunk of elk meat. He reached out with one large forepaw to stop her, and corral her toward him. "You don't want that stuff, that ain't even been chewed yet. C'mere, Kitten" He said, backing away from the elk carcass. And while it wasn't elegant, Bronco was surprisingly quick at being able to regurgitate some of the meat he'd consumed earlier and did so withut a second thought. He was a bit self-conscious about the whole ordeal, and still found it made him feel a bit queasy to think that kids actually ate regurgitated meat- but thus far, for Meerkat at least, he'd been forcing himself to help out and provide her with something she could handle. "There ya go. Bronco stew," He joked, though the idea still made him shudder. 

Hoping the kid would take the bait and help herself to a snack, he turned back to Fennec- relieved that at least she couldn't see what he'd just done. She would've heard it, though, so he shrugged (pointlessly) and cleared his throat. "Ain't exactly, uh, attractive, but...Kid needs to eat."

Fennec would have rolled her eyes if she knew enough to make the gesture.  Instead she just snorted out a semi-rude laugh.  Easy for you to say, you don't get this all the time, she replied, though she still kept a small smile.  She didn't want to be a complete ass to her baby sister, but it felt like whenever Towhee needed a babysitter, Fennec was the go-to choice.  Whether or not that was actually the case didn't matter... it was how it felt.

She'd been around enough not to react much when Bronco fed Meerkat.  It didn't actually bother her... it was enough of a natural thing and noises were just kinda something she was used to.  It gave her a momentary breather, long enough to feel a little bad for her initial reaction to both of them.  Just not bad enough to apologize.

Your mom have you watch the others much? she asked, assuming that was why he was taking the babysitting so well.  He hadn't struck her as the kid type, but she guessed if he was similar to Fig then it made sense.

The game of keep away didn't last long before Meerkat found herself staring down at a pile of regurgitated meat. She wasn't actually hungry, seeing as Towhee had fed her just prior to heading out on their foray, so she quickly refocused her attention on Bronco, stomping one tiny foot in the slurry as she made to launch at him again.

Towhee chose that moment to reappear with a casual, "Thanks, guys. I just needed to drop a d—Meerk, leave Bronco alone!" She padded over to sling a foreleg around the pup's midsection and drag her away from where she was trying to gnaw on Bronco's foot. In the process, she stepped in the unseen pile of mushy meat.

Meerkat stopped her playfully protesting squirming to giggle at the expression that crossed the Regent's face then. -"BUNCO!"- she supplied helpfully before Towhee ushered her to feet and gave her another nudge, away from the two yearlings. When she realized they were leaving, a sad look drifted across her face before she remembered to smile and wave bye.

"Thanks, guys, we'll get out of your hair now," Towhee tacked on before mother and pup moved along with their field trip, leaving Bronco and Fen to mingle by themselves.

Bronco snorted, but nodded at Fennec's statement. Towhee probably did have Fennec and Figment step up a fair bit in Meerkat's care- but until his own new siblings were old enough, he hadn't really been asked to do the same. "I'll get mine, once the new ones are old enough, an' once Ma lets up on being a helicopter Mom," He said. Of course, he looked forward to being able to watch and take care of his newest siblings- but until they were able to see and move around, and go small periods of time without her- he was practically useless. 

Meerkat apparently wasn't hungry, so he pined for a moment over the meal he'd surrendered to her, and made a face when she stepped in it before she pounced his leg. "Ugh, it got me!" He said, dramatically crumpling to the ground, at the very same moment Towhee walked onto the scene. She called out her daughter for chewing on him, and he laughed. "Saave me!" He said, gently, trying to pull his paw away from Meerkat, until she was collected, and led off. "Seeyuh." Bronco said, waving back to Meerkat with the same foot that had been covered in puppy drool and regurgitated meat. Kids were messy. 

He refocused on Fennec then, and got up off the ground. "I brought you somethin' too- an' don't worry, it h'ain't been pre-chewed," He said. He picked up the chunk of elk meat, and brought it over to her, dropping it on the ground right in front of her and was satisfied with the heavy thunk it made. "Elk meat," He said, proudly.

Fennec bit back a response of 'enjoy it while it lasts' because she wasn't sure where Meerkat was and she knew it was needlessly mean.  She had no issues being rude, but she drew a slight line on being mean.  Especially when Meerkat wasn't the real problem here.

She didn't really respond when Towhee left, but she breathed out a sigh when Bronco offered her food and her stomach turned a little at it.  Thanks, maybe in a bit, she said, before letting an awkward pause fall between them.

Dad was talking about having a hunt soon, but he was talking like he didn't want me to be in it.  Can you believe it? she said, finally.  As though this were what was bothering her.  It was a part.... a very small one.  But it was a better talking point than the one she couldn't really explain yet.

Bronco's features sank as soon as she more or less rejected his offer. Maybe later. In other words, she for some reason wasn't massively impressed with the fact that he'd managed to bring down an elk. She didn't even ask about the hunt- and wouldn't even give him the satisfaction of devouring his gift without a moment's consideration. Crestfallen, he gazed at her, grateful that in that moment she couldn't have seen his crushing disappointment. He didn't notice the silence that fell between them, as he tried to recover from being so let down. 

He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic to talk about hunting, again, when she changed the subject. Now it was her story- being woebegone because her Dad didn't think it was a good idea for her to hunt. Normally, Bronco enjoyed the occasion to rebel (lightly) against authority and to boulster Fennec's confidence- but given the fact she'd just brushed his major accomplishment aside, he was less keen to jump in and reassure her. Nevertheless...Even with a hangdog expression on his face, he shrugged. "Well that's lame." He knew it was the answer she'd want to hear, and thinking himself a better friend for at least supporting her- even though her father had all the reason in the world to believe that allowing his blind daughter to chance her health in a deer hunt might result in an injury- he'd agree with her. "Ain't like he can stop you, though," He added, trying to cheer himself up a bit, too, by being supportive. It was too hard. 

"Listen, Fen, I'm..." He began, and trailed off. He shrugged. "I'm prolly needed back at the den. Enjoy the elk...Or don't, whenever...I'll catch you around." He trailed off dejectedly, and hastily made a retreat so that she couldn't interrogate him about his suddenly sullen tone.

Fennec was too wrapped up in herself to notice Bronco's reaction.  Moodiness over Penn (and, she was convinced, everyone else) going off and having a grand old time had her flustered and her dad's doubts only made it that much worse.  If she couldn't be useful there... and she couldn't be useful here... then what even was the point?

Yeah, she answered, though it was more thoughtful than anything else.  He couldn't, not really, but she knew that without cooperation there was no way she'd be able to do anything to help.  So if she just showed up and no one expected it... well.  She didn't really want that.

Before she had the chance to say more, though, Bronco was leaving.  She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it.  That was weird.  He'd been so into talking, and then as soon as she'd gotten warmed up to the idea, he was just going to leave?  Now she was annoyed again.  She didn't understand any of it.  Yeah, alright, she said, too quietly to hear.  This day really did suck.  She sat there a little longer, poking at the meat and feeling a good deal lonelier than when she'd started out.  Maybe she should go find Meerkat.  Her little sister seemed to be the only one who really wanted her around anymore.