Heartleaf Creek It started with a whisper

RE: Clover, a bird has decided to pluck your fur to use for its nest. For Vayko only please! <3

A plump rabbit swung from her jaws as she trotted along the creek with bouncy steps and as much of a grin as she could have without dropping the prey. She had lucked out and managed to catch the young rabbit just as it was just exiting its burrow. Now normally Clover would have taken it back over the border to bury it within one of their food caches, but since her and Vayko had been making time to eat and chat together as of late, she wanted to seek him out so they could share it together.

She had just made it back over the border when a sparrow flitted into view and began hovering over her head for a few moments. Not breaking her stride Clover continued on after giving it a quick glance, more interested in figuring out where Vayko was than bird watching in that moment. But when she felt a sharp tug on her flank she dug her foreclaws sharply into the dirt, head whipping around to look over her shoulder.

When she only saw the bird perched upon her side her hackles smoothed down from their bristled position. It had a thick clump of her white fur in its beak, and Clover couldn't stop the soft amused snort that escaped her. The bird had great timing as her winter coat was starting to shed so she didn't have any objection to its actions, and simply turned back around to continue looking for Vayko.

Vayko had found himself looking forward to their meals together. He found himself enjoying her company, the timbre of her voice and the interesting topics they discussed: their lives, the weather, whatever it was she wanted to talk about. He had a small vole clamped in his jaws. He’d just returned form a border run that had resulted in finding the creature and securing it for himself.

He had started to search for the Arctic woman herself, finding her not long after he began his search although a frown found his features when he did. There was a creature perched upon her back, plucking at her fur. He set his vole down, moving forward to shoo it off of her. That had to hurt, right? He was being plucked alive! It was an excellent moment for him to attempt t swoop in and be her knight in shining armor.

Surely she knew about it but perhaps it would not leave her alone… he could not imagine her letting it pluck her like that willingly, right?

Vayko Valle

It seemed Vayko had also been seeking her out, and she felt her lips curl up in a smile around the rabbit in her jaws at the sight of him. She let out a soft rumble in greeting, given her inability to speak properly at that moment. But at the frown on his face, her own expression mirrored it just slightly. Was something wrong?

Her head turned to follow him as he moved closer to circle around her flank, an eyebrow raising in curiosity as he made a shooing motion to the sparrow. It flapped its wings and rose up into the air, but kept hold of the clump of fur in its beak.

Clover snuffled softly at Vayko as the sparrow flew away to a nearby tree. She set the rabbit down on the ground, returning her gaze to the wolf beside her. ”It’s not doing me any harm,” she said with a gentle smile, moving her muzzle forward to muzzle at his cheek fur.