Moonspear Madness fills my heart and soul

As they walked away from the meeting, Bronco found himself wondering if he could potentially differentiate between what he'd like to do, and what he felt was best for @Meerkat, though he also knew that in the days coming, Fennec might also come to join them, even if only temporarily- and what then? He also had to consider Meerkat's recent homesickness, and how that played into things- but as always, he was open for he conversation. They padded away from the glen where the meeting had been, and it wasn't long before they were out of earshot of the others, so he reached over to nuzzle Meerkat's ear. 

-"Well, what're your thoughts on the whole thing?"- He asked. Osiris and several others would be laying claim to the glen, and the borders between Moonspear and the Glen would be shared; it was the creation of a sister pack, similar to how the Firebirds and Redhawks had split off, though it seemed that Osiris was much more inclined to stay partnered along the borders with his birthpack. He, personally, was glad- he might have mourned the absence of some of his newest friends had Osiris chosen to go further away and establish a pack elsewhere.

She was practically vibrating as Meerkat followed her brother to a more private area to discuss what they'd been invited to do. It was so cool to be included in this venture, not to mention an incredible honor. It would be great experience for her ambassadorship pursuits too. Although she didn't know Osiris very well, she saw no reason not to accept his leadership, especially if Hydra vouched for him. And though she felt guilty about it, she found the idea of moving off the mountain almost a relief. She had come to realize, particularly lately, that she was much fonder of flatter, forested terrains.

"I think it's too good an opportunity to pass up," she replied to her brother's question, "but I don't wanna go anywhere or do anything without you. So what do you think?" Meerkat pressed, eyes big.

The vibe he got from Meerkat was an optimistic one; she seemed to like the idea of two packs occupying almost the same space, with a free border between them, though two distinct (albeit somewhat inter-linked) heirarchies. It would be as though the mother tree had simply grown a sapling, which emerged from the earth quite near its base. And with their shoulders to one another, it meant one less border for the two packs to have to patrol- as it would be impossible for a trespasser to occupy that area unless they had somehow managed to bypass yet another border without notice. 

"Kind of cool, eh?" He asked. His heartbeat picked up a bit- and he realized then that he felt excited about the notion of potentially becoming a part of a fledgeling pack. He found himself in good company on Moonspear- and he felt comfortable existing amongst the older generation of Hydra, Jarilo, Kukutux and Dirge- but also felt comfortable amongst those who were age- such as Osiris, Atlas and Antares. She mentioned the fact that she didn't want to go anywhere without him- which warmed his heart- but her wording, then, made him feel like perhaps she was leaning toward joining the Glen. Perhaps it was just her wording choice- and that she'd chosen to say that she didn't want to leave without him, rather than not wanting to hold him back, which might've led him to believe that she preferred life on the mountain. He smiled a bit. "Y'know, I think...I really like the fact that if we did follow Osiris to the Glen, it's not like we'd be leaving Moonspear, really, right? So I'm happy to do what you wanna do, and I definitely want us to be together," He said, nudging his shoulder against hers as they walked. "But- I...Kinda have to admit, I sorta like the idea of us becoming the foundation of something that's...New," He said, with a shrug.

He answered as they plodded in the direction of the mountain's base, agreeing with her that it was cool and pointing out that they wouldn't really be leaving Moonspear. Meerkat's heart leaped joyfully when he admitted it would be really neat to be involved in the building of a brand new pack. Suddenly, she was even more excited than before, if that was even possible.

It kind of reminded her of the day when Towhee had forbade her from going to Moonspear, only for Bronco to step up and offer to go with her. His presence had been pivotal and the two of them really hadn't wasted any time uprooting and going to Moonspear. She remembered being heady with excitement upon arriving at very nearly the same spot they approached now.

She was older now, a little more levelheaded, and her recent spate of homesickness suddenly gave her pause. "Should we think on it a bit, though? Maybe sleep on it?" That made her think of their sparkly den and her heart gave a little pang. She would miss it. She supposed they could always visit but it wouldn't be the same. They would surely find a new den in the glen, which was an exciting thought, but Meerkat knew she needed to think things through rather than let pure excitement and novelty carry her.

He nuzzled the top of her head, when she suggested that they take some time, to think and sleep on the idea. "You must get them smarts from Towma's side of the family," He chuckled, intending that comment to refer to Phox as well, of course. He was glad that Meerkat had grown up to be intelligent and rational, lacking the short fuse and egotistical attitudes that he felt simply flowed from his own mother. He hoped that her decision simply came from her growing wisdom, and not because she didn't want to talk about it, or because she was having second thoughts...But she didn't seem to be hiding anything from him, as far as he could tell. 

Unlike his little sister, Bronco would have been content to make a decision right away- but he felt it best to respect her wishes. Privately, he hoped that a night of rest and dreams might not sway her to be less keen on the idea of moving, but those sorts of things were out of his control, and he wouldn't want to be pushy with her, either. He wanted to babble on about little things he was excited about- like not having to shove his way through chest-deep snow while going uphill, and worrying about ice that could make him fall downhill, and how it might be easier to hunt on flat ground- but he decided not to. He didn't want to influence her decision- well, he did, but he didn't want it to seem that way. 

"Looking forward to Towma's visit?" He asked, then, deciding that it'd be easiest for him to avoid babbling about an exciting potential change, and topic jump to something that also made him excited. He knew, of course, that Towhee wouldn't necessarily be coming alone- and that thought on its own made him feel almost jittery.

She had almost forgotten that Towhee had floated the idea of coming to visit this upcoming new moon. Meerkat glanced skyward as if to check on the moon, catching and chuckling at herself. There was no sign of it, which had a lot less to do with its current phase than the fact that it was the middle of the day.

"Yeah! I can't wait to tell her about this," Meerkat gushed. "And I'm kinda glad we're not going there this time around. I feel like it would make my homesickness worse." Seeing her mother (and possibly other members of the family too) would still affect her, though not as much as a brief foray to Sun Mote Copse.

"And while I'm making confessions," she said after a breath and a pause, "I'm going to miss our den, if we do decide to go. And the other places around Moonspear too. But I won't miss all the climbing. And it'd be nice to live somewhere with lots of trees again, especially this time of year."

She made a good point, when she mentioned the fact that her homesickness might have made visiting the copse more difficult. It seemed that she still missed the place- but was willing to try and get through her homesickness, rather than giving in to it and frequenting their previous homelands in an effort to make that feeling subside. So he nodded. "I think they'll be excited to hear about it," Though he only realized after he'd spoken, that his choice of pronoun had potentially leaked a bit of his secret out- that Towhee might not be the only one coming. He held his breath for a moment, wondering if Meerkat had caught his slip. 

She mentioned their den- which had been a rare find indeed. It had been such a fun day, trying out different places, and finding the verdant ravine in which they'd chosen to live, in a dark and mossy cave glittering with mica. He realized, then, that if they did move, that he would probably, eventually lose the mica dust in his fur, and that he might not be able to make jokes about sparkling anymore. He could always go back to visit- and roll in the mica dust just for the sake of re-upping his sparkliness- but he knew he'd feel a bit silly if anyone ever found out that he was willing to make regular trips up a mountain just for the sake of making himself look sparkly again. 

Then again, he didn't mind it so much. He liked the fact that he shimmered. So why would he feel strange about intentionally making himself look so good? 

"We can definitely visit and have sleepovers." He said- and added "If we go, that is," Just so that she didn't feel like he was committed to moving. They'd agreed to sleep on it; but it was still fun to talk about the hypothetical side of things. "And yeah- I mean, the elevation was good for training and such but like...I dunno. After havin' been on a mountain during a month of rain...I imagine being there for several months of snow might be even more tough," He said. "I like to keep a little bit of my softness- all the better for cuddling with," He said, unceremoniously grabbing a hold of his sister with his forelegs and pulling her close so that he could squish her against his chest.

Bronco shared some of her gripes about mountaineering, which made her grin even before he suddenly tugged her into a snug hug. She laughed and went willingly, pressing against his familiar warmth. She felt her heart thumping giddily. She still intended to take some time to think on it before making any formal decisions, yet Meerkat would be lying if she didn't feel her sense of adventure kicking into overdrive, especially knowing Bronco would be right there beside her the whole way.

That made her suddenly think of something and she let out a little, "Oh!" Wriggling playfully out of her brother's grip, she admitted, "I totally forgot to ask Aunt Hydra about visiting Yuèlóng." To be fair, the meeting had been quite the distraction. "I guess it'll have to wait though. If we do decide to go to the glen, then I'm sure we'll be needed there. And I guess I'd ask Osiris then, not Aunt Hydra?" She supposed she could still consult the mountain queen, given the nature of the relationship between the packs. Either way, it would have to wait, for now.

"Do you know the others well? The others Osiris invited," Meerkat wondered. That made her think of Atlas—she knew Bronco knew him, of course—which made her neck tingle. Would Atlas be pledging to Firefly Glen? And that thought bred another: "What about Toad?" She was pretty sure Bronco wasn't involved with her the way she'd once hoped, yet she still wanted to check in about it.

He released his sister, though he would nip playfully as she pulled away, chomping his mouth together with a dull clunk in the air near her cheek. She mentioned the visit she'd proposed earlier, to visit her friend on the coast- and he paused thoughtfully. They would likely need a bit of extra help in establishing the borders, and he might be counted on for that, at least in the formation stages of the pack. "Hmm. Yeah, we might want to be a round for a bit, just while things get settled, but-" He said, and trailed off. "I guess, yeah, it'd be either Osiris or Hydra- or both. If Osiris doesn't know where this island is, Hydra might," He said. He felt fairly sure that some matters would be in Osiris' hands, with regards to internal affairs in the Glen- and that Osiris would be the one to go to, below Hydra, rather than bypassing him and going straight to the dragonmother who ruled the mountain. 

He nodded in response to her question about the others that Osiris had invited. "Pretty well, yeah. I don't know Vega super well, or the one Osiris brought home with him from his scouting mission, but they're all pretty cool, as far as I can tell," He said deftly. When she mentioned Toad, he paused. He felt guilty- but he hadn't necessarily considered her as one of the likely choices, as the majority of the ones Osiris had chosen to move with him had been yearlings. "I dunno," He said, thoughtfully. "I mean, yeah, that surprises me a bit. An' Desdemona- but I think Des is pretty dedicated to the mountain," He said, of the spidery guardian. "Can't take everyone, I suppose, but at least...It's not like we'd really be splitting up, too much," He commented.

For a split second, Bronco's answer didn't make sense to her. A smile crept over her face when she realized he'd misunderstood her question. She didn't interrupt him, letting him finish with a mention of Desdemona. Meerkat hardly knew the first thing her, aside from the fact that she was one of Moonspear's most steadfast guardians. Of course she would be staying.

"No, I mean, do you want to leave her behind? I wasn't sure if you were still considering her as a possible girlfriend," Meerkat said with a cheeky look. She knew she'd be a little torn if she and Atlas ended up in separate packs, despite the proximity, which made her wonder if she should tell Bronco about her feelings for him. They could talk to one another about anything, she knew, but she'd only very recently realized her crush and didn't know if it was really worth mentioning yet.

Aaand there it was- the reason Meerkat had really brought up Toad. It wasn't that Meerkat was trying to bring her own, familiar friends with her to the Glen, it was that she had played matchmaker, and had chosen Toad as a potential match for him. He smiled shyly; his sister had great taste, and Toad was a total winner- but...Feelings couldn't be forced, simply for the sake of pleasing the matchmaker. Lately, too, his thoughts had strayed in a different direction- and had been lingering much longer on someone else. As such, he hadn't considered Toad in that light. 

"Uhm," He said, though that hesitation was likely enough to indicate that his answer wasn't knee-jerk. "Toad is really cool- and sure, I'd be happy to have her live in the Glen, or wherever we end up, for sure, but...Not, uhm...Not necessarily, really, for the reason of like...Feelings?" He said. He touched his nose to Meerkat's cheek. "I hope you're not too disappointed, because you did totally pick out someone who is super cool, and fun, and like...That was quite the adventure we had!" He exclaimed with a soft laugh. "But feelings...I dunno. I don't think I have boyfriend-girlfriend feelings for her." He admitted.

While she did feel a little disappointment, it was mostly on Toad's behalf rather than her own. She was also a bit sad that she hadn't found a suitable match for her brother. She genuinely wanted Bronco to find the happy, fulfilling relationship he sought. But Meerkat just gave him a winsome smile and pawed at his shoulder to let him know she didn't fault him for it. It helped that she thought she knew what he meant, based on her own feelings about Atlas.

"She doesn't make your toes tingle, huh?" she bantered playfully at him, thinking of her own reactions to Atlas's presence. "I guess I'll just have to try again! That is, if you still want my help?"

He chuckled. Oblivious, though, to the fact that Meerkat knew the feeling because she had perhaps felt it herself (as it hadn't even occurred to him yet that she might have had eyes for someone), he found her description charming and accurate. "Yeah, that's kind of what it's like," He agreed, thankful that she'd come up with a description of the sensation that was civil, and mindful of his....Sensitivies. He balked though, feeling his cheeks grow warm when Meerkat offered to keep helping. 

Part of him wanted to tell her to go right ahead- but some part of him felt that it might not be the right thing to do. Not because she was his kid sister, and that he shouldn't be using her to scope out potential matches, but because...He felt guilty, thinking about even trying to find someone else. It felt wrong to be looking elsehwere when- and it hadn't really hit him before- he already had eyes for someone. Part of him wanted to tell Meerkat that it was fine to keep looking simply so that he didn't have to explain himself to her, and because he wasn't sure he could discourage her from doing so without giving something away. His mind raced, and choking on a breath, he looked around almost frantically and lamely, in a voice that was high-pitched and somewhat broken, he blurted "Oh, hey, look, uh, flowers!" As they approached a small patch of daisies that were in rough shape, having lost most of their petals from the cold that had seeped into the nights.

The non sequitur and higher pitch immediately prompted an affectionate eyebrow raise from Meerkat. She barely afforded the daisies in question a glance, instead staring at him for a beat before reaching out and batting at him. Her lips twitched into a fond smile. He was so ridiculous sometimes.

"If you don't, that's fine," she assured him. Then a wily look overcame her face. "Maybe I'm too busy looking for my own romance anyway," Meerkat playfully teased.

He looked at her, searching her features for any sign that she might have resented him for not openly encouraging her to keep looking for matches...But he didn't find any. Instead, she almost looked as though she had a devious plan in mind, which made him tilt his head to the side. What was that look for? He was confused for a moment- still relieved that she hadn't pressed him on his own relationship matters- but he chuckled, tossing his head back and reeling toward her almost with a drunken swagger in his step to bump his shoulder against hers. "Yeah, yeah, right," He said playfully. Nah, Meerkat wasn't looking for someone. Meerkat was his kid sister. His kid sister. Plus, he figured she was clearly just joking. 

"Any way, I think maybe I should get the job of finding you a good someone," He said. "S'only fair, right? So what kind of things would you wanna see in a guy?" He asked, goading her on.

First came a note of joking disbelief, after which he insisted he should be in charge of finding her a match. Meerkat grinned deviously throughout this, tail slowly swinging. If she hadn't already had her eye on someone, she fully trusted Bronco could've found her a wonderful suitor.

But she did have someone in mind, of course. Her eyes sparkling, Meerkat answered, "I think I'd like him to be big and strong on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside." Those were rather clichéd features any she-wolf might use to describe an ideal partner, so she continued a bit more specifically, "And, y'know, maybe with black fur, yellow eyes and a name starting with 'A'..." Had Bronco cottoned on yet?

Big, strong, bit soft and gooey on the inside? He was pleased- because she seemed to be in the market for someone who sounded like an actually decent guy. That was how Bronco was, or how he saw himself- so he was glad that she was at least content to avoid the brainless, tough-but-hot guys, or the ones with poor attitudes and a chip off their shoulder. He recalled the jealousy he'd felt when Fennec had chosen to go off with Penn, who Bronco believed was an asshole. At least, he thought, his sister might avoid making that mistake. 

"Mhmm, okay," He said, and he tried to think of someone that he'd met that might fall into those categories. Of course, he naturally pictured the only young wolves that he knew who were Meerkat's age- such as Caelum. The boy was a good sport, and he'd been well raised. When Meerkat went on to describe what she was looking for in terms of physical attributes, his smile grew. Dark fur, check. Yellow eyes- well, Caelum's were more gold than yellow, but close enough. 

Name begins with an A??

He paused. "Hmm. Does it have to be an A, though?" He asked. Caelum was still at the forefront of his mind. "Couldn't it be like....A C?" He asked with a grin.

No, he clearly wasn't onto her—or Atlas, rather—quite yet. Meerkat's eyes practically glittered as he countered with a suggestion that she consider allowing first names beginning with a "C." She wondered if he had someone specific in mind and, if so, who? She supposed it didn't really matter.

"Nope! Has to start with an 'A' and..." She paused for effect, tongue thrusting into her cheek. "He has to love hunting. And winking! And snow!" Meerkat shouted out each bullet item as it occurred to her.

He pulled back in surprise when she insisted vehemently that his name must start with an 'A.' Well, she certainly wasn't making things easy- and had just made it fairly clear at least that Caelum wasn't the one she'd had her eye on. She went on to specify a few more things, and he found himself drawn away from the possibility that she'd already found someone she'd admired, and drawn more into the possibility that his younger sister was, simply put, very picky. 

Hunting? Okay, that was a good thing. Winking? Well, that didn't make a lot of sense, but that was alright. But snow? He made an incredulous face- she was certainly narrowing things down to a very specific set of traits that she was looking for. Maybe she just wanted to make it more difficult for him to find someone- but what his sister wanted, he would try and get, even if it was as difficult as trying to find a wild oyster with a black pearl in it. "Snow, eh?" He asked, "And winking?" He hadn't seen Atlas wink at her. Even if he had, he wouldn't likely have noted it. He shrugged. "I'll do my best, Meerk," he chuckled. "Though you might be an old maid by the time I find someone who meets all them criteria."

She didn't know whether he was playing dumb but it was really very endearing. Meerkat chuckled under her breath as he seemed to consider her criteria, which must sound utterly peculiar without any context. It was sweet that he didn't appear deterred by any of it, though she still wondered if he was only feigning ignorance for one reason or another.

"I know you would," she replied fondly, knowing he really would've tried his best. Her whisky eyes regarded him softly for a beat before Meerkat admitted outright, "But I already found him." She took a breath. "I like Atlas."

His mouth clamped shut with a soft click when Meerkat announced that she'd already found what she was looking for. He listened, though, but tilted back on his hips a bit in surprise when she spoke a name he hadn't considered. "Atlas?" He parroted. Well- he had dark fur, yellow eyes, was obviously a good hunter, and he- "He likes snow?!" Because that was obviously the first hurdle to get through. He chuffed softly, having surprised himself with the fact that that was the first question he had for his sister, about her first crush. 

He was a year older- which, in the grand scheme of things...Wasn't a big difference, but Meerkat was young yet- and Atlas, like him, was a young adult; he would have preferred if she'd first developed a crush on someone who was closer to her in age, until she was an adult. But that hadn't stopped him from flirting with older wolves- like Chanel and Maia- when he'd been Meerkat's age. He sighed softly. This was tough; but he'd wade in, and see how cool the waters really were. "Well, what else do you like about him?" He asked.

Bronco sounded utterly skeptical about Atlas's affinity for snow, which earned a cock of her head. She had never seen it for herself, yet it sounded very magical. She could hardly wait for the year's first snowfall. But, even in jest, her older brother seemed to scoff at the idea of liking it. It made her wonder.

He didn't react strongly when she revealed her crush's name, though he did press her for more information. Meerkat smiled, tail waving, glad to tell him more. "Well, I like his face, especially those eyes," she reported in a dreamy voice, "and I like his voice. I don't really know why, I just do. And he smells nice."

This was just a crush, he told himself. This wasn't his little sister falling madly in love with someone who was the same age as him, and from what she mentioned, it sounded like she liked more of what she saw, then what she knew. She didn't mention any personal characteristics, leading Bronco to believe that maybe she just found him attractive. That was alright, at least. It didn't sound like she knew enough about him to have really surrendered her soul to the idea of being with him. Maybe, in the end, she'd be satisfied just with looking at him; and that'd be it. 

"Do you...Hang out with him much?" He asked. He tried to keep his tone fairly neutral, so she might not pick up on the fact that a positive answer might potentially make him a bit nervous. Already, he'd begun to consider stepping in to get a better gauge on Atlas on his own. Sure, he seemed like a cool guy- but if he ever caught wind of the googly eyes that Meerkat was giving him, how would he respond? If there was any chance Atlas could or would break his little sister's heart...He'd want to have a shot at stopping that from happening- even if it meant pinning the guy to the ground and making sure he treated Meerkat with every ounce of respect that she deserved.

"I've only hung out with him twice," Meerkat answered without hesitation, "but I'd like to see more of him. I want to get to know him better. I bet there's still lots to learn!" She grinned, eyes bright when she remembered out loud, "I'm glad he's been invited to the glen. If we go, I hope he does too."

Although aware of the nature of her feelings, at least to a youthful extent, Meerkat knew there was much to learn when it came to romance. Who better to ask for sound advice than her older brother? "What's the difference between a boyfriend or girlfriend and a mate?" seemed like a good place to start. "Do you become mates when you actually mate and have pups together?" she guessed innocently.

Now things were starting to stray into an area that almost always made Bronco feel uncomfortable. While he was perfectly fine with talking about some sorts of feelings, talking about romantic feelings made him feel that faint, clenching twist in his gut. Meerkat wanted to spend more time with Atlas- well, maybe he would have to have a chat with him. Get to know Atlas better himself; and keep an eye on how much time they spent together...Just to make sure, of course, that Atlas was being kind to her. And if Atlas shrugged Meerkat's attention off in a hurtful way, he'd just have to step in and-

He wouldn't think about that. Maybe they were just going to be friends. 

But obviously, Meerkat had bigger things on her mind. Not only was she pleased that Atlas was invited to be a founder of the Glen, knowing it'd mean she'd have an easier time catching up with him, but she was also curious about the borderline between relationships and mateships. "Uhm," Wasn't Towhee supposed to be the one telling her these things? "Well, I think...Uh, I think you can be in a relationship with someone, once you get to know them reeeeally well, and once you both think you have feelings for one another, and you both have to want to be in the relationship...But yeah, uh, you can find a boyfriend to sort of...See if you can love each other, and live together, and work together, before becoming like...Official mates." He said. He pulled in a breath- thinking of Miriam, and how she and Mal had had kids, but had not been mates. Apparently, he'd done this with a number of females, and Bronco wasn't sure how to feel about that, just considering the fact that he'd dropped the ball when it came to making sure that at least two of his children were cared for, let alone....How many there actually were. 

But take Towhee, for example. "And like...As you know, like, wolves don't have to be mates, to have kids. Obviously, you need a uhm. Male and a female to...Make babies, but like." This wasn't easy. "Yeah, they're not always mates. Like your Mom and Phox; they're brother and sister- but Phox is your father, though not like...biologically," He said. "And that's what's important. A lot of the time, yeah- two wolves grow up together, become mates, and have kids because raising kids as a single parent is tough. But like...Yeah. I guess what I'm tryin' to say," He said, though he himself wasn't even completely sure. "Is that you can have as many boyfriends or girlfriends as you want. Once you find one you really, really like- to the point where you hopefully love them, an' they love you back- maybe then you take them as your mate, an' have oodles and oodles of kids with them." He said. He reached out to touch the top of her head with his chin. "But like...You got time, Meerk. There's no rush." He said.