Firefly Glen i think i'm gonna rent a monte carlo, drive around your neighborhood, like, real slow

Refreshed from a long nap that carried into the next morning, Meerkat loped down the mountainside and headed into the neighboring glen. She didn't know what needed to be done, exactly, but she wanted to help them formally settle the territory. She supposed adding some markers to the borders couldn't hurt, particularly where they weren't shared with Moonspear's.

She headed to the far side, moving slowly to take in everything. During the summer, the treetops would form a green, leafy roof over the expansive glade, providing shelter from the elements. Right now, the trees were a riot of color, many of the leaves already fallen to the ground to form a crunchy carpet. The baring boughs afforded Meerkat glimpses of the blazing blue October sky as her nostrils filled with the signature aroma of sweet, rotting vegetation.

Her niece and her distinct scent were not difficult to find. 

Hydra crept after her, quiet and careful and mindful of the fall foliage. Her gait was a rolling prowl, and the matriarch expertly avoided creating any sound to indicate her stalking of her blonde relative. If ever there was a moment Hydra imagined she might be detected, she became unearthly still whilst blending in with something that managed to obscure her enough to be unseen, for now. 

The wind had shifted, though; the moment Hydra detected this was the minute she threw herself into a sprint to bridge the distance between them that remained, hoping to surprise her niece with an (affectionate) sneak attack as she made a bid for her with a leaping lunge and outstretched forelegs. No teeth, though the matriarch sought to take the girl for a tumble—Hydra's brand of showing her adoration, which Meerkat, by now, may have learned.

She did not yet know the full breadth and depth of the glen, though Meerkat unwittingly neared its heart. There she found a lake lined by softwood trees, which lent the air a fresher fragrance. She paused to marvel at the view, bright eyes drinking in the turquoise waters rimmed in pale silt. There was a stony outcropping thrust up between the conifers, its pitted flanks dotted with green growth. Her tail twitched and she let out a breath, already feeling more at home here than on the mountainside.

Meerkat picked up her feet and began moving again, only to find herself suddenly on her back beneath a looming shadow. It happened so quickly, she did not have time to react beyond a stupefied blink up at her Aunt Hydra. Pulse still racing from the sudden attack, she nonetheless managed a grin and thrust out a foreleg to playfully karate chop the queen in the throat.

Her success was swift, and Hydra was as triumphant as any child in play; her tail beat left-and-right at her flanks, and she withdrew to give her niece her bearings. Meerkat was quick enough to, as she did, get a good punch to her shoulder; Hydra gasped, playfully, and held her foreleg up, before quickly striking and making a bid for the same offending foreleg to grip it (gently) between her teeth.

Her tail still waved all the while, eyes bright; this was as good a way as any to rid herself of some degree of the stress she had endured, and Hydra was glad, in turn, to unwittingly teach her niece to be more observant... while also more careful about where she placed those limbs.

When Hydra caught her leg in her teeth, Meerkat's eyes widened. She laughed and tugged herself free, rolling back onto her feet. She halfway expected her aunt to pounce again, so the fur all along her back stood on end in expectation. Yet no further attack came, so she spun to properly face Hydra and smooth her proverbial petticoats.

In face-to-face combat, Meerkat didn't stand a chance, though she wouldn't have minded learning some moves from the master. But she got a wild hair and, with a whooping bark, she launched past the swarthy Alpha female and rocketed in a random direction. The lakeside fell away behind her as she sprang into a sparsely treed clearing, at the center of which sat a boulder draped in lichen.

It was not simply words Hydra used to teach her children, but rough and tumble play such as this. Think, always think. And imagine that your enemy knows already what you plan to do. What is their best case scenario? Worst? What is yours, and is it worth the risk? Hydra let Meerkat rise with a wave of her tail, panting lightly. When Meerkat lunged toward her, Hydra half-anticipated that Meerkat sought to pounce upon her, now... but instead, the girl surged past her. 

Wheeling around to snap lazily at the girls hindquarter (and not knowing whether she clipped air or simply hair), Hydra gave her niece several seconds before following after her. Hydra knew the Glen as well as she knew Moonspear, and would equally teach her the importance of knowing ones surroundings and how they could effect ones success—or lack thereof—in a fight. 

Ahead, Hydra saw the boulder; she wondered if her niece might elect to use that, and how she might if so.

Her bronze eyes swept over the boulder, situated in the middle of the clearing like some sort of rugged throne. But Meerkat neither slowed nor stopped, darting right past it. She glanced over her shoulder to see Hydra loping effortlessly in her wake, gaining on her. Facing forward, the sandy youth mustered up as much speed as she could manage before cutting a quick corner and doubling back in the direction she had come.

She could see Moonspear in the distance straight ahead as the trees thinned and vanished behind her. Now she galloped across the crest of an enormous slope, with low valleys on either side of her. Meerkat couldn't help but let loose a whoop, head turning to either side to survey the breathtakingly vast wilderness on every side of these rolling foothills. She was so enchanted by it all, she very nearly forgot all about the leonine shadow behind her.

Most days, it was easy to forget about things that brought her joy such as this. Simply running, seeing—the world around her blurred in her periphery with her speed, but she could see, head on, the shapes coming to form and the beauty of the Glen. 

Hydra remembered her youth. As she ran forward and toward, her mind drifted back, and back—and ahead of her was not Meerkat, but @Charon. Larger, longer-legged—back then, she had not the limbs to match, and she had not grown into her paws to be as swift as she was now. Fireflies would illuminate their path as he evaded her capture—

The whoop of Meerkat brought her to, though the smile from the memory remained. Hydra lifted her head to call to the wilds. To call to @Mira and to call to the rest to remind them that these lands were claimed. But it soon devolved to also fall into a simple song of the wilds; the song of freedom, the feeling of a hunt gone right, the companionship brought by pack... 

And still she ran all the while, even after her calls quieted.

The howl jarred her out of her reverie, her step faltering for a beat. But then she adjusted her gait and, caught up in the spirit of the song, she tossed back her own head to add a youthful note to it. She didn't have much breath to spare, so it was a brief cry of wild glee. When she dropped her head again, she saw a glimpse of red rocks ahead and pumped her legs with what precious little energy remained in her muscles, one last burst of speed that delivered her into a sort of canyon.

Here she braked to a halt, chest heaving as she panted. Her tongue lolled from her muzzle as her dark honey eyes roved over the striated stones, the hard red clay contrasting brilliantly against the faded blue cascade tumbling between the layers of rock and the spray of greenery in the backdrop. The water tempted her closer and she picked her way toward its edge, letting out a huff before dropping to slake her thirst.

Drink finished, Meerkat sat back on her haunches and admired this latest discovery. She couldn't help but note, with a touch of amusement, that the staggered canyon walls made her think of raw meat. It kind of made her hungry, actually. She chuckled a little breathlessly, then turned to glance over her shoulder, curious as to Hydra's whereabouts.

She was not too far from her niece, though had slowed to sniff and inspect areas of the Glen for any sign of her daughter along the way. It was an expansive territory, but no stone would be left unturned. It did not take her too long to meet Meerkat where she lapped at the waters, and Hydra joined her for a drink with a wag of her tail. Lifting her head, she regarded her niece with a warm look before her eyes shifted to the canyon around them. What do you think of our Glen? she hummed, looking once more to Towhee's daughter with a sparkle in her eye. Moonspear was making quick work of staking their claim upon the place.

As the moments ticked past, Meerkat wondered if she was in for another surprise attack. But when Hydra eventually appeared, she came directly to the water for a drink, tail waving. The youngster grinned at her, eyes shining when asked what she thought about the glen.

"It's... splendid!" she surmised, thinking back on her aunt's brief mention of her father, who'd evidently haunted this place when he was alive. Maybe he haunted it now that he was dead too. She almost snickered out loud as the thought crossed her mind, though she swallowed it at the last second.

She would be quite happy here, she knew. Her gaze returned to the water sifting past, cutting a path through the red stones. Something about the sight triggered a thought in her mind and Meerkat's spine suddenly stiffened as she sat up straighter in a mockery of the Sudden Clarity Clarence meme.

"Hey, Aunt Hydra!" she exclaimed, a little too abruptly and loudly. Checking her volume, Meerkat said, "Do you know about Yuèlóng?" Well, of course she did. Hydra knew about everything. "Are they our allies?"

Pleased to hear it, Hydra nodded in silent agreement as she moved toward her niece. Pausing when she abruptly jolted upward to look around them for anything that might have caused that, her alarm decreased upon hearing her inquiry. I do, she answered, and the others inquiry was met with a thoughtful look and a verbal answer, indeed, we are. Have you made some friends among them? She wondered aloud with a sway of her tail. Hydra quite enjoyed the Empress now, their bygones just that given the woman had been swift to right any wrongs.

This was great news. "Yeah!" Meerkat chirruped. "I met Nǚwū here in the glen, actually, but a little while back, before we moved in here. It was during the rains. She said her family lived on an island, though they were staying in a nearby forest because the island might flood. I asked if I could visit once the rain stopped. I was wondering if I could go there—with Bronco—to see if they're back and say 'hello' to Nǚwū?"

Most of that came out in a breathless, excited rush, after which she inhaled loudly and added, a little more slowly, "And I'd be happy to carry any messages that need to be passed too, of course!" Meerkat finally stopped there, eyes bright and shining hopefully.

Yes, she determined swiftly, you can. Just let Osiris know when you depart, she requested, and as for messages, it would please me if you would inform the Empress about our expansion within the Glen... and if Mira is still missing by the time you depart... about that, too, she decided. Hydra hoped by then Mira might be found; she was optimistic, but a realist as well. The Wilds could be a ruthless place. 

With that in mind, she took some odd steps forward and toward the blonde youth. Come, before all of that, let us practice some hunting, she drawled; it was an important skill, and crucial for ones survival. You pick the trail we follow, she invited with a wave of her tail. 

LAST FROM ME <3 <3 <3

Approval came swiftly and Meerkat beamed. Hydra gave her some instructions and the youngster listened closely, ignoring the way her heart tap danced against her ribs. This would be her first formal foray as an ambassador on behalf of Moonspear—no, Firefly Glen. She took her aunt's directives seriously, especially the tidbit about Mira. Although her eyes still sparkled with excitement, her expression grew more dutiful as she nodded and saluted.

Hunting was not one of her favorite activities, though she would hardly argue a direct command from her superior. "You got it, dude," Meerkat rejoined playfully, knowing Hydra wouldn't mind her niece's casual lingo. But she paired it with a bow of her head and a nip to the matriarch's chin, just for good measure, before wiggling ahead in search of a game trail.