He had promised Zee comfort, and had every intention in providing it to her. He had enlarged the section she slept in over the last few days, and had placed two sheep rugs down, lining her sleeping area. He gently placed the Leopards coat on top as a blanket or pillow as she wished. He rigged up a ‘curtain’ over her sleeping area by puncturing holes in the roof above, and tying the thinner coat of a deer over its place. She could roll it back and hook it to the wall, or keep it down as she pleased. Never had he spent so much care in crafting a home before, and the kill pile of the pack was rather large lately - even if none of the food had kept their coats. He had on his own bed the ox blanket, which was enough for the titan, and another sheep’s coat over the door that exited the den, needing something thicker here to keep out the cold. It had been a hard days work to set up these last final measures, and he knew he would likely continue to add to it with every hunt he went on. Pleased with what he had achieved, he sat down on the ox coat, with a sigh, and waited for his obsession to return from her days work. "Speech"

Zee gave her Empress all of her energy on their mornings together. It was so hard not to be uncontrollably excited for the little bundles who were on the way. She'd given Deathbelle her paw rub and wash, brought her soothing herbs and fetched her snacks while she lounged in the glow of pregnancy. Once dismissed from her side she found herself exhausted from the effort, slinking back across the ravine and feeling so very grateful that her new den wasn't too far away. She stared at the entrance, throwing a terse glare at the lifted stone before dragging herself up the ledge and into the den past the sheep's coat. Sirius was already there, and she managed a soft smile at him before chiming out a sarcastic. "Honey, I'm home." Her gaze wandered about the den then, and with a happy murmur she saw the adjustments he'd made to her room. "Ooh, this looks great." Zee's voice was genuine, and her smile broadened as she clambered up and into the nook. It was brilliantly lined, and the small wolf wanted nothing more then to curl up in a ball and take a nice relaxing nap. Alas, laziness was not a way she'd describe herself. With one last longing look at her new bed, she hopped back down to look upon Sirius once more. "You're too kind. If the Klein's knew how much comfort you've afforded me they'd likely not be too pleased." A quiet chuckle, and she settled into a sit before him. "Do you need any help with your area?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He felt he missed some time between her lying down and her return. It was true that he had been skipping out on sleep a lot lately. He was weary of closing his eyes, his night terrors where rare, but when they came he had a terrible habit of thrashing, and his large frame could do a lot of damage to little Zee, he feared. At the sound of her voice, he lifted his head and blinked blearly at the sheepskin door as she pushed past it and entered their den. He grinned at her greeting, ignoring the sarcasm in it. They weren’t a couple, but there was a large yet attached to that. She immediately jumped into her nock of the house and investigated the warmly padded sleeping place. He did not fear that Zee would go cold, come winter. He stretched out his paws, rising on them slightly as he watched Zee. she didn’t stay in her bed long, before jumping down to come closer to him. “I don’t care” he said with a lazily flick of his tail. It was true that once the titan put his mind to something, he was unwavering it. Once, that had been his loyalty to Deathbelle and the Klein family - now, it was loyalty to Deathbelle, and to Zee. He sat up as she took a seat on his Ox rug, the rug he had once considered giving to Zee, before he had found other, comfortable things to line her bed with. “I do not” he said agreeably, feeling the desire to reach forward and rub his muzzle against cheek. He did not, for Zee hadn’t completely relaxed her guard around him, and he knew she was hesitant on the chance they never actually came to be. "Speech"

She continued to watch as he sat, seemingly unaffected by the thought that the Klein masters might not like what he'd done for her. Zee was starting to feel like he was finally coming out of his shell and shedding his slave-like identity for that which Deathbelle was trying to groom him for. He then rejected her offer to help his side of the den, and she scoffed gently. "Oh come on, there's no way that you're comfortable with just that old blanket. Plus, you know I spend some nights with you down there too, my room doesn't need to be the only area that's decorated." Her eyes glittered playfully, and she stepped towards him to bump his nose with her own. Retreating from him, she moved back towards the entrance to look out into the light. There was still plenty of daylight left, and she could think of a few ways to spend it with her closest friend. "Teach me how you do it." She said suddenly, whirling to face him. "You come home with these extravagant pelts near daily. I can't manage anything bigger then a rabbit by myself. Show me how you take down something big." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He looked to the wolf sitting across from him, and enjoyed the relaxed air about her. She seemed calm and at ease. He enjoyed not being at odds with her, and remembered their disagreement with a slight tinge of fear, at the thought that it could happen again. He rumbled in the back of his throat, a sound of disagreement without actually coming out and saying it. He had built her notch in the wall for a reason and she was better off staying in it. He didn’t comment however, seeing it as a pointless topic. He would encourage her to stay in her bed at night time, and that would be that. She bumped her nose to his own, and he couldn’t help but smile at her, and he returned the gesture, offering her cool nose a lick before she retreated from him. He eyed her curiously as she got off the mat and moved back to the entrance of the cave. She had just gotten in, after all. “If you wish” he said agreeably, getting to his own feet with a sigh, and moving to the entrance. He brushed past her as he pushed aside the sheep’s skin and moved out into the daylight. “Would you like a hunt, or a demonstration?” he asked her curiously. "Speech"

He rose to his feet with a sigh and Zee shot him a quizzical look as he trod over to meet her at the entrance. "Well, if you'd rather do something else that's fine too." She said hesitantly, head tilting. She didn't want him to feel forced into doing anything with her, though she did want to spend time with her friend. Zee decided to taunt him then, her tail flicking lazily against him as she moved to step further from the den. "Or.. I could always go try to take down a big bull all on my own." A grin touched her face, and she regarded him curiously to see if his enthusiasm would build. "Perhaps I could find a Klein man to teach me."   "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

She back peddled and offered doubt upon her suggestion, and he paused at the opening of the den and looked back to her, offering her a smile that filled with kindness. It fit surprisingly well against his features, despite their tendency to express broodier emotions. “I’m not dismissing your idea.” he said gently, uncertain what part of his approach and speech had indicated disinterest He made a hurrumph noise at her suggestion, rolling his eyes skyward. If she so much as tried she was going to have a problem. Well, lets face it, two problems. After the bull mauled her he would take his turn. He moved closer to her and gave her a brisk but gentle shove of his shoulders. “You, are asking for trouble.” he told her, shaking his head at the girl. “Let’s go find you a distraction before you get too wild with your ideas.” he said, continuing forward, but looking back to ensuring she was sticking close by. "Speech"

Zee gave a soft laugh at his response, looking on fondly as he rolled his eyes at her. "Who, me? Trouble?" She did her best to look offended, offering a scoff of disbelief. "Never." He shoved her and she took the gentle hit, recoiling back to fix him with a playful smile. He moved onwards, and she jogged to catch up before settling beside his shoulder at a brisk pace. "I love distractions. What do you think is the hardest, most distracting prey? Lets go find one of those." Soft blue eyes were determined, though retained their gentle expression when they'd fall upon his face. "Ooh, like a tiger." There was absolutely no way he'd let her anywhere near a tiger, but the thought still excited the small woman. Perhaps he'd find something fun for them to stalk. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

“Definitely you” he agreed, almost sourly, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. He felt like rolling his eyes again, but refrained, instead he eyed her sternly as she jogged quietly behind him, easily keeping up with his lessened stride.

“I have a better idea, a Dik dik he countered. Thinking of the tiny little creature, and then grinning. [b] “That more your speed, isn’t it?” he teased her. He would rather she didn’t try and anger a tiger, but if she did, he would be right there beside her, trying to keep her safe and get the tiger dead. He hoped she didn’t pull him into such a predicament.

After offering the tiny alternative, he would pause, and then continue. “How about an Addax?’ he offered. He had seen a few of those in the barren territory just outside of Ashen, they were nimble creatures, and their horns made them more dangerous then most. A far cry from a tiger, but a compromise next to the dik dik or a simple deer.