Nova Peak even in a hurricane of frowns

Despite herself, she couldn't bear to be at the glacier right now. The afternoon sun slanted across her stippled back as she slipped north, headed toward the distant peak. She hadn't slept at all last night and the short trip to the mountain cost her the rest of her energy. She flopped at the summit, letting out a cry of pain when her elbow struck a rock.

Hissing through her teeth, Meerkat inspected it but found no broken skin. Gingerly, she rolled to rest her weight on her other side, using her aching foreleg to rub at her eyes. They felt very dry and scratchy after her sleepless night. She yawned, though she doubted sleep would find her anytime soon. Her mind was still reeling from the previous evening's conversation.

There were so many reasons why heading to Sapphique to see @Njord might make a lot of sense, yet Meerkat didn't want to show up in this state. First of all, she probably looked like a hot mess. Secondly, she didn't want to bring drama to his doorstep. That wasn't the tone she wanted to set for this fledgling relationship. She had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't mind either of these concerns, yet it was important to her not show up and dump a bunch of baggage on Njord's head.

She sighed, feeling rather wretched. Once she managed to get some sleep and settle her mind a bit, she would go to him. She could use his comfort and she wouldn't mind his opinion as well. As much as she didn't want this entire situation to affect this tenuous connection, if they were to consider building a future together, Meerkat supposed they really ought to figure out her (their) next steps together.

she ought to have claimed this place, she thinks as she climbs the mountain, long, tapered limbs carrying her sure and steady to the summit. the elevation would give her sight of the entire taiga, or at least most of it. trees, rocks, perhaps prey. . .

but no, the Rise had called to her, and the Rise they will settle. perhaps in time, and with strength in numbers, they can increase their claim northward to the peak.

for now, it's all they can do to secure a foothold at all.

Avicus almost mistakes the crumpled mass of tawny fur for injured game—a bobcat, perhaps? she's never hunted one, but she's up for the challenge, especially if it isn't long for this world. 

but she's downwind, and the smell of wolf reaches her; intrigue is replaced with wariness as she barks toward the stranger.

you hhlive here? she demands. it truly isn't her territory, but that had never stopped Avicus from lording over a perceived inferior, and it damned well isn't going to stop her now.

Just thinking about Njord made her feel significantly calmer. She exhaled long and slow, her lungs fully emptying and causing a little twinge in her core. Another yawn stretched her jaws and tears welled in her dried eyes. Meerkat blinked and turned her head, gazing in the general direction of Sapphique, eyelids growing heavy with visions of an idyllic future...

She didn't realize she'd been dozing until a voice startled her awake. Bleary, she jumped into a crouch, eyes first spotting a set of paws and then shooting upward to take in the sight of a red she-wolf standing over her rather imperiously. Meerkat pushed into a sit, trying to shake off the grogginess as she briefly met a pair of stunningly purple eyes before letting her gaze drop away.

It took her a moment to register the strangely accented question. "No, I..." Meerkat replied, still a bit muzzy. She almost said she lived at Duskfire Glacier but she swallowed the words. "Do you?" she asked without really thinking.

at the other's sudden stance, she braces herself, fur bristling along her spine like fire upon a ridge. things settle, though, and she is met with a denial. then a question. 

no, she echoes, then jerks her head to the south. nearby.

she raises her brow. you alone? the young woman is around her age, with pack scent upon her pelt. more than one pack, though—curious.

so why is she sleeping up here, without the protection of kith or kin?

The red-furred woman jerked her head and said, "Nearby." Meerkat stared at her a moment before her sleepy brain comprehended. Oh, she lived nearby. Blinking a few times as her brain continued booting, her brown eyes flicked in the indicated direction.

"You live at Sapphique?" she blurted at the same time the stranger asked, "You alone?" Too drowsy for anything but simple, honest answers, Meerkat said, "At the moment, yes," and then waited to see if she would get an answer to her own query.

she shakes her head. i know 'em, Avicus adds. is that their salt-scent upon this woman's pelt? frien'. ahhlly. you know 'em? her gaze is scrutinizing, moving along each line and curve of the body—not with lasciviousness, nor bloodlust, but instead something keen, cold, scientific.

you know Nyra? she adds, figuring, why not? in fact, she regrets now that she hasn't asked this of others, like her new Ulfhedinn.

ice trickles through her veins at the thought that Tulimaq could be a spy, and she casts it off for a later time.

who are you wihh? Avicus demands suddenly, increasingly wary.

The more the woman spoke, the more apparent it became that she had an accent of some kind. No, it was more like... an impediment. Actually, it reminded her of her mom. Meerkat's eyes brightened as she wondered if this wolf was deaf, like Towhee? She would make sure to face her directly and speak clearly, just in case.

"Yes, I'm on good terms with Sapphique," Meerkat said with a nod, noting the stranger's assessing look. Maybe she was reading her body language? Mindfully, she checked to make sure she was holding herself neutrally, with a hint of friendly.

Meerkat shook her head, though she took a moment to think before saying, "No, I don't think I've ever met a Nyra." What had prompted that question, she wondered? But before she could ask, another inquiry was fired at her.

That was a good question. Even now that she felt more awake, Meerkat wasn't entirely certain how to answer. She wasn't just going to walk out on Duskfire Glacier, even though—having not slept on it—she was't sure she really had a place in a pack ruled by Issorartuyok. The thought rankled her and made her sweepingly sad all at once.

"I'm with Duskfire Glacier," she eventually answered, a little slowly, "although the pack's about to relocate." He hadn't actually mentioned where, just that it was far. And that she must make a choice. I'm not sure I'll be going, her demeanor said, though Meerkat didn't say that part out loud.

She was 98% awake now and it occurred to her to add, "I'm Meerkat, by the way."

there is a gradual shifting of her posture, a relaxation as each answer comes. a friend of Sapphique; unknowing of Nyra; Duskfire Glacier, a pack of which she's never heard but is apparently moving soon, anyway. thus satisfied so far, she lets out a slow, steady breath.

Avi, she introduces herself, pointing her nose low, toward her sternum. she holds that position, but her eyes flicker upward again, meeting the other's gaze.

beware of Nyra, Avicus says gruffly. big whihh' woman. kill my ma. kill o'hherh. will kill again.

she sits down, then, though still holds herself tall and proud, like a statue of some ancient culture. you hurhh'? she asks, brow knitting. why you hhlay up here all alone?

"Avi," the redhead offered in return, taking a seat as she dispensed a warning about Nyra. Meerkat hadn't fully processed the words before another two questions were fired at her. At least she could think a little more properly now.

"Am I—oh, hurt? No, I'm," Meerkat began to reply only to leave that sentence totally unfinished as she asked, "This Nyra killed your mom? When?" She frowned and then remembered to say, "I'm sorry for your loss," after a beat. Maybe she wasn't as awake as she thought.

luckily for Meerkat, Avicus isn't one for niceties, so the belated condolence goes right over her head as she fixates on the more important part of the query. except, God, when had Astara died? it feels like ages to her, now—as if she'd been without her mother for an eternity, with only a blink of an eye by her side.

hhhree moon ago. . .maybe, she guesses, squinting. her an' a man. he gone. we foun' her buhh' Nyra ran away.

she lives. and Avicus will not rest easy until she does not.

the question of injury had gone unanswered, but she figures if Meerkat really needed help, she'd have said so. where Duhh'kfire? you move wih'hem?

She'd suffered losses, including parental figures in both Neema and Kaertok. Still, Meerkat couldn't fully comprehend what it'd be like to lose her mom. Her wan features pinched with sympathy. Avi's mother had died violently at the hands of others who were still at large. That was one harrowing story.

Before she could muster up a comment, Avi once more pressed her about her whereabouts. In response to the first question, she turned her upper body and motioned at the glacier to the southeast of Nova Peak. When she straightened again, she bit back a sigh.

"I'm not sure," Meerkat admitted. She paused for several seconds as she deliberated what to share, what to keep close to the vest. "I'm kind of seeing someone from Sapphique, so it may make sense to go there instead. But it's still pretty new and it'll be hard to leave the glacier. Not just the land." Not that she had much of a choice. "The wolves. Mostly the younger ones. I'm their coach."

As she spoke of them, she thought about the pack's gang of adolescents. She hadn't spent a whole lot of time with them lately. Most of them had gone scouting with Issorartuyok recently, hadn't they? Her chest ached. She'd brought him to the glacier and even introduced him to those kids. And now there wasn't room left for her.

Her own words chose that moment to come back and haunt her. "I didn't mean to catch feelings. It just makes everything so complicated and messy." Meerkat hated that she'd proven herself right on that front. She sagged a little, rubbing at one eye, feeling suddenly exhausted again.

Meerkat may as well have been speaking Ancient Greek. 'heeing 'homeone? she asks, frowning at the horrid sound (or lack thereof) her tongue produced. coahh? neither are phrases she's ever heard before.

she does, however, know the feeling of choosing one over the other.

had Ursus returned to their new mountain? how did her father grieve? had her brother seized more power?

questions she could choose to ruminate on. . .but there are bigger proverbial fish to fry.

she catches the gesture and knows it for tiredness, and feels a sudden exhaustion of her own.

The other she-wolf seemed a little perplexed by a few of the terms Meerkat used. Although very weary, she didn't mind the ongoing conversation. She had a lot on her mind and so many decisions to make, yet something about exchanging information with a stranger settled her frazzled nerves a bit.

"Yeah, like I'm romantically involved with him," she explained, suddenly starry-eyed despite her sleepiness. In fact, she forgot about the second inquiry as she tentatively wondered, "You said you're friendly with Sapphique. Do you know Njord...?"

she continues to stare blankly at Meerkat, though she supposes "involved" could encompass a number of things. they are together, at least in some regard—friends, packmates, whatever. and then a question for herself comes, and she pauses, eventually shaking her head, but slowly.

i don' 'hink i do, Avicus responds. i know 'Ulie. . .Rohh'lyn. . . all other names slip away from her; those two had been her saviors, after all. the only ones that stuck in her mind.

she cocks her head. so you involve wi' Njorh'? will you go or hhay— hhleave? she figures the woman wouldn't be asking about him otherwise. perhaps she'd join Sapphique. it's the next best thing, aside from recruiting Meerkat to her own cause. if trouble came to the Rise, Erzulie's pack would have their back.

She didn't seem to recognize his name. She mentioned Erzulie and Rosalyn and the sound of the former name (though largely distorted) brought a smile to her weary face. Njord would be the primary reason she ended up in Sapphique, if that's how this situation played out, but Meerkat certainly wouldn't mind the opportunity to repay the woman's kindness. Plus, of course, there was the private beach.

Pushing that thought from her mind, Meerkat drew in a deep breath. "That's what I have to figure out," she admitted to Avi, "preferably with his help." She squinted over the other woman's shoulder, in the direction of Sapphique. "Which I intend to do soon, though first I'd like to sort myself out a bit more. Get some sleep, for starters."

That brought her back 'round to the beginning of the conversation. "If you'd prefer I not park here, I can move somewhere else, Avi," she offered with a well-meaning twitch of her tail.

decisions, decisions.

Avicus shrugs, finding no threat in the tawny woman. you fine here, she says. her mouth moves, slowly, chewing upon words unsaid. a moment of silence, and then— i hope you pickgh your Njordh. be my ah-hlly.

she's tarried too long, here. g'bye, she bids Meerkat, and then turns, heading down the slope.

if she has another allegiance, Avicus doubts she can shift it. all she can do is encourage the woman to join her ally. and wait for the coastal pack to collapse—

it's not a wish, but a contingency;

she gallops toward the Rise.

Avi merely shrugged. Meerkat wouldn't have minded relocating, though she sagged a little with relief. This meant she didn't have to put any energy into finding somewhere more suitable to nap.

She left rather quickly after that, though not without expressing her opinion about Meerkat's upcoming decision. The yearling offered a quiet, "See you," and chewed on the inside of her cheek as she watched Avi climb down the mountain and disappear from view. That wasn't exactly an informed opinion, though she filed it away nonetheless.

A great, big yawn split her jaws open then. Meerkat shivered with the force of it, then flopped back to the ground with a grunt. She replayed some pieces of the conversation over in her head for a moment, though she didn't get very far before succumbing to her exhaustion.