Sun Mote Copse bedtime stories

When her little sister flopped down in the grass, Meerkat unconsciously mimicked the mimicker and did the same, scooting so their flanks touched. She then rolled her weight onto her left elbow and slung her right foreleg around Alyx's shoulder, letting it rest loosely there as her gaze wandered back to their dad.

It was a bit of a frightening tale, even the editorialized version, though its impact was lessened by the fact that Meerkat's mental image of a cougar was all wrong. In her mind's eye, she pictured a wolf with yellow eyes and ridiculously long claws. It was more amusing than scary. Anyway, she wasn't the disobedient type, so Meerkat needn't worry. She snorted quietly at the tale.

Although she followed along well enough, there was a host of unfamiliar terms in Phox's story. "I wanna be a model sitty-sin!" she declared, foregoing ptero since her foreleg was still slung companionably over Alyx's shoulder blade. "What's a crown?" was the next question, followed by, "Can I meet Leo, even if I'm good?"