Sun Mote Copse “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” —Winnie the Pooh

She was still grounded, so Meerkat remained stuck at the rendezvous site. She felt bad for breaking her mom's trust and accepted her punishment without complaint, though she was getting awfully restless. She supposed that was sort of the point; being restricted like this would definitely make her think twice before disobeying again.

With nowhere to put her youthful energy, she tried to express some of it by running laps around the clearing's perimeter. It wasn't long before the summer heat made her stop and seek a drink of water. After that, she sought a patch of shade and flopped to the ground, tongue lolling as she panted.

When she saw @Primrose coming toward her, Meerkat licked her wet chops and sat up a little straighter, grinning at her only little brother. But her face quickly drew into an expression of concern when she saw that he looked upset. When he reached her, he sniffled tellingly.

-"What's the matter?"- Meerkat asked, sitting up all the way and putting an arm around his little shoulders. He didn't say much, though he leaned into her, and the tawny youngster tilted her head to press her snout to the top of his head.

I feel like it's been too long ICly since Niamh and Meerkat had a thread together.

While it had meant competing briefly with a coyote over his kill, Niamh ended up finding herself a meal at the other canine's expense when she found him trotting too close to the borders with a large jackrabbit dangling from his mouth. The coyote was a good-looking creature, and in good health- but could not outrun the long-legged wolf when she decided to both chase him off and rob him of his brunch. The scoundrel dropped the rabbit and continued to flee, but Niamh wasn't a forgiving creature, and needed a punching bag in order to tame her inner fury so she pursued him until she finally bowled him over. Given the fact she wanted to get back to the surrendered jackrabbit as soon as possible- before another opportunist could snatch it- she simply gave the coyote a few snaps as a warning and huffed as he ran off, tail between his legs. Normally, she would've killed a coyote- but she wanted her brunch. 

She carried the jackrabbit back to the Rendez-vous site, and caught sight of the two pale children nestled together. She was aware that Meerkat was grounded, but she didn't figure that meant that she wasn't allowed to enjoy some time with her little brother who seemed to enjoy her company. Meerkat was just enough older that she was a bit more quiet and empathetic than perhaps his littermates- and the boy seemed so quiet and sullen that Niamh herself had a difficult time connecting with him. 

She gave the two a nod, and flopped down onto the ground in the middle of the clearing so the sun could warm her back as she began de-fluffing the jackrabbit.

An explanation for Prim's downtrodden mood did not come and Meerkat did not press him. She simply held onto the frail young boy, until he slipped from her grasp and settled on the ground at her feet. She eyed the top of his head thoughtfully, though her gaze drew upward when the boy's mother approached.

-"Hi, Neema!"- Meerkat greeted with her usual enthusiasm. She jumped to her feet, wove around her cousling and romped toward Niamh. She stopped about a yard away and craned her neck to sniff without touching. A throaty little laugh escaped her as she watched her Neema pluck the fur, some of it drifting toward her and tickling her nose.

Niamh sneezed when some of the rabbit's fluff got sucked into one of her nostrils, and looked up blinking as Meerkat bounded over. She certainly seemed to be handling her punishment fairly well- though Niamh imagined it might have something to do with the fact that there were others close to or in the Rendez-vous site to occupy and entertain her. She wasn't sure what Towhee's feelings were, regarding playing with Meerkat while she was grounded- but that didn't mean she couldn't educate the kid, and it certainly didn't mean she had to be starved. 

-Heya there, rebel- She said, casting her glinting gaze toward the young girl. -Here- She said, and shoved the rabbit toward Meerkat with one of her long, elegant legs. -C'n you de-fluff this for your Neema? Then I'll share it with you and Primrose- She said.

Niamh beckoned her closer, asking for her help with tearing the fur from the rabbit's hide. Meerkat nodded and moved closer, eager to lend a hand. It was something to do, though she would've been just as happy to pitch in regardless of her current status.

-"What's a 'rebel'?"- Meerkat wondered as she took a seat and began plucking the fur from the carcass. It was soft and stuck to her lips and tongue, causing the youth to sputter. Nonetheless, she smiled as she worked.

Good. Niamh always favoured the idea of putting the pack's youth to work as young as possible, and while Meerkat wasn't hers by birth, she felt pretty comfortable getting her Person's child to pluck a rabbit for her, and do other little tasks while she was grounded. And it wasn't as though she was spoiling Towhee's punishment by coddling the child- it wasn't really cheating, she figured, if the quality time they were spending together was also task work. She couldn't track Bronco down for the life of her, presently, so she'd have to switch her attention to getting things done by the next generation of hooligans. 

-A rebel is someone who doesn't obey the rules- She drawled, eyeing Meerkat with a raised brow as she stretched her legs out, and got herself comfortable. Ah, yes, this was nice- having the kid do all the fluffy work for her. She twitched her nose as a little fluff of rabbit fur drifted past her muzzle, and she blew out a puff of air to usher it on its way. -But don't worry. Both Towma and your Neema were rebels when we were your age and we turned out fine.- She said with a dry laugh.

She felt her stomach give a little lurch when Niamh explained what the term meant. Meerkat chewed on the inside of her cheek, her lips drooping into an uncharacteristic frown. -"I didn't mean to break the rules,"- she said quietly. -"I try to be a model citizen,"- she added, having held onto that title tightly ever since Phox had first mentioned it to her.

Meerkat didn't say anything else, just continued to remove the rabbit's fur, her expression a little more pensive than usual. She paused at Neema's joke, head tilting a little, then resumed in the next moment. She didn't stop until she was finished, pushing the freshly naked carcass toward the Honoree with a small smile and a, "Ta-da!"

She didn't expect Meerkat to take her as seriously as she did- given the fact that Niamh's experience, with her children, was that they generally pushed back as much as they could, and Bronco, especially, had never taken criticism well. But the girl seemed to be more responsible, and certainly more concerned with doing the right thing. Her comment made Niamh's lips twitch; I bet Phox told her that, she thought to herself. "Model citizen" was a very Phox thing to say and be. So she let Meerkat feel a bit bad about what she'd done- as that was what punishment was for, and it was good at least that she had the morals to realize she'd done something wrong. Niamh wasn't the most sympathetic wolf in the world so it was easy for her to do just that. 

She let Meerkat continued to de-fluff the rabbit, half-closing her eyes as she basked in the sunshine. She opened them, realizing only then that she'd actually managed to drift off for a minute or two, slowly allowing her head to droop more and more until her nose nearly touched the ground. She flicked her tongue across her lips and stood up to inspect the job Meerkat had done. -Perfect.- She said, and with a few jerky movements, she tore the carcass into segments. Wordlessly, she carried a bit over to Primrose, pausing to kiss the peach fur on his forehead, before she returned, and nudged a portion to Meerkat. -Thanks for the help, kiddo- She said, as she pulled the final portion to herself- not much, once split three ways- and began to eat.

Her smile broadened at Niamh's praise. Meerkat watched as the adult proceeded to tear the dead, skinned rabbit into pieces. When she moved to deliver one to Prim (along with a kiss to his head), the older pup turned to watch over her shoulder. Soon, Neema returned and offered a portion to her before settling down with her own.

Meerkat glanced down at the morsel, then over at Prim. -"I'm gonna go sit with him while we eat,"- she decided, snatching up her share and trotting over to the smaller pup. She plopped down beside him as they snacked, Meerkat offering half her meat to him to cheer him up some more and because she wasn't particularly hungry.

When it seemed he was ready for a nap after he finished eating, Meerkat gave him a nudge and trotted back to rejoin Niamh. -"Do you have another..."- She paused, searching for a word. It took a moment but finally the proverbial light bulb went on over her head. -"Task? For me?"-

Given the fact that she had food in her clutches, Niamh didn't mind that Meerkat chose to go and sit with her young son, rather than stay next to her. She wasn't the warmest individual, and though she did love the children- she didn't force them to like her, or smother them with sentiment. She ate through her meal and had cleaned herself up by the time Meerkat wandered back toward her, looking for something else to do. She licked her lips in consideration; she was still hungry, but she couldn't just send the kid out to look for more food; she was grounded. So she rose to her feet, and shook out her pelt. 

-May's'well show me some of your moves,- She said. She tilted her head to the side, and it rewarded her with a couple cracks. -Show me what you got,- She said, albeit with fairly haltered enthusiasm.

If possible, Meerkat perked up a bit more when Niamh took to her feet. She then blinked loudly at her Neema's directive. -"My moves?"- she repeated, not really sure what she meant by that. But then it hit her and Meerkat broke into a grin. -"Oh!"-

Without further ado, the youth began to boogie where she stood, shaking every part of her body in a crazy, energetic dance. She laughed out loud as she flailed, hopped and twirled. She hoped Niamh enjoyed this as much as she did! It was the perfect outlet for all her pent-up energy.

Finishing with a flourish of her tail, Meerkat stretched forward into a playful bow, then straightened and waited to see what Neema would think of her dance moves. Her tongue lolled from her sandy muzzle as she smiled, her heart pounding as endorphins flooded her system.

And there it was- proof that Meerkat had been spending far too much time with Bronco. 

Niamh remained in a defensive position for a moment or two, hoping that maybe Meerkat was trying some sort of unusual diversion to distract her so that she could attack when Niamh let her guard down...But the shimmying and footwork- while fancy- wasn't what Niamh had asked for, and while she wasn't aware of it, she'd begun to frown softly in consternation. The future of the pack would be in the hands of their young- which meant that it'd be left to her ineffective son, and his dance-fighting younger sister. She'd never imagined that @Nellie would be the spitfire that she'd become, but she would have to simply wait and hope for her daughter to return so that she could have some faith in the pack's future. 

She wouldn't have thought twice about snapping at the child had Meerkat been born as one of her own. While she saw all the children as being siblings, she did defer to Towhee's parenting methods for Meerkat, and wouldn't implement training techniques that she wasn't absolutely certain that Towhee would do herself. So she restrained herself, though it took every ounce of her patience to do so. 

-No, Meerkat,- Niamh said calmly. It was painful, seeing how eagerly Meerkat looked to her for a reaction, hoping maybe for a laugh or for applause. But she wouldn't get that from Niamh, though she tried to temper her disappointment a bit, and put on a tiny bit of a smile. -I meant your fighting moves, not...That,- She said. She lowered her chest a bit, hoping to invite the child into a spar, without having to prompt her further.

Niamh didn't scold her outright, though there was a faint look of displeasure on her face. Meerkat felt a flush of heat under her already warm fur over misreading the situation so badly. Normally, she might've deflected with some good-natured, upbeat retort. But with Towhee already displeased with her, she was hard-pressed to test the other adults in her life. Her expression shifted to something more neutral (although still slightly smiling, she couldn't help herself) and her tail drooped.

-"I'm not a fighter. I don't have those kinds of moves,"- she said, her tone not quite meek but soft so her Neema knew she wasn't trying to be cheeky right now. It was simply the truth. Meerkat paused, tongue swiring thoughtfully over her teeth. -"Do I have to fight?"- she asked, an honest question. She was a lover, not a fighter, but if her Neema insisted, she would do her best.

Not a fighter. She gritted her teeth together, as she took the comment almost as an observation of her own true nature. A fighter was something that Niamh was- and that was something that had been forced into a dormant corner of her being, living with a peaceful pack and raising children who were nothing like her. Her gaze softened when she caught Meerkat's tone, and decided that she was simply being apologetic, so Niamh moved forward to gently nuzzle the top of the girl's head. She could forgive Meerkat for her gentle nature- she was still so young, and she wasn't Niamh's child to forge and frame. 

-That's alright.- She croaked, casting her gaze off to the distance. You stay here and mind your brother. I'm sure Bronco will be along soon.- She said. Her gaze lingered on the child only a moment longer, before she turned, and began to stride away.

When her Neema moved forward to nuzzle her, Meerkat gladly reached back and skimmed her nose along her golden chin. It surprised her a little when Niamh then drew back with a few murmured words, then turned and left. Meerkat's lips pressed together, a slight furrow appearing in her brow, her eyes following the Honoree's figure until she disappeared into the distance.

With a shrug, she turned and sought out the peacefully sleeping Primrose. Her heartbeat had settled down again and she didn't feel so pent up anymore. With a sigh, she lowered herself beside her little brother, curling her body around his. As she fell asleep, her thoughts idly flickered between her two mother figures, warriors both, wondering if they wished she was feistier too.