Ghost Lion Crag wxpuelynazjckiv

She wanted nothing more than to bound ahead and dive into all the wilderness had to offer her, yet Towhee insisted Meerkat stay between herself and @Figment as they approached the stream that marked the edge of the territory. The Regent waded in first, followed by the exuberant youngster, with the yearling bringing up the rear. They made it safely to the other bank and began to climb, still in formation.

It was a brief trip, the three of them only hitting even with the copse's nearby treeline before Towhee signaled for Meerkat to stop. The youngster obediently dropped into a sit and gazed up at her mother, though she spared her older brother a fleeting grin. But it turned out Towhee didn't want her attention; she redirected the pup's gaze outward and explained how they were looking down on their home.

"Oooooh," came Meerkat's appropriately fascinated reaction. She happily sat and stared for a little bit, though eventually her short attention span drew her gaze back toward her two escorts. She wondered if they would keep going or if this was their destination for the day.

She opened her mouth to ask only for Towhee to say suddenly, -"Okay, kiddo, I need you to do me a favor."- Meerkat's mouth clapped shut and she bobbed her head so eagerly, her ears flipped and flopped. -"I need you to howl for Hydra, Alpha of Moonspear. Think you can do that for me?"-

Meerkat didn't need to be asked twice! Sucking in a huge breath, she unleashed an absolutely wild cry on all the surrounding wilderness, politely requesting the audience of @Hydra. When her breath failed her, Meerkat cocked her good ear to listen to her echo bouncing off the nearby rocks. Now that was a cool effect!

-"Who's Hydra?"- she thought to ask even as Meerkat sprang onto all fours and began spinning in circles, looking everywhere for any sign of this mythical figure.

cameo post from afar!

 

Miles and miles away, Hydra heard a call for her. The voice belonged to no one she recognized, though she was not inclined to ignore whoever it was. With all going on, perhaps there was news of the enemy and someone new sought an audience with her to give her information. Or perhaps this was the enemy seeking to draw her from home, to somewhere they thought they might find an advantage. She looked to her young, and their age and the events of the week prior disallowed her from even desiring to meet the stranger halfway in the Wilds. 

So she answered, her low, strong voice undulating and carrying over the distance that spanned between them. I am unable to travel at present, the call answered, though I am here and I invite you. Four little voices joined hers, their voices far less powerful though the sound filled her with great joy. Expecting company now, though, Hydra would be less prickly with whoever it was that sought an audience. Beckoning @Alya to watch the cubs for a spell when the visitors came, in the meantime the matriarch rallied with her children to exhaust them.

Before Towhee or Figment could reply to her question, a distant voice answered her call. The pup froze, mouth ajar, head tilting from side to side as she tried to pinpoint the source of the howl. Her eyes went wide when a chorus of higher-pitched voices joined the first, immediately reminding Meerkat of her younger siblings. So rapidly her neck creaked, she whipped her head to look over at her mother and brother, momentarily forgetting that Towhee wouldn't have heard any of that.

Fortunately, Fig had the presence of mind to inform Towhee of the response before tilting his head inquisitively. He was still conveying Hydra's message when Meerkat bounded over to them, quivering with excitement as she shouted, -"ARE WE GONNA GO SEE THEM?!"- She realized she was shouting but couldn't quite contain herself. She did clap her mouth shut and drop forward into a play bow before twirling around to chase her own tail to channel some of that ecstatic energy.

-"Meerkat,"- Towhee said and signed firmly, reaching out to still the pup's frantic motions. She smiled patiently, waiting for her daughter to look at her before instructing, -"Howl back and ask here where she'd like us to meet her."-

Beaming, Meerkat nodded so emphatically it felt like it rattled her brain a little. She then squeezed her eyes closed and did as her mother bade her, querying Hydra about a rendezvous point.

Hydra listened as she moved, and when an answer came the matriarch lifted her head and beckoned them to the nearby Glen, close enough to Moonspear where Hydra could return should she be needed. Milkmother that she was, already she fret... but she knew that @Alya had begun to produce milk herself, which gave her enough comfort to steal away for a short while. Her cubs joined the call, too, though their voices dwindled as Hydra continued to sing her invitation. 

She was not certain who had called, but would find out soon enough. Moonspear had heard the calls themselves to know where she would be should something go awry, too, and though Hydra did not suspect foul play she was ever prepared for anything.

Cameo

Distant song, and mother's song. It intrigued her, and she snuck toward the entrance of the den to peek out with blue eye, but saw none of the singers of afar. Disappointed, but still feeling the instinct, Mira's song burst out- uneloquent, but passionate, despite having no meaning. She howled until her throat was sore, wanting her voice to reach to the distant strangers- before her song dwindled, and she collapsed back to the den floor with boredom.

She was no expert, though it sounded to Meerkat like the subsequent howl was quieter than the first. Had she been older, she might have connected the dots and realized that Hydra was actually moving further away. But she was too young to make much more than an observation before once more jerking her head toward her mother.

-"SHE SAYS WE GOTTA GO TO THE GLEN!"- Meerkat hollered excitedly before abruptly darting in a randomly chosen direction. She zoomed about a hundred yards before braking to a halt and glancing back at the two darker wolves, who hadn't so much as budged.

Snorting like a wild filly, Meerkat raced back toward them. She could see them signing, a look of consternation pulling Towhee's features into a frown. She shook her head at Fig before turning her attention to the youngster, now bouncing from foot to foot with impatience.

-"The glen is too far,"- the Regent explained to the pup. -"I'm sorry, Meerkat, but we can't go there today. You'll have to tell Hydra we'll meet her another day."- She looked apologetic as she conveyed this to her daughter.

Meerkat fell still and blinked, lips pursing into an uncharacteristic frown. -"Pretty please?!"- she cajoled, remembering to keep her tone quieter, for Fig's sake, at least.

But Towhee only shook her head and stood her ground. -"Tell Hydra what I said. And introduce yourself while you're at it. We should've started with that. Tell her you're Towhee's kiddo and then tell her a fun fact about yourself."- She smiled and reached out to pat the child on the head.

Meerkat heaved a sigh, then nodded her resigned understanding before ducking out from beneath her mom's paw. She squeezed her eyes shut and bayed, "Mama says it's too far and we'll have to meet you some other day! Hi, my name is Meerkat, and I wanna be a scoot!" She totally forgot to mention she was Towhee's crotch fruit.

Her eyes flicked sharply to Fig when he didn't quite manage to stifle a snort. Towhee glanced over at him, then back at her daughter curiously, wondering what she'd said to elicit that reaction from the yearling. But he didn't translate and Meerkat didn't repeat the howled message, just grinned and batted at her elder brother while they waited for the next reply.

They both stilled when one of those smaller voices rose again, bringing an even bigger smile to Meerkat's face.

So, it was wolf traveling with their mother. Meerkat; it was not a name she recognized; she wanted to be a... scoot. Hydra had not heard of that either, though as her mind worked through the possibilities of what that meant she deduced scout quickly enough. Her ear twitched, and Hydra asked promptly in an answering call, that is alright—who is your mother? having not heard that much. Hydra presumed that for the girl to know her, she must know who the womans mother was; Hydra knew of Towhee's children, and Meerkat had not been a name she had been told all that time ago.

When Hydra howled in answer, Meerkat didn't look to her elder counterparts this time before grinning to herself and calling back, "My mama is Towhee! And my dad is Phox!" Oblivious to how that might sound, she finally glanced over to catch Figment's eye. He looked amused and gave her the wolfish equivalent of a thumbs up. "Mama and Fig are here too!" the pup thought to add after sucking in a fresh lungful of air.

Fortunately for Towhee, Fig translated while Meerkat busied herself with cocking her head for the best reception. She caught herself hoping to hear those smaller voices again. They didn't say much of substance, yet they were nonetheless pleasing. Although still quite young herself, she already adored babies, particularly her smaller couslings.

Hydra listened as the cub introduced herself, and her heart skipped a beat; a child of Towhee! Hydra thought nothing of the paternity—Phox was father to the litter from the year prior... perhaps the death of another mate? Too sensitive a subject to broach with the girl, she determined. In any case, the Ostrega did not think too much about it; Hydra peered back into the den and drawled to her cubs, I am speaking with your cousin... who is with another cousin of yours, it seems. Figment, her tail waved. Even if they did not understand, she would speak with them as though they did; some day, after all, they would. 

So, she turned back and sang in turn: hello, niece; hello, nephew; and tell your mother hello, too, she answered, when would be a better time for you all to visit?, she wondered; there was much to share, plenty that could not be sang in this song.

-"Hydra says 'hi!'"- Meerkat reported, giggling at the alliteration. After conveying this tidbit to Towhee, she faced the distant source of her aunt's howls, waiting for more.

Luckily, Figment shared the part about a later meetup. Towhee shot him a grateful look and pondered before tapping Meerkat's bottom to get the girl's attention again.

-"Tell her we'd like to meet here at Ghost Lion Crag in another month, if that works for her,"- the Regent instructed.

Nodding eagerly, Meerkat raised her tawny muzzle once more to pass the message along to Hydra. She also added her own footnote: "Can the babies come too?!"

Hydra listened, tail waving. Under normal circumstances, she would... but her cubs were still too young for the Ostrega to think long about traveling to the Crag quite yet. The matriarch certainly could not take her young that far out yet, either, given their own ages. They will still be too young, Hydra answers; even taking them to the Glen did not feel right, though Hydra also understood that perhaps this was because they were, at this point, not old enough for the rendezvous site either. 

She knew @Dirge would be overjoyed for a day spent with them, and @Osiris too. @Vega had expressed some interest in becoming a scout, and though a long trip was presently out of the question perhaps she might wish to join her. At the same token, the mother wanted as many teeth here as possible. Hers included. Any trip she took would need to be brief, though she knew the Crag was not so far from Moonspear that she could not swiftly return if she was needed. 

Still. Her gaze cast upon her young. She thought of what might come, and remembered the missing cubs of the Nightwalkers. A child from a neighboring pack has gone missing; I must stay as close as possible, until my children are a little older. Would you be willing to come to the Glen, this time around? She inquired, though would understand if Towhee could not; surely, there were more cubs than just Meerkat that had been brought into the world for the Copse and Hydra could not begrudge Towhee the desire to be as close as possible to home, too. 

talking about connie!

"Drang it," Meerkat muttered under her breath when the distant Hydra informed her that the puppies she heard would still be too little even a month from now. She didn't really feel anger, just disappointment, but she playfully balled her fist and smacked it on the ground. Her body then stilled as she listened to the remainder of the message.

Turning toward Towhee, she saw that her older brother was already filling her in on Hydra's request. Their faces both looked drawn as they exchanged the news about the missing youth. -"I wonder what pack?"- Meerkat saw her mother sign, although it seemed a rhetorical question. In any case, Fig didn't have an answer.

Catching the pup's eye, the Regent said, -"Ask her if the terrace would work instead. If not..."- She trailed off for several beats before seeming to arrive at a decision. -"We can meet her at the glen."- By then, Meerkat would be almost indistinguishable from an adult in size and certainly physically capable of the trek.

There would be plenty more logistics to sort out by then, like the fact that Towhee wanted one or maybe two additional escorts. Perhaps she wouldn't feel that way when the time came. For now, she flicked her snout, encouraging the girl to howl this latest message. Meerkat quickly obliged, the conversation thus coming to a close.

There was no reason to linger, save for the youth's curiosity. Towhee indulged her a little by hanging out a little longer before she and Fig ushered her back to the safety of the copse, an added spring in Meerkat's step the whole journey home.