Blacktail Deer Plateau she got married to a boy like you

though there is a part of ingram that is loathe to put even more distance between himself and blackwater islands than he's already placed ...he also does not want to linger in the ruins of failing kingdoms. though blackwater had been deemed a holy place ...any place can be holy, he knows. where magick and faith was practiced was holy, lands that has drank the blood of sacrifices and swallowed offerings in the name of gods were holy.

any place was holy if one made it so.

so, ingram seeks.

the afternoon sun was warm upon the fur of his back as he explores the plateau; studying the herd patterns and making mental notes of its layout, its resources. following trails until they ran cold or stale; growing content with what he was thus far finding.

Dive Bomb Ash PAW <3

Ash Paw was eager to put space between her and the sandy beaches and the dark forest. Though she liked them both, she realized she was lingering near a past that was not hers. A group of memories romanticized and put into legends and it was time to forge her own pathways. She had realized the day she had thrown herself from the waterfall, that those places were not good for her mental health.

So with a spring in her step, she had followed Ingram. Did she stay near him, not at all. She broke away and moved about and lifted head to study the surrounding area, but she did return. There were many pathways, secret places where she could sacrifice and build caches. She even found a few old and dusty medicinal caches, filled to the brim with so many herbs and plants. She had almost cried from the joy of it.

She ran from one such den, happy, with a type of puppy exuberance that she didn't show normally. She barreled towards the younger male and almost bowled him over, but she skidded to a stop a happy look upon her face. Eyes dancing a rare look at what she was like truly happy and not in control.

INgram! Dreadfather! SIthis! Whatever! Come look! she crooned and forgetting herself tugged at his shoulder and turned away to run back the way she had come, a wiggle in her step, a wag in her tail. 

There's entire medicinal caches! Entire Caches. Whomever had tended them was very particular. Stored everything just right and made it a home and they have lasted. The scent is stale, years old, but they are still mostly intact and there's gardens! There's Gardens!!

i love her so much.

though ingram's focus was on what he believed to be the most practical of pack territory aspects, he lets those he who follow him explore at their own pace. what he has seen thus far of the plateau: he is sold. it seems like prime real estate. easily fortified and sustainable for the wolves that would come to call it home. the woodland offers ample protection from the worst of the elements and there are more than plenty of freshwater resources.

he is about to check out the borders in full and begin marking them when ash paw comes barreling at him like a rogue firecracker.

she nearly collides with him; and with ears slicked back and a mixture of confused and weary ( for he mistakes her excitement as fear at first ). it is only after a beat that he realizes she is excited as she goes though the gamut of his names and scarred features smooth into something that resembles amusement.

she chatters excitedly as she leads the way, eager to show him what she has found. did you pause for breath anywhere in there? he teases when he sees an opportunity; words sly and as lighthearted as the dreadfather can ever be.

that they have lasted this long is impressive. for there was no telling how many packs have called this home since ...whenever this was all cultivated.

Thank you. And I adore Ingram/Dread

Ash Paw had found merit in the tall plateau trees and the flat places. Though she had been extremely distracted to find caches and gardens and it was such a thrill. She had not realized how much she truly liked healing until she had done it recently. Perhaps she didn't have the best bedside manner, but taht would come in time. Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly?

She doesn't realize his ear slick, or the way he eyes her as she chatters like a maniac. She imagined it was most unbecoming and entirely improper to be acting thusly, but frankly she didn't give a damn.

She puffed up at his words and turns a singular blue eye to him and rolls it. Of course i breathed. I'd die.

But she turns back around with a small smile and continues to lead the way, her eagerness adding a more quick step to her footfalls. He probably had no problem keeping up with her, as she is much smaller, but it doesn't matter. She's just excited.

Ash Paw nodded her head. The gardens need some extensive work. They are extremely overgrown, but I can do it. The caches. There are many that are in shambles, but there are a few. it is clear that whomever was here before kept multiples, and it could be that given many packs they all had their own. There are some rare plants in some of them, that I would be hard pressed to find. There is even dried seaweed. Granted most of that I would need to toss and regather, but still.

And i found a hollow, looks as if it was perhaps a graveyard of sorts, I could set up an altar or altars there.

didn't sound like it. ingram remarks teasingly, offering her a coy grin as he catches the blue eye peering back at him moments after her small huff.

will there be enough time before the first frost? ingram inquires in a low, contemplative rumble. he is by no means a naturalist but he remembers enough of his first winter to know that it took a heavy toll upon the foliage not equipped to deal with the frost and the biting chill.

some plants thrived but many died until the first frostmelt of spring.

seaweed is in ample supply along the coast. that, at least, she would have no issue restocking. but that it was sometimes a tasty treat was about the extent of ingram's horticulture knowledge.

if your atka and sos do not mind sharing sacrosanct ground with the daedra, i say keep the alters in the same place. a holy place among the woods where all may offer and pray and revel.

There was a lightness to the daedra lordling, or so he claimed, and Ash Paw didn't quite know what to make of it. Though she briefly wondered if she had been largely mistaken of him. If he was not as evil and horrible as she had thought. Could she even begin to find him friendly. 

She shook her head. Unfortunately no. I will just have to hope that it lasts another season. Because we will need to probably put our gaze and efforts towards building caches of food. Winter feels looming.

Winter was coming quickly. She could feel it. How bad it would be, would only come with time, but she knew that were they ill prepared their fledgling group would perish.

Yes I had some in the caches at Sacrarium. Often pulling it there.

Ash Paw chuckled. They nor do I mind sharing. It will be nice to have sacred space.

her answer to his question does not surprise him: he had assumed as much. it was too late in the seasons to grow much else than plants that could survive winterfrost ...and even then he is not sure if many ( or any ) could be useful to healing. or whatever it was she planned to do with this garden of hers.

either way, the dreadfather deigns not to interfere.

and border mark. he adds. we will have to start from scratch. and it would take time to build viable stores but ...he is confident in their abilities. in the druids they had garnered and those that would come to them.

we shall see if the gods feel the same. the boneseer murmurs in a soft, rumbling sort of hum. so long as they got their flesh and blood and prayers and trinkets, ingram did not think they would mind too terribly. at the very least: he would not mind.

Ash Paw sniffed at a few tendrils of herbs and plants. Her mind already racing with possibilities for the spring time. She couldn't wait. There was so much, and the plant life here was absolutely breathtaking and to have caches. That were not exactly intact, but not completely un intact either. 

Ash lifted her head. Is that where you were headed? I can help.

She had offered her body to his ranks, and would help where she was needed.

Ash chuckled. I don't think they will mind so very much.

Her mind went to Atka and Sos. The great bear Sos, he may mind. More than Atka, but then again, he also may not. There were so many ways that could go, and she would do her best to make sure she helped where she could.

it is, ingram replies to her inquiry, offering a soft sage nod. territory marking was one of the several priorities at the top of his list: alongside food cache making and filling. part of him wishes he'd have taken food from sacrarium when he'd left ...but logic had told ingram that it might've been bad by the time he'd reached and settled upon the plateau.

i appreciate it. ingram murmurs as he leads the way, now, to where he has begun to mark the borders. it will go faster with the two of us.

for now, he offers no further response to talk of gods; having spoken his peace upon it. either they would be fine with cohabitation or they would not...and they would cross that bridge when they got there.

he offers little in the way of conversation as he works alongside her, content on focusing on their task.

i think this might be a good place to wrap up? feel free to either archive as is or with your post. <3