Broken Antler Fen they will see us waving from such great heights

Meerkat couldn't decide which she found more delightful: the scenery as they made their way to Broken Antler Fen or @Toad Amelia's company. Her heart drummed merrily against her ribs as their paws and friendly conversation carried them across the distance to the south. As they passed the caldera, Meerkat paused to wave across Lake Rodney, chuckling to herself. Of course, no one would see her, unless someone just happened to be sitting on the rim and staring off in this direction. Then they might see two brownish specks.

Turning to face Toad and resume their chatter, Meerkat began blinking suddenly when something hit her in the eye. Was it raining? She stopped again and tilted her head skyward, a little furrow appearing between her eyes as little white sparkles drifted down from above. They reminded her of fireflies (star bugs, her dad called them) but those were definitely out of season. Perhaps it was just dust? She held out a paw, several of the little granules drifting down onto her paw pad only to immediately vanish into a drop of water.

For those that didn't know them, Meerkat and Toad might have looked as a mother and daughter pair for their harmonious glee as they trekked toward the Fen. Toad laughed as Meerkat stopped to wave at the Caldera, copying the movement with her much larger creamy paw. When Meerkat turned back, Toad saw snow starting to tease at the air. She inhaled crisp, new Winter air and let out a relaxed "haaah" just as she realized the sandy young lady was watching them melt on her paw.

I love these first light snows we always get at the beginning of Winter, she said, light-hearted. She took a moment to do the cliche thing she'd always liked to do, sticking her tongue out. She searched for a falling flake. When she found one, she rushed to it with her tongue lolled out, forcing it to fall onto her tongue. She swallowed the snowflake, then said, they should really try changing the flavour one of these winters. She looked at Meerkat, grinning.

She brought her paw a little closer to her face to inspect the smear of water. Her gaze then lifted again as many more flakes flurried around her, most of them hitting the ground and disappearing. Melting, her brain supplied right around the time Toad offhandedly said, "I love these first light snows we always get at the beginning of winter."

"Snow?" Meerkat said dumbly, then she repeated in a different tone altogether, "Snow..." Oh no. She was meant to find Atlas when the first snow fell, so they could watch it together. A sort of wild expression flitted across her face as she glanced over her shoulder toward the glen, though her brown eyes rapidly tracked back to Toad, who looked ever so gleeful.

She could tell her friend she needed to turn back right now, though that wouldn't be right. And though it wasn't like @Wraen, @Maia and the others were expecting them but... they'd come all this way. Meerkat let out a breath, her body flushing alternatively with heat and cold as she realized she wouldn't be on time for her meetup with Atlas. Well, surely he would understand.

Squaring her shoulders, Meerkat set her foot on the ground now sparkling with a gossamer thin layer of snow and began to close the distance to their destination. She would tell Toad about her date with Atlas after they stopped by the fen to see their friends, their family. Hopefully her aunt would share her excitement about the whole thing.

Trying to ignore the anticipation spangling her spine—maybe that was just the snow falling there?—she picked up her friend's thread and jokingly warned, "I've never actually seen it before but I've always heard not to eat yellow snow."

After a moment, Toad realized Meerkat seemed strangely perplexed by the weather. Then, she seemed almost to forget, or remember, or otherwise freak out about something. Toad just grinned, properly confused by her sandy grandniece. Her sandniece.

Toad began to walk oddly, putting one foot forward and holding it in such a way that it left a pawprint just from her body's warmth. She grinned, listening to Meerkat declare that she had never seen snow. Wait what? But... Isn't your birthday in winter? Had the weather been so warm that Meerkat had never experienced snow when she was old enough to form memories? Toad furrowed her brow as she walked on, trying to do the math and failing pretty damn hard at doing so. If her niece was born in winter, then when she was three months old, it would have been spring, but usually there was still like, one snow, wasn't there? How old were puppies when they formed memories? Toad shook her head.

You're in for a real treat then — snow makes hunting way easier, she explained, tossing her head to her company and grinning. The animals leave tracks, and their hooves are pretty awful at getting through the soft new snow, she described, licking her lips idly.

Maia was still roaming and playing catch-up after her time abroad.  She visited @Eljay often, but made sure to also put in a fair amount of patrolling here.  It was weirdly responsible for her, actually.  Previously she could never really be bothered with borders.

It helped that the fen was such a cool place.  She and Wraen had already discovered a few neat features, one of her favorites the dip where snow would gather.  It was the best place for doing relatively stupid things like frolicking at random.  She hadn't grown up yet and she didn't intend to start now.

As she neared the northern edge, Maia heard voices.  She picked up (a little nervously) but relaxed when she got closer and the tones distinguished them as Meerkat and Toad.  Hey! She called, tail waving high like a welcome banner.  If I knew you were visiting I'd have had the gatekeeper greet you!  She grinned.  There was no magical "gatekeeper" but she liked to imagine every enchanted forest had one, full of riddles to keep the un-fun out.  As she moved excitedly to meet them, a snowflake hit her nose, causing her to glance at the sky.  She was going to definitely need to find a place to hole up in here soon; no way was she sleeping in the wet snow if she could help it!

"I don't get another birthday for four years," Meerkat replied solemnly before cracking a smile. Toad wouldn't get the joke, since she didn't know she'd been born on Leap Day. "I think I was born at the beginning of spring though," she added to actually answer the question. If it had snowed during her early days, she certainly didn't remember it.

Meerkat tried to maintain her focus as Toad spoke about how snow impacted hunting, though her mind kept flitting to Atlas. It was very distracting and she felt disingenuous, even though she couldn't help it. The snowflakes were so pretty and so darned triggering. She drew in a deep breath, reminding herself that Atlas would wait for her. They'd both waited this long for it to snow, what was a few more hours?

Maia's shout made Meerkat jerk and then grin in the space of a heartbeat. "Maia! Hiya!" the youth replied, keeping up the tradition of her rhymed greetings. "We came to check out your new digs and see how things were going," Meerkat declared, bounding closer and pressing her nose briefly to Maia's jowl.

Toad legitimately did not understand the joke, but laughed lightly anyway as though she had. The math started to make slightly more sense as the frog-woman realized that Meerkat hadn't really been forming too many memories when it was snowing. It was sweet to think about her as a "potato" as Wraen had put it, rolling about with her siblings having a grand ol' time.

Even though Meerkat didn't seem particularly interested in what Toad was talking about, it didn't bother her. They'd been travelling for long enough that she didn't expect someone so young to care too much about words and things. She was, however, thankful that Maia arrived for them quickly, surprised to see them. She grinned at seeing her, and as Meerkat explained their purpose and nosed her, Toad extended on the "gatekeeper" idea. You didn't get a sphinx did you? They're a bit too particular for my taste, she winked, and joined Meerkat in giving an affectionate greeting.

These were her people.

Meerkat let the comment pass, but Toad snagged it, and Maia was reminded again how awesome this new friend was. Most weren't really into expanding on her creative moments themselves.

Awesome, c'mon along!  She invited them readily, then giggled.  Nah, no Sphinx.  Just a playful forest spirit or two for now.  Might be better that I didn't, though, they dunked Wraen and I pretty good when we first showed up.  She enthusiastically escorted them into their new claim.

We've got some new joiners here, it's crazy how quick we've doubled!  It's settling real awesome though.  How's the Glen?  she asked, wondering if they'd come with any news too.  She was glad, despite her stuff about Moonspear, that Toad was still down with talking to them and visiting.  She'd worried a bit after that she might've actually offended her.  Meerkat seemed bubbly as ever, and she looked between the two, directing it at both.

The two older women began chatting about sphinxes as if they were some everyday thing. Meanwhile, Meerkat had never heard the word before. She cocked her head, a smile playing about her lips as she listened to the exchange. It was amusing and distracted her from thinking about Atlas, at least for a few moments.

When Maia inquired about the glen after sharing some news about the fen, Meerkat was quick to take the bait, ever the enthusiastic ambassador. "They're good! We just had a pack hunt not too long ago." And, actually, there wasn't a whole lot to report on the pack news front, which she supposed was a good thing.

She could share a lot more when it came to her personal life and she was sure Toad could too. Her warm gaze swung to her companion, wondering if they might gossip about her search for a husband. She didn't think it was a secret but she also knew Toad should be the one to loop in Maia if she wanted. Maybe there were some eligible bachelors around here?

And that, of course, made Meerkat's mind frolic right back to her own beau.

Sorry guys, I suck at wrapping these threads up

Toad couldn't help but laugh at Maia's jokes like a school girl reacting to her first crush. There was something so very fitting about being around her distant relatives. Now that she knew they were all at least somewhat related, she thought her comfort made even more sense.

She was pleased to hear that the new pack was forming well. That's great! Toad inserted, just before Meerkat started to relay how things were going in the Glen not too far away. There was, of course, a question floating around in her mind as to whether Maia and Wraen had managed to recruit any eligible husband-types. She didn't ask, though. She couldn't help but feel almost embarrassed about the way that Wraen had schooled her on her ability (or lack thereof) to even identify what "eligible" looked like at all.

So, instead, she expanded. Oh it was great! Quite the feast, and our young leaders showed their abilities so nicely, Toad said. She went on further, describing the events that had led to the hunt in the first place. She talked about Osiris, and Antares, and even Atlas since he had helped to lead as well. She knew Meerkat would appreciate the gleaming review. They followed Wraen into Brecheliant, excited to share their stories once more.