It was spring again. The snow lingered yet in small white clumps, but the grasses were growing back and the trees were becoming green again. Creatures that had left to escape the cold were returning, plump and with new young. As I slipped past a small elk herd I couldn't help but think of what Laxago had said in the past. That perhaps, once she recovered that we would attempt a family again. Our first children could not understand us and in result they chose difficult lives. But she was still recovering and I was still doing what I could to take care of the poor girl. She could not know how much better she seemed now. Her pelt completely groomed, all the mats and knotts and stains gone from months of effort on my part. In the spring sunlight her white fur was immaculate. Purer than snow its self. In my jaws I carried a fat partridge. Knowing Laxago had a strong preference for fowl I had spent the better part of the morning searching for one of her favorite meals. The weight of the fat bird caused my head to dip left the slightest bit, causing my toothsome smile to appear even more awry. I hoped the girl was still asleep in the dugout we had made near the stream. He had traveled long the day before, and though our feet had toughened with our wandering, the day had been long and the girl had been drawn into a deep sleep. I hoped that she would still be resting as I approached.

If I could make the world as pure,

and strange as what I see...

I'd put you in the mirror,

I put in front of me.

Laxago was healthy these days - at least physically. It was no measure of her own accord, however, and it was by little more than luck that she remained alive, doted upon by her sweet lover who was the only thing to keep her going. She couldn't help her mental state, which was unstable to say the least, and while some days she seemed almost better, almost ready to face the world again, but then she would slump and revert back to the black abyss of her mind and dragging her back from the deep was easier said than done. She had awoken some time ago, but was uninterested in moving from where she lay curled at the back of the den, her pale forest eyes blinking slowly as she watched the sun's rays dapple on the water's surface - a rather beautiful occurance if Laxago had been interested in such things. Instead, she huffed and rolled over to face the wall of the dugout, wondering if she could catch a few more minutes of sleep before Deteste came to rouse her.

Head tilted, teeth barred I approached the den we had dug out in a mound of earth that overhung the stream. The shadow of the small overhang caused the area to be dark, and the den that had been dug at a slant was even darker. A premier environment for Laxago's sleeping habits. I saw her, a small pile of white fur still at rest. She appeared so relaxed that I could not bring myself to wake her. I gently settled the partridge at the mouth of the den and sat at the edge of the water, enjoying the day and watching the elk heard that grazed in the distance. We would not travel today I decided. Laxago seemed rather exhausted. I wondered if we would ever find a peaceful place to call home. We had many months before winter would come. I had managed to hunt for the both of us this year and the weather hadn't been too harsh but I was starting to feel my age and I worried for the future.

If I could make the world as pure,

and strange as what I see...

I'd put you in the mirror,

I put in front of me.

Laxago couldn't quite get comfortable now that she had woken up, and though she curled herself up and tucked her nose under the end of her tail with her paws all pulled under her body, she did not find sleep - especially not when she heard movement outside. She could only assume it to be Deteste, and the paladin female again shifted, settling onto her belly and dragging her muzzle to the side so that she could peer out towards the entrance of the den, catching side of her mate's backside and then upon the meal he had left just out of her reach. A slight frown curled over her lips, as though it was too much effort to grovel towards the sun and get her breakfast, but eventually Laxago dragged herself forth on her belly, reaching out and grabbing the foot of the bird before rapidly dragging it back towards her breast, wordlessly crunching on the bones, meat, and feathers alike; she wasn't exactly picky when it came to her eating habits, and she knew it made Deteste happier when she ate as voraciously as she usually did. Her muzzle was soon bloodied and her salmon tongue lapped against the edges, her pale gaze drifting towards the male where he sat at the water's edge, and after having eaten a solid meal, she supposed she ought to face the world for the day. Still, it was done with no grace, and she crawled out of the den without much care to how silly she may have looked, her weight resting on her belly as she all but swam through the gravel and drug herself to the water's edge, halting promptly when she reached it and allowing her forelegs to dangle lazily in the cool stream.

There was movement from within. The girl had likely woken before my arrival, and it would not take long for my pressance to lure her to the mouth of the den. I turned towards her when I could hear her small body drag against the dirt, greeting her not with words but with a warm smile and an encouraging look. Once she had exited and settled herself at her meal I stood and moved over her in such a way that she ate between my forelegs, my black pelt brushing softly against her ears. I allowed Laxago the entire bird, ignoring my hunger. Though food was plentiful it was difficult to hunt for two and at the same time give Laxago the attention she needed to do well. She was doing so well lately, I thought, that there was no way I could spend any more time away from her. Any day now, I thought, she would look up to me and smile and we would play like pups as we did when our love was youthful. I groomed her as she ate, picking out a bit of bone here and wiping clean a spatter of blood there. I paused when she began to stir, and moved away to allow her, her path to the water. "Hello my dear" I greeted sweetly, seating myself gently beside her.

If I could make the world as pure,

and strange as what I see...

I'd put you in the mirror,

I put in front of me.

His doting nature was truly the only thing that kept her going, kept the ravaged soul of the helpless dame from truly shattering into pieces. She knew she would have been long dead if not for him, but Laxago seemed unable to show her gratitude, much like she was unable to show anything else; her tongue lapped against inky jowls, ears twisting back in response to the male's movement, and for a moment she paused, twisting her muzzle to the side to lick his ankle, her tail folding up beside her hip as a yawn parted her jaws, her tongue curling towards the roof of her mouth as she did so. By the time she had reached the water, Deteste was there, ever watchful and hovering by her side, and she rolled idly onto her spine, glancing towards her mate with her usual somber expression, her ears flicking to catch his gentle greeting, the soft croon of his voice soothing her as it so often did. She spoke very rarely now, her communications made mostly with eye contact and subtle body language, and Laxago twisted herself quietly back onto her belly, forcing herself to rise and shaking the dirt from her pristine coat - that was only its paladin color thanks to Deteste's doting grooming - and padding into the cool brook. The waters only reached about halfway up her lanky legs before the girl halted, watching silver fish dart around and under her and intriguing what little curiosity still stirred within her breast, her muzzle dipping quietly towards the water as she quietly wondered if she could manage to catch any of them.

Laxago was not doing particularly well today. My greeting hung in the air, heavy and then gone. Though I could read an acknowledgement in her body language I couldn't help but feel somewhat hurt that she could not find the energy to return a verbal exchange. I decided that we would stay here. Perhaps until the fall began. Long days of travel had not done Laxago any good and at least here there was a steady water supply and a good amount of game. In such a fertile land there were bound to be others not far from us. I could venture in the night while Laxago slept until I found a pack we could join. If I did not find anything we could move on later in the year. I walked a couple of steps upstream and entered the water. It was cool against my body, my black pelt had absorbed the summer heat from the sun. It was my thin physique that kept me cool on hot days. I waded deeper, causing the small fish in the stream to flee away from me and towards Laxago who appeared some what interested in hunting them. If not seriously, then as a game. It would be lovely to see Laxago do something that would be at least vaguely fun for her.