Arrow Lake strode through the gates, defiant in every stride

even if blodreina had managed to offer her help, ingram would have declined it with the most no-nonsense of refusals. she was tired, he could tell -- every day it became more evident her time was soon, and he could not imagine how toilsome it was bearing new life within you.

he kept digging, for a while he was quiet -- he had heard her musing (and agreed with it), but had been so wrapped up in trying to figure out if this den was suitable, that for a few minutes he was lost in his own efforts. second by second his form seemed to be swallowed by the earth, and as he went further down, heaves of dirt flew in the air behind him.

for a brief few seconds, he disappeared entirely down the corridor; the warren had capsized under his weight, but luckily the tunnels were slim, and the collapse yielded a wider tunnel in their wake. ingram pushed and shoved dirt around until it was a circular hollow -- then he reappeared, with dirt lining his fur and speckled across his nose.

"well, it's no big old king's keep," he mused, pushing up from the earth with a generous shake of his fur. "but if you like it, it'll do."

well -- this was it: this was home. after a few finishing touches, ingram stood back and inspected his work, his heart fit to burst as blodreina nosed along the densite.