You're as young as you feel

As she set up her little birthday dinner and gift for Kane out in the plains, it did feel a little bit like things had come full circle to bring them back here once more. Setting off on their own to raise their children while exploring the wilderness with them had felt like such a crazy notion to her at the time, but she was so glad they had done it. It did mean that all three of their pups had gone off on their own once they were old enough which made her heart ache with worry for them, but she knew she and Kane had done well in raising them and they were more than prepared to face the wide open world. Now all she could do was hope that they found the adventure they were searching for and that they occasionally came back to see their parents. But, now that they were empty nesters, she had to start considering where they might spend the rest of their days. The Hallows was an obvious choice so that she could be near her oldest children and–though she didn't like to admit it–they could have a more readily available supply of medicines and Gwyn's skills as they got older.

They built a comfortable den out on the plains since she knew Kane would prefer that to sleeping in the castle, but she did go back and forth between the two throughout the day. It felt like this would likely be the last time they moved somewhere so she spent more time setting up a more substantial bed within the dug out den and made sure they built it next to the calm stream that passed through the plains so that it was easy to grab a drink of water. Tonight though, she was out in the parts of the plains that were farther from the castle and closer to the outskirts of the Wildberry Grove. She had recruited her daughter to keep him busy and tasked him with helping her prepare some poltices and in the meantime she had pulled out one of their larger bed furs and had used it to flatten out a spot for them among the thick grasses of the plain. By the time it started to get dark and she was expecting Kane to be finding his way back to their den she had a campfire built and a modest dinner cooking for the two of them–along with a couple other treats that she kept tucked away for now. She looked up at the sky and smiled a bit to herself. She had planned his birthday surprise to hopefully land on a full moon and though the sun was still peeking over the horizon and painting the sky with deep shades of red and purple she thought she had judged it correctly. Settling onto the fur with a sigh, she tipped her head back and called gently for her mate, eagerly awaiting their evening together.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley