Stomping Grounds
Two storage dens were complete and the third he was about halfway through. He had so much going on within his mind that it was hard to focus on work today. A yesterday he had accompanied Serene while she completed what needed to be done to fully lay her mother to rest. That place and what he had felt there was something he couldn’t explain it had his head spinning when he thought about it. The more he hung around Serene the more he had seen that she was more special and talented then he had realized.
As if being his first true friend around here wasn’t enough, she had a connection to this territory like no other, emotionally and spiritually. He had offered her the comforts of his den last night, letting her get the rest she needed after going through that emotional ritual yesterday. He had slept outside, at the mouth of the den, just an earshot away in case she had needed anything. He had liked sleeping under the willow he chose for his den to be under. It had been a cool, quiet night and he felt like he had slept extremely well. He was up early checking the borders of the willows while he let Serene sleep as long as she felt like.
Along the way he picked up a small breakfast, a fat hare and dropped it off at the den before finishing his rounds. In total it took him about an hour before he was done completely and headed back to the den to see if she was awake.
Sleep was a strange thing that following night. She had been so thankful to Branch for letting her sleep in his territory and her homeland, but also for letting her sleep in his beautiful den. As if that wasn't enough, the male had showed true gentlemen qualities as he offered to sleep outside the den. It had truly meant a lot to her, especially after the ritual. Serene was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She had physically felt the presents of spirits, and she had felt a level of communications between them. Her mother had even appeared to her, and that was the biggest event of the whole ritual. It had brought back every memory they had shared together; every laugh and tear, every conversation, every adventure. Then she was gone and with her the fawn woman could feel a part of her leave her too, and that had drained her most of all.
When she had gone into the den to retire, sleep had found her, but so did her dreams. All through the night Serene had dreams of various situations; sometimes she was running through a meadow with her mother, causing soft yips and feet twitching in her sleep. Sometimes she was running away from that devilish male she had run into, Daemon, who wanted to claim her most precious gift. Tossing and turning into the early hours of the morning, feeling barely replenished from the previous days events. But she did manage to get a few hours of good, peaceful sleep, before she woke for the day. By then, her faithful guardian at the den entrance was gone, and in his place a delicious smelling hare. Normally, she would be too ashamed to eat a gift such as this, but her body was so exhausted, her mind so tired... she didn't have the will to resist. Her amber orbs gazed about the den site looking for Branch to thank him for the meal, but when his dark form wasn't in sight, she began to scarf down the hare.
She wasn't a completely horrible guest however, and she left half the hare for Branch for when he came back from wherever he went. While she waited, Serene was left in a daze, not really thinking about anything specific but also thinking about too much. Somehow she had wondered into one of the storage dens, where the scents of various herbs consumed her senses. It smelt like home if Serene was going to be completely honest. She let her eyes flutter close and have the scents guide her movements. Sweet, spicy, soft and strong, but then there was that one. Her eyes flickered open to see a familiar purple flower staring back at her. "Lavender..." She purred softly, a smile creeping up on her features. Her thoughts began to clear as she examined the herb, even being greedy enough to gently rub her muzzle along the stems to let the scent sink into her skin.
"Speech"
He returned to his den to find the half eaten hare. Serene must have eaten her fill which made him happy. He could only hope she had slept well enough and was recharged. He settled himself down and finished off the meal, cleaning it up and eating his fill. He then did his best to take the remnants and bury them a few yards from the den to keep things clean. He moved back over to his den and looked down into the entrance. Did Serene go back to sleep? He casually moved down into the den to look around, but he didn't find Serene in there making his brows furrow before exiting the den.
He wondered where she had gone and hoped she hadn't decided to head off on another trip so soon. Lowering his head to the ground he used his nose to fallow her trail. It didn't go far, in fact it had went into the herb storage den which made him smile. He hadn't showed her the finished product yet. It was a massive den with several 'shelves' dug out into the dirt walls He even had semi thick sticks stuck into parts of the walls to hang herbs from to dry. He was proud of what he had created and he wondered what she had thought of it.
He moved into the large opening to the storage den and moved inside to find her rubbing her muzzle against the same flower she had used in her ceremony. His eyes softened as he gave her time, she was still grieving after all and he was sure that all the emotions hadn't fully settled yet. He didn't want to disturb her, but just let her be comfortable as she could.
Her ears twitched in the direction of the opening to the den, faintly hearing some commotion in the silence. It caused her to run her cheek along the flowers but one last time before she turned to find that familiar charcoal male. Her smile grew upon seeing him, and she turned fully to greet him, walking up to his spot at the entrance. "Good morning, Branch. Thank you for the meal, it was delicious." In truth it was quite a pleasant surprise, especially after such a taxing night prior, Serene hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw the hare. Her amber gaze danced around the herbs packed away, before she let her gaze settle back on his features. "You've put so much work in, it's truly a healers paradise." She praised, for it was surely due. Why wasn't there any other wolves here? Surely any number of loners would find this place a paradise, so why weren't there any here? "So... where is everyone?"
"Speech"