Sanguine Cove Time For Her Comeback

She'd been back home for a little while and her leg was feeling better. It wasn't all the way better but she had confidence her mother would make sure it was completely better. Kateri felt that her mom didn't understand that she was bored and wanted to get out of the medical den. She wanted to go have fun like her brothers and sister. She hadn't forgotten what had happened but she couldn't be scared of it happening again. She'd made it home that was what was important.

So when she'd found herself alone in the medical den Kateri had made the decision. She was going out and have that fun she'd been wanting. The young Vuesain-Slayer stepped out into the sun light which started to warm her dark coat. She inhaled a deep breath of air before letting her paws take her off into the forest of the cove.

Nash was heading back in from a quick border patrol with an unlucky winter rabbit in his jaws when he spotted a dark coat sneaking off through the underbrush. He pulled up short, ears erect as he stared after the tiny form to make sure it was who he thought it was. He'd been looking forward to a fresh meal, but Aquene would be beside herself if her daughter managed to wander off again. Nash set his prey aside and scraped some snow over it to protect it from any entrepreneurial scavengers and set off after the pup.

It didn't take long to catch up to her; it wasn't as though she was moving fast and Nash's injury had healed by that point, while hers hadn't. "Where're you going?" he asked as he came up behind her, his tone friendly.

Kateri had made it away from the medical den without being caught. She didn't really see a problem exploring around the cove. As long as she didn't cross the border and frankly she had no desire to. After what had happened she worried it would happen again. She'd get so far and then some freak storm would come up and she'd be lost again. Her mother might actually kill her if it happened again. Which was enough reason to avoid the border at all cost.

Apparently she hadn't gone unnoticed because she heard a voice behind her just as she ducked behind a bush. It was Nash, his mom's something or other. As if she hadn't noticed the way they were with each other. She put on her best innocent face and came out to face him. "Stretching my legs," she said matter-of-factly. "You won't tell mamma and pappa will you?"

Nash didn't miss Kateri's attempts to dodge behind bushes and stay out of sight, but he wasn't about to let her wander about without anyone knowing what she was up to. She faced him, innocent as anything, and claiming she was only stretching her legs. Nash let out a low chuckle and then glanced around them before leaning in closer to the pup. "I'll keep it our secret," he said conspiratorially. "Your mom kept me all cooped up when I got hurt last month too; your legs can get pretty stiff." He hadn't particularly minded being cooped up with Aquene, but he understood that a pup probably needed more exercise.

"Mind if I walk with you?" he asked. "Or if you'd like, we can go collect a rabbit I just caught and eat it while it's fresh." He wouldn't mind sharing with the girl; he was always happy to feed the growing children.

Nash had caught her in the middle of the outing she wasn't supposed to have. She was really worried that he might go amd tell her mother and father. She'd asked him not to but he was an adult and she knew from experience they did what they wanted. He surprised her when he said that it could be their little secret. "Thank you Nash," she said reaching out to lick his cheek. Her eyes widened when he told her the story of what had happened when he'd gotten hurt. "She even kept you cooped up? She can do that to adults too?" Kateri always thought it was just her that Aquene made stay in the den.

She smiled widely at Nash when he asked if he could come with her, "Can we walk and then get the rabbit later before I have to go back?" She asked. She hadn't spent a lot of time with Nash before so maybe it was time that she did. He was seeming much cooler by the second and he was okay in her book if he was promising to keep her secret.

Kateri seemed a little nervous when Nash first approached her, likely because she didn't want to get in trouble, but when the guardian promised to keep it a secret she clearly relaxed, even giving him a little kiss to the cheek. His ears flicked in surprise, but he chuckled at her wide eyes. "She's the shaman, we all bow to her," he said, then added in a whisper, "and I don't dare disobey her when it comes to medicine, or she might bite my ears off." Nash flashed a grin so the pup knew he was kidding. Mostly.

He nodded at her request. "After you," he said politely, offering for her to direct their stroll. She'd seemed to be off somewhere when he'd come across her, and he was interested to see where it was she wanted to go.

Kateri thought that it would be okay to be away from the medical den as long as she was with Nash. He was an adult and he knew that she was supposed to be careful. Even though she knew her mother meant to stay in the den but she didn't think the Guardian knew that. If he did he never said instead he promised to keep her little excursion between them. That was good enough for her especially cause she doubted he wanted to get in trouble with Aquene after what he told her next. Kateri laughed when he said that her mother might bite his ears off, "Pretty sure she thinks they're too cute to bite off," she commented innocently.

Then she gave the man a nod when he gave the go ahead to lead the way. She then turned back to the path she'd been taking, "I think there are some fallen trees just over here we can explore," she said looking over her shoulder at Nash and smiling. She then led him through around some bushes and trees. Maybe she just wanted to see how he might react to the idea of her exploring something she was most definitely sure her mother and probably her father would disagree with.

Whatever response he'd been expecting from the pup to his jest, it wasn't the tease that came out her mouth, innocent delivery and all. Heat rose in his face and his ears flicked self-consciously. "Well," he said, "You're not wrong." He gave a flustered chuckle, unsure of how else to respond to that.

His brows rose at her suggestion, but Nash merely nodded for her to lead on and followed. Aquene would certainly have a fit if she caught her daughter playing on fallen logs, especially while the pup was still recovering from her little mishap. At least he was here, and he could stop her from doing anything too dangerous. Probably. "And what magical things do these logs have in store for us today?" he asked.

Kateri knew the comment she'd made had put Nash on the spot. That was of course her goal but she didn't get the reaction she was looking for. A strong denial that, no of course her mother didn't feel that way, would have brought a smirk to her face. Instead he'd told her she wasn't wrong. So then her mother really did think that but then what did that mean. She looked at the man tilting her head to one side in thought. "So is there something I should know about?" She asked slowly.

Up until that point all she'd had were guesses. She knew that Nash hung around her mom but she'd never thought they were more than friends. Then there was her father, Kateri was pretty sure if he made her mother angry he might lose his ears. So what was so special that Nash agreed with her?

She was leading him to some fallen logs that she knew of. Her threat to climb on them was ignored, Nash was certainly a hard egg to crack. She looked over her shoulder at him when he asked what magic awaited them. "Fairies and rainbow and tiny unicorns," she said in a conspiratorial tone, "You see they live inside the logs where they have gardens that they grow with their magic." It was quite the story but what better things did she had to do all day but make things up in her head.

Kateri seemed mildly disappointed for a moment and Nash wondered what sort of reaction she'd been hoping for. He wasn't sure what other reaction he could have given, but then she was young and likely didn't understand exactly what was going on just yet. Nash himself wasn't fully sure exactly sure what was going on, beyond the fact that he and Aquene were definitely together.

Her inquiry garnered a flashed guilty grin. "You should probably ask your mother about it," he said, unsure that it was his right to tell his love's child about them. He wasn't sure how Kateri would react, especially with her father still around and active in her life. It wasn't like Nash was going to step in and try to be her dad.

His brow lifted at her fantastical explanation, but he hunched down to hear her conspiratorial voice better and respond in the same. "Have you ever seen them before?" he asked. "I've never been so lucky." He'd also never heard this particular story about fallen logs, but who was he to question the imagination of a child?