Firefly Glen sun in your eyes

With the glen formally claimed and her family settled in at the caldera, Meerkat decided it was time to make the trip to Yuèlóng. Firstly, she needed to find @Bronco and ask him to go with her. Secondly, she needed to seek @Osiris's express approval for the trip (she'd let him know @Hydra had signed off on it). Thirdly, lastly and most importantly, she needed to find out the pack's location and the approximate route there.

With the November sun warm on her back, Meerkat plodded through the glen in search of her older brother. Leaves crunched noisily underfoot and she couldn't help but notice the boughs were nearly bare. Instinctively, she sensed winter's approach. Did that mean it would snow soon? She couldn't help but think of @Atlas. Meerkat hadn't spent much time around him lately but, if anything, absence had only made her heart grow fonder.

The dark hunter trekked through the fallen leaves at a leisurely pace. His sunlight gaze was drawn to the change in scenery, finding the shifting colors of their surroundings to be something of a marvel. He could not recall if the last season had been so bright and shimmering with life, or if he had been struck by a twitter-pated cupid’s arrow. Everything about the shift in weather and the fresh sweeping wind that carried the promise of snow had made Atlas more confident and at ease in their new home.
 
Ahead, a familiar flash of blonde drew his gaze. When the inkwell yearling confirmed that it was indeed the young Meerkat, his pace quickened, and he closed the space between them with a few eager bounds. Just as he was pulling up to her, Atlas chuffed to let the girl know that he was there and cast her a crooked smile. Perhaps she would enjoy a stroll through the leaves with him.

The others are welcome to hop in but I didn't want to leave Atty hanging.

Almost as if summoned by her thoughts, the boy wonder himself appeared. He didn't give her one of his beloved winks, though that crooked smile sent her heart fluttering against her ribs. As often happened in his presence, the knuckles in her toes went strangely numb. She couldn't help but return his smile, eyes sparkling in the autumn light.

"Hey, you!" she chirped. "I was just thinking about you!"

I waited to see if anyone else wanted to hop in. <3

That familiar voice pulled his ears forward so that they were cupped, eager to catch any resonating sound that they could. The warmth of her gaze was a welcome one. Atlas closed the remaining space between them and bumped his shoulder to her frame softly.
 
“Funny, I was just thinking of you too,” he rumbled in a smoky voice.
 
It was nice to have that familiar face there. More than this, it was nice to know that he could find himself in the company of someone who wanted to be with him. Atlas knew that he wasn’t quite as interesting as Osiris, not nearly as mysterious as Antares, but if Meerkat could find something worthwhile in him then there was hope.

I think we're on our own!

(By the way, if you want to fade our older thread in favor of this one, we can! Otherwise, I'm game to continue both!)

She didn't expect him to say that in turn. Meerkat felt a bolt of heat shoot straight from her heart and chase itself around in her bloodstream, making her feel warm and fuzzy. Her stomach did a funny little dance and she had to reach up a paw to physically stifle the girlish giggle that nearly burst from her mouth.

Lowering it after she got a hold of herself, she questioned, "Oh, really? What about?" But before Atlas could reply, she confessed, "I was wondering if we'd get to watch the first snowfall together soon."

Oh I'm good running with both!~

The boy gaped for a moment, relieved when she continued on to say that she would like to watch the first snowfall with him. Atlas wasn't sure how he should have responded to the initial query and opted instead to ignore the question and move forward with the idea of catching the snow from an advantageous viewpoint. He liked the idea so much, his tail wavered quickly behind him. A smile curled the edges of his dark lips and Atlas bobbed his head excitedly. 

I think that's a great idea! We can make a plan for it. I've been watching the weather and I think it's going to snow soon. It's gotten quite a bit colder these last few weeks, the shade responded. As if they would tell him, Atlas turned his sights toward the heavens and breathed in the air. In that moment, the inkwell realized that they were no longer on the mountain. It would not be so easy to climb the slopes and find a place where they would have peace. Maybe we could scout out a few places that might be good to watch from, he thought aloud.

It seemed all signs were pointing to an imminent snowfall and Atlas was still very much onboard, as was Meerkat. "Too bad I never got much fluffier," she quipped in reply, her insides now feeling very warm and gooey indeed at the mere thought of arranging a date with him. Who needed extra fur when their insides were on fire lke this?

Just thinking that word ("date") made Meerkat's heart gallop in her chest. Would it be a date? She was about to enter the adult ranks and, for whatever reason, she'd gotten it into her head that she couldn't pursue romance until she hit that milestone. Maybe they could celebrate her coming of age by going on said date? As thoughts chased each other around inside her head, she realized how much she would like that.

Meerkat replied to his proposition, "Yes, let's do that! Did you know I'll be an adult pretty soon? I think spending the day watching the snow with you would be the perfect way to celebrate." Whoever had given her that impression about dating thresholds apparently hadn't told her that it was traditionally the man asking out the woman because, in the next somewhat breathless breath, she added, "It's a date!" She then held her breath, hoping he would respond positively to that term.

Meerkat commented that she hadn’t really gotten any more fluff like he’d said she would. He furrowed his brow at this. Even his dark coat had thickened quite a bit since the days of summer. Not as much as he had remembered from the year before. The shadow wondered if this was because it hadn’t actually snowed on them yet and that thicker coat would not come in until they truly needed it. “We’ve got some time to get a little thicker, I think. We might get our big fluff when the snow actually falls consistently,” he said to her with a warm grin. While he thought the snowfall in itself was a magical experience, he could not think of anything that he would like more than sharing that with her.
 
“Wow already huh? Look at you… growing right before our eyes. I do think that calls for a special occasion! What is your favorite kind of food, first?” Atlas inquired of her with a single brow quirking upward. Knowing that this would be an important time for Meerkat meant that he wanted it to be impactful; she deserved to be treated well on that day. She deserved to have a remarkable time to celebrate her first steps into adulthood and the responsibilities that came with it.
 
“It’ll be a date you won’t forget,” he added, stepping toward her to rest his chin to her head for a moment.

Atlas surprised her with a question: what was her favorite food? Meerkat paused, a whole catalog of various meats and cheeses flashing through her mind. Which did she like best? Before she could come up with an answer, he stole forward and put his chin on her head. That small touch—and the accompanying words, verifying their date—basically obliterated her brain, scattering every last thought as a tingle stole through her.

The idea that she'd possibly forget their date struck her as the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. A giggle burst from her, followed by a delicious little shiver. A little daringly, she tipped her snout into the touch and darted out her tongue to give him the sweetest little kiss on the chin. She then drew back, eyes sparkling as they caught his, her face shining even if she was momentarily at a loss for words (and had entirely forgotten his question, to boot...).

Her laugh was unexpected, but not unwelcome.
 
Atlas’ eyes danced along her features, taking in the details he hadn’t noticed before. She truly was just as bright as the sun, he felt. All the autumn chill that surrounded them did not phase the dark figure. He had found a small slice of happiness in the companionship of another, and that was enough for the time. While the emotions that bubbled up from his stomach were confusing to him, he imagined that he would find time to unravel them later.
 
“Say, what was it that made you want to become a coach? Like… what is your dream?”
 
The shadow asked her rather suddenly and then appeared as though he was surprised that he had allowed the words to leave his lips. His cheeks flushed red and he turned his sights to the ground, anxious and worried that she would find the query too personal. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I… just wanna know more about things you like.” Even that felt like a foolish thing to admit.

As we head into the holidays, I wanna pare down Meerkat's thread log a bit. Do you mind if we wrap this one so I can focus all my cute energies on our more current one?

He asked her another question, this one on a much broader scale. Her lips parted as he began to backpedal, seeming to regret asking. Meerkat smiled gently at Atlas, reaching up a paw to gently rest her toes against his lips to get him to stop talking. When she withdrew her paw, she gave him another peck, just because.

"I really like helping people, lifting them up and brightening their days. It sounds selfless but it's actually pretty selfish, 'cause it makes me feel really good," she said with a light laugh. His repetition of the word "like" reminded her, "I forgot to answer your other question! I'm not picky about food. And I love surprises." Hopefully that was enough of a hint.

"C'mon," she invited, nudging him fondly, "let's go find the perfect spot while you tell me about your dreams. I am your life coach, after all." With a swish of her tail, she pivoted, prepared to head out on their tandem search.

The touch against him was soft, gentle in nature. The inkjet yearling was immediately silenced by the young girl. He would not dare to speak out against her when she was doing what she could to answer his queries and in doing so without seeming perturbed by it.
 
As Atlas listened to her explain why she wanted to become a coach, he felt his heart slow to a steady beat. It seemed that even at that age, she had found what she wanted to give back to the world. This was admirable, although he felt moderately like he had fallen behind in his own development. Though she did not really need it, he internally vowed to give her all the support that he could manage. If Meerkat wanted to become the best coach in the Teekon Wilds, then she would have all his strength to support her.
 
The two of them wandered along the territory in search of a perfect spot for their future date. Atlas listened to the girl talk – enraptured by everything that she would say to him – but did not say many things on his own. He simply enjoyed existing in the company of the brown-eyed girl. She had warmed in his heart.