Dedicated to idareya2, for their suggestion that I write about "a meerkat pope, complete with inquistion." I'm not going to lie, I had to do some research for this one: watching Meerkat Manor, and also reading up on the inquisition. It's a bit longer that usual, but I hope you enjoy it regardless. =)

Sunrise

Seth's whiskers twitched. The sun had not yet peaked through the thick branches of Moire, and the air still held the night's chill. Framed by his burrow's walls,  Moire stood center. Its ancient white form stretched up into the sky, standing watch over the world. The day would become busy: there was lots of maintenance to be done on the new burrow. Seth  savoured the rare moment of solitude.  After all, there would be plenty of time to be with Rita in the days and nights to come.

The sentry's all-clear bark sounded. As soft tendrils of orange began to caress the sky, Seth left his burrow. He sought out Rita, passing by his family and friends who were grooming each other in the growing light, waiting for the  morning ceremony to begin. Finding the slender form of his mate, he greeted her with a submissive growl. Rita's delicate ears twitched in acknowledgement. She bared her teeth affectionately as he approached. Seth shooed her attendants away, and began grooming her fur. it always helped to be in favour with the leader.

"Good morning," she said, leaning into his deftly grooming paws.

"Every morning with you is a good morning," he replied.

He glanced down at her pup-swollen belly. They would be born any day now, and the whole clan would pitch in to help. He looked around. everyone was here. Except Eva, of course. He felt a twinge of guilt, and pushed it away. Nothing could bring Eva back.

When the sun lit up Moire with the full brilliance of its light, the morning worship began. Facing its gargantuan form, lean bodies stood on two legs, solemnly taking their pledge: reaffirming their connection with Moire; keeping watch over the world, just as it did. Seth inched closer to Rita, allowing her to lean against him. Further down the hill Seth could see his litter-mate Drake watching him with jealous eyes. He shrugged it off, focussing his attention back on Rita. Seth leant back on his tail for balance.  It was moments like this when he felt closest to Miore. Rays of sunlight spread across his fur like invisible tongues. Seth sighed, content. This was the life.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, Seth noticed a host of seven meerkats galloping towards the clan with frightening efficiency. Danger. Seth let out a warning bark. He noticed their tails: upright and weaving through the gentle grassland. And white.

I don't believe it. Seth thought.  Their clay-dipped tails marked the approaching outsiders as members of a clan that belonged only in legend and horror stories: warriors and prophets of Moire itself. Admiration and uneasiness washed over him. What were they doing here?

Rita gave the signal for the clan to gather together. They drew together at the top of the mound, watching the approaching intruders.

The outsiders stopped a few Meer lengths away from the clan.  A gaunt female broke off them. Remnants of a snake bite puckered the skin around her clay-rimmed eyes, the clay a shocking white against the darkness of her fur.

 "I am Kith, prophet of Miore," she growled. "Who here is Seth?"

A feeling of uneasiness churned in his stomach. Seth looked around uneasily, and stepped forward. "I am."

"Seth of the Risen clan," she addressed him."You have been charged with heresy, in your denial of the one true watcher of the world-"

"-What? No!"  Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing. "There's got to be some sort of mistake!"

"Silence!" Kith barred her teeth at him. "As an agent of Lesset, the dark one, you are to be escorted to the halls of Moiren for trial."

Rita stepped forward to join Seth. "This is a serious accusation, prophet. Surely you are mistaken?"

Kith barred her teeth at the accusation. "There is no mistake. The inquisitor is sure. Are you to renounce Moire as well?"

Another legendary title. Seth shuddered, recalling tales of the inquisitor's brutish nature. He looked around for support, but his clan had drawn away from him as if he was infectious. A babysitter pushed a young Meerling behind her protectively.

Rita bowed her head. "I meant no such thing."

Panic shot through Seth like snake's venom. "You can't let them take me!" he begged, meeting Rita's pained gaze. "You know me- I'm innocent."

His leader looked torn. "Seth, they're prophets of Moire. To defy them is to denounce the one true watcher of the world. I cannot defy Moire's command," she paused with resignation. "You must go."

"But no one has ever returned!" Seth protested, glaring at the clay-crested meerkats. "You know the legends. No one ever returns!"

"Then be the first," she replied softly. "And return to me."

Seth stared helplessly into her large brown eyes. "I will."

They brushed noses. Seth breathed in, trying to memorize the smell of her scent. It was like sunlight, like life.

"Time is wearing short," Kith interrupted. "We must return to Moire, before the day warms any further."

Seth's whiskers trembled. With great effort, he pulled himself away from Rita, and glanced at his family for he knew might be the last time. In the morning light, he swore Drake was smirking. Tail between his legs, Seth stepped forward, allowing the clay-crested meerkats to flank him. They set off at a quick pace towards Moire.

***

The ground grew hotter beneath his feet as the sun reached higher in the sky. Seth's steps sent plumes of dust into the dry air.  Seth's thoughts were fraught with turmoil. How has this happened? He'd worshipped Moire since the day he'd been born.  Seth's stomach growled as the relentless journey continued. Moire loomed larger against the sky. They passed by his clan's previous burrow. Already, dust was clogging the entranceways, sealing them up like an old wound.  Seth looked away, guilt reminding him of what lay, lifeless, inside those dark tunnels. His captors did not speak to him as they moved through the flat lands. Fear and denial pulsed through Seth's thoughts. Abruptly, the first meerkat slowed. The group skirted silently around the path of a large snake toying with a frog. Seth's ears flattened back in fear.

"Why do you fear it, when you worship the same evil?" one of the prophets joked.

Seth bristled in anger. Breaking from his captors, he looped back to the snake. It hissed at him in warning. Disregarding his safety, Seth leapt on it, grasping its neck in his powerful jaws. He heard bones snap as Seth shook his head roughly from side to side. The snake stopped struggling. As he dropped it to the ground, Seth noticed the frog staring at him. It was an odd colour. Seth licked his lips. An easy snack.

"Thank you," the frog said.

Seth was dumbfounded. In his hesitation, the frog hopped off into the undergrowth. Seth's captors caught up with him.

"I worship Moire," Seth told the prophets tonelessly. "No other."

Kith snarled, and cuffed him around the ear. Seth felt blood matting the thin fur on his face. "Fall out of line again, and you will lose your right to trial."

***

Seth stood in awe in the presence of the great Miore. It was the biggest thing he had ever seen. Sprouting from the bulbous trunk, branches stretched endlessly into the sky. With its unrivalled line of sight, the great Moire kept watch over all of Meer kind. They were so close to it, he would be able to climb it if he wanted to. Not that I would. It would be suicide to be so exposed. He uttered a quick prayer to it as his captors drove him into a tunnel.

They marched him through winding tunnels, that went deeper than he'd ever known was possible. Here, the air was cold. At a dead end, Seth was thrown into a holding cell. It was damp, something he had never encountered  before: a chill that seeped through his fur, cut through his skin, and gnawed upon his bones. His captors sneered when he asked for something to drink. "Followers of Lesset do not need water, they need salvation."

It was dark. Seth strained his ears for sounds of this strange clan's activities, trying to judge the passing of time, but there was nothing. Except for three guards keeping watch at the end of the corridor, his cell was so isolated that he heard neither the scuffling of paws, nor smelt the comings and goings of any of the strange clay-crested Meer. Seth clawed at the walls experimentally, but they were smooth and unwavering. Miserable, he curled into a circle. His thoughts travelled to Rita.

***

Seth was awakened by a paw slamming roughly into his side. Instinct forced him into a ball. Grasping for breath, he smelt clay and scorpion on the air. At first he thought it was a meal, but he quickly noticed it was just the severed stinger.

"Will you confess?" The voice was rough, demanding. He recognized it as Kith's.

"I have nothing to confess, except my innocence," Seth replied.

He sprung to his feet, intending to make an escape, but was confronted by three Meer; all clay-rimmed eyes and malice.

"If you continue to lie, we will have to draw the truth out from you."

The barbed scorpion's tail was brandished in front of him. Seth's eyes flashed to its glistening point. It dripped venom: not life-threatening in small doses, but agonisingly painful. Realisation dawned in Seth's eyes. He shied away from its point.

"You need not worry, as long as you tell us the truth," the stern faced meer repeated.

"I am telling the truth!" Seth yelled. "Please! Believe me!"

"I don't believe the word of any who worship Lesset," came the reply. "Hold him down."

"No! Please!"

The other two captors sprung at Seth, and pinned him to the cold ground. Seth struggled in vain to get free of their iron grips. His heart hammered in his ears.  He felt the barb press dangerously against his skin between his shoulders. The pressure lifted momentarily: "Your kind will be the destruction of all Meer kind. Confess your treachery and this can be avoided."

"No."

The poisoned barb punctured his skin.

Enjoying it? Let me know what you think in the comments!