Moonspear “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” —Winnie the Pooh

They retraced their route from a week or two before, Towhee trailing just behind the energetic Meerkat, letting her daughter lead the way. It not only gave the pup a sense of propriety in the task at hand, it also tested her recall. She took a few wrong turns but her mother didn't even bother guiding her, instead letting the aspiring scout discover and correct her mistakes on her own. It took a little longer this way, though they arrived at the foot of Moonspear eventually, Meerkat breathless and practically glowing with pride.

-"We're not going to call for @Hydra directly. She's a busy woman. We just want to speak to someone from the pack who can pass along a message to her. I want you to howl for attention but be polite about it. Request an audience, don't demand one. When someone comes, you give them the message. Do you remember what to say?"-

Meerkat sucked in a breath and nodded. -"I tell them I have a message for Hydra from Towhee: 'Wraen is very sick and I've taken over leadership of Firebirds.'"- She frowned a little as she repeated it back to her mother, concern for the former leader threading through her copper gaze right before she squeezed her eyes shut and tossed a howl skyward.

The call came, and Hydra's long-legged strides took her to them. This trip, she was not alone; the mother was flanked by her cubs, @Caelum and @Altair to her left and right. And while she had threatened her daughters with keeping them at the rendezvous with their father for their actions some time ago, she knew all along she would take them with her to meet their family. She had told them, in passing, of their aunt Towhee and their newest cousin, Meerkat. 

Towhee is family, born away from Moonspear. It is why she does not live here, nor has she ever... she explained, far more pleasant than her explanation of their gullible uncle, Arcturus, who was, as Hydra once articulated, perhaps before they could even firmly understand it, "as simple as your other uncle, Revui..." though the truth of it was that neither of them were much talked about yet, as there was nothing she truly desired to say on the topic of them quite yet. They were too young to have a full understanding of the semantics of all of these things quite yet, but that time would come. 

Meerkat is her daughter, and your other cousin. We had a visit scheduled for the crag, all together... though for your actions, she looked to her daughters, I am considering delaying that. Her tail lashed behind her on that note. That she likely would do; she did not know if she could trust them to know when to go any place by themselves if she took them there since they seemed to think that it was safe and well to do so now without so much of a word to her, Dirge, or their sitters. Her first litter had deceived her in how easy and well behaved they had been. Though this had only been one thing, Hydra wondered how to best prevent it from multiplying. She traveled with @Alya who was there to keep an extra set of eyes on the four of the cubs, but who kept her distance in the interim. Her sister had gotten... fluffier as of late, and did not want any others seeing so for themselves. 

Before long, they arrived to the borders; this took some time, as they did not move as efficiently as she did upon the mountain terrain. But she wanted them to get used to it, since the following week she intended on them joining in on witnessing a hunt. And then she would choose to trust them enough again to return to at least the rendezvous alone. If they disappointed her further, she would have to consider what next was the best course of action. 

Her trust in the intelligence of her children had been broken, but she blamed herself for that more than them. They were only children after all. And she would teach them to be smarter; now was the time things were grasped and understood, she was gathering. 

Arriving to the borders in neat enough order, Hydra chuffed to Towhee. I did not expect to meet you again so soon. I hope you do not mind, I brought company, she drawled, and introduced them (gesturing to each as she said their name), meet Mira, Mintaka, Altair, and Caelum. Children, this is your aunt and cousin... Towhee, and Meerkat. Hydra looked to her children and drawled, This is family, and so this sort of exchange is not truly the norm at our borders. Still, you must always exercise some caution at the borders, she explained, but that is not a lesson for today, she hummed, passing the invisible threshold to sniff again at her Firebird brethrens furs, encouraging with a chuff her cubs to do as she did if they so wished.

When a veritable caravan of wolves arrived, Meerkat's eyes flew wide as saucers. Another wolf might have felt intimidated by the sight, yet it just made her little heart leap. The babies were here, at last! Unable to hold herself back, the pale pup let out a joyous bark as her eyes drifted from one to the next. She bowed in front of her extended family, partly out of respect but also so she could thump her forepaws and wave her tail in greeting. She welcomed it as some of them came forward to sniff noses.

Then she remembered: they were here on business and she had a very important message to convey. Eyes still sparkling, Meerkat straightened and glanced sheepishly at her mother, who looked a little tense. Meerkat's brow furrowed in question and Towhee just gestured at her with her swarthy snout. The youth nodded and returned her attention to the band of wolves, dipping her own snout and assuming a slightly soberer expression.

-"I'm so glad you came! It's nice to meet all of you,"- Meerkat began, every bit the natural diplomat. -"We came to tell you some news. Wraen was attacked by a swarm of bees and is very sick. My mom,"- she continued, pointing at her with a sandy toe mostly for the younger pups' sake, -"has taken over as Sovereign. We wanted you to know 'cause you're our family and our allies."-

Behind her, the new Sovereign blinked, lips parting. They weren't allies, not officially. Towhee had never really seen the point of such political relationships. But, well, they were sisters-in-arms, so was it really so far-fetched to think of themselves as sister packs of sorts? She said nothing, orange eyes drifting over the group before locking with Hydra's. Despite the interpersonal dramas with Wraen and Arcturus, perhaps they would agree to a formal alliance, engineered by none other than a good-natured puppy.

Hydra's tail waved some, though slowed to see the expression upon Towhee's features. Hydra had thought the trip to be one of good tidings, but evidently there was more to it than that... and she wondered if the children were best left behind this day. But listening to the news would teach her children two things: bees were dangerous things... and, well, the other lesson might come at some other time. When they were older, and understood things better. 

It was a terrible thing, to feel as she did when the news was shared. Karma never did take long, did it? Wraen had got what she deserved. Hydra could only imagine the pain of however many bees had set upon her... and what a strange way to be wounded! How many in these Wilds had such an experience? This was the first incident of its sort Hydra had heard of. And the consequence of it so dreadful Wraen was no longer sovereign...? 

The bad news was not so nearly as bad as Hydra had thought. 

She had the decency, however, not to reveal her thoughts on the matter—her expression then indicated that she was deep in thought as she listened to Meerkat past her own internal monologue. Will she die?, Hydra wanted to know... but Hydra did not want her to die, she found. She wanted her to live for as long as possible, to face all that the bees had brought and more terrible obstacles. A quick, clean death was more than Wraen deserved for doing as she had to her. To her family. Insidious wretch. 

And as Hydra listened to Meerkat's latest suggestion, though she had not truly suggested it. Hydra was all too aware that Wraen would hate the words Meerkat said, and Hydra adored the young cub for it. It would, no doubt, mortify her brother too. And how dreadful Arcturus must feel for such a thing to befall her...! 

Could there be a more beautiful day? 

She looked to Towhee, who seemed to be thinking herself. I am sorry for the way that you have found yourself in your position. But the Firebirds will remain strong with you at their helm, Towhee, she drawled. And that was the truth. Towhee was a strong woman and Hydra imagined an equally strong leader. Hydra had always felt that Towhee deserved to be Sovereign in the first place; she was not a manipulator, nor a liar. She looked to Meerkat and drawled, a wise reason to inform us. You are right on both counts, of course, she hummed warmly to her niece, eyes shifting to Towhee. With her own sister leading them, why should it not be so, now? Hydra looked to Meerkat and inquired, are you seeking to become an ambassador, Meerkat? For the matriarch had observed her diplomacy, and admired it.

Of course, Meerkat hadn't actually masterminded an alliance; she had simply been mistaken. But it was a happy accident as both she-wolves simply went with it, exchanging a knowing glance over the heads of their future generations. Thus they acknowledged themselves as officially allies, special thanks to an obliviously blithe youth, with an honorable mention to some very angry hornets (not bees, Meerkat).

When Hydra prompted her, Meerkat forgot all about assuming a more businesslike demeanor. -"Yeah!"- she shouted enthusiastically, then checked her volume before adding, -"I mean, I think! I'm workin' on being a counselor and a scout too."- And, well, becoming an ambassador seemed like the natural progression to her. -"My dad says I'm a model citizen!"- Meerkat added because relevant, taking a moment to beam at the other youngsters.

Awful circumstances aside, Meerkat was still overjoyed to finally meet them and badly wanted to ask if they could take a break from the formalities and play a while. But she kept that impulse in check, once more looking to her mother and smiling softly. She was young and full of spunk, yet she knew they weren't here to socialize, so to speak. This was an exchange of critical information, a news bulletin, and Meerkat took that as seriously as the rest of her trade work.

But she couldn't quite resist asking, -"Can we do a play date soon?"- This elicited a huff of laughter from Towhee, who signed her appreciation of Meerkat's initiative. Smiling brightly, Meerkat took that opportunity to embellish, -"And maybe we can bring the chiblings, it'll be a party!"-

Hydra looked to Towhee, an impressed look passing over her features. Young as she was, she had plenty of initiative which the matriarch always appreciated. A counselor and a scout, hm? How many places have you scouted thus far...? she wondered aloud, inviting further conversation. Hydra could not withhold the grin as Meerkat referred to her father; it did not surprise her. Meerkat, a polar opposite of her mother in her sweet and open demeanor, seemed exactly that. 

It worried Hydra though. The world was not so warm as Meerkat herself was. 

Looking to Towhee, a mischevious look passed her features as she spoke, as an ambassador, you might not always get the reception you desire. Some packs in these Wilds... they can be far more cruel than kind. Has your mother taught you how to defend yourself? And if so, perhaps she and Towhee could (playfully) put the young Kat to the test, if Towhee herself was game for it. Knowing this was her niece caused Hydra to feel all the more protective over the young sandy girl. Whoever did bring her to harm, should they try it, would be sentenced to eternal damnation by way of Hydra's teeth. 

As for the rest, Hydra peered to her two daughters. They would certainly know why she did, but in the end she looked to both Towhee and Meerkat and nodded. -Yes-, she rejoined, finishing with That would be nice, she agreed with a rumble. Hydra understood Towhee's lingo better than she spoke it, but she cared enough to learn it and heed it each time she saw it. With enough repitition Hydra had a grasp on what things meant at the least, but "speaking" it she only knew the basics that were consistently shared by Towhee throughout the years of their relationship.

The whole body wiggle was a result of Hydra's signing as much as the rest of her reply. Meerkat pranced on the spot, letting out another sharp bark because she couldn't help herself. But, of course, she quickly schooled herself back to proper decorum. Between her little dance and her aunt's next question, it made her think of her exchange with Niamh a few weeks back.

-"Mom and Neema have taught me some,"- Meerkat mused, -"but I'm not much of a fighter."- She was beginning to realize that she would need to improve on that score, whether or not she liked it, simply as it seemed so important to just about every adult in her life. -"I can work on it,"- she decided aloud, punctuating this declaration with a sharp nod.

Then, of course, she was all too happy to regale Hydra and company with tales of her ranging. -"I haven't gone super far yet, just visiting the territories around Sun Mote Copse. This is the furthest I've gone."- She paused, then remembered in an excited rush, -"I found the way here all by myself today! I took a couple wrong turns but mom didn't say anything, she just let me figure it out. And I did!"- And that was perhaps her greatest accomplishment in life thus far.

Mira wasn't sure what her mother expected, bringing them to a meeting like this. She called these people relatives- but Mira had never seen nor smelled them, and hearing they were born beyond Moonspear (was that allowed?) had her all the more skeptical. They could've redeemed themselves by staying at Moonspear, but apparently it was only a visit, to talk about boring adult stuff that could not hold her attention span for long. She would grow up to be an intelligent woman, yes, but for now her brain tuned out the spoken words as she studied the loud sandy girl with a toxic yellow gaze.

Caelum stayed steadfastly at his mother's left side throughout the meeting. His stoic gaze would sometimes fall on Meerkat, who looked young. He just watched in silence, which wouldn't be a surprise to any of his relatives; he had always been quiet and was not very talkative unless prompted. Caelum watched the meeting take place, awaiting a command from his mother while watching the youth. He was not sure why she did the gestures, but lacked the curiosity to pursue it.

one post cameo unless engaged directly ^^

I'ma wrap this one since it's outdated. :)

Meerkat could've carried on a conversation with her aunt for a hundred more years, though Towhee finally interjected, telling their audience they must return to tend to the copse. They had accomplished all they had come here for and more. The interim Sovereign was still mulling the alliance her child had struck and what this might mean to their respective packs.

-"Always good to see you, Hydra. And the kids."- Towhee smiled at her sister-in-arm's taciturn entourage. -"Until next time. Take care. Come on, you."-

The aspiring scout waved a paw at their extended family, light of heart despite the weight of Mira's and Caelum's silent gazes. -"Bye, you guys! Bye!"- she said enthusiastically, turning to go only when Towhee forcibly nudged her back in the direction of home.