Moonspear I awoke only to find my lungs empty

The mist rose through the mountain starting at its base and leaving behind a carpet of water droplets which clung to stems, leaves and branches. It was much more cool than he'd expected it to get, and Bronco found himself wondering if perhaps the mountain would become unforgiveable once winter hit, bringing with it fierce gales and monstrous snowstorms. But until then, he would do his best to ignore the temperatures which slowly began to dip lower every night. 

Dawn broke with dreary calm, as the sunrise was still shielded from view by the curtain of clouds that draped across the sky. He'd roved down toward the base of the mountain to patrol and reinforce the markings which had been left by the last guardian to pass this way, sniffing out new scents and hoping to find something to eat for breakfast while he guarded his new home.

There was so much to do on any given day as the two of them continued integrating themselves into Moonspear. This led to Meerkat somehow losing track of her idea to pair up Bronco and Toad for several days. When she woke this morning, she abruptly remembered with a jolt and immediately left the empty den to find her brother. His scent trail led her downward through a cool, foggy morning. Well, at least the sun hadn't made an appearance yet, making them miss their opportunity entirely.

She paused to catch her breath on a ledge near the foot of the mountain and spotted Bronco roaming below, presumably patrolling the borders. "Ayyy, you!" Meerkat spontaneously called in an attempt to snare his attention.

#200 for big bruv! :D

Shaking some of the moisture out of the fur at his shoulders, Bronco swung his head around to see Meerkat coming toward him. He preferred thinking she would stay well within the pack's established boundaries, but so long as she was with him, he didn't mind having her be his border patrol companion. His tail waved from sire to side and he turned to close the distance between them upon final approach. "Ayyyyy you yerself," He said, growling lightly as he reached the preen some of the fur on the top of her head, making a few strands stand straigt up like an Alfalfa cowlick before he grinned at his work, and gestured. "Wanna help me do a patrol?" He asked, though he did simply assume she'd follow along with him unless she had a better idea.

Not long after shouting, she picked her way downhill toward him. Meerkat pulled a face when he nosed at her, though she actually loved it. She pushed her own nose into his cheek and then stepped back even as he invited her to come along on his patrol. Guardianship didn't really interest her much and patrols seemed pretty boring. But Bronco was great company, so she knew they'd have a good time together, no matter what they did.

-"Sure!"- she said, then suddenly grinned a bit like the Cheshire cat. -"But you gotta do something for me in exchange."- It might've been more fun to tease him a bit but Meerkat wasn't much of one for that, so she plunged right ahead and said, -"I asked Toad if she would go on a picnic with you and me once the sun comes out again. I think she's really good girlfriend material."-

It didn't help her appearance when she grinned like that, showing how oblivious she was to the fact that he'd left her with a little tuft of hair sticking straight up near the back of her head. It was adorable, though- and made her look still like a child. She was growing up so fast, and it was beginning to get hard to recall what she'd looked like when she'd been little more than a fuzzy spud, nuzzled at her mother's side. 

When she asked him for a quid pro quo sort of deal, he raised an eyebrow. Of course, he would do just about anything for his little sister- but he gave her a skeptical look just so that she might not know just how much she already had him completely wrapped around her finger. She mentioned another wolf and he chuckled at the mention of the wolf's name. -"Toad?"- He asked, and then inhaled through his teeth, revealed in a light grimace, when she revealed that she'd deemed this "Toad" to be girlfriend material. "Woah woah woah, hold up there a minute," He said, sitting down to face his sister and pry the truth out of her. -"Tell me you didn't go off advertising that I needed a girlfriend, Meerkat, reeeally?"- He said, with a hollow, dry laugh. How much more pathetic could he have seemed, then, if his little sister was trying desperately to find him a girl. -"An' secondly- couldn't you have found me like...A Swan, a...Fawn, A...I dunno, Lark or something- anything but like...Toad."- He laughed. It had to be a joke. Who named their kid Toad anyway?

She was now old and wise enough in the ways of the world to understand he might've preferred a little more discretion, so his good-natured if incredulous reaction wasn't entirely unexpected. Meerkat's response:



But it was pretty obvious she wasn't really that sorry, nor did her brother seem genuinely agitated. Pretty soon she was grinning again and batting playfully at his shoulder. She supposed Toad's name didn't invite a particularly pretty mental image but that just meant that when he saw her, he would be pleasantly surprised by her beauty.

-"What's wrong with advertising it? You do want a girlfriend, don't you?"- Meerkat asked guilelessly.

He sighed and tilted his head to the side, avoiding getting a smack to his jaw should Meerkat's aim be off, and shrugged in response to her question. The easy answer was that having a kid go out and advertise for him, and beyond that- actually going so far as to ask someone out on a date with him might've made him seem a bit desperate. He figured he'd have some explaining to do, if and when he met this Toad, and it made him regret not being a bit more obviously sarcastic when he'd sent Meerkat off on the hunt anyway. 

But his sister looked so happy- and she clearly wanted the best for him, so he couldn't exactly rain on her parade or punish her for having the best intentions. He'd have to fix things one way or another, but....It was awfully sweet that his kid sister had tried to help him with his love life. So he sighed again, and simply accepted whatever it was that was waiting for him behind door number one. 

-"Alright,"- He sighed, nodding his head a bit. She was right- he did want a girlfriend. This wasn't exactly how he'd expected it to happen but...Beggars couldn't be choosers. Not that he felt he was a beggar, but clearly, he'd needed some help. -"So what's she like?"- He asked.

Bronco seemed to be warming up to the idea of getting together with Toad. He asked about her and Meerkat opened her mouth to sing the woman's praises. She didn't know her super well but she knew enough, all of it wonderful. But then a thought crossed her mind and she clapped her mouth shut before reopening it a moment later.

Eyes dancing as they resumed their plod along the mountain's base, Meerkat replied, -"She's hideous and warty and likes to eat flies."- She complemented this joke with a cackle, then shook her head. No, she really wasn't much of one for teasing. -"She's great, Bronco, you're gonna love her. I hope."- Meerkat's smile could only be called cheesy.

Ew. Bronco's face scrunched up in disgust as Toad was described, though he did- a moment or two later, mind you- cotton on to the fact that Meerkat was describing an actual Toad, not the Toad she'd met. He stuck his tongue out at her as they moved along, and did his best to recoved from having been momentarily duped. -"Sounds right up my alley. Is she slimy at all? I really like.....Ewww, nope-nope-nope."- He said, stopping himself before he crossed THAT LINE and said that he liked slimy chicks. He shuddered. 

-"We'll see. But if she passed your judgement, she can't be all that bad."- After all, Meerkat was a great kid, and very likeable. So she'd probably done him a favour in charming Toad a bit herself before he'd even have to step in and represent himself. -"Soooo what did you tell her about me?"- He asked, next.

-"I told her the truth,"- Meerkat rejoined breezily, shooting him a fond sideways glance. -"I told him you're a hunk with a heart."- She laughed at her own alliterative skills. -"Said you like to hunt and guard, that you're protective and love to play games. She likes hunting too, so that's the plan. She also likes to tell stories, so I'm hoping we'll catch something and she can tell us one over lunch."- Romantic front-loading aside, she wondered what Bronco thought about her genius plan.

But before he could reply, the skies suddenly opened up again, a few cold droplets rapidly picking up into a proper shower. Meerkat was not particularly surprised but she jerked to a sudden stop, thrusting out a foreleg to tap Bronco's shoulder and get his attention too.

-"Hey, did you hear that?"-

The truth? He gave her a brief, alarmed stare, wondering what truth she could have told Toad. That he'd once nearly barfed on her because her mother had mentioned sex? That was a truth he hoped Meerkat would take with her to the grave, but was otherwise perfect ammunition should she ever choose to knock him down a few pegs. Instead, though, it seemed she represented him kindly, and he laughed. He was about to ask if she'd mentioned Broncosaurus when-

Meerkat froze, and he did as well. He felt the pattering of rain fall on his back with such sudden intensity that he wondered if they'd walked into a cloudburst, but she said she'd heard something. Another pattering of rain fell on his back, and Bronco slowly, carefully, lifted his head to gaze up, half fearing what he might see above them in the trees, shaking the water droplets down upon them.

He raised his head and Meerkat tilted hers, trying to better position her good ear to pick up on the distant sound. Instead, she got an earful of cold water. She gave a little yelp of surprise and shook her head rapidly to get rid of that uncomfortable sensation. She then abruptly froze again.

It was really difficult to hear, what with the rain and only a single waterlogged ear, yet Meerkat was almost certain... -"I think it's my mom! She—"- But she fell silent, focusing, trying to pick up on the message howled from some unknown distance.

Surely he could hear it too, though Meerkat couldn't resist signing, -She says they had to leave the copse and go to Golden Glade 'cause of all the rain. 'Stay put and don't try to visit,'- she quoted the last bit verbatim, dark brown eyes gone wide.

A giddy part of Bronco was prepared to see something big and ominous perched in the trees above them, ready to drop down on them like something out of a horror movie- but there was nothing, only an opening in the trees that let the water fall through. He blinked when a couple droplets splashed on his muzzle but when he shook his head, he finally caught a snippet of Towhee's voice. He nodded silently as Meerkat tuned in to listen as well, noting the way she tilted her head. The motion was something he'd assumed was a quirk, a little physical tic that she'd developed as a habit, the same way he'd developed a habit of shrugging a lot. But a thought that had struck him earlier pinged a memory in his mind...But now wasn't necessarily the time to address that theory. 

-"The Glade,"- He repeated softly. -"Wow. It must be even more flooded down there than it was when we visited,"- He observed. The whole pack, moving to the Glade? That'd take a day and a half, at least, he figured. He was concerned, though, that the news might come as being unsettling to his little sister, who might feel uncomfortable knowing her mother was moving further away. -"Hey, they'll be alright, y'know?"- He said, softly.

There was fear in her wide-eyed stare, so he nudged her cheek gently, before he reached to pull her against his chest with his chin for a gentle hug. He pulled her close, and had to resort to simply speaking, being unable to fumble with ptero while holding his sister tight. "They're just doing what's safest, so we know they'll be OK. I mean, she even took the time to make sure we know, so it can't be that much of an emergency." He said. It made sense to him, at least. "Here," He said, pulling back so that he could howl without having Meerkat's ear up against his chest. In response, he informed Towhee (or whoever might be capable of being her ears) that they would stay put, and stay safe- and wished them a safe journey. Speaking for both of them, he tacked on a loud, poignant We love you so that the message might be conveyed to all their family members.

Apprehension wasn't a look Meerkat wore often and it felt all sorts of strange on her face. The rapid knocking of her heart wasn't entirely unfamiliar, though it beat with concern rather than joy. All of it made her feel quite out of sorts, so Meerkat was glad when her older brother took over and howled acknowledgement and a response. She just hoped he was right that it was more of a cautionary move than an emergent one. But what about the copse?

She found herself scooting closer, hugging loosely against her brother, as she collected herself enough to add a softly but empathically howled, "Love you!!! Stay safe!!!" If another round of replies came, Meerkat didn't hear, as the rush of rain picked up even more, overtaking all the pup's senses.

Meerkat continued clinging to him, which put her mouth close to his ear. "Are you going to keep patrolling in this?" she wondered.

The rain beat down in response, causing Bronco's optimistic features to darken a bit. He worried for his younger siblings, who would have to make the journey to the Glade in this kind of weather. That meant travelling through a bog, which he couldn't imagine would be much fun...And poor Alyx would absolutely hate it. And she'd probably also hate how much Quetzal loved it...But he couldn't dwell on those things, not in front of Meerkat who was looking to him for reassurance. He found himself giggling, and pulled his head back when she whispered hear his ear. 

"That tickles, whiskerface," He said, though he stayed close enough to her to keep her warm. He figured he ought to continue patrolling- he hadn't covered much ground after being joined by his little sister, and with Osiris and Desdemona still away, they were short two guardians. He got the feeling that while Meerkat hadn't exactly said the words verbatim, she might've been secretly hinting that she wanted to go back to their den, and that she wanted him to go with her. "Yeah, let's get out of this. We can grab a snack on the way back to the den," He said, before he drew away from the borders, ready to make the journey up the slope. They'd both need some time to think, and worry a bit, about their family without having to do so in the downpour.

He accused her of tickling him and Meerkat smiled. She still felt a little rattled by the news but Bronco's presence went a long way to soothe her. He said they could head back to the den, pick up a snack en route, and it comforted her greatly. She nodded her head, rainwater dripping from her chin, and remained close as the two of them skulked up the mountain toward shelter.