I had had some amount of difficulty choosing a place to be my new den. I had not even dug out a den in... years. While traveling around, both in Blossom Forest and outside of it, I had slept under the stars. Even when it rained or snowed or hailed, I
had always made sure that if I opened my eyes and peered up, the first thing that I saw would be the sky. Having something else there - be it the ceiling of a cave or the roots of a tree, anything that was smaller than the vast freedom of the night overhead felt too constricting. The last den I had dug and slept in had been the one that I had shared with Kenshin. The one that I had torn my paws apart digging out, that had been decorated and darkened with my blood. And even just the thought of being so caught up in something so... possessive and went against everything I wanted now. That den had been my home when I was a teacher, a healer, a Beta, a mate.
...a mother...
Now I just wanted to be a loner, the wolf that no one really knew. I had finally joined another pack... well... multiple packs. Perhaps this one would finally stick instead of falling into disarray and silence. I shiver involuntarily as something disrupts not only my thoughts but my pelt. I whip my neck around and see laying upon the surface of my pelt a single droplet, small and clear, perfectly formed. Standing perfectly still, I stare at it, my suns catching it. It starts to meld through the hairs, disappearing bit by bit but then suddenly my nape whips the other way as yet another drip lands upon my pelt. And then another, and then another. I shake out my pelt both to loosen the cold wet drips and to clear my mind. I accepted this land, and being a pack member came with a measure of responsibility. Perhaps it was time to give up my fear of losing my freedom... and the first step would be to dig out a den. I look up and see no stars, no moon. There are only dark clouds covering the sky, broken up by the soft glints of the sky's tears as they fall to the earth. I blink sharply as one landed within my eye and I tilt my head down. This pack was home now... and while I would always have the ability to sleep with the stars over head, it was the perfect time to dig out a den. It would protect me from the elements, and while I loved watching the storms rage above and around me... no longer would I have to do it while getting drenched.
I start trotting across the land, searching through the trees for the perfect place. The land had to rise ever so slightly, so that even when a small misting turned into a tornado or monsoon, the water would not swirl into the opening of my den, flooding me out. I would prefer so much to dig my own - it would not be marred by the memories of other vargs, of other couples. It would be a new beginning - my beginning. And then suddenly I paused - ahead of me there was a gentle slope, and halfway up it was a tree. It was tall and old, its crooked roots streaming down the land. There must have been a landslide at some point long ago, tearing the land from underneath it and so the roots have instead strengthened by digging down deeper upon the sides. Taking advantage of it is a bush, a green shrubbery hiding the entrance to the hollowed out cave beneath the tree. Slowly, mesmerized, I nose my way behind it and a smile spreads its way across my kissers. It was perfect. The ceiling was shrouded with the intertwined roots, but the southern most aspect - on the downward side of the slope - had a single break that allotted me a view of the sky. It would shelter me, but still would allow me to be free. I curled up beneath it, the roots hanging overhead, and fell asleep to the sound of the rain pitter-pattering on the roof.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Morning broke and light crept through my skylight peephole. My eyelids tighten down to keep out the brightness of the rising dawn. I go to roll over, but find that at my back there is something blocking me. Lazily, I crank my nape and turn my head around, and catch a whiff of something... familiar. Something that could not be...And yet I know it is. I clench my jaws and brace myself against the flood that tries to escape from within me. My temperature raises, my heart raises, but it is a cold voice that falls from between my pursed lips.
"Kirastasia, I think you stumbled into the wrong den."
||Kahlan|| ||Broken Heart|| ||Cracked Soul of Munashii Gekko|| ||Zeta|| ||69cm.:.23kg||Adult|| |