Morning had broken over Relic Lore, casting a golden glow throughout the forest. However, curled up on his side against the back wall of the underground den, Borden Lyall slept, oblivious to everything beyond the warmth that enveloped him. After traveling for the past few days, his body had picked up on and adapted to the routine he had set in place in order to endure the journey from the Mountain. He had finished establishing at least half of the pack borders the other day and he felt the task had entitled him to ‘sleeping in.’ Deep, evenly-spaced breaths made his sides rise and fall as his nose twitched every so often.

In the midst of a dream, he was lost to the visions that flickered against the back of his eyelids. Somewhere in his mind the fog drifted away with each step he took, revealing Jayse, who radiantly smiled at him from a distance. Her cobalt-and-gold eyes gleamed in delight upon spotting him. He smiled back and the action was repeated in the waking world; huddled into her side, he spotted vague shapes in shades of gray, brown, tan and white against her silver coat. Only when they came into focus did her realize what they were… puppies. He wagged his tail at the sight and the plume draped limply over his hind legs managed to sweep over the dirt floor a few times before pressing up against the wall.

Newborn whimpers and cries filled his ears as he noticed the shine on their pebble-like noses and the tiny tongues that curled in their mouths; he moved forward to run to her, to nuzzle her, but her voice called out to him and it was much closer than he had expected. “Good morning?” Her tone and the sound of paws coming down the tunnel made his eyes flutter open. His ears perked up and he held back a yawn to smile up at her. The first rays of morning barely found their way into the tunnel, but he could see her easily in the darkness.

Drawing in the details of his dream into his memory, his raspy voice welcomed her, “Well, hello love.” A blissful sigh brought him to inhale her scent and the faint aroma of the nearby riverbed. “Took a morning stroll, did we?” he asked, happily stretching his forearms out after they had been tucked up against his torso for a majority of the night.

O O C | Stubborn muse is stubborn; apologies for a semi-lame post.

Low humming, her murmured collection of words, graced his ears. It took a few seconds for him to fully comprehend them, but when he did, he smiled. “Quite well,” he replied. “Haven’t slept this well in… I don’t know how long.” She curled up beside him, easily settling into the contour of his body, his frame a seemingly perfect fit to the beautiful work of art that she was. Dark gray lids recovered his dimly lit eyes, content to simply lay here for the rest of the morning.

Once the silence had let up, gently broken by her sigh and voice, his right ear rose up from the long fur along his neck. “A little,” he mumbled. “But I could manage a bit of something.” The rest of her words, the statement after her question, floated about in his mind. “That was nice,” he then commented. “Think they’re they from around here?”

Catching sight of her grin when he opened his eyes again, a chuckle sounded from his chest, “Well, anything you want to do today, we can do it. Anything your heart desires...” He raised his head to release a yawn. A soft click of his teeth stated his jaws had closed again and he twisted his upper body slightly to make his shoulders parallel to the ground. His tail wagged as he beamed at her in the corner of his eye; while he had thoroughly enjoyed just spending time with her, laying there together in the den side by side, an activity like hunting or enjoying a stroll around their new home was a bit more appealing.

Knowing spring had yet to fully arrive made the idea of a enjoying the afternoon with Jayse incontestably alluring. Where the new texture of gathered pine needles was revealed by melting snow, grass and other vegetation was beginning to spring up, giving the forest a more comely appearance. For all he knew, there was still so much to see and discover; the den would still be near the river bend waiting for their return.

His smile widened when she laughed and when she didn’t elaborate about the lone wolf he merely let out a mellow “Mmm.” After taking in the rest of her words and a rather endearing yawn, he felt the cool morning air rush in between them when she got up and exited the den. Straightening out the rest of his body, he raised his lower half in the air, arching his spine as he extended his forepaws as far as they could reach the surface in front of him. Once he had given his coat a good shake he heard Jayse call out to him from the surface. Not wanting to keep her waiting any longer, he stepped up into the brightening forest.

At first his eyes squinted from the abrupt exposure to the morning, but eventually after blinking a few times, he was able to lay his eyes on the silver female. Her posture told him she was eager for him to follow. “Wander…” he mused, smiling as he thought. “Hmm, we could take a stroll around through the trees; I think I could find my way back to this one spot where a den had caved in. There were tons of trails around it at the time. When I looped back around to rough up the soil once more, a nearby doe actually stared me down as I stalked past.”

Taking a step toward her and fully emerging from the tunnel, he lightly brushed his side up against her, taking in the forest in front of them. The idea of them having their own territory was still somewhat hard to believe, but here they were… also just about ready to set out on their first hunt together since they arrived. “I assume she had hidden her fawn around the area,” he added. “Perhaps it could be a good place to start?”

A few unhurried strides later the two were off. Halfway to the specific marker he had mentioned neither of them had exchanged words, only a few occasional glances accompanied by warm smiles and the gentle swaying of their tails. One paw in front of the other, he led her along the edges of the borders he had laid out the day before. It wasn’t long until the silence was broken. The tone of her question was casual, much to his relief, though it still made him mentally backpedal. Stepback. Rewind. Replay.

He gave her a soft smile, one that was more distinguished that the plain expression that he had been wearing since she had given him a wake-up call. Exhaling quietly, his pace somewhat slowed so he could walk in time with her. A butterfly flapped its wings frantically in his gut; his ears lowered to mirror his sincerity. “I would love to,” he admitted. “But only if you’d like to and if you’re ready. It’s your call, dear, I’m willing to wait if need be.” He glimpsed at her quietly, curious as to what she would say.

A chord had been struck at the mention of ‘family’ and one part of him recollected how pained he had felt when he realized he wasn’t going to be the one to take his father’s place, the first, if not only, Lyall to bring forth a new generation. The feeling had sprung up time and time again to remind him of what he could have had then, but now the opportunity had revealed itself again for the taking. It wasn’t like the chance was going to be taken away or pulled out from under him but he still hoped that she would agree. His parents had been able to manage, so what could possibly stop them from doing the same?

O O C | x) hehe, it made me grin... big time, lol, no need to be sorry.

Wh-what?” her words tumbled off her tongue. His smile turned into a rather nervous grin, complete with clenched teeth and uneven lips. A breath caught in his chest, causing that single little butterfly in his stomach to tremble and flap about even more. Then, her laughter overwhelmed the air, and it filled the ambiance around them with a new sort of vibrancy and light. She leapt into the space in front of him, causing him to come to an sudden stop as she covered every bit of skin and fur she could immediately reach in kisses.

He eyed her quietly; his hind legs had almost lowered him to the ground as his tail arched high behind him in response to her playful reaction. Her words fully reached him by the time she stopped and gave him a discomfited grin. Borden’s crooked grin rearranged itself into an open-mouthed smile. The joy that trailed after the realization of what she had said made the expression reach his eyes, filling them with their own spark of elation. He leaned forward to affectionately press his glossy nose to hers.

Ohhh… worried?” he asked, his own chortle lifting to the branches above them. “You shouldn’t have been. If it hadn’t been good timing, well… I don’t think we’d be here.” His pink tongue stuck out to lap at the edge of her snout before he drew back a few inches. He stood up properly now, allowing his tail to wave proudly now with a flair of delight and pride. “I wasn’t ready for all of this when we first met, but you… you changed that part of me. Gave me quite a push really…”

As his ears slowly returned to their usual positions, each point reaching to the sky from their previously angled arrangement, he averted his gaze from her. He smiled into the sight of layered pine needles and melting snow before returning his eyes to her gold-and-blue irises. “With you,” he softy stated. “I’m ready for anything… The timing of things, I think, can’t be anything else but perfect.” His gaze flitted to the woods beyond her for a brief second, “Come on, let’s find something to eat.” A nod of his head pointed his muzzle to the unseen path they had yet to cover. “We can talk more along the way; I was just absorbed in some random thoughts earlier.”