Heron Lake Plateau Running again

Having decided that it was going to be a short Fall and long Winter- simply based on the fact that Winter had felt long the last time, and that she'd hated it- Niamh had decided for sure that she wasn't going to sleep above ground for the whole damn thing. The others could deal with it, and Niamh would eventually grow in a thick coat- but it wasn't good enough. She wanted to have a nice cozy den, with fluff and feathers and all the comforts she could possibly afford for herself and Colt and, hopefully, extra company in the Spring...She might've been thinking too far ahead, but she was a glass half full kind of wolf these days. 

She'd roamed around the claimed packlands for a while before settling on an area near the centre, where she deemed it to be the safest; giving enough space to the Blackthorns and to Quixote and Raven as well, as the latter couple would likely have pups again in the Spring. As for the Blackthorns...Could they even still have pups? She wasn't sure. Of course, she was also unaware that Colt was actually the same age as Finley. Bright as she was in some areas of life, Niamh was shit at telling the age of others from time to time. Her mind wanted her to believe that Colt was the same age as her, if not maybe a year older, so she believed that as fact. 

She found a small knoll, and decided to dig the den into the side of that, between two bushes that would act nicely as hedges, you know, just to keep curious neighbours at bay. The ground was tough, and she regretted not starting to dig the den earlier before the ground began to freeze at all, but she had a strong will, and would do this come Hell or high water. She'd dug the den out enough that her haunches were sheltered from the mid day sun by the time she decided to take a break, backing out of the very narrow entrance and then backing into it, so that she could lay in the entrance, half in and half out of her den which was nowhere near completion. Content to rest her forelegs a bit, and simply scan out over her new front yard, she rested her head on her forepaws and heaved a happy sigh.