Well… he assumed it had been a panic attack. He hadn’t actually witnessed one. Hopefully his assumptions didn’t make it harder for her later. He shook his head to clear it from the jumble of thoughts, and watched her as she walked up the cliff back to his cave. He would be harder on her once she’d healed up. He kept telling himself that, but he believed it a little less each time.

Once she was out of sight, he trotted off to go hunting. Knowing it would take some time, but he wanted to bring back something fresh. He managed to catch a rabbit, and make some dubious charcoal writing sticks, and he grabbed a black bear coat from the stores. It was growing colder as winter got closer. With his haul over his shoulder, he trotted back to his den. He rapped on the door with the back of his paw before trotting in. He dumped the rabbit beside the bed, and the charcoal sticks next to it. He chucked the coat over her little form with a brisk efficiency, as if that could hide the kindness of the gesture. He didn’t make eye contact with her. “You'll heal faster warm. We can put you to work sooner." He said, as if that made sense.


"Speech"

She looked back once but he was already out of sight. That was when the tears started flowing without her consent. She couldn't stop them silently falling as she made her way into the den. She left a trail of wet drops that led to her bed, they would dry quickly behind her though. She never had a father figure before him, she didn't even realize what the idea of a father even felt like. He would never admit to what transpired though. Better forget the whole thing happened.

She was dozing off, sniffing some unwelcome tears back when she heard his heavy footfalls. She had started to recognize them and their direction now, she could almost figure out his mood before he even rapped on her doorway.

She tried to lift her heavy head as he came in but had to put it back down again from the weight. She watched with curiosity the rabbit and the partially charred charcoal sticks. Thos'll do in a pinch. Then he quickly spread a black bear fur over her form. Oh hey, she knew this one, it was from the back corner second to the left above the dear hides. Oh though that might be a mess still.

She tilted her head at him, using a paw to prop up her cheek at him as she silently looked him over while he was avoiding looking at her and made a comment about keeping her warm to help her get back to work sooner. That was more like it, sort of. He was spoiling her, but she didn't dare say anything about it. Alright, Spider, you win. Big old softie for those he cares about. And somehow, she didn't know how, he was starting to care for her, in his own way. She couldn't even try to fathom how that happened, she's screwed everything up from sun up to sun down, sideways and backward.
"Can't wait to fix those shelves. I'll make sure to put this back in the corner, above the deer hides." She replied, hopefully, that was enough of a thank you for him, he might take it all back if she got mushy and affectionate. It felt a lot like him. The rabbit was a welcome distraction as she gratefully dug in.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He huffed a soft laugh under his breath, still not looking at her. “You do that.” He agreed. By them, she’d have a coat of her own to add to her personal supplies. He was losing the battle of where her place was in the pack. He remembered when he had slapped her, back at Veteran’s Plateau, how little he had felt. He would not have fathomed that he would become weak at seeing her in pain.

“Have you given some thought to where your den would be?” He asked, referring back to one of the deals they had made. Where she would catch some goats, and he would give her that measure of freedom. Don’t suggest it! he thought to himself. She’s not your daughter, don’t go that far.

"Speech"

The rabbit was nice and fresh.
She flicked her ears up at his question. She hadn't given it a ton of thought, she hadn't really wandered very far around to pick a potential den.

"Not really..." She continued to think as she finished her meal, she should probably scout around for it when she's ready for it. Would she really get to pick her own?
"Probably somewhere close to the storerooms. As long as I'm out of the way, I suppose." She said cleaning her paws and rubbing her face. She should get a real charcoal kiln made, and start making paper too. With how much she went through she'd have to start making her own to stock up. Maybe start a system to store her notes and drawings and build some some kind of case for them.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He watched her as she ate, she seemed to have calmed down from her episode, but he intended to do a little research into what had plagued her. He couldn’t have his slave falling apart in inopportune moments.

“Your work won't always be in the store rooms” He pointed out to her, knowing there would be plenty of other places he could use her in the pack. “I found evidence of a new cave beneath this den. Perhaps once I finish excavating the entrance, you can see if it would fit your liking?” He suggested. That would have the added benefit of keeping her close.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ignitas's ears swiveled around to him and she looked up to meet his gaze. She was still wondering when the rug of his current decency would be pulled out from under her. Her work won't always be in the storeroom? What other work would she do? Oh right, they talked about some of the defenses and battlements she knew of. Then who would keep track of the storeroom if she wasn't there to keep it organized? Did he have other slaves... *songbirds* she hasn't met yet?

What other jobs did he have in mind?

Her reeling mind struggled to slow as he then mentioned a potential cave den near this one and if it was suitable, maybe she could have that one. The idea of a new cave entirely sent sparks of interest over her eyes, the possibilities of what it could look like would be endless until it was accessible!
"I'd love to see it!" She exclaimed, what if it had glittering stones! What if it was an ancient caldera with a crystal clear pool the size of the Col itself? Her ideas were on exploration and not actually on den making. Probably an effect of the recent herbs tampering with her innate need to find a suitable den. Her tail wags back and forth, the gleam of imagination in her eyes.
"What do you think you'll find?" She made as if to get up and take a look now but the ache in her semi-healed recently exercised fractured leg reminded her to sit the fuck back down.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Yeah, he had a feeling her inquisitive mind would latch onto that. So he wasn’t really surprised by her reaction. Still. He hid a smile and cuffed her lightly on the shoulder. “Stay, down. Rest that leg, you can explore it tomorrow when I get it open” He told her.

He’d have to work on it for a few hours today. He had a few ideas on how to clear out the stone, and the roots that were woven heavily across the entrance. He wasn’t sure when it had last been opened - probably not in his lifetime. “I suspect I’ll find a cave. With rock.” He said, his voice serious, but there was a hint of teasing in his eyes. He was starting to get an idea of how her mind worked. He knew how exasperated she would be at his lack of imagination.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

"Tomorrow?" She asked wagging her tail, looking up at him like a girl who was promised a kitten for her birthday. She didn't flinch at his cuff this time, just gently obeyed to remain seated.
"You hear that Ida?" She said aside to the possum, settling between her arm  to also keep her stationary. She sleepily rubbed her eyes at Iggy and circled into a nestled position.

When he responded with the wholly unimaginative statement of finding rock in a cave Ignita scrunched her face up at him.
"Well of course rock! But what kind? Pools of water, those big pillars of toothy things that went from the floor and ceiling? Pretty sparkling rocks? Metals? The possibilities are endless!" She exclaimed, her face was animated and she moved one of her arms to emphasize as she spoke, holding Idalia with the other.

"Speech"

“Tomorrow, and not a minute sooner” He agreed mildly, watching her incredible capacity for enthusiasm. She wasn’t actually that much younger than he was, but he forgot it sometimes, with the difference in power and nature between them.

“Stalactites and stalagmites?” He asked, voice still mild as he named the rock formations she spoke of. “The cave could be two feet deep for all I know. Until I get it open, we won’t have a clue what’s in there. But if there are gems and metals, they’ll be added to the packs stores for crafting and trading.” They were too valuable to leave sitting in a den. He leaned over and gave her small form a pat on the shoulder. “Get some sleep, Ignita” He told her.

- Time skip here? -

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She couldn't help her wiggling. She loved the idea of exploring, and caves were always a mystery. She hadn't had many opportunities to explore those. She soaked up the names of stalactites and stalagmites by mouthing them to herself after he offered them to her. She wondered why they had two names like that. She must learn more, especially now that she was going to be living in them more often.

And it made sense any items like special stones and resources be added to the stores for trading and crafting, she just liked the idea of the discovery! The very moniker for curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

"Okay." She sighed and finally laid her head down. Her aching recovering body overcame her restlessness and let her drift fitfully to sleep after he left her.

----
The night went by uneventfully, Wylan's herbs helping her sleep through the healing process. In the morning she was busy scribbling and doodling what she could remember of a geology book. But it was less about discovering stones and excavating caves and more about cutting the gems and their qualities. She wondered where she could find more information about caves and how they were formed.


"Speech"

Basilisk spent much of that evening excavating the cave entrance. He had his companions aiding him, which included having Larimar find loose stones he could pull free, and Orso drag away the rubble. At last, a small opening had formed, and he had been forced to leave the job. Completing his patrols and other jobs, before bed time came upon him.

--

He was almost surprised Ignita hadn’t braved his shared den with Hazel in her excitement to explore. But maybe not too surprised, he had been teaching her discipline and boundaries from day one, hadn’t he? He got up with some reluctance, and went to go find her. He knocked on her door, and found her - to no one’s surprise - doodling. “I managed to form a small opening if you're keen to explore?” ‘small’ being relative to the giant of a wolf.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Keen to explore? Boy was she! She had been listening intently for his stirring across the hall as she doodled and had waited with bated breath to see if he would come to rouse her first. Her tail was already waving a mile a minute when he knocked and offered her the opportunity to explore.

"Lets go!" She excitedly yipped, she grabbed her beloved goggles, and fitted them over her eyes. Ready for adventure! Just had to get there first without flaring up her injuries, she had taken her herbs earlier so the morning stiff pain should be subsiding. She would much rather be jumping up and racing down the steps to see the opening but instead, her body made her slow down and take it all gingerly.
"I hate this stupid pain, I just want to go!" She mumbled limping down the hall after him, and wincing as her ribs complained about her restrained speed.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

“Than next time, don’t take it upon yourself to climb my storeroom.” He told her callously. But his stride wasn’t long as he climbed down descent to the bottom of the Col. There, just next to the path to his cave, was the small opening he had managed to work free. There was still much work to do before it was properly usable, but it was ajar enough to explore.

“You’ll have to climb in a little, think you can manage?” He said, turning back to scrutinise the injured wolf as he spoke. His own entrance was going to be… interesting. He was more than a little concerned he was going to get stuck. He would certainly have to contort himself to get through there.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She scrunched her face at him behind his back half heartedly as she shuffled down the stairs behind him. She spied the opening, oh wow it really was just to the right of their porch. She felt a warmth from the idea of being close to Bas, under his protection, and close to Spider as well.

Just as he was saying she'd have to climb in she was already halfway up to the opening, leg, and injuries be damned. They were just comfortably numbed and she merely winced through the pain. She was rather deft at climbing the rubble to reach it. It would be easy to see just how she had climbed the makeshift ladders of the storeroom in the past. Her small size let her squeeze into the opening easily and she grunted as the sides brushed her injured ribs. Nothing could get between her and discovery.

As she first scrambled through her body blocked the only light source and as she carefully crawled forward into the darkness the light began filtering through the dust motes.

"I'm in!" She called from inside. Her voice bounced back to her almost instantly, the cavern room was probably small. So much for a giant caldera or lush cavern grove.

She lifted her goggles from her eyes to get a better look around as she let her eyes adjust to the light.

She saw two towers of stalactites meeting their stalagmites on either side of the room, forming a natural arch that supported the roof. On the far side, it seemed like an old collapse of a tunnel had happened centuries ago that was then smoothed over by some running water that was perhaps diverted more recently away from the wall, forming natural shelves and even a solid platform that was easy for her to hop on. In the filtered half-light the stalactites had a fine crust of glittering crystals, not large enough to be a resource. She had noticed that fine crust in several other places in the storerooms, baths, and even her temporary room.

She clambered back up to the opening, pushing a few more rocks and dirt out of the way to make the opening a little larger.
"It's perfect!" She exclaimed, poking her head out with the biggest smile on her face. Like she got the telescope she always wanted for Christmas.

"Speech"

He raised a brow when he realised Ignita was a step ahead of him. Already, she was hopping up and scrambling through the hole - ignoring her injuries entirely. He rolled his eyes and shook his head behind her back as he watched her pale form disappear through the hole.

In the sudden silence that followed, he was shocked by the dread that hit his stomach. He realised just how difficult it would be for him to follow her, should danger be lurking in the unexplored tunnel. “Larimar, get in there” he snapped at his winged serpent, watching as she too vanished into the dark. “I’m in!” came through a moment later from his little Songbird, which only served to make him scowl. His own partner didn’t give him as many heart attacks as Iggy seemed to. But then, he trusted Hazel to be able to defend and protect herself. There was something painfully vulnerable about his silly slave.

While his mind ran through those thoughts, Ignita pushed her back back into the opening, her face alight with excitement. Larimar hovered in the air behind her. He moved forward, pushing her a little out of the way as he stuck his form in the hole. Instantly blocking out the light as his body and fur blocked every available crevice from the hole. But that didn’t matter much to Bas, who’s eyesight had vastly improved only a season ago, and he found he could see in the darkness just fine.

He huffed, and heaved, and even felt antlers behind him, pushing against his rump as he struggled to pull himself through the hole. There was a brief moment where no matter how much he scrambled, he didn’t move, and then suddenly he was through. He fell hard to the floor on the other side, and shook his head with a grimace. “Alright, let’s go see what all the fuss is about”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ignita smiled as she noticed Larimar coming in after her.

As Bas made his way in she crawled her way through the incoming darkness to the ledge she had discovered earlier. She thought it would make a good bed lifted slightly off the ground.

Ignita watched Bas struggle to get his massive self through the small hole with concern. Her breath catching as it almost seemed he would be stuck!  When he finally broke free and fell hard she stood up and rushed her way closer to him.
"Are you okay?" she asked worried the fall might have hurt him. Despite him being so tough he had a long way to fall and a lot more mass to slam into the earth than her.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Basilisk waved her off as Ignita rushed back over to him. He flapped a paw at her, before heaving himself back to his paws. “I’m fine” He said, though he was enjoying this adventure a great deal less than she was.

Dusting himself off, he made his way forward, inspecting the new cave as he went. He noted the raised shelf, similar to the one in his own den where his Grandmother used to sleep - when the place had belonged to her and Sirius. “So… what do you think?” He asked her, it was decent sized for a den, but small for a cave. As far as he could see, it had no branching tunnels. But perhaps he would be proved wrong about that, too. After all, he hadn’t even known this tunnel had been here. “It’ll need some ventilation, some natural light to turn it into a home.”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was alright. Funny how she cared about him.

A small shadow cast over the opening as the little possum found them after her breakfast. She bounded up to Ignita, then jumped up to the cave pillars and then over to a high shelf.

Ignita smiled at her beloved possum, seeing the delight in Ida's movements also fed her feeling of joy.

She looked around at the space, it would be easy for her to make a small storage area for herself, her doodles, any books she would borrow, and space enough for a few crafts, since she was small.

She looked up over the opening, a good ventilation window would fit well there, maybe even a small ventilation shaft over on the other side could be made. She walked up to one of the walls and pressed her little body against it to test its strength. Then pressed her ear against it to see if she could hear anything on the other side. Nothing. She wondered if she were careful she could expand it, maybe map things out and measure somehow.

She returned to Bas and sighed. Leaning up against his great arm.
She looked up at him, her golden eyes awed and grateful.
"I like it. Thank you... Bas." The way he was so tall and powerful, fatherly, patient, and in his own way caring though rough... She suddenly looked away as a warmth seeped into her cheeks, her heart quickened into her throat.

"Speech"

Basilisk walked the space as well, testing the durability of the shelf with a paw, and giving the den an overall test of integrity and levity. He wouldn’t stick her in here, only for a cave in to bury her a little while later. Once he had completed a full loop of the den and had returned to the entrance, he was satisfied. “You’ll remain in my den while you finish healing, but in the meanwhile, you can spend a few hours each day tidying the place and preparing it for yourself. I’ll work on the entrance and install a door myself.” He decided.

Ignita returned to him, and leaned against his foreleg. She barely came up to his knee, she was just that small. She looked up at him, and he scowled back down at her. “Don’t go getting sentimental on me, Little Slave” he huffed at her.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She nodded to his instructions, but turned back him lifting a brow.

"Don't I have to sort out the storage room first? And who says I'm being sentimental? Can't a Slave thank her Master? You've-" Don't tell him how much he's spoiled her! He'll take it all away just as quickly as he's given it. She slammed her lips shut, nearly biting them in the process.
Why was he being so nice to her? Was he battling his nature? Was he dangling treats before her in order for to comply? He already knew she complied as well she could, even going well above and beyond what he asked of her.

No, it was hard enough not to look at the elephant in the room, when it was in her nature to talk to it directly.

She stood up and hopped up on the ledge she would eventually make her bed. It gave her a few extra inches of height. She propped her forelegs up to another ledge to lift her head up another few inches. Yes her leg ached, but this was far less strenuous than the exercise she attempted yesterday.

"What is it you want Basilisk?" She asked, still looking up at him but at least closer to his level then usual, "Why do you do that? You dangle your attention like a treat on a hook then whisk it away as soon as I acknowledge it. I've shown you time and again that I do what you ask of me, you don't need to do that. Not anymore. I don't see myself going anywhere else at this point. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere even if you beat the light out of me." She leaned toward him, "What is it you actually want?" She asked earnestly. If there was anywhere in the Col to have this conversation it was here, with no prying eyes or ears able to notice them.

"Speech"