If it had snowed recently it was hard to tell because there wasn't any snow on the ground. In fact, it was quite warm at the moment, especially for winter. It was cooler under the shade of the willow trees, and Sabre was resting on his side after spending some time working on the den that he planned to establish here. At the moment it was little more than an exaggerated hole in the ground, but soon it would fit at least two wolves - or at least that was his plan.


He had decided to stay in the area when he had realized that there were quite a few wolves around. While he hadn't met any yet, he had certainly run across a few scent trails here and there. There were enough of them to convince him to stay. He didn't intend to join a pack - he wasn't suited for pack life - but he did want some kind of social interactions here and there to appease the social side of his personality. He also hoped that being in an area with more wolves would give him more of a chance to locate Rainuh.


Rainuh. That was something he wasn't allowed to think about just yet. First he needed to finish his den. If he got caught up in thoughts of Rainuh then he wouldn't be able to continue the work he had started. With that in mind, he pushed himself up to his feet with a groan. Females were better at this den-digging business than males; they had to do it for pups. Sometimes he wondered if it was even worth having a den. He went back to the messy hole that was his den and began to dig, shifting dirt out of the hole and spraying himself with it in the process. Couldn't he just sleep under the stars? It would be so much easier. Of course, it would really suck when it rained...or snowed, for that matter.


It took just a few minutes of digging for Sabre to get irritated and withdraw from the hole in disgust. "Stupid dirt," he muttered to himself. He could feel it in his fur, scratching at his skin as he walked. This meant that he would need a bath, though that would wait until he was done digging the den. The thoughts of Rainuh had clearly changed his mood and now he was just irritated. "Fuck you," he said, looking at the den. "Why don't you just dig yourself or something?"

Spending one's time swearing at holes in the ground was unhealthy, especially because it caused one to be very unobservant of one's surroundings. At least, that was the case with Sabre. He wouldn't have been much more observant had he been digging in the hole, but he should have been able to notice a white wolf creeping through the shadows beneath the willows.


In fact, there was a white wolf sneaking up on him. He didn't notice her in his irritation until he felt something hit his haunches. Startled out of his irritated mood, he spun around, anger burning in his eyes. He might have attacked, if it hadn't been for the white fur that suddenly filled his vision. On a normal basis white fur wouldn't mean anything to him. However, Sabre had just been thinking about Rainuh, who happened to have white fur.


The black wolf froze in place, trying to sort through his emotions and calm things down. He blinked once, then twice. Once he was passed the knowledge that someone had practically attacked him, he was able to process the information hitting his senses. The first sense was sight, and the white fur. The second sense was smell; a particularly familiar smell that was easy to recognize, even after such a long time. Finally, he looked at the wolf's face. Shock spread across his face, along with some confusion. All this time and she was just....here?


"Shit," he breathed, then let his hind end collapse into a sitting position, clearly in a temporary state of shock. "I can't decide what to think of this dream I'm having," he said to Rainuh. "First I'm stuck digging that damn hole and now you're here. It's either the most wonderful dream I've ever had or it's a nightmare."

At first he really did think it was a dream, but the dirt in his fur made him think otherwise. He couldn't be dreaming about Rainuh and about being covered in dirt that made his skin itch. No, he really had been digging a den. He could remember the events that had led up to this point; he had decided to stay in the area because there were so many wolves around.


Clearly that decision had paid off.


Blinking again, he said, "This really isn't a dream..." slowly, as if he was just beginning to comprehend what was going on. It wasn't until Rainuh's tongue washed over his face that he really awoke from his stupor.


Suddenly he was just as excited as she was. He rubbed his head against her as she nuzzled him, taking in her scent just as she took in his. "You were worried about me? Imagine how I've felt all this time, looking for you!" he said incredulously.

Sabre had to admit that he was a bit tired after attempting to dig his own den. Maybe he should have been smart like other wolves and found an abandoned badger set or fox den and simply enlarged it. But he hadn't found any in the forest of willows and he had chosen this place because of it's location and it's appearance. No, he would simply have to finish digging his den from scratch.


He looked down at Rainuh, watching her but a little too tired - and annoyed with the dirt - to join in. "Me miss you? Never," he said with a joking smile. Of course he had missed her! He loved her, after all. He'd wanted to start a family with her. He waited for her to settle down next to him before speaking again.


"Of course I missed you, silly," he amended, leaning against the white-coated female and burying his nose in her fur. "No one is quite as interesting to me as you are."

Sabre rolled his eyes when she started cleaning him. At first he didn't mind, but then he realized that it would all just be back again later and he would have to bathe again anyways. In an effort to stop her, he tugged at her ear gently with his teeth. "There's no point washing it all of now," he told her. "I haven't finished digging yet.."


Rather grudgingly, he glanced over at the hole he had made in the ground. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he would ever finish. It might take a week before he could actually call it a den, and by then he might as well give up. Usually he was quite persistent, but with this particular matter he was not enthralled by the thought of finishing the den. In fact, at this point he would much rather sleep, though it was still a bit too early for that.


"Come on. There's too much for one wolf to clean off. I'll take a bath when I finish digging." He nudged her, trying to make his point even clearer. The dirt didn't bother him that much anyways. It was more just an annoyance that he could deal with - that he would deal with later on, once he had finished the den.