Lost Creek Hollow no time to think, time to sleep now

AW <3 use this pic as reference for the 'view' outside the den -

settling into lost creek hollow had not been without its upheavals: shortly after their arrival, the alpha male that had warmly greeted them had been inexplicably butchered. one member had been half-eaten by the time the pack had gotten wind of the unfolding nightmare, and understandably, a sorrowful gloom settled ostensibly over camp. indra couldn't help but feel maybe, they had brought their bad luck along with them: a terrible guilt sat in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't be rid of it.

there was a lot to do to take her mind off of the awful thing that had happened, and indra had spent some time looking for a den to distract herself -- and mostly, to stay out of eyesight of any grieving wolf. she hadn't known either of the deceased wolves well, but they were family to terance, and indra knew exactly what kind of expression would be sitting behind the tired eyes of any wolf she dared to meet: it would be grief, raw and absolute, and utterly inescapable.

she wouldn't understand, as an outsider. she would try to, sure, but trying wasn't doing. she knew the loss death inflicted on survivors was incomprehensible; but no matter what, no matter how supportive her words, she wouldn't be able to fill the hole death left when it stole away a beloved life. so, indra avoided her packmates, besieged by some sort of survivor's guilt.

she picked at a piece of bramble that had embedded in a paw, and then stared back at the ugly mess of deadfall in front of her. it was not to far from the river, but the way the river curved away, it had seemed to drag dead trees and branches with it. under that tangled mess of rotted wood and forest discharge there was an old mound, probably a fox den at some point. indra had worried the mouth of the den for the earlier part of the afternoon, and while covered in dirt, had managed a sizeable shift of earth and a new, wider entrance.

she liked the view; the land was flat in front of the deadfall, and then it gently sloped down into a rocky bank: here the river was quieter, softer even as it spilled over smooth stones and ancient ledge -- it would be an easy place to hold a gathering, or house a family.