Firefly Glen whiskey on you

GOTTA WRITE! See threadlog for timestamp.

She felt—better wasn’t the right word… but Meerkat didn’t feel quite as dreadful today. She gathered her energy and made her way to the foot of the mountain to refamiliarize herself with the lay of the land. She would also leave marks, to support @Sialuk’s efforts to revive Moonspear.

As Meerkat shuffled along, she found herself straying a bit further afield into Firefly Glen. She closed her eyes and thought of the last time she had stood here on its northside. She could hear Bronco’s echo in her head, her younger self’s too. They had risen up out of that wreckage.

She had done it once. She could do it again.

Keen knew as she traipsed through the glen that she was not far from where she'd once found Rusalka. Where she had tried to make a new start, and forge an identity for herself, only for it to all fall flat. Which, really, had been a common theme of her youth overall. She'd tried on so many different identities in a desperate attempt to break away from — well, herself. Because being herself just reminded her of all the things she had lost. She missed her family; she missed Easthollow.
But at some point she'd decided to stop running from it. She'd never stopped wandering, but more often than not her travels took her to places far from where she had started. Not so, this time. Keen was closer than she'd been in a long time to her old home. It was still fairly far, though, so she felt safe enough. They wouldn't find her here.
She saw a woman, and stopped. Sandy fur, a bit thick around the middle; her eyes were closed. Keen wasn't sure if she should approach or not, so she simply stood there and watched her for the moment, and wondered if she was okay. There were only so many reasons to stop in the middle of nowhere and close your eyes.

She tucked those memories back where they lived in some shadowy corner of her mind and opened her eyes. Meerkat startled with an audible gasp when she saw someone standing there, watching her. Those blue eyes reminded her so much of Swordfish’s that her stomach cramped and, for a moment, Meerkat thought she might be sick.

It was dangerous to take her eyes off a stranger, yet she looked away for a moment to breathe through the wave. Only when she was certain she wouldn’t vomit, after all, she slowly turned back toward the willowy she-wolf with lustrous chocolate furs and her son’s eyes.

She didn’t have the heart to socialize, though her good manners prompted her to offer a quiet, Hello.

The woman opened her eyes and gasped, and looked as if Keen had reached right into her chest and tore her heart out. She didn't know what to think. It obviously wasn't about her, but it still didn't feel great to receive that kind of reaction. When the woman looked away, Keen took the opportunity to take a deep breath and remind herself not to take it personally.
Hi, She returned the greeting, and didn't wait to speak again. Are you okay? The question was soft, not demanding but gently concerned. Keen asked partially for her own sake; maybe the answer would make it easier to avoid taking the weird moment personally.

Her shoulders sagged under the weight of that question. She was far from okay, though she didn’t want to talk about it with a complete stranger. Meerkat also didn’t want to be rude by dismissing a question voiced with such authentic concern.

No, she replied, unable to come up with anything but the truth. I’m Meerkat, she added in an effort to switch gears as promptly as possible, realizing only as the words left her mouth that the line delivered like some total dad joke.

No, she wasn't okay, she was Meerkat. Alright then. Keen decided it was safe enough to assume that was her name and not some...weird emotion she had come up with herself. "How are you?" "Very Meerkat today, thanks!" It didn't seem likely. So...
I'm Keen, She offered. Is there anything I can do to help? Her mother had abandoned her, it was true, but she had raised her right before that. It would never be said that Keen formerly-of-Easthollow lacked for good intentions. It just went terribly awry sometimes. Like that one girl she'd murdered.

If the delivery of her introduction struck the woman oddly, she didn’t give any indication. She introduced herself in turn, then asked if there was anything she could do. Meerkat sighed through her nose and shook her head lightly, then stilled abruptly.

My son is missing. If you’re traveling the area and happen to come across a young man with brownish gray fur, blue eyes like yours and a red tail, he goes by Swordfish. Please tell him his mother, father and brother miss him dearly. And tell him he can find us on Moonspear.

Was that a lot to ask of a stranger she’d only just met? Meerkat didn’t know, though she supposed it didn’t really require any special effort. It did assume that Keen here was transient, which might not be right.

Are you? Traveling the area? she thought to tack on after a beat.

At first Meerkat only shook her head, and Keen prepared to excuse herself. Then suddenly she was offering up a description, her missing son, and Keen could only wonder if her mother had ever done the same. Probably not. It was a bitter thought, but Keen was long past wanting others to share in what she'd suffered. She nodded slowly as Meerkat went on.
Sort of. I'd like to settle somewhere soon, but in the mean time, I can keep an eye out for Swordfish, Keen returned, mentally filing the description away. Brownish-grey, red tail, blue eyes. He sounded distinctive enough. Of course she wondered what had happened, but she knew better than to ask.

Keen mentioned she’d actually prefer to settle. Although this meant she was unlikely to cross paths with Swordfish, Meerkat realized there was an opportunity here. She wasn’t exactly feeling ambassadorial at the moment, though one way to repay Sialuk’s kindness would be to recruit able-bodied members to build up the village’s strength.

Moonspear could use more members, she said plainly. My good friend, Sialuk, is reestablishing the pack there. We both have a lot of history there, though we welcome newcomers, or at least Meerkat was pretty sure the pale Ostrega would always have room for anyone with a good spirit.

Her first thought was that she couldn't help find Meerkat's missing son if she stayed here, but her next thought was that this was really convenient. If Moonspear was the sort of place Keen was looking for.
Oh, well, what are you guys looking for exactly? She realized the question was a little vague, so she added, I'm a historian and a small game hunter. I collect pack and individual history, make it into cohesive stories, and pass it on. The last pack she'd been with had only allowed her to stay for as long as it had taken her to do exactly that with their own history; she hoped Moonspear would be different, but if they too only wanted their stories condensed and passed on, Keen could deal with that.

Meerkat supposed she couldn’t answer that question, or at least shouldn’t. This was Sialuk’s pack and she should get final say on what sort of wolves they could use in their revival.

I think Sialuk would find a lot of merit with both your skill sets, Meerkat replied, but I don’t want to speak for her. Moonspear belongs to her. Come on, I’ll take you to the borders and call for her.

She wasn’t sad to depart from the glen. It didn’t take them long to reach the foot of the mount. Meerkat glanced over at Keen and, with a flick of her tail, raised her head and summoned @Sialuk.

Meerkat did not take joy in much of anything these days. But when Sialuk and Keen hit it off, it left her with a sense of satisfaction. And yet more hope for better days to come.