Dragoncrest Cliffs eyes on your vibes

For a while now, Meerkat had refused to stray from Sapphique, intent on being here when Njord returned. And she would not leave her children, even for one day. Only when their da came back would they all do a little traveling together, like they’d planned.

But a month had passed and still there was no sign of Njord. And she’d told her dad she would try to make a trip down to Mereo soon. Swallowing thickly, Meerkat turned these things over in her mind even as she brought some food by the rendezvous site for her sons and daughter.

She set the meat down and took a seat beside it, exhaling through her nose. Meerkat thought about how each of her children was doing in their father’s absence. More than once, @Mercy had begged to go looking for her beloved da. She worried that if she kept refusing her, the little Vixen would take it upon herself to go find Njord.

Tears pricked her eyes, a familiar sensation by now. Meerkat sniffed them back and called for her little girl, as well as @Stingray and @Swordfish. She wanted to make sure they had something to eat, plus maybe she would float the idea of a mommy-and-me road trip to Mereo after all, to get all their minds off the gaping hole in ther family.

Tags are invitational, not obligational, and this is open to anyone! :)

Swordfish had grown moody with the hole left by Njord. He thought of his father often. The shift in Meerkat had been noticed, but unaddressed. He was too young to approach matters of that sort. It troubled him to see her saddened. It made him angry to know that Njord could not be reached. The boy missed his dad, but he wanted to make sure that Meerkat didn’t see this. 

When she summoned her kids, Swordfish approached, aloof. His eyes scanned her face hoping he might catch a glimmer of how she felt. She looked the same as she had looked since the day Njord had left them. The boy waved his tail to her once. His eyes turned to scan for Stingray, hoping that his cheery brother would join them. Ray had a way about him - an abundance of joy that hung on his golden existence. Swordfish thought they could use that. 

Hey ma, he said softly to her. The boy lifted his snout and trotted to where he could bump against her shoulder. A heavy lidded blink followed this motion. Swordfish licked his chops. What’r you doing? A lazy smile flitted across his features.

Her expression softened when her younger son traipsed into view, though she bit the inside of her cheek when she noticed the pensive look on his face. Swordfish’s gaze moved past her and she could only imagine he was looking for any sign of his da. Meerkat’s heart squeezed.

Hi, Fish, she said a little thickly when he closed the gap. I brought food, if you’re hungry, she said, motioning toward it even as she pressed her nose to his cheek, lightly snuffling against the furs there.

This time, it was Meerkat who scanned their surroundings, keeping an eye out for any sign of the other two. But when they did not appear, she decided she would still float her idea past Fish, then catch up with Ray and Mercy sometime later. Her brown eyes came back to rest on his features, the angles of his face so reminiscent of his father’s.

I was also thinking about taking a trip to visit your grandma and some of our other relatives. What would you think of that?

At the mention of food, the boy felt his stomach churn. He didn’t have much of an appetite. Still, Swordfish didn’t want his mom to think that she’d gone through all that work for no one to properly appreciate it. He looked at her offering slowly before he pulled a bite from it and settled next to her. While he worked on chewing it down, the boy listened to his mom talk about visiting their family.

We’re all going? To see grandma?

She’d wanted to know what he thought of the proposal. Swordfish wasn’t too keen on the thought of trekking across land, far away from their home, just so they could visit some other place. The idea of visiting and getting to know his grandmother was enjoyable.

Sounds fun to me, ma. If Ray and Mercy are gonna come, I’ll go too.

One last bite and he’d swallowed all the meat he’d managed to grab. Swordfish looked to Meerkat, hoping she might join him, making sure that she was taking care of herself as well as she was looking after her children.

He settled down beside her, nibbling at the food she’d brought, and that simple sight made her sore heart feel a bit lighter. Between bites, he asked her some questions about the idea she’d pitched. Meerkat held her breath, wondering if perhaps Fish would object to such a long trek. But he said it might be fun, if his brother and sister came along.

I hope they’re up for it too. I think getting away to do something fun and spend some time with our relatives will be good for all of us, Meerkat said, so happy about her son’s optimistic response that her smile reached her eyes. I can’t wait to see what you think of your Grandma Towhee. There’s a lot of other family living down in Mereo too.

She nudged the top of his head when he gave her a look. Meerkat smiled, hummed under her breath and bent to gnaw off a chunk of meat. She chewed and swallowed it, then settled down on her belly beside Swordfish. There was still a lot left, though neither one of them seemed interested, which was well and good; they could offer the rest to Ray and Mercy when they showed up.

I’ll ask them as soon as I see them next, she murmured, wondering if they would react as favorably as Fish. In the meantime, I can’t say I mind hanging out with you one-on-one for a bit. Is there anything you’d like to do? Or we can always just sit here and chat, maybe have a nap, Meerkat finished, the corners of her mouth pulling upward.

Ray’ll prolly wanna go, Swordfish guessed absently. He imagined his brother might like the idea of venturing off into a new land and finding all sorts of new things. Though it was small, the boy had found a love and admiration for his brother. Though Stingray could be odd, at times, he seemed to have a good idea of who he was. That was worth some sibling appreciation, and this would surely grow in time.

When his mom said that she didn’t mind hanging out with just him. She said they could do something together. She even suggested that they could nap, which drew the boy’s eye toward her and lifted his features into a tired smile. His tail thumped and he laughed a small laugh.

Okay, but the best part of taking a nap mom… is finding the napping place, Swordfish said with a sagely expression. His heavy-lidded gaze had already shifted to a deep ocean blue. The length of his limbs had turned him into an awkward and gangly thing. He was not quite so small anymore.

She laughed softly too, replying, Well, what’s your criteria for the perfect napping destination? It’s important we discuss your preferred list of features before we go out into the world to find the most suitable spot.

And Meerkat would sit here and chat about dreamy places to sleep all day long, if that’s what Swordfish wanted to do. But something about her own words triggered a thread of thought, which began to spool out in her head.

When we get back from our trip, I think it only makes sense that you and your brother and sister should be free to roam Sapphique at your leisure, if you want, Meerkat mused, eyes resting on her son’s face.

Maybe they were already doing that somewhat. Meerkat tried to be a good mother and resist the temptation to hover too much. Besides that, she’d been a bit distracted lately. But she wanted the kids to know she absolutely trusted them to do as they pleased within their home.

It’s gotta be warm, and dry, and real nice and quiet, he told her, tail wagging. Swordfish thought that some small noises were fine. He didn’t mind the sound of the water anymore. It had taken him a while to get used to it, and the cries of the gulls. As he had grown older, he couldn’t really imagine his life without the rocking waves and the sounds of birds.

Mom thought that they should be able to roam the pack land freely, once they returned from visiting the kids’ grandma. Swordfish squinted at her, tail still waving. He thought of his siblings and imagined they would both think highly of this new freedom. He wasn’t going to question it, but he did wonder if it had been hard to give them that space after Njord had gone.

We’ll be safe. We can go anywhere in the pack, though? Deep blue eyes searched his mom’s face.

Yes, she confirmed, eyes soft as they held his gaze. You guys are mature enough now and I trust you’ll not get into trouble—well, that you’ll only get into a little bit of trouble, Meerkat amended with a laugh.

She hadn’t been much older than him when she’d left her pack altogether, of course with her big brother in tow. She almost mentioned that, though she hesitated. Did Meerkat want to put that idea into her kids’ heads, make them think she was alright with it? She would like to say she wouldn’t hold them back but they were still so young. She had been too young to go, in hindsight, and she knew now how much she’d broken her mother’s heart.

If any of them expressed an interest in traveling—particularly if they went on this trip—then she would discuss it with them. In the meantime, Meerkat felt a little selfish but mostly just pleased that all three of her children were still with her and doing fairly well with the cards they’d been dealt.

So, back to this napping spot. I bet we could find the perfect place somewhere around here. And by ‘around here,’ I don’t mean the rendezvous site. I mean somewhere else in the territory. Wanna go find it? We can get it all prepped and ready so you can start using it after our trip, hm? Sound like a plan?