Firefly Glen you've got a tattered line of string

That snowy evening with @Atlas—nearly a month ago, now—had been quite magical. Meerkat would certainly never forget it. But as winter settled into the wilderness, the season quickly lost its luster. She didn't use the word "hate" easily if at all, though by now, she could admit it to herself: she hated winter. It was too cold, too dreary, too endless. Even the snow, for all its quiet loveliness, grew tiresome. Meerkat longed for birdsong, colors, sunshine and warmth...

Just now, she was particularly cold as she trudged through the snow in search of @Bronco. She knew he'd gone to visit at the caldera the other day but surely he should be home by now? Then again, the snowfall might've impacted his travel plans. As Meerkat sank into a fresh drift of white powder, she muttered uncharacteristically under her breath. Instead of climbing out again, she simply sat there, glad to be out of the windchill.

She had been napping, but had not fallen into the depths of her snoozefest before she hard movement. Leta's head popped up, erupting from the snow to take a look around. There was a face she had seen before, but mostly in passing or else from a far distance (Leta was quite avoidant after the loss of Clay). Remembering her resolution, she pressed up and shimmied the heavy, insulating blanket of snow from her shoulders. 

Her tail waved, unseen but causing the snow to begin to shift above it... it would be visible soon enough. Hiya, I'm Leta, she introduced, voice a little soft thanks in part to her shyer nature, but also the lingering remnants of sleep.

She stayed put a while, until she ran out of grumbles and felt a little warmer for it. Carefully, she pushed through the far side of the drift and emerged back into open air, wincing a little at the wind that immediately sank its teeth into her. Meerkat really wanted to find her brother, though maybe it would be a better idea to hunker down in some proper shelter until the weather improved a bit.

Someone popped up nearby like, well, a meerkat. She started, then gave a little laugh of surprise at the chipper greeting. "Hi, Leta, I'm Meerkat," she replied, amused despite herself. "I've seen you around," she added, having witnessed her at various pack activities, like the recent turkey hunt. "Didn't you come here with Charles?" He'd said they were visiting from somewhere, though Meerkat couldn't quite recall the name of their pack, as that conversation had been some time ago.

Hi, Meerkat, she greeted sleepily, but there was no hiding the enthusiasm that had trickled into her voice that would soon replace the tiredness of her voice altogether. Yeah, I've seen you too... sorry, that we haven't met sooner... formally anyway, she started, inching her way out of the snow as she regarded the unique features of the pretty blonde she-wolf. I did! You know Charles? She asked, pleasantly surprised but equally mortified with herself. 

Charles was already making new friends. What if he forgot about her? No, she musn't think like that. He wouldn't... couldn't... right? Wanting to not think about that, she asked instead, how long have you been a part of the Glen for? Thinking that a much better thing to ponder about.

She couldn't help another laugh. "It's my bad as much as yours," she pointed out with a good-natured smile. "I don't know him well," Meerkat added, which was a bit of an understatement. They'd really only held one conversation, ages ago now. "But yeah, we've met and chatted a bit. I forget where he said the two of you came from," she admitted, hoping Leta would fill in the blank.

When her new friend asked her about her own history in the glen, Meerkat said, "We've been here since the beginning," and only realized after she'd spoken that she'd said "we." "My brother, Bronco, and me, I mean. We went from Firebirds to Moonspear, then spun off to help start Firefly Glen. I guess that was back at the beginning of the fall?" Some wistfulness crept into her expression and voice alike as she remembered all the splendor and warmth of autumn.

Shaking off that thought, Meerkat said, "I know we just met but what do you say to squishing together a bit? We can keep each other warm while we get to know one another better." Her eyes tracked to the space where Leta had been napping, wondering if they could excavate it just a little wider so they could both fit snugly.