Presently, Peregrine sat between Pied's burial site and Sun Spark's freshly dug grave. Nearby lay the remains of not-Osprey Jr., though the Alpha male scarcely thought about them. A sprig of berries lay between his broad, black paws. Carefully, he separated them into two piles. One he placed on Sun Spark's resting place as a sort of memorial offering, the other he plucked up with his teeth as he stood, wincing, and moved off a few yards.
Sitting with a small grunt of pain, Peregrine blinked in the September sunshine, then slowly bent down and lapped a few of the berries into his mouth. They were sweet and juicy. "Ty was right," he murmured as he chewed. He couldn't be sure what kind of berries she'd sampled, yet these blackberries could definitely be added to his growing list of non-meat edibles. And he'd found a great big patch of them not far beyond the pumpkin patch.
I wonder, he mused to himself, if it's the combination of sunlight and shade back here or if it's the bodies that make the ground more fertile. How morbid. He shuddered slightly, then polished off the last few berries with a loud smacking of his lips. They were actually so good, he was pondering going back for a few more, just as soon as he mentally prepared himself for the twinges of pain such movement would surely evoke.
Blue Willow had mourned her father, or more like she had reminisced on his life like he had asked her too. Her father did not believe really in mourning for the old. He used to tell her all the time, that if you made it to a ripe old age, then you deserved a huge she bang, with food and fun and other such things.
She trotted towards the burial site of both him and Pied, a sprig of flowers caught in her maw. All different sorts some meant integrity, some meant love, some meant remembrance and some were just pretty. Her father would laugh out loud, to see her carrying such colors. Gla' ta see chile dat you finally 'ave some colors. She chuckled to herself as she thought on that, he made it a joke that their pelts were so black, but so blue. It was strange and she missed him then with a yearning so sharp it hurt.
She arrived on the scene and came upon Peregrine. She dropped half the flowers at each grave and gently arranged them, before speaking. Hello Perry. how are your ribs? Then she lifted green gaze to him, with keen curiosity and interest.
Woo, thanks for joining. Have post #1,000. :)
He'd just climbed to his feet with an unattractive grunt when Blue Willow strode onto the scene, just as easy as you please, and set a spray of wildflowers on her pops' grave. His eyes followed her even as Peregrine let out a long breath and tried to rearrange his face into something less of a pained grimace.
"Let's just say that I plan to personally hunt down the doe responsible for this and punch her so hard her head shoots out her own asshole," the Alpha male replied.
"Then I'm going to hike a leg and piss on everything she loves," he finished with a twitch of his lips.
In the next moment, he flicked his muzzle in the direction of her father's grave and said,
"Nice flowers. Did you see the blackberries I put there? I was actually about to harvest some more. They're pretty tasty." The black wolf made a show of licking his lips, unaware that they and his tongue were stained purple.
Blue shook her head at him you know Perry I think I spend most of my time taking care of you and your siblings. She offered him a teasing smile, she did not mind at all, she really didn't. But it was fun to poke a little at him, purely teasing.
Blue laughed a little, though it was slightly strangled at the unfortunate image she saw in her head, after his descriptive plan on how to make the doe rue the day. She was becoming awful, being able to see such things now, where once she would not have even though of peeing on another's head. Now she could see it, have mercy.
Blue chuckled but nodded I did, they are tasty did you know they can also be used to stop bleeding? They also increase your memory and help your insides regulate themselves. And they can help ease sore throats. She grew quiet then chuckled a little embarrassed Sorry Perry it's second nature to think of what a plant does even if it does taste yummy.
His only response to her allegation was, "Job security." He offered her a cheeky smile and a wink. When the Healer automatically explained the medicinal properties of blackberries, then seemed embarrassed by it, he gave her a good-natured nudge. "Why're you sorry? That's pretty interesting. Maybe my alternative food stores could do double duty as your medicine cabinet and vice versa."
He motioned for her to follow, then slowly made his way toward the blackberry patch. He took each step carefully, so it took him a while, though Peregrine made it there none the worse for wear. As he eyed the juicy clusters, he knew they would be worth the struggle. Before indulging, he glanced up to make sure Blue Willow was following suit.
"Bone appetite," he said, butchering the pronunciation of bon appetit. He then dove forward, ignoring the screaming in his ribs as he inhaled a whole mouthful of blackberries and felt them explode deliciously in his overstuffed mouth.
Blue chuckled and shook her head, Yes I suppose it is Job Security. She chuckled again and nodded her head Yes that is possible, most plants you can use for something.
Blue followed behind him, her large tail swinging in tandem as she walked a content smile on her face. She missed her father, but she had promised him that she would try her hardest to not let tears rule her after he was gone. She shook her fur out as she walked, the little pieces of dirt stuck in her downy fur from the flowers.
Blue shook her head at his enthusiasm, but she too took a branch and ate some. She licked her lips Goodness they were delicious.
They munched on berries, smiling at each other intermittently. Peregrine couldn't do much more because each time he stuffed his cheeks. Although no fruit, vegetable or grain would ever taste as good as a nice venison steak or a freshly skinned rabbit, these berries were now among his favorite foods.
"How's Atti doing today?" he wondered between bites, blackish blue juice dribbling from his lips as his eyes locked on Blue Willow's.
The berries stained her teeth purple and her tongue to, she did not eat as many as Perry though, knowing that if you ate to many you got diarrhea. She would let him figure this out on his own, her own sort of twisted joke, she supposed on her friend. She was surprised at herself, for being slightly malicious, even if it was in good fun.
Blue swallowed her last bite and spoke past the purple stained teeth. He has good days and bad days and they are often intermittent, so I can never answer that. If he is not busy it will be a bad day, if he is busy it will be good.
Peregrine nodded. Blue Willow reported nothing he didn't already know for himself, which was good. He stuffed a few more blackberries in his mouth, making a point to chew them into nothing but a pulpy mush, then swallow. It was like drinking a fresh blackberry smoothie, only made with saliva instead of dairy.
"Do you think he'd like some of these? I'd like to visit him today and I could bring some with me," the Alpha male proposed, cocking a head at Blue Willow. "On that note, any bright ideas on how to transport them? I think Junior and I used a rabbit skin to carry the berries back from that forest that one time... but, come to think of it, I haven't actually seen it since then." He fell silent with a hmmm sound.
Blue shook her head, she was going to let it go, but she was rather afraid that the matter of which the blackberries would come out, would be explosive. So she spoke up, Perry, stop eating those berries or you are going to regret it. Remember what goes in must come out and they will come out in liquid form. She snorted softly to herself.
She nodded Yes he probably would. If he isn't outside the den he will be walking to keep himself busy. That was what he seemed to do most often, was walk. it had been rough at first, when he had to almost learn all over again, but now more often than not Atticus was out and about somewhere in the lands.
"I don't mind," Peregrine answered playfully in response to her friendly warning. "Blackberry milkshake, mmm," he teased, though he ceased and desisted. He wasn't a huge fan of having diarrhea, after all.
"Okay, so... any ideas?" he prompted again. "On how to transport these suckers? I'd carry them in my mouth but they'd turn to mush and then I'd have no choice but to swallow them." Peregrine chuckled. "I wish I had something to carry them in," he mused.
Blue wrinkled her nose Goodness Perry I should have just let you eat them and deal with the consequences. She chuckled at him though, it was all in good fun. She didn't really mean it, she didn't think anyway. She was not a fan of Diarrhea herself, but knew that sometimes it happened, as disgusting as it was.
Blue looked around and didn't see anything he could really carry them in. Unless she could find a sturdy leaf or a branch with a hole in it. Well if you can find a sturdy leaf or a few sturdy leaves? Or a branch with a hole in the middle? Or we could just find a cache and either use the skull or skin a prey animal?
"A hollow branch," he echoed her, eyes contemplatively scanning the forest floor. Louder, he said, "Skinning a carcass would take more time than I feel like spending at the moment. But it's okay because I have an idea based on what you just said..."
Without elaborating, the Alpha male began to sniff around the small pack cemetery, his nose skimming along the ground. It didn't take long to find a small, slightly crooked twig. He carefully picked it up with his teeth and returned to the blackberry patch. It took a lot of time and patience — it probably would've been faster to skin a rabbit, honestly — but Peregrine managed to skewer half a dozen blackberries on the small stick.
When he finished, he glanced proudly at Blue Willow and asked, "Well? What do you think? Am I a genius or what?"
Blue willow watched him with amusement on her face and around her eyes. She didn't know what he was doing, so she couldn't help him. So she merely watched, she did shift her weight a little bit. He skewered the berries, which made her chuckle, as the juice ran all down the side of the stick.
She laughed out loud when he grinned at her as proud as punch. Of course you're a genius Perry. She didn't want to point out that it would have been quicker to skin the bunny. Nor did she want to point out that the juice was dribbling out, he was too proud of himself and she wasn't about to point out the flaws of his plan. No, the berries would still be good just not as juicy that was all.
My last postie! <3
He beamed at Blue Willow, ignoring the teasing glint in her eye.
"I know," he said pompously, then laughed. He'd definitely compromised the blackberries a bit by treating them like shish kebab, yet he did not think it would spoil the experience when he took them to Atticus to taste.
"Let's get these to Atti!" he said, plucking up the stick by one end and preparing to canter off toward her den.
But his cargo was a little ungainly and one berry fell off the end and splatted at his paws. He gently set it back on the grass, rescued the renegade blackberry, then nosed half of them to one end of the stick and the rest to the other. He then bit down on the stick like a bit and carefully raised his head. Smiling around his strange bridle, he flicked his head and trotted away in the direction of the den the Healer shared with his brother.
Blue chuckled at him and shook her head in mirth. She loved her best friend, and she was trying so very hard to love his wife. Because she simply would not, not want in his life and if she disliked fox. She could see Fox barring her from such life.
Blue laughed again as he ran at a canter towards the healing den. She broke into a ungainly trot at first, but soon shifted so it was easier. She followed close behind him, laughter evident on her face.