Mel and his sons walked back home from a full day of teaching and foraging. It had been a productive day, Mel showed Max and Leo where to look for bugs of different kinds, and the boys where happy to spend the day looking under rocks and logs and in tress, getting to eat whatever they found.
They didn't always pay attention, but they where learning fast which made up for it.
It was while they were heading back to the tunnels when Leo's curious mind began to wonder about the things he and his brother would be expected to do one day.
"Dad, do we get to pick what we want to do? When we're adults, I mean" Leo asked, finally voicing his thoughts.
"Well, that depends son." Mel said. "There are some things you are going to have to do, like foraging. That is how you're gonna find food for yourself, and if our colony was ever attacked by a rival colony you would have to help defend it. Other than those, I would think you could choose what you're best at."
"So, you're best at digging?"
"That was my strong point, yes. That is actually what a lot of meerkats choose. Since the colony is always growing, we always need more tunnels."
Leo smiled as he considered what he might want to do, then he glanced at Max.
"Max, what do you wanna do?" Leo asked his brother.
Max hadn't really thought about that, he didn't think he really needed to just yet. "I dunno." he said. "I'll probably just be a digger like Dad."
"So digging is your strong point too?"
"I guess."
"What's Mom's strong point?"
"What's with all the questions?" Mel asked, chuckling at his youngest son. "I'm sorry Leo, that was just a lot of questions being thrown at us.
Well, before you were born she liked watching over everyone, so she got to be a sentry. She hasn't gotten to do that lately, though. She's been helping Ms. Ruth and Ms. Clea, and helping with Grandma Tanya since I can't be with her all the time."
"Why can't you be with her all the time?"
Mel shook his head as he looked at leo. Obviously Leo was not going to stop. He then thought about Leo's question and sighed.
"I'd like to son, I really would. That just doesn't seem possible right now, though. I have to keep working in the tunnels. Its a good thing your grandmother is friends with Ms. Ruth, she can talk with her while your mom helps them."
"What does Mom do to help Ms. Ruth?"
At this point Mel was tired, more tired than he'd originally been. So he answered that question with the obligatory, "Ask your mother."
They were just nearing their hole as the last bits of sunlight died away. It was getting so dark that they could barely tell that Ann was emerging from the hole, and couldn't tell at all that she looked distressed.
"Mel!" Ann shouted as they came close enough to see her expression.
"What's wrong?" asked Mel.
Ann quickly shooed her sons down the hole.
"Now, you two go down the right tunnel. Do not go down the left!"
"Mom, what's wrong?" Max asked.
"I'll explain to you later, now take your brother and go... NO! The right tunnel!" Ann said hurriedly as her sons disappeared down the hole and to the right.
Mel looked worried and confused. "Honey," he said cautiously. He had a very bad feeling about what he was going to hear. "What's down the left tunnel?"
She looked up at him, her eyes were swollen which meant that she had been crying, but fresh tears spilled out as she spoke.
"Mel, your mother...your mother...has...passed on."
Everything going on in Mel's head shut off abruptly. His eyes widened and he felt like he was going to fall over. Her words floated in the air for a moment, Mel couldn't seem to grasp them.
"Are you sure?" was the only thing that escaped his mouth.
She slowly nodded. "I'm so sorry, Mel." Then she brought him into a sympathetic hug. He wasn't crying, not yet, but she seemed to be doing the crying for both of them. The information finally seemed to have sunk in as he hugged her. He had to see for himself though. He pushed Ann away and dashed past her, down and to the left. It went on for a while until he reached his destination.
Tanya looked like she was sleeping, except it didn't. There was something rigid about her that didn't seem right, and the burrow seemed much smaller than it was now.
He was so preoccupied that he didn't see the other inhabitants of the room. Ruth was sitting not far from the entrance, along with her daughter Clea, and two other meerkats.
They seemed to have just noticed that he was there.
"Oh, Mel. I'm so sorry for your loss." said Ruth, coming over to hug him. She had a crushing grip but the gesture was nice all the same.
"Thank you, Ruth. But she's just as much your loss as mine. You were good friends."
"We were, but she was your mother, dear. Its you who needs the comfort."
He looked back down at his mother. "She looks so peaceful."
"Yes, she does." Ruth agreed. "She apparently went in her sleep. Ann had just stepped out for a moment when Tanya went to take her nap, Molly and Lee say they were with her when...it happened."
Mel managed a small smile as he thought of his mother's life.
"She lived a good, full life."
"Yes. She did. She was even older than me, twenty. That's a good long life for any meerkat. She was also a wonderful friend, and she loved her family dearly"
"And she's with Dad now, right?"
"Ah, yes. The mate of the Fearless Buzz has now been reunited with him. Maybe that's why she looks so peaceful."
They all stood in silence, looking down at Tanya. Ann had joined them and there was a while before anyone spoke.
"We can have a full funeral for her." Clea said, but Mel shook his head.
"No, Mom wouldn't have wanted a big thing. We'll just bury her tomorrow with just my family and yours present, if that's alright."
"Whatever you feel is best, Mel." Ruth said. Then she added, "Oh, Mel. You remember my son Lee, I hope? Well, this is his new mate, Molly. She just joined the colony from a great distance. I do wish you could have met at a better time." She indicated her son and his mate.
Mel gave them a polite, but sad, nod. Lee returned it, not saying anything. He looked like he didn't want to impose on the grief. He looked genuinely sorry for Tanya's passing, but his mate, though she did look sad, it did not reflect in her eyes. Mel dismissed it, though.
Once they had moved Tanya's body and everyone had left, the only thing left to do was tell the children. Mel and Ann both hoped their pups would take it well, and they did. Not as much crying as there could have been, it seemed Ann was doing the crying for them, too.
"You boys understand, right?" Ann asked them when she had finally stemmed the flow of tears. "You won't be seeing Grandma anymore. At least, not here."
"But, where did she go?" Leo asked.
"She...well...she went up into the sky. To a place where nothing bad ever happens, and she gets to see Grandpa again."
Mel explained to his young son.
"Can I go there?'
"Some day." Mel said. "But hopefully not for a long, long time."
"I understand, Dad." Max said.
"I know ya do, son. Thanks for being strong. If Leo has any more questions, would you mind answering them for him?"
"Sure, Dad."
"Ok boys. "I'm going to sleep. This has really been a day." Ann said. They all hugged her and told her good night. Mel was just about to leave his sons to go to sleep too when Leo spoke up yet again.
"Dad, tell us about Grandpa again." Leo said.
"Come on Leo, Can't you see Dad doesn't want to tell stories? He probably wants to just get some sleep."
Mel sat back down, though. "No, its ok, Max. I think it might help me as much as Leo for me to tell the story."
Leo sat himself down close to his father, and Max reluctantly sat beside Leo.
"Shortly after I was born, but I don't know how long before or after your mother was born, your Grandpa Buzz was a digger, just like me. He never really liked having to live in fear of all the predators that liked to harm and/or kill us. So he decided he would try and stand up for himself as well as the colony. Well, that didn't sit right with the some of the other meerkats, they thought he was just some loon with crazy ideas, but he wasn't. He wanted to one day find a place where none of us meerkats had to worry about eating or being eaten. His most famous try was sadly, his last. One day when some hyenas were attacking the colony, Buzz got a pointy stick and ran up to them. He jabbed them with the stick and yelled at them to leave his colony alone. After that he was sadly attacked and then eaten, but now he, Buzz, your grandfather, is revered to this day as "The Fearless Buzz"."
Leo and Max clapped when Mel had finished.
"But Dad, don't some of the meerkats still think he was crazy?" asked Max.
"Well, yes. Some. Like your mother, for some reason. Its pretty much half of the colony. But don't you two worry, you know the truth. You know that Grandpa Buzz was a hero."
After finishing the talk and story, he hugged his sons and left the room. Max and Leo settled down for sleep.
"Max?" Leo said from his nest-like bed.
"Yes?" said Max, sounding sleepy and disgruntled.
"I wanna be like Dad and Grandpa."
"I bet you will be." Max said, agreeing with Leo so he could go back to sleep.
"I hope so." Leo said. Then there was a long silence before he added, "I hope my kids will be, too."
Author's Note: Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Haven't had a lot of comments, though. I did try to keep them all acting like real meerkats, but it hasn't been working so well. I did put a little bit of real meerkat behavior in there, but they're cartoon meerkats, so hopefully its ok that they don't act like real meerkats all the time. Also the age stuff isn't exactly right but again, ok.
