Broken Antler Fen daddy said you gotta show the world the thunder.

Penn hadn't spent too much time exploring the Woods that he was to call home. He'd done his best for a while to do his daily border circle, but that had lasted like a week before he'd started slacking. It was just so cold and so snowy, it didn't seem like there was any point. Any marking he left was just going to get buried, so why bother until the weather cleared?

It was definitely an excuse, but it worked for him.

While he didn't plan to spend that much time around the territory, Penn did want to at least set up a little castle for himself. Just some cool digs he could call his own. Something that warned others to back off, but also was cozy and inviting and impressive for the ladies. So, in spite of the cold wind that blustered between the trees and ruffled his silver shaded fur, Penn was out that day, wandering and searching for a little corner of the woods to call his own.

You can run but you can't hide.

She hadn't found him at Moonspear. The Redhawks hadn't seen any sign of him either, not that she'd expected him to go there. Brecheliant was even less likely, though Meerkat didn't know what else to do but keep looking, keep trying. She couldn't just give up and go home. She would visit every pack for any word of Atlas if she must. Whether or not he was officially her mate, Meerkat cared greatly for him and her worry ran deep.

It took forever to reach the fen, what with the snow slowing her down. She came to a stop at the borders, trying hard not to think about her last visit here, and noticed her legs were trembling. Meerkat realized she was utterly exhausted. She hadn't slept or eaten in a while. And the past few weeks had been very hard. But she refused to rest. Drawing in a deep breath, she howled for the attention of Brecheliant.

oh darn :)

Penn heard the call, of course. He wasn't too far from where it originated, though he didn't immediately turn to answer it. He was kinda doing something and he wasn't too sure how social he was feeling. After dawdling for a little longer, he finally gave his coat a good shake and headed towards the borders. Maybe there'd be someone interesting there. Not likely, but y'never know.

He didn't recognize the girl that stood there. He'd been around when she was born, but had never cared to go take a look at her. Even if he had, she was grown now and that likely meant she looked a bit different. Penn gave her a quick up and down glance before looking at her with a quirked brow. "You rang?" he asked, his tone bored.

She expected Maia or possibly Wraen. Instead, a stranger approached. Meerkat quickly decided it did not matter who came to greet her. This wasn't a social call. Anyone in Brecheliant could answer her question. If she didn't get any clues about Atlas's whereabouts, she would move to the next step, whatever that looked like.

Paying no attention to the man's bored tone, Meerkat hastily answered, "Hi, I was wondering if you'd seen a black wolf with yellow eyes by the name of Atlas? It's kind of an emergency."

Penn listened as the girl explained she was looking for someone. He might've just told her a quick 'no' and been on his way were it not for her last. It's kind of an emergency. Penn was not one to risk his own neck for others (unless it looked like fun), so his intrigue was more curiosity than any eagerness to help.

"Not by that name. We have two in our ranks that nearly match the description and... coincidently, their names both start with 'A'... But neither is an Atlas," Penn explained, pausing to note the coincidence with some amusement, "What kind of emergency?"

Despite the first few words out of his mouth, Meerkat felt her heart start to race when he mentioned two others who might fit his description. She felt her first sense of hope in several days. But then he quickly reiterated: neither one of them was Atlas. It didn't occur to her that her beau might use an alias, so Meerkat was forced to accept that this was another dead end.

He wondered about the nature of the emergency and Meerkat swallowed thickly. "Several of our pack mates were killed. He had a breakdown and r-ran off..." As she relayed it to this stranger, she felt an enormous amount of guilt wash through her. Atlas had only run because she'd pressed him, however unwittingly. "And the storm..." she added, voice hardly above a whisper, tears welling in her eyes. Evidently the well hadn't run completely dry.

It took Penn a few moments too long to realize she was getting emotional. His face contorted into an uncomfortable cringe slowly as he picked up on with each word she spoke. He clued into her body language then, saw the tears welling in her eyes. Ah... fuck. Now what.

"Oh, hey now..." Penn said uncomfortably in as soothing a tone as he could muster, "It's... No need for... cry..." He raised a paw and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "I'm sure your dude just needs some time. He'll be back," he offered as reassurance, though he didn't actually believe it himself. Sure, he'd come back after his parents had died, but that had only been for Fennec. Were it not for her, he likely never would've returned to the Copse.

His touch surprised her. She didn't flinch, though she looked up at him from beneath lashes heavy with tears and sniffled at his words. Meerkat hoped he was right and that Atlas would simply reappear as suddenly as he'd vanished. But as she considered that possibility, trying to believe in it, she also wondered what would happen then.

Her face crumpled as she thought, Everything is ruined. And she'd played a big part in it, however unwittingly. Should Atlas come back, Meerkat was pretty sure she'd made a mess of their relationship with seven little words. They'd been heartfelt at the time, yet so disastrous in the context. She could see that now, with painful clarity.

"I need to keep looking," she murmured, more to herself than to him, which made Meerkat suddenly realize she'd done very poorly as an ambassador in this scenario. Such things didn't really matter much right now, though she did muster the wherewithal to ask, voice still thick, "How are things here? And what's your name? I'm Meerkat."

Yes, do that. Penn thought to himself when the girl said she needed to keep looking. He would've been more than happy to say bye bye and carry on his way. This interaction so far just reminded him when he avoided the borders. You never knew who you'd find standing there. The risk of running into weepy women was apparently too great.

But, she didn't leave right away. The girl felt the need to stay and make nice. At least she seemed a little less weepy. "I'm Penn Blackthorn," he responded, offering a charming smile that he hoped would be contagious enough to fully stop her from being awkwardly sad, "Things around here are good." He paused, considering, before adding, "You seem like you know us. You visit before, or you just a huge fan of our work?"

The familiarity of his name was effectively distracting, earning a sharp intake of breath. "Penn," she repeated, voice still thick and wet but also a little wondering. "I don't think we've formally met but I'm a Redhawk. Well, I don't live with them—I live with Firefly Glen—but my parents are Towhee, Phox and Niamh." As she said their names, her shining eyes blinked a little owlishly.

She would've loved to linger longer, talk about their likely countless connections. But Meerkat's conscience tugged at her, urging to continue her quest. "Maybe after all this," she added, gesturing vaguely, expression solemn, "I could come back and have a proper conversation with you, Penn. I'm really sorry for the... abruptness." As she apologized, she gathered herself to her feet, making her intentions obvious.

Penn didn't react when Meerkat revealed her parentage. His mind dug into his memory, though. He wondered if this was Towhee's kid, or perhaps one of Niamh's and Phox's. He didn't care much either way. All he really thought of was the fact that this was Fennec's sister. It would probably behoove him to be nice to her.

So, in an effort to do just that, he said, "Ah, cool." It was all he had. He didn't like Fenn's family, even knowing it was a better move towards what he wanted if he made peace with them.

"Sure thing, come by any time," Penn replied, his mood brightening a bit as it became clear that she was about to leave. "Good luck with your guy," he added before giving her a wag of his tail and a smile, then turning to head off himself.