Lost Creek Hollow Margie, thought you might need a little warm-up

Finally. It had taken him numerous days to finish- at least to his standards anyway, but when he left the den and then walked back into it after that, looking around, he nodded to himself. The entrance wasn't too large- he didn't want drafts to get in, after all, and it would keep both the winter's cold and the summer's heat at bay. Knowing that @Treason could already fit in and out of the entrance, he hadn't touched it much at all, simply softening the edges to make it look better, but he did his best while digging the rest and kicking the dirt out not to make the entrance any larger. 

The inside of the den had been difficult to dig in the winter, what with the ground being frozen, and he could only do small amounts at a time, otherwise he knew he'd wear his claws out or possibly bloody one of them. It'd happened, once or twice, so he'd called it quits and had given himself a couple days to recover before going back at it again. On this day, though, he'd spent longer than normal in the den that Treason had commissioned him to finish up, making sure that it was large enough for a family of wolves, but protected by not having a gaping entrance that might invite temperature and other predators. 

He'd finished the den up- just a little touch of class, or so he figured- by lining the den with fluff from kills he'd either made or dug up and had kept in his own sleeping place, waiting for the final day before he carried it, mouthful by mouthful, to Treason's den. He'd not mentioned this addition before, but by the time he finished there was a modest but comfortable bed of fluff tucked into a comfortable nest near the far wall of the den where he figured Treason might be the most comfortable. He'd caught a very small rabbit the day before and though it was very cold by now, it rested on the bedding he'd left there, like a mint on a hotel pillow. Finally satisfied with his work- which was actually much better than even he would've expected- he left the den, but sat down outside, finally taking a break from all the work he'd put in. He'd seek Treason out later, if she didn't stop by before he left, or maybe he'd just let her find the den on her own later....But part of him really wanted to get some credit for the work he'd done, and to see her reaction.

It was time to go for a nap.  She'd yawned broadly as she wandered back to the den, having cut her patrol short.

Heavy suspicion about her possible pregnancy had turned to certainty -- her body was starting to change in expectation of pups.  Probably still too subtle for anyone else to notice at this point unless they really examined her, for now.  It meant she'd been a little more independent the past day or so, and careful with how she sat and lay, just because she was kind of dreading @Terance fussing over her more, but he'd find out eventually.  Probably soon, but she'd put it off for a few days if she could.  Her body would eventually betray her if she didn't get careless in the meantime.

What she hadn't expected was Joss to still be lurking around.  Normally by the time she got bored and wandered back to her den (if she didn't end up at Terance's) usually he was gone.  After all, she had patrols to do, might grab a snack, blah blah, whatever.  She came to a stop, blinking owlishly.  Still here?  Treason was pretty sure he preferred that they pass like ships in the night, so what did he want?  Did that mean he was calling it done, since she knew it had to be close, or did he have something else to bug her about?

!!! Thanks for joining :) I know I didn't ask, I just kind of tagged BUT thanks <3

As he waited, Joss began to fret lightly about showing the den to Treason. Say she didn't like it- say she said it wasn't big enough, or drafty, or that she wanted him to continue working on it- or that he'd taken too long, or if she'd decided to mmake him make a den somewhere else instead...All of these thoughts and possibilities rattled around in his head- a sure sign that he still didn't know who Treason really was, or whether she'd even do any of those things. But he licked at one of his forelegs quietly and calmly, but mildly obsessively as well, before he switched to the other. It wasn't uncommon for Joss to have the hair worn right off his ankles, but he'd not been too bad lately. The habit only returned when his anxiety was spiked; and it certainly was right now. 

Say he'd finally paid off his debt...And he wasn't even sure he was in a place to ask- did that mean he could leave? And did he want to? Or would it mean that he'd be kicked out once he'd fulfilled his punishment? If so, where would he go next, and would he survive the rest of the winter on his own? He wasn't even sure he liked being in the pack- the vast majority of the wolves treated him like trash, all except Nara, Mona and Gannet...Treason herself even treated him appropriately. But he had a lot to be uncertain about as he waited for Treason to return, and when he caught sight of her moving towardthe den, sleepy-eyed, he knew he had to be quick, and not ask too many questions...If any at all. 

She didn't seem to want him to be there, and wanted to know why he was still hanging around. Generally, the nervous young buck had tried his best to make sure he left the area before Treason returned, but this time he'd definitely been waiting out front for her return. He nodded, bobbing his measly head quickly. "I think I got it done. Your call, though," Of course, she might have different standards- and as though paranoid that the den might've returned to its previous state in those few moments, he hastily stood and interjected "Just one sec, gotta check-" He said, before he whipped inside the den, and gazed around. No, it looked like it was finished. He slipped out of the den again, his nervousness now clearly showing. "Go ahead," He said, gesturing for her to check it out. He stepped back and flopped against the ground, as though waiting for punishment as soon as she decided he'd done an inadequate job. He began picking at one of his ankles again, this time gently preening and plucking the hairs one by one out of nervousness.

No prob!  I think I keep saying for most of my chars that if anyone wants a thread to just tag me and I will appear if it makes sense. XD

Joss's behavior had set a pretty low bar for expectations.  He hadn't exactly proven himself to be particularly clever in any when they'd interacted in the past.  To a certain point she'd been impressed he'd even bothered to dig out as much as he had so far.  And since she didn't check on the den every day... Well.  Who knew what would be in there.  And his quick return to the den to just make sure was also kind of weird. 

And so she headed in.  Her eyes swept down the sides of the tunnel as she went down, stopping at the end to let her eyes finish adjusting and observe the chamber.  Now Treason wasn't exactly the wolf that needed every creature comfort in the world.  She'd be happy with a roughly-hewn hole in the ground.  It was what she expected, especially since Joss was the one digging the most of it.  If she was a human, her home would be pretty bare, focusing on function.  Maybe in a way that made her easy to please.  It seemed good enough.  Or at least that was her first thought -- she was grading on a pass-fail scale, and basically if the work was pretty much done, that was a pass.  Then her eyes fell on the pile of fluff and... was that a rabbit?  She scooted forward a few quick steps to investigate, sniffing.

It wasn't quite a Grinch's heart moment, but it certainly seemed to dredge up a few shreds of humanity or something, because she was honestly surprised in a not-able-to-say-anything kind of way not that she'd been planning on saying anything there anyway.  Joss was basically a prisoner and he'd at least partially gone beyond what Treason had even thought of when she'd made it clear he didn't even have to.  Treason had expected that she would have to be the one to put finishing touches on everything, to have to fuss with every little detail like the way the entry was shaped.  People generally didn't do things for her that went above and beyond what she called for.  Okay, Terance was different -- him bringing some food for them to share wasn't exactly a surprise by now and she could (and did) easily return the favor... But why had Joss?

Anyway.  She gathered her thoughts, finished her examination, and headed back outside once her expression was again pretty neutralized even if her brain was still rolling away thinking about freaking everything ever -- including what would happen with him once she was sure he'd learned his lesson.  And so Treason gave him a nod, You did a good job.  Which was probably a far stronger compliment from her than it would have been from most other wolves.

And after some short (and probably one-sided) discussion, Joss wandered off and left Treason to hang out at the den, huzzah!