Hidden Tree reusable treasures

The duo had stuck mostly together. Kerb never strayed too far from Mae for a fear of loosing her in the snow. Even if she was dark compared to the surroundings he didn't trust himself enough, yet. With more time maybe the tawny male would allow himself to split from her for longer periods of time.

He wasn't exactly sure where they had landed themselves but the place didn't look too bad. Kerberos had taken the liberty of sniffing around and looking for something. Whether that be food or shelter. He had told Maera he wouldn't be too far from her and to call if anything worthwhile was found. The Rigel was well aware she could take care of herself but what kind of travel buddy would he be if he wasn't near when something happened?

Luckily his sniffing had landed them something. What appeared to look like a den had caught his interest. Safely he looked around for any signs of something else making this home. It was a relief when he could say nothing had found shelter within it. Partially snowed in and a little overgrown, Kerberos realized it would need some work to be usable. Turning his head around his light voice called out. "Hey Mae! I found something!."

It had been a surprisingly present day. She almost thought it would be annoying having a wolf tag along with her… but it wasn’t all that bad! Then again, it’d been only about a day, and there was a lot left to explore between them. At least he’d managed the earlier morning alright! He’d been sticking close to her as she left the grove, pushing in the forest that was directly west of it with her eyes on the prize: food. Perhaps they’d get lucky and find a weakened deer… it could happen – she’d seen stranger things. Still, she wasn’t holding her breath. Still, he parted ways with her, promising not to go far and she’d only responded with a nod and a ‘be careful’.

She’d been trying to pick up any small prey scents she could find when she heard his call, her ears perking up, at first with alarm until she realized the tone he used and her fur flattened a little. She’d have to get use to that, having someone looking for things while she was looking for things… or just working symbiotically with any creature for that matter. She moved through the forest, the snow crunching lightly against the pads of her feet as her eyes showed the curiosity she was feeling.

“What is it?” She gruffed lightly (though not in a bad way, more of a “I want food but can’t find any so this better be good” type of way) as she came into sight. He wasn’t injured, but then again she knew that from the lack of urgency in his voice and the lack of whimpers. Her nose was crinkling as she looked around, noticing the den as a smile grew on her features and she looked at him.

Kerberos was like a child. His face had lit up and his tail began wagging when Mae came into view. Looking at her, he realized she was catching on to what he had found. Yet she had asked and he would answer. "It's some sort of old den. There are no signs of bears or any other big animals." He shrugged and looked at the old den. "Not sure if we wanna put in the effort to clean it out some, but it could prove useful in the long run!" His voice chipper as usual. He understood it would take unnecessary energy to clean the den but it would provide them with a place to stay. At least for a little while.

His pale yellow eyes quickly glanced over to his company. "Did you find anything?" He figured she would have told him but it was polite to ask. Maybe some small prey would take shelter near the den and provide them with an easy meal. The less work the better. Kerberos was trying his best not to be lazy and had succeeded so far but sometimes he wished he could just lounge. It wouldn't be fair to @Maera, though.

"I can get started on it if you still wanna look?" His head doing the usual side turn out of pure interest. The den would take longer to clean with only one wolf but it would also allow his partner to keep looking for trails.

He explained his findings from his perspective, and intrigue hinted at her features, a soft wag of her tail as her grin grew further into an almost-Cheshire look, just not quite as creepy as a Chesire cat. “I think it could be worth it. The forest is huge, and we can use it as a den while we explore and look for food.” She offered her own two cents and a nod of approval as her soft caramel gaze glanced between her new travelling partner and the den he’d found. “I was still looking, but on the way over here I actually caught the scent of deer and there was the smell of blood mixed in… I was going to go check it out after I saw what you called me over for.” She reported her own findings when he asked.

He offered to start working on it while she looked and she nodded. “I’ll see what I can find and if I need you, I’ll call you over and when I get back, we can work on it together.” That was the point of travelling together, right? It was to make both of their jobs easier, division of work without the strict hierarchy and dominance laws that a pack had. It was much more suited her personality and attitude, and he didn’t seem to be complaining either for that matter.

With that she started to bustle back to work, her sniffer leading the way through the trees, trying to find that tantalizing scent she knew she’d caught on the wind just a minute or two before… and then she found it… and there was the stale scent of lynx which had her a little on guard, but it was old enough that she wasn’t too terribly worried. By the looks of it, there was enough for both of them. She doubted she could drag the carcass back herself, so instead she let out a small howl. “Kerb! Food!” That was all she said because she couldn’t really transport it and it looked to be only enough for the two of them for a meal. So instead, they could eat, and then head back and work on digging out that den.

Her input was greatly appreciated and he let her know so with a low woof. He nodded slowly and barked out to her as she was leaving. "Sounds like a plan. Be safe!" Much like she had done to him when he had gone off to find this den. His paws began digging at the hard ground. It was no easy work but he kept telling himself "This will pay off, Kerb! Just keep digging. Mae will be back soon too." It kept the time going and soon he was making progress. Of course, only as much as one wolf his size could.

The silence was soon broken by @Maera 's voice. Panic would have settled on him had a word not been spoken. Food! Leaving the den behind, the tawny male took off towards his company. It took a moment or two but wasn't hard to find her. She had a deer carcass and he would have poked a food joke had the smell of Lynx not been on the air. "Great find! Better do something with it in case the cat wants to come back." His tail swayed but his words were rather serious. While Kerberos loved all things he wasn't particularly fond of felines.

"They left rather nice portions too!" He was dying to dig in but politely waited for Mae's signal to eat.

She had a feeling that it was going to be a thing… telling each other to be careful or be safe whenever they went off to do their own thing for a time. It was okay though, because it was important to remind each other to be safe, since it could often slip the mind. Perhaps the lesson would ring into heads when one of them got into trouble… not that she was hoping or looking for any trouble. She wasn’t naïve, and she knew that trouble was bound to happen and bound to find her eventually, and if not her than her chipper companion.

He came running to the call, a wide smile splitting her features as he came into view. “We’re gonna eat it, silly. There probably won’t be a lot, if any, left over but if there is then we can break it off and store it closer to the den.” Then they could eat it in the morning to get them ready for a day of hunting and exploring the forest for other good hidey holes. “Cats are always so wasteful.” She scolded the feline even though it wasn’t present as her tail wagged a little. “Time to dig in!” She said as she licked her lips and started to dive into her own section of the deer, leaving ample amounts for him.

Perhaps this was a sign that things were going to work out quite well between them, and that the two of them could do this, and make it through the winter, with little or no trouble. Hey, she could hope, right?

The Rigel man couldn't help but bubble up with laughter at his companion addressing him as silly. Certainly he was, no doubt about it, but it just sounded both right and funny coming from @Maera. Yet he greeted the dead deer with an open mouth as his darker companion addressed it was time to dig in. His tail wagged behind him like a flag in the breeze as he swallowed chunks of deer. "Slow down, Kerb. You have to share!" Swallowing a final piece he raised his head. There was about half of what he started with still left. It was taking everything inside him to not rip back into it.

"I think I'm gonna take my other half back to the den for later." His nose nudged at the leg and stomach gently. Maybe if he rationed his portion it would convince Mae to do the same. Gnawing around the bones and tried his best to break off the leg. Planting his forepaws firmly into the snow and shaking his head a bit. Kerberos was sure it was a silly sight but he was just trying to take his meal to go!

Finally when he had torn the leg apart, it hung from his mouth. His tail had wagged feverishly with joy. Almost like a child holding its first kill. Granted Kerb was aware neither him or Mae had taken down this deer.

Despite the positive effects that this had already seemed to have on both of them, she still held her reservations, and those would take time to fade… but for now, she was focused on the moment. That moment, just happened to be devouring the deer in front of her. She was use to smaller portions because of the life she’d raised, and that had left her with more than she thought it would as she eyed the rest of her portions, her head rising as she licked the blood from her muzzle and Kerb announced he was going to save the rest of his… he’d only eaten about half.

She’d eaten about two-thirds of hers, but she agreed, giving him a nod. “I’m going to store the rest of mine for the morning, to give me a little kick before we have to go out looking for breakfast.” She declared in return as she worked on separating the meat and bone from the carcass, not wanting to wait around too much to see if that lynx was going to come back when they realized food was harder to come by… granted it could always follow the scent…. But still, she wasn’t going to let food slip away from her, not even at the cause of the lynx.

She finally managed to separate it, picking it up and holding it securely in her mouth. “Lat’s go.” She motioned back in the direction from which they came but her words were distorted from the bone in her mouth as she started to bounce off. They had a lot of work to do if they were going to have that ready to sleep in by the time that they were ready to rest their heads. But, she was confident that they could do it, especially with the two of them working together.

The tawny Rigel male would have laughed at her distorted words had it not been for the leg hanging from his mouth. Its weight causing him to tilt his head a little as he bounded after @Maera. Kerb was very much enjoying his time with her. It had only been a day so far but he was having fun! The company let his personality truly blossom and it seemed his bubbliness had been rubbing off on her! Or she was enjoying him as much him, her.

When the duo arrived at the den Kerberos dropped the leg. Salmon colored tongue flicked out to clean up his lips of any drool or blood left over. Red wasn't exactly his color and he didn't look too hot with a face full of drool. Watching Maeva he perked up. "Where's a good place to hide these?" The answer could have been anywhere but he was curious in hearing where she was gonna plant her leftovers. Kerberos assumed he would put his close to her's so that they would both be safe. And he really saw no reason not to dig his meal next to her own.

His pale yellow eyes looked around the area. It was a good choice but it felt so big and hollow. He wondered who or what used to live here and what drove them out.