Firefly Glen Or need an escape just because

one more!

With the cold, the ground was getting harder, and Fennec found herself needing to take breaks more often as she attempted to dig out her makeshift herb store.  Her ears slipped sideways as dirt fell from the roof, landing in the middle of her forehead and rolling down the side of her muzzle.  She was covered in the stuff, and she despite not being able to see it, she could definitely feel it.

Still, she dug her claws in around a particularly irritating rock and heaved.  She could feel it lever and tilt outward, but her claws slipped and it flopped back into place, nestled in the hole it had formed.  Damn.  Fennec pulled back to nurse her forepaws for a moment, then stretched with a resigned sigh and began digging with a gusto right next to the thing.  Maybe if she hollowed around it, it would make it easier to shift it.

Dirt went sailing a small length behind her, out of the mouth of the hole she was excavating and onto the riverbank below.  She'd been smart enough to pick a spot on slightly higher ground at the very least.  The recent floods had provided a good lesson on that.

While he and Meerkat hadn't found a proper replacement for their mica-lined mountain den, he was still hpoing to scout something out soon, so that on wintery nights they could at least have somewhere to sleep that was sheltered. He was a fair sized wolf, and was already putting on his winter coat- but he'd not enjoyed the previous winter, and like his mother, he became a bit of a baby as soon as he got chilly. He realized, of course, that this would have to happen soon- the mountain had all sorts of natural caverns and caves, but out in the glen, he knew they'd be better off finding a burrow that had already been at least partially dug, and then appropriating that for themselves. 

So when he saw dirt flying out from a wolf-sized hole in the ground, he wondered if it might be one of the other badgers he'd scented recently. He and Antares had handled one of them- but there were definitely more around, and maybe this was another one settling in. He approached with his posture held low, sneaking up as quietly as he possibly could to the den's mouth, avoiding the sprays of dirt- until he caught Fennec's scent. 

"Oi, Fen?" He called out, but he probably should have done so from another foot or so away- as he was promptly smacked right in the mouth with a pawful of dirt, which he then proceeded to cough and spit out.

Whoop.  She heard Bronco say something a moment too late and apparently, from the sound of it, had delivered him a faceful of dirt.  You aren't supposed to eat that, she said back, projecting a bit.  She could hear that the sound of his voice was muffled by the hole she was currently shoved into.  Hold on...

She turned in the small space and curled around, then slipped out of the opening she'd made. It was big enough right now for one (maybe two if they stacked) but she had been extending out the back into another section for... reasons.  Her mind flicked unintentionally to the plant, still wrapped in it's carrier.  She'd need to plant it soon or it would die, and she hadn't decided yet if she wanted to make a secondary burrow nearby or a secondary back entrance to her current work.  Poisons growing where she slept had positives and negatives.

What's up? She asked, flicking dust from her ears.

He rubbed his muzzle against his foreleg to get some of the dirt out of his whiskers, and looked up when Fennec emerged from the den she'd been digging, now a significantly darker shade of beige considering all of the dirt and dust that'd settled into her pelt. He gazed past her to the narrow opening, and had to wonder what it looked like inside. His mother had always preferred dens with a small entrance that opened up into a larger space inside, simply to avoid having too much of a draft come in. 

"Whatcha makin'?" He asked, albeit somewhat pointlessly- it was more of a hint that he knew she was digging a hole- but he wanted to know what it was for. "This where you're gonna stuff all them baby souls?"

Have to put them somewhere. Fennec reached up to scratch an itch on her neck, then shook, dislodging a cloud of dust as she did.  Her nose wrinkled as it dispersed and she tried not to inhale/sneeze.  

Isn't big enough yet though.  Do you think a soul is smaller or bigger than just a straight up baby? She asked with a light smirk.  She'd wanted to get more done today on this, but she'd take the excuse for a break.  She stretched out her paws and arced her back, trying to roll the tension of being cooped up in there out of her shoulders while she waited his very important input.

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He chuckled and nodded, though he flinched and moved back as Fennec shook her pelt out. Briefly, he was reminded of the mica dust in the den in the mountain- and how much he missed having shiny dust in his fur to make him stand out a bit...But that just meant he might have to take a trip back sometime soon, and take a good dustbath to re-up his shimmery level, which had practically faded all away. While Fennec managed not to sneeze, Bronco didn't fare as well, and he wrinkled his nose a moment before sneezing three times in rapid succession. ”Buh, 'scuse me” He said, with a small laugh, before he chuffed to clear his throat.

Her question merited a surprised response from Bronco, who had never really stopped to consider what a soul might look like, or how big it might be. “Probably depends on the wolf,” He said. “Like...The meaner the wolf the smaller the soul, right?” He asked, glancing past her toward the den she'd begun to dug. “You won't have aaaany chance of stuffing my firstborn child's soul in there, let alone mine. I expect a full suite for just my soul alone,” He joked. He noticed how she stretched and rolled her shoulders. “Want me to give your neck a rub?” He volunteered kindly.

Whoops.  She smirked but didn't apologize as her dust made him sneeze.   She leaned into the stretch, huffing a little at the tightness in her muscles.  It was a really small space and she'd been digging quite a while in a pretty awkward pose.  She had to feel out as she dug so that she wouldn't accidentally break through the ceiling too much and collapse the whole thing. No one had ever really shown her, and she wasn't sure if she was doing it right.... but she had to start somewhere.

Yes, please.  If he could work out some of this for her that would be a+.  As she straightened out, she went back to what he'd said earlier.  She liked his theory, and it made a lot of sense - His bragging though, that she needed to poke at a bit.  About as likely as I am to get your big head in there, she retorted with a little snicker.  A suite wasn't in the deal, so if you plan on getting one, guess you'll just have to help.  One room had already been hard enough.

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If Fennec could have seen the look on Bronco's face when she accepted his offer, she might have laughed. He hadn't expected her to say yes- so it made him feel kind of warm and fuzzy to know she was alright with him rubbing her shoulders. But at the same time, he wondered if perhaps she thought that it was totally a casual offer, which...It had been, until she'd accepted. All of a sudden, he felt obligated to give her the best goddamn shoulder rub she'd ever gotten- and it made him nervous, considering the fact that he had absolutely no idea how to do that.

So he scooted closer, and could feel his heartbeat quicken as he looked down at the beige fur of her back, noting the way it swirled slightly around her shoulders and parted a bit along her spine. He almost missed what she said, but tuned in jst in time to catch what he thought was a thinly veiled invitation to both help her dig out the den- and possibly inhabit it with her. He blushed furiously, and shook his head to try and stabilize his thoughts, which raced in all directions like a herd of spooked wild horses.

He leaned over and began to nuzzle the fur along her shoulderblades, following the pattern of fur assuming that it fell in line with the muscles there. He combed his teeth through the fur at the nape of her neck, and felt surprisingly aware that the fur along his own neck had begun to prickle a bit. He had no idea what he was doing- so he took a moment to reply to Fennec's earlier statement about the den. That'd cut him a break from his inadequate excuse of a massage. “You're in luck, then,” He said. “I'm actually a pretty good excavator, and....” He said, with a shrug of his shoulder as he leaned toward her, and began to make broad strokes with his muzzle beginning at her spine, and down either side of her neck, working his way toward her shoulders. “...I'm also basically a walking pillow. And space heater,” He said, and found a place in her neck where the muscles were particularly tight, and he prodded the area gently. “An' I think I found where you uh, carry your stress.”

Fennec relaxed as Bronco got to work.  He was using his muzzle to start, but she could feel it too when he found the problem spot.  She went ahead and dropped to sitting, then extended her forelegs and slid down to lie, sphinx-like, on the ground.  She'd never had anything like this and it felt amazing.  Not just the massage part, but the whole... attention part.  She'd definitely assumed it was casual (she always assumed everything was meaningless, come on) but she couldn't help but melt.

She rested her head on her forelegs and sighed a deep, contented breath.  Yeah? Her ears rotated but other than that, she stayed where she was while she answered.  Well, it's good to know your strong suits.  And you make a very good case.  Anyone who looked at her could probably tell - this body did not hold heat well.  Still, she kept playfully quiet, as though weighing the upsides.

She had hung out with Bronco a lot pre-moonspear, but not a ton.  Something she'd never noticed then, but was really coming to appreciate now, was how easy he made every conversation.  She never had to ask him for shit because somehow he always seemed to leave an opening.  Some way for her to turn the tables and play it off in a way that was natural (and comfortable) for her.  In fact... talking to him was never really uncomfortable.  Not even when things got to the point of mad.

Alright, you got yourself a deal.  You help and you can space-heat.  Just... don't touch any of the plants, okay?  Not unless you know what it is.  Her mind immediately skipped to the plant she'd hidden away in the pouch.  So definitely a separate garden, because where Bronco went, she knew Meerkat would follow.

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Every moment that she tolerated his presence and allowed him to perform his guesswork of a massage was a massive win in his books. He was prepared for her to pull away or to be given more direction- as he anticipated that perhaps Fennec knew what it was she wanted- but instead he was left mostly to his own devices, so he continued, and received whatever affirmation he needed when she slid to the ground, and rested her chin on her paws. He swallowed thickly, pleased that he was helping her relax, and that she felt comfortable enough to allow him to be that close, and to let him comb his teeth through her fur, leaning his brow unto her shoulder fur in an attempt to coax out the knot he could feel beneath the fur.

His hopes began to climb when she seemed even the least bit tempted by his offer. He sat up a bit, and lifted a paw so that he could try a new technique- and began combing his long but blunted claws down either side of her spine, but he avoided trailing anywhere near her ribs for fear she might be ticklish. He reached over to her opposite side, and passed the pad of his foot along the place he'd just raked with his claws, hoping that the alternation between the prickle of claws and the soothing of a flat palm might be something she'd enjoy.

His motions paused for a moment when she accepted his offers, on the condition of course that he didn't touch her plants. He would never have known to suspect Fennec might have something dangerous in her cache so he simply assumed that she was establishing some sort of space that she wanted to keep just for herself. Also, it made enough sense- if he cared for plants, he wouldn't want a house guest to accidentally roll all over them in their sleep. “That's fair. You've got a deal, though-” He said, gesturing with his nose toward the cache she'd dug thus far. “I imagine I'm gonna hafta put these claws to work on more'n just your spine,” He said. And of course, he would happily help her dig the den so that it was big enough for both of them, though he wasn't finished with her back yet.

“D'you, uh, like this so far?” He asked, as he switched from using his claws and back to his footpads. “Is there anywhere or like, anything, that you want, or done different?” He asked.

He was tentative as he worked at her back and shoulders, but if a wolf could purr, Fennec would be vibrating.  The sun was warm on her pack, Bronco's paws were soft stroking her back, and the river was rushing with a soft ambient noise behind.  It wasn't often that Fennec shut her senses down and just... was.  For a little while, there was no focusing on the noise around, no filtering the scents.  No worrying about who was approaching or what was coming.  Subconsciously, her eyes closed, and she thoroughly chilled.

You got a deal.  That barely registered, as did the questions after.  It took a minute, but she smiled.  She'd missed having someone at her back while she slept.  Nights had been pretty lonely ever since leaving Fig and her family behind; she hadn't wanted to bother them about it until the cold crept in, but it was the best possible outcome.

It's good.  She said quietly.  After a minute, though, she knew she was going to fall asleep if she stayed, so she sat up a bit and stretched again, opening her eyes.  Thought I was supposed to be the witch, she said with a little laugh behind the words.    You help me with this and I'll return the favor.  She didn't get completely to her feet, but stayed sitting, content to enjoy the sun for a while longer.  There was no way she was going back to work now.

Will Meerkat be staying too?  She wanted to confirm it, just in case.  She'd wondered if she might need space for if a wolf was hurt and she needed to observe them... but she doubted that would happen, and if it did, they could work it out then yeah?  Selfishly she wasn't super down with sharing her sleeping space with strangers.  Maybe a separate one, a little off, near the garden.

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He was pleased that he'd at least helped a bit, though he still felt as though perhaps he'd been too gentle. He'd wanted to help make her shoulders feel better, and a relaxing massage seemed to do that, but he didn't feel like his feeble ministrations would do much in the long run. Still- if she'd enjoyed it, and if she ever came back asking him to do it again, he would happily oblige.

When she suggested that she would repay the favour once he'd worked on the den he made a face that he would have been quite ashamed of, if he had had a reflective surface to see it in. But it was a mix of being both surprised and childishly excited by the idea of getting a back rub from Fennec, and it lingered on his face for long enough that it bled into his voice. “I'll hold you to that,” He said, and bumped his muzzle against her shoulder as though to accentuate his point. He stood up then, and shook his pelt out, taking a stride toward the herb den she'd been digging, and peered inside.

She mentioned Meerkat, and he remembered- yes, that was something he'd needed to ask Fennec about. While she seemed willing enough to tolerate him potentially sharing a denspace with her, he'd had no idea how she might feel about him bringing Meerkat along as well. In the end, he didn't feel comfortbale excluding Meerkat, though...He also did not like the idea of turning Fennec's companionship down, should she not be willing to share her space with Meerkat too.

But her question didn't seem to be too pointed or barbed, so he shrugged a shoulder. “Y'know, if it's cool with you,” He said, and nodded. “I mean, I can definitely help out with some digging to make this big enough...But it's another soul for your collection, right? And Meerkat's got like...two wolves worth of soul,” He said. He poked his head inside the den, ad crawled inside, allowing his eyes a couple moments to adjust. She'd done some good work- but he could se why she'd stopped. He turned around, carefully, and exited the den. “Tell you what. I'll get that boulder out, and we can stuff Meerk in the crater it leaves behind. That sound fair?” He asked with a grin.

Fennec was a little surprised by his wondering if it was alright, though she wondered if it was just to be polite.  She had assumed the reason he didn't ask initially was because he had assumed it would be fine.  She wasn't the most outwardly family friendly wolf, but the Redhawks were a fairly tight-knit bunch.

She's my sister, Fennec said, playfully flicking at him with her tail.  Who's to say we won't be shoving you back in the hole?  Seems we'd have more space that way.  While she was teasing, there was a little truth to it.  She loved Meerkat a lot, even if they weren't as close as she and Fig were, and she wasn't about to keep her sister from sharing the space if she wanted to.

Is this spot I chose even big enough for that? I couldn't tell.  Really I just picked it for the river.  The sound of the water helped her to sleep at night because it drowned out the other sounds she was so used to fixating on.  Sometimes it could be hard to shut her hearing down, and as a result, she tended to be a very light sleeper.

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He scoffed when Fennec joked about Meerkat and Fennec ganging up on him and forcing him to sleep in whatever small cavern he was able to create by dislodging the large boulder that blocked Fennec's progress. He chuckled as she smacked her tail against him, and he nipped at her shouder in return, and shrugged. “Nobody puts Bronco in a corner” he muttered ruefully, though he hardly expected either Fennec or Meerkat would completely waste the opportunity to use him as a warm body pillow. Especially when, apparently, he gave such good back rubs.

She seemed curious about the den she'd chosen, and he hummed thoughtfully to himself. He was no expert at digging dens. He'd chosen to use his mother's old den in the Copse once she'd moved to a larger one to share with Phox, and had claimed that as his own without needing to improve it at all. His mother had been excellent not only at choosing a denspace, but at digging one out, as well. Now he simply had to fend for himself- and not every territory would come equipped with a sparkly cave-den.

“I think it'll do,” He said. “Did you find it, or dig this all yourself?” He asked, after all- sometimes it was easiest to simply take over a den that had already been started by another creature, such as a badger- and he'd already killed one of them along the borders. How ironic, it might've been, for him to have killed the very creature that had potentially called this den home, once. “I think once I get that boulder out, it'll be easier to tell. Want me to have a go at it now?” He asked.

He thought it seemed fine which was an absolute relief considering how long she'd spent on it thus far.  All myself.  I've been workin on it since I got here.  It didn't occur to her right away that she hadn't exactly given her answer on whether she was staying, and that this pretty much answered that question.  When she'd first started in she'd figured if she didn't use it, someone else could.  Doubtless another medic would come by (obviously not one as cool as her) and would appreciate a nicely dug out hollow well-suited to stores.

I'm planning to have a garden nearby, for herbs.  And one a little further for... She hesitated.  ...other plants.  How would Bronco feel to know she was playing with poisons?  Not that she cared, obviously she was going to do it no matter what.  So the water has a few bonuses.

If you don't mind. Normally I'd blackmail a badger to do it, but I couldn't seem to find one this week.  Once he moved it, she'd be able to keep up her own slow progress.  Just because she'd managed to weasel her way into getting him to help didn't mean she expected him to do everything.

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Ahuhuh, I rolled a whump for him. 
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It came to Bronco as a relief that Fennec hadn't pirated the den from another creature, as it might've invited conflict had it belonged to one that had still been in the area. He was impressed as well, by the fact that she'd found a good place to start digging, and had gone for it. He felt fairly certain that he wouldn't have had the right instincts to know how to begin a den from (pun intended) scratch. He preferred to leave that choice up to other creatures- ones which knew the earth better, that were born with the claws to dig all day if they wanted to. But here she was- a wolf who had simply chosen a spot and had begun to dig, hollowing out a fair-sized cavern in the ground, at least until she'd come up against a boulder she couldn't manage on her own. To be fair- she'd probably given it a shot, but he simply assumed that by the time she came up against it, she was already tired out and sore from having worked on the den for however long before.

When she admitted that she'd been working on the den since she'd arrived in the Glen, it made him reflect on just how quickly she'd assimilated to life amongst the former Moonspearians, having decided rather than simply staying for a week or two to learn from Kukutux she would stay indefinitely. It was a sign, to him, that she was happy here. And to be frank, he'd done much the same thing- he'd gone to Moonspear with Meerkat with the intention of serving as her guardian, and perfecting his own skills while she worked to become an ambassador- but it had never been said that the two would end up staying there. By now, though, Bronco felt as though he could never really go back to the Firebirds.

She'd plotted out not only the denspace, but a garden she wanted to grow- a sure sign that she intended to stay through the winter, and truly make herself a part of the pack, though by this point he had no doubts that she'd made that decision. Her plans reminded him of the area surrounding Kukutux's den, where she had made some areas for fish to lay out and dry, and other places for her pelts to do the same. She, too, kept her herbs underground, in the mound-shaped den she called her Ulaq. He wondered if perhaps Fennec had taken some inspiration from Moonspear's medic, and the way she'd planned her own area out.

“That sounds pretty neat, Fen,” He admitted. Naturally- having spent very, very little time learning about plants, aside from what he'd gleaned from Fennec herself or Sugar Glider- he had no idea that Fennec might have been referring to poisonous plants. He wasn't even aware that there were poisonous plants in the area, as he wasn't exactly interested in ingested plants just to see what they did to him, or to see how they tasted. So- what he didn't know, wouldn't likely hurt him, unless he decided some day to go browsing through Fennec's gardens for a lark. “You'll need to find some way to get the water from the river to your garden, though, if you mean to water your plants. Unless you're gonna do it mouthful by mouthful,” He joked.

He reflected on the carrying pouch he'd given her- but wasn't sure it would hold water without it seeping through. It might also eventually cause the skin to decay, if it was wet all the time, so he decided he might ask Kukutux if she had another invention he could potentially find or fashion for Fennec...Maybe as a den-warming gift.

She seemed keen on having her den dug out, so he rolled his shoulders in preparation for the effort he'd have to put into shifting that boulder, but made a face when she mentioned the badger. He balked. “Well, you, uh, hopefully won't find one anytime soon,” He admitted, and bumped his muzzle against her shoulder. Well dangit. Too late to go back and ask for the badger's help now- he and Antares had killed it. He thumped his tail against her side as he breezed past her, and entered the den, once again hunkering down so that he didn't bump his head off the ceiling, and allowed a few moments for his eyes to adjust.

He considered the boulder for a few moments, and the way it was wedged into the wall. He could only see the face of it, and had no idea exactly how large it was, or how far it went into the back wall of the den. It was like looking at an iceberg- he could really only see a bit of it, and assumed that from the curve of stone he could see, that there couldn't have been too much more of it past what he could see. So, he started working away at the earth around the edges of the boulder- and quickly came to realize that it was actually broader than he'd expected. It also went more deep into the wall than he'd originally figured, as well, but he felt that if he was simply to continue digging around it that it would take ages for both him and Fennec to get it free. His original plan had been to free up the sides of it so he could get a grip on it, and then try to pry it out. Not knowing any better, and without being wise enough to consider the possible repercussions of his actions, he stood on his hind legs, gripping the stone somewhat awkwardly with his forelegs, and began to pull at it with his claws.

At first, it did nothing, and stubbornly remained imbedded in the wall. It was hard to get a grip on it, and a couple times, he attempted to shove it one way, and then the other, by slamming his shoulder against it. Finally, he felt it budge- and a couple grains of dirt fell to the ground at his feet. Content that that was a sign he'd finally loosened it up enough to pry it out, he attempted again, to pull it out and when it came free, it rolled forward, shoving him aside as the stone, nearly as big as him, came free. And when it did, he heard a soft rumble, and then felt the weight of the earth as it came falling down across his shoulders, flattening him to the ground in an instant, and covering him completely.

Guess you're right.  She hadn't quite gotten that far yet and wondered how Eljay managed it.  She'd never really noticed him watering them; perhaps because they were outside he hadn't needed to?  Another argument for an outdoor garden vs in-den.

She listened as he made his way in and began to dig at the boulder.  It took a while, and while he did, she let her mind wander.  This domestic den situation wasn't exactly what she'd imagined when she had taken up the title of witch, but she did not mind it one bit.  She'd have plenty of time to carve a life for herself out alone in some swamp somewhere, feared and admired, so for now she'd enjoy the company she had.  

The shaking made her ears twitch first.  Bron... was all she managed to get out before the entire thing collapsed inward.  FUCK.  She went rigid and her heart leapt into her fucking throat.  Are you kidding...  She couldn't believe it for a moment.  This wasn't happening.  She pushed forward and felt for the opening,  which was there, but felt nothing but loose earth.  She immediately began to dig wildly, automatically, without thought.  Bronco, you fucking IDIOT!  Damn it...

If he wasn't dead when she got her out of here she'd kill him herself.  And he better not deny her the pleasure of it.

She ignored the pain in her claws and paws as she shoveled dirt out as fast as her wirey muscles would let her, shoving aside earth and rock as she felt for any sign of him.  He couldn't be that deep, but she didn't have much time, and she'd tear her forepaws to pieces if necessary to get him he fuck out of there.

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A moment after the roaring of the cave-in finished, and when some of his shock began to lessen, be became aware of the fact that he was trapped beneath the dirt, but not so much that he couldn't breathe. The same boulder he'd pulled out of the wall that had nearly squished him had served to protect his head and chest just enough so that while he couldn't exactly move, he had a tiny pocket of air. Fear gripped him when he realized that he could see absolutely nothing and for a moment, he wondered if he'd hit his head, and lost his vision- or if was was truly dark in there because absolutely no light could get in. It was alarming- but he told himself to stay calm. Fennec faced this very same darkness every day; he knew where he was, and he knew that he was alive. He couldn't tell exactly how much space he had- but the air warmed up quickly, telling him that there wasn't muzh oxygen there. He would have to sip.

He tried to wiggle his hind toes, and while he could feel them, and wriggle them against his body, his haunches were pinned down by dirt. All the way up to his shoulders he was pinned, but having braced himself against the boulder he'd managed to spare his face and chest. But it wasn't enough space for him to be able to start digging- he was still, for the most part, squished to the ground with only his forepaws and his snout in the small space, dark but open.

“Fen?” He called out. Should he use his oxygen to call out? He couldn't decide not to. “FEN!” He yelled, hoping she might hear him through the dirt. He couldn't panic and use up all of his oxygen, so he had to remember- short breaths, and shallow. His throat felt dry and he tried to lick his lips, only to find his mouth completely dry as well. But over the hammering of his heart and the high hum of his nervous system, he could hear it- scraping, digging. Something that sounded like profanity. “Fen!” He called out again, so she might be able to hear his voice, and follow it to him. He couldn't have been more than a few feet in, was he? But now, all that earth falling in....He couldn't be sure if it'd only been the main chamber that had sunk in, or the tunnel entrance as well. The scrambling of her paws and her voice seemed dull, faraway. “Fen!” He called out once more, before he set his head down, as the effort had begun making him dizzy.

He'd collapsed her den- now she would never let him live with her. And now she would have to find a new place to dig a den, because he'd destroyed this one. He became aware of the weight of the earth on his back and ribs once the shock eased a bit more, and he realized then that he couldn't even draw in a full breath if he wanted to- and when he tried...It wasn't air. Whatever it was, it took twice the effort to breathe in, and was starting to make him sleepy, and allowed his mind to wander.

Since when did the air get this warm? Was it this warm in the summertime? Summer would be on its way soon, right? There were puppies on the way. Little beige fluffy ones, puppies that Meerkat could play with. Kids that Colt could meet- now that he was a Grandpa.

His distant gaze was calm and glazed, as he continued to wheeze softly, drifting further and further into the realm that his mind's eye created to soothe him.

She didn't hear him at first.  She was too busy scrabbling furiously at the dirt, her breath coming in gasps while she continued to curse.  This wasn't working, so she desperately moved, climbing the collapsed pile to start digging where she remembered he'd been.  That was when her ears pricked and she heard his voice, faint, beneath the ground.  BRONCO!  It was more of a shriek than a yell, but hopefully he'd hear it, and know she was going to get him out of this.

She shoved aside loose earth and rock, sending them tumbling down the rise behind her, and set to excavating a path that led right to him.  He was alive, but how long?  How long can a body go without air before it shuts down... and every second felt too long.  

Then she hit fur.  She'd found his side and followed it, heedless of if in her digging she hit him by accident.  She didn't have any time.  I swear Bronco if you die on me I will curse you and bind your soul to a fucking pile of shit for eternity.  Fear had turned her veins to ice and might have frozen her in place if she wasn't so deep in crisis mode right now.  Not you too.  You don't get to leave too.

She got his shoulders free and that would have to be enough.  Frantically Fennec grabbed the nape of his neck and heaved, pulling with all of her might back.  She could feel him move, but not enough.  COME ON!  She shrieked again, though it was muffled by a heavy mouthful of fur.  This time she put her entire back into it, and heedles of the tears that were now streaming down her muzzle to mingle with his scruff, she managed to pull him out to sprawl across the ruined pile of earth.

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The weight on his shoulders and abdomen began as little more than a tight embrace; just heavy enough to keep him immobilized but not so heavy that it crushed his joints and muscles. But when the pressure refused to lessen, and his oxygen supply dwindled past the point of comfort, he became aware of the fact that he was both dreaming and awake- and that he could neither move nor breathe. Like a blurry echo he heard Fennec shout his name and it caused him to open his eyes only to stare into a darkness that had no depth, while at the same time, it was far too close to have given him more time. He felt fear as soon as he realized that he could neither inhale deeply, because of the weight on his chest, nor was there anything to inhale. He scrambled what little he could, flailing his head about, mouth open and jaws snapping, testing the limits of the restraint the earth had wrapped around his body. In terror, foam began to form at the corners of his lips which had previously been too dry- and he choked and coughed on it though there was so little air in him, he had nothing to inhale or exhale. This minute effort taxed him greatly, and within seconds, he gave up- laying his head down on the ground and staring off into the darkness.

He didn't register it at first when she clawed through the dirt at his sides, raking her claws through the fur there before she even realized she'd reached him. He felt the pressure lift from his shoulders, but was too weakened to fight and lift his head or free himself. There was no sip of oxygen for him to draw his strength from- not until she clutched his ruff in her jaws nd forcefully pulled his head free. Even then, his sightless eyes stared, his tongue lolled, and he was limp as she brought his face into the daylight. His ears didn't turn or flick to acknowledge her voice, but he felt her lean against him and it was just enough of a gesture to stimulate his lungs.

He kicked and flailed for a moment as he drew in screaming, gasping breaths, and the sudden concentration of oxygen nearly made him black out. With thirsty gups he drew in long, ragged breaths, his mouth hanging open almost stupidly, though he continued to stare vacantly off into the distance for a few minutes. His whole body demanded oxygen- everything from his muscles to his brain and his internal organs. Slowly, he began to function again, and he blinked, barely conscious at this point that he was even still alive.

He was ominously still when she pulled him out, dead weight in her jaws.  For the longest moment in her life thus far, she thought he was gone.  She let go of his scruff and planted her ear to his side.  Nothing for a second... and then he kicked, and gasped, and something in Fennec short-circuited.  He'd almost just died right in front of her.  Now she was the one who couldn't breathe, and she stumbled backwards, the pain in her forepaws distant against the roaring in her ears.

The last time she'd been gutted like this, it had been when Penn left, except this was worse.  Bronco had almost been removed from her with a cold assuredness that would have been as unfixable as her own blindness.  She'd promised herself when Penn walked she'd never let herself feel that helpless again, but here it was, just the same.  She hadn't improved at all, hadn't grown one bit.  She'd just replaced one inevitable loss with another, and this place without him was just as horrifying as being left in the darkness without Penn had been all those weeks back.

Before she even really realized it, she was screaming.  FUCKING IDIOT!  YOU GOD DAMN FUCKING IDIOT.  Every inch of her was shaking with rage and pent-up fear and this was the only way she knew how to release it.  A surefire way to tell how close Fennec Redhawk was to losing her entire shit emotionally was how murderous she became, and right now, she didn't doubt she could tear about anyone apart.

WC: 261

wc:354

Her fury went, for the most part, over his head. Like the sound of distant waves crashing against the shores, her voice was muted by whatever distance he'd been removed from his body mentally, while his lungs resupplied oxygen to the most important parts of his body first. Given the fact that his head had been in a pocket, his ears, eyes and nostrils had avoided getting plugged with dirt, but that didn't mean that as his consciousness began to clear, he couldn't hear her bellowing right at him. He didn't react for some time, and wasn't really aware of the fact thatshe was angry at him- nor did he have the wherewithal to wonder why it was that she was so furious. He didn't even have the clarity to wonderwhy she didn't seem at all relieved that he was alive- he was simply aware that he was breathing, and that Fennec was wasting her own breath screaming bloody murder at him.

His memories came back slowly, though the last thing that came to mind was before he'd even begun to dig. Sitting beside her, rubbing his muzzle against her shoulder, running his claws down her sides, and then something about a badger. He glanced around, seeming to take in his environmen for the first time since he'd been pulled from the earth. No, there was no badger. That'd been another conversation.

Stiffly, he rolled over onto his stomach, and felt some of the dirt he'd collected shift out of his pelt in little rivers of pebbles and dust. His head felt light and heavy at the same time- so he set it down on his forepaws, and stared out toward the river. He hadn't even thought to take a look at the ruin and destruction that had become of her den. “Too soon,” He croaked, his voice dry and brittle. “Ask for that back rub?” He coughed, making a hacking, dry sound as he tried to get some of the dust and dirt he'd inhaled out of his throat and lungs, unaware that now was perhaps not the time to be making jokes.

He didn't react or respond to her, which was honestly ideal, because if Fennec was really being honest with herself it wasn't him she was yelling at.  Her relief that he was alive was too twisted up with the horror of the what-ifs, and as much as Fennec might wish she was, she wasn't the type of wolf who could just collapse next to him with relief and enjoy the fact that he was still alive.  That'd be too simple, and instead, her brain played on repeat;  if you'd just taken a few seconds longer.

Fennec couldn't think of a single time in recent past when she hadn't been able to handle a joke like that.  But for some reason, when Bronco said it, she felt her entire stomach drop into her paws.  The expression on her face when she looked at him was haunted, oddly muted after the fury of just a couple of seconds ago.  His voice sounded awful, and she could hear the effort of breath the last few minutes had been, but he was alive.  In the wake of the frenzy of panic, nothing was left, and his humor fell resoundingly flat.

Without another word, she turned around and began to limp away.  He was going to be fine, but she wasn't right now, and in true Fennec fashion that meant she needed to be alone to deal with this.  Her duty was to stay and check, to ensure that his lungs were okay, that the cough meant nothing serious, that the collapse hadn't harmed him.  She just couldn't.

WC: 263

wc:261

Apparently, it was too soon. He turned his head a bit to see her expression pan to something both blank and twisted with emotion, so he wasn't entirely certain what was running through her mind at that moment. But she stalked off with brisk stiffness, though it was the last thing he'd expected her to do. He thought that she might at least stay with him to make sure that he recovered fine- but then again, maybe she knew that he would, and that he didn't need her to babysit him while he got his breath back. He felt a bit hurt that she chose to leave him to gasp and drool in the mud, and when he tried to move he found soreness rippling through the muscles of his ribs and shoulders- and there would be no way he could ask her for something to treat the pain.

After all, he'd likely just collapsed the den that stored her entire herb supply. Even if she'd had something to give him, it was probably a few feet underground anyway.

There'd been pain in her steps as she'd left him, so he knew then that she'd need some time to tend to herself as well, and he couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty. Looking around, he could see the pocket of land that had collapsed inward, trapping with it everything she'd worked so hard to store. She had every right to be absolutely furious with him...But he'd make it up to her- one way or another, he'd make it up to her.