Naiche knew what to do in regards to Asla for once!  One moment he felt certain she’d like his gift, the next his belly would twist with worry that despite his confidence she’d be wrong and he’d even look silly for trying.  It didn’t matter as Naiche preferred action to wasting time in pointless thoughts and what-ifs.   It wasn’t going to be the fastest present but it would be doable.  Stopping by his old den he took the best of the furs there and had Pan help balance them on his back. The next part would have been easy in a normal spring but was a pain-in-the-tail in the current weather.  Naiche made his way to the soulless forest.  Even before he entered the forest the sunlight had been a weak thing as it was hidden behind snow clouds that threatened another snowfall but so far luck had held. Inside the forest, the snow was still there but the tree’s trapped a lot in their boughs so a much smaller amount was on the ground, and traveling a bit easier.  Naiche took his time, while the snow wasn’t as thick it did a great job of hiding branches or holes in the ground that could easily trip an unwary wolf.  Eventually, he came to her tree and all its bone decorations.  Time for the work to begin.   “Alright Pan, you know what to do?”  Naiche had never expected to find a little non-wolf companion that he'd like.  Pan was perfect and the little guy was happy to help.  The little Pangolin liked Asla.  He also enjoyed the tree's out here, hopefully when the weather was better they could spend lots of time here. Pan nodded, hopping off Naiche and climbing up the tree with a hide.  A hole had been put in a corner that the pangolin could slide a leg through and he made his way up a good 6ft or so to a stable branch.  The pangolin took the blanket and looped the hole in one end to stick around a smaller branch that broke away from the large one.  The plentiful vines were then used to sew one side of the pelt in place.  The pangolin came down partway to get another pelt from Naiche and take it up the tree, this one was connected across two branches.  So the two continued setting up the pelts until they had made a stable tent using pelts, branches, and vines to keep it in place.  It was long enough that it a wolf could lay stretched out, though only with a few inches to spare and a bit shorter on the width.  All the tree branches above should help protect the amount of snow that landed on the pelts so that it shouldn’t weigh them down overly. Pan climbed down the tree and as Naiche kicked out the snow that was inside the little tent Pan used his powerful claws to pull out a few roots and dig up some fresh dirt that would be dry with the snow having never touched it.  Once it was all done Naiche stepped back to consider his work.  Admittedly someone who practiced the crafting arts could have made it look neater but Pan had done a pretty good job tying and sewing in the pelts to the tree so that they would hold, and the branches Naiche had used as pegs on the ground likewise appeared sturdy.  He’d take Asla out here and let her enjoy her tree while remaining dry.  He couldn’t keep all her decorations free of snow, but they could occasionally be cleared off.  Naiche cleared off a bit of snow from some knowing a new coating would be there later, but less than if it was on the old snow. Naiche still wasn’t the master hunter that Asla was but he did manage to find a pair of snow rabbits to bring back to the little den.  Dinner.  Once it was all set up Naiche and Pan hid in the little tent and enjoyed a bit of rest.  Whenever he scented Asla he’d go out to meet her a short distance from the present so he could point her to it to see her reaction. She was sure to like it!  Crap, what if she didn’t? He was going to feel really stupid if he’d done all this work and she didn’t like it.  What if she didn’t like how it made her tree look?  What if she thought it ugly or silly?  No, she’d like it.  Hopefully.  With concerned thoughts in mind, Naiche lay his head down to rest noticing that Pan had already fallen asleep. "Naiche"

Bedrest had been her prescription from Mojito so Aslatiel had been doing her best to stay still. Or at least not running around like she usually did. That was fine. She wanted her knee to heal so that she could get back to doing what needed to be done without worrying that she'd tweak her injury. If there was some Reaperly duty, she would forget the pain and rise to the occasion. Since there wasn't, she was sticking close to home and resting as much as she could force herself to rest. When Ashur informed her that she needed to meet Naiche somewhere, the young woman arched a brow. Rising to her paws, she moved towards the doorway and began the trek to the Soulless Forest. Why would he want to meet at her tree? It was an odd request, but it would get her out of the den for a while. She would be sure to take it slow and if her knee started to hurt, she would rest. Mo couldn't be upset by that, right? Asla was still confused about her relationship with Naiche. He would never hold a candle to Indigo, but if the golden man wanted to be in her life and he could accept that he would never hold that top spot, then... could she allow him to do so? They were doing a fine job of it so far. He'd told her that he loved her though and it had thrown a weird wrench in things. She was trying to either ignore it or process it but it was difficult. Once she was close to the area where the tree rested, she slowed somewhat. Asla hadn't been here in quite some time. She didn't have the free time anymore. It was all work. Why did he want to meet her here, of all places? It was so far from the Armada. Couldn't he have told her at home? Inwardly, Asla gasped. Was he leading her out here in the middle of nowhere to sleep with her? That was the only logical explanation for such privacy, right? Bloody hell... Eyes wider now, Asla made her way towards the tree. "Speech"

While Naiche had been resting he had kept his nose and ears sharp to make sure he noticed Asla before she got insight.  Once he sensed her he got back to his feet. Pan lost the warm pillow that had been Naiche’s coat and just curled up in a ball remaining in the tent.  Naiche could only imagine how rotten this cold was on his friend, with it having no real fur at all to keep it warm.   Naiche made his way to where Asla was,  the bottom part of his tail giving a slight wag in friendly greeting.  “Thanks for coming,” as if it wasn’t a big deal.  What if for some reason she hadn’t been able to come? That would have been the worst after all they had just gone through for the setup.  “Anyway, I made you a gift, well, with Pan’s help.”  He doubted the pangolin would care if he was mentioned at all, but he’d played a big enough part that it seemed only fair. Naiche turned to head back towards the direction of Asla’s tree, “I know it’s a bit out of the way here but I couldn’t think of much else.  So, I left Pan um ‘guarding’ your tree.”  If sleeping could be count as guarding Pan was doing well.  It wasn’t too far before the tree was insight and a bit more to really see that the additional shape next to it was a makeshift tent.  Naiche held up about that point and glanced at Asla to see if she wanted to continue onward to see the present or if she lacked interest.  You know, he’d never really given anyone a present before, not counting that rushed gift to Asla for her birthday last year and there had been no real meaning in that one. The forest actually seemed nicer now than it once did.  The layer of snow that had made it through outside wasn’t overly thick and the cold was less sharp than in the open grasslands.  Too bad neither him nor Asla could just spend their time here until a true spring came along.   “Hope you like it.” "Speech"