Sun Mote Copse hey vanity, this vial's empty

dated forrrrrr nov 4th? to account for travel time! @Phox and/or @Towhee <3

Had he ever been this far west?
For days now, Peregrine had flitted about, here and there. The places he once knew, once roamed in as a boy. Tiny chunks of his heart lay in the soil and between the shoots of bracken.
The caldera. The isle. He hadn't seen those lands yet; did not know if he wanted to. His father. His aunt. Were they still around? What would they do or say if they saw him again; saw him like this? What would he do if they, too, were gone?
But at some point, the conifers open up to a soft-bellied sanctuary, and in it he swears he smells them. Them, and others; them. Who were they with? Was it awful, terrible of him to feel — jealousy — begin to crank at his gut?
Another step, two, three; yes, they were near. The jealousy churns bitterly to fear, to shame. What if they saw him? What would they say, since the sands of time seem to have eroded what was left of his memory? Was he dreading this for no real reason? Would they shoo him away? Embrace him?
Would they recognize him at all?

A very long time ago, Meerkat’s life had been consumed with the search for “Neema” and her younger siblings. She’d found the children—well, most of them—eventually, only for them to drift right back out of her life. Truthfully, she didn’t often think of them nowadays, though they crossed her mind from time to time and she wondered where they were and how they were doing. Would she recognize them if she ever saw them again?

The answer to that question was a resounding “yes!” as she discovered today. After a few beats and more than a few blinks, Meerkat recognized the young wolf darkening her doorstep. It was strange to think he’d come from Phox and Niamh and not Towhee, since the resemblance was rather striking. She knew both of them would be thrilled to see him here, just like Meerkat herself.

Peregrine? she said softly as she approached, eyes warm. It’s good to see you. How are you? Guessing what brought him here, Meerkat added, If you’re looking for dad, he’s here. So’s Towhee.

Hope it’s cool to yeet her in here! I’ll bring in Towhee too. :)

Caracal was not the first child Phox had lost, and he was not even a child Phox was particularly close to, but it didn't make it feel any less like grief. He and Towhee both had been through so much, so when he spotted Meerkat talking to a particularly familiar face, Phox burst into a gallop to meet them. Wasn't there some saying about the Lord taketh, and the Lord giveth? The three-legged Redhawk didn't remember it, but he sure as hell was happy to see one of his youngest show up on the doorstep of the copse where one of his oldest was staking her claim.

Peregrine! he beamed, nearly tipping over as he skidded to a stop. Well, almost a stop, because he wasn't going to stop until he was practically mauling his wayward son with a big ol' bear hug. In all the darkness that shrouded Carcal's death, seeing Peregrine certainly brought a bright light into Phox's world.

A voice, a face; Peregrine's eyes lock into a squint before he shakily peeps, Meerkat?
He hadn't fully anticipated her being the one to greet him, nor her kindness toward him. She'd hardly known him, and yet she appeared to open her arms to him. He blinks before his lips curve upward in an awkward, somewhat bashful smile; a smile as if he had never smiled in his life until now. I'm, um, I'm okay, I--
Peregrine!
And then his head jerks.
In comes the hobbling raven figure of Phox; much more gray than he remembered, and now missing a — limb. Before he can even reasonably react, he's yanked forward by his neck and his cheek mashes into a salt-and-pepper sternum. For a time, his eyes flutter closed, and the familiar scent drifts into his nostrils. Hi, dad.

Just seconds after mentioning him, Phox swooped onto the scene and swept his prodigal son into a bear hug. Meerkat smiled as she took a step backward to give them room, chuckling at the endearing sight. Peregrine couldn’t know that he was quite the sight for sore eyes.

I’ll go get her, Meerkat offered, though not before slipping in there to nudge her younger brother’s cheek. Make yourself at home in the meantime, she added, thinking she might track down @Njord to tell him the good news just as soon as she fetched her mother.

Towhee sat at the memorial site again, pondering whether she should start adding some more tombstones for people like Wraen. Her mind strayed to her dream the other night, though before she could delve too far into it, Meerkat appeared with news of Peregrine.

While her daughter went to pass word along to her mate, Towhee made her way to the borders. She found Phox and his son standing close together. She hesitated to think of him as her son too, since she scarcely knew him, though she would be as happy as ever to sport the title of “Towma,” should he want to use it.

Hey there, she greeted, moving closer to the pair, heart warming as she got a closer look at the happy expression on her brother’s face.

Just a small cameo for me to let them meet!

Meerkat told Njord the good news that another relative, Phox’s son, had turned up at their borders. The Redhawk lineage was vast and, as Meerkat’s wife, Njord was eager to meet him.

He hung in the background as the family reunited and introduced himself when a moment permitted. Peregrine, named for a forefather, was a strapping young man, though he was travelworn and lanky.

Njord and Meerkat would welcome him to stay at the Copse and rest as long as he wished.