Dragoncrest Cliffs starcrash

Tags are for reference, so y’all can let me know if I need to tweak any of my assumptions!

ATTN: @Val

She stayed close to the roja den where the boys convalesced, leaving only to fetch food or supplies as needed. There wasn’t much Meerkat could do otherwise but wait and hope they fully recovered.

The midday air was chilly as a restless Meerkat paced the area, itching for something more productive to do with herself. A quick peek inside told her @Swordfish and @Quennell were fast asleep. She looked around and saw others stationed nearby, so the Laramite decided to go for a brief walk further afield.

Meerkat headed east to roam the shore of Glintwater Lake. The smell of the pines filled her nose. She could see the entrance to the tunnel over yonder and felt a strong urge to head to the beach. Yet she was reluctant to stray too far from her son.

after a failed grouse hunting expedition, val headed inland. it’d been some time since he visited glintwater and despite the morning chill, he looked forward to visiting its depths.

on its eastern border val was met with the wintry scent of pines and the sight of meerkat. unsure where he stood with all of sapphique, he gave a gentle chuff to announce his presence but remained a respectful distance away.

She huffed a great breath and prepared to turn and head back to her vigil at the roja den. Before she completed her pivot, however, she saw movement near the tunnel. Meerkat froze and swiveled her head, then the rest of her body, as she faced a pack mate she hardly knew.

Hey. You’re Val, right? she called out to him, eager for a distraction.

Meerkat shuffled closer, feeling her heart beating faster than usual in her chest as she made her approach. She wrote it off as anxiety over her son and Quennell, an acknowledgement which quickly shifted to guilt. She shouldn’t be out here, roaming the woods and making small talk.

She halted a few meters from him, rooted to the spot by indecision.

val couldn’t read meerkat’s mind, yet he could sense hesitancy, which he misread as unease about him. was it because he’d been welcomed back after leaving for the zillionth time? ah, shit. hey! yeah, i’m val… rosalyn and erzulie’s son. well, that wasn’t patently true but val would burn that bridge when he got to it.

are you.. meerkat? searching the repertoire of his memory, val thought he might have seen her once at a pack meeting months past. you okay? if it’s about me, uh… i promise i’m friendly. I just wander a lot.

In other circumstances, she might’ve wondered about his sire and whether he was perhaps from the same litter as Chacal. But right now, she could think only of those two young boys, who fought for their lives against a bear.

Val’s words recaptured her attention. She realized he’d taken her hesitation personally. She began shaking her head.

No, she said quickly, then corrected, I mean, yes, I’m Meerkat. But no, no, of course not. It’s good to formally meet you. I know we’ve seen one another in passing but it’s not the same, the Laramite said with as much warmth as she could muster.

She drew in a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder. They’re asleep, she reminded herself. What if Fish wakes up and I’m not there? Meerkat’s brain countered. With difficulty, she returned her eyes to Val.

Sorry, I don’t mean to act so strangely. It’s Fish and Q, she said on a shivering exhale. I’m worried about them and it’s making me very scatterbrained. I’ve been lurking outside the roja den for days and figured I’d take a walk, though now I can’t stop beating myself up for it.

it’s good to formally meet you too. val snuck in a careful glance as meerkat turned to look at something behind her. she was his age thereabouts, and he realized now he had seen her in connection with njord.

even though she assured him otherwise, val wondered if he’d set her at unease. the reality came out a second later, but left val fumbling. q and fish… he had no idea. um. i’m sorry, who? were they in danger? did she need his help?

If anything could distract her, it was the question, “Who?” Meerkat stared at him uncertainly for a beat before recovering herself. It was odd that he didn’t know about them, though Val seemed to exist on the fringes of the pack at best.

Swordfish, my son, and Quennell, Meerkat explained, mentally tacking on, your little brother. They went traveling together and evidently crossed paths with a bear. They turned up at the borders the other day in bad shape, though I’m hopeful they’ll both make a full recovery.

Well, Quennell’s tail certainly wouldn’t grow back and Fish would likely always bear scars. But there was no reason to think they couldn’t live full and happy lives, supposing they didn’t succumb to infection or other complications.

Her lips pulled into a frown. Should she invite Val back to visit the invalids? If he didn’t know them, these weren’t the greatest circumstances to make their acquaintance. Meerkat once more felt torn, fidgeting slightly where she stood and ignoring the knot in the pit of her stomach.

val felt panic hit him like a bolt as meerkat turned her full attention to him, her face unreadable. except, it wasn’t — he could tell he’d either said something wrong or disappointed her.

oh. OH. god he was stupid. oh my god. i’m an idiot. i guess i don’t know him well enough to know his nickname. or anyone here. really, there was only himself to blame.

but a bear..? his stomach dropped as he remembered the last time a bear had come galavanting into their fold. he’d lost more than he knew that day. a bear, here? was that why she was fidgeting? will they live? what can i do?

Val caught his mistake. Meerkat didn’t know what to say, really, so she only shot him a fleeting smile. It was meant to be reassuring, though there was a stiffness to her expression that betrayed a vague trace of enmity she couldn’t help.

It didn’t happen here, she was quick to clarify, though it was really cold comfort. And I sure hope so, she added a bit more quietly, a lump forming in her throat at hearing it put so frankly.

She took a moment to take a couple deep breaths and try to swallow it. They’d hung in there these past few days, so the chances were good they would make it, right? Meerkat’s jaw clenched.

They’re being looked after in the roja den, she repeated, feeling an abrupt and inexplicable flare of anger as she blurted, like I said.

She inhaled sharply. Where had that come from? She was under a lot of duress, though that wasn’t an excuse to be rude. Meerkat prided herself on her ability to remain calm and collected in the face of adversity and this wasn’t that. She wanted to apologize immediately but found her jaw wired shut.

val stiffened inwardly. meerkat may have smiled, but it was cold — and he knew he deserved it.

now he realized he was a bigger baboon than he’d thought: not only had he made a situation about himself that wasn’t about himself, but he’d completely blanked on a family member in front of someone, who by extension, was de facto worried about her own family.

he wished to curl into a little ball like a hermit crab - to recede to a shell and have the tide roll over him.

meerkat spoke again, a frosty glint to her eyes and tone. i’m sorry about your son. he grasped at anything that might soften the steel bite he’d heard in her voice moments before. he remembered just seconds ago she’d mentioned walking. do you want me to watch them while you walk? the lake looks nice from here..

She felt much worse when Val immediately caught on to her frosty tone and began apologizing and offering condolences. He might not have been as involved as a member of their pack ought to be, though Meerkat should not have judged. She wasn’t sure what had gotten into her.

He offered to look in on them while she enjoyed her walk, though that was an impossibility now. She felt itchy, like her whole body was aflame, a potent cocktail of anxiety and mortification. Meerkat hoped she could one day put this to rights, though she knew now was not the right time.

Sorry, she finally managed with a shake of her head. I need to get back, Val.

She finished her previously interrupted swivel and marched back toward the den overlooking the stream, the back of her neck prickling. Val ought to stop by and check on his brother, though Meerkat dearly hoped he would have the good sense not to follow her just now.

things got monumentally worse. val marinated in his own failure as meerkat moved off. she’d excused herself politely enough, and she had much bigger things on her mind than a manboychild who barely even knew his own family. what did he look like in meerkat’s eyes?

feeling infinitesimally small, val remained rooted at the spot. for once he did have the good sense to stay still, but he felt no matter which he did it would still be the wrong answer.

bye. call on me when you want that walk. by now meerkat may or may not be out of earshot, but at least he’d tried. feebly.

with his docket suddenly cleared, val supposed now was a good time to check out the lake. he’d worry about bears and awkward brother reunions later.