Dragoncrest Cliffs den decorating

@Val

The renovations had started. Having outgrown her original den, Astera considered herself to be too "cool" to share a den with her littermate. Instead, she had found a fallen tree, and dug out the hole to be large enough. Outside, a few large rocks littered the opening to the new den, creating a perfect showcase for Astera most prized possessions. She carefully picked a few flower stems to place on one rock, and then raced towards the beach tunnel. She intended to collect the crystal she had found from the previous evening, along with a piece of coral, and perhaps an unfortunate hermit crab. Astera let out a quick howl, hoping someone would come and help her fetch the trinkets.

things were becoming crowded around the densite. val noticed with some bemusement that aspera had vacated quarters - it was not until her howl piped over the sequoias that he found her.

ducking low into the beach tunnel, val was reminded of his own youth spent clambering around rusalka, and later, sapphique. hello? he called into the tunnel, grinning as his echo went hello, hello, ello, 'lo, 'lo, 'lo down the depths.

It was not until Astera emerged on the other side, that she heard Val. With a start, Astera realized that she had not really gotten to know him, and many others of the pack. She had intended to socialize with everyone in turn, but had mostly spent her time with her littermate and adopted family. She had developed a fondness for Mireille's new pups, especially Miette. Hi! Would ya like to help me decorate?

the face that greeted him at the other end of the tunnel was not biologically sapphique's own, but for all purposes, she belonged to the tide the same as he. it was good she had been born female, val surmised -- otherwise, she may have wrestled with her lot in life.

val eased through the gap with a gentle wave of his tail, spying several trinkets at astera's feet. hi there. are these your decorations? he glanced upon each of them with interest. the carapace and shell of a dispatched hunk of coral, unusually beautiful for so drab a creature. a glittering purple stone, which reminded val of the fathomless deep. of course i will help. where is your new den, astera?

Astera wagged her tail. Her den was new, and a friend to help her decorate would make it feel more like home. Over by the Seaflower Respite, if you look around for a large fallen tree with a burrow under it, that's my den! I was thinking that we both could bring these things over- She paused, motioning to her collection of trinkets -and then we could catch a live hermit crab for a little pond near my den. A hermit crab display sounded like a good idea to Astera, provided that little Miette didn't come looking for a snack. That's the crystal from yesterday. She spoke nonchalantly, though she knew that everyone in the pack knew about the incident at the beach the previous night.

val had learned later of miette's incident. a dark day in sapphique, but the girl was alive and lessons learned all around. of that, he was grateful misfortune had narrowly avoided them.

a lull in astera's demeanor suggested the topic might still be sore. val had no doubt mireille had said her piece, and there was no point in him adding to it. children were children, they learned as they lived and made mistakes.

that sounds like a lovely place. val steered away from the topic, bending down so he might pick up whichever was closest. you lead, and i will follow. maybe you can handle the hermit crab, though. he winked in good cheer, stepping back so the pair might make their way through the tunnel towards seaflower.

I am so sorry for the wait! Been super overwhelmed lately. ;-;

Thank you Val! She led the way with a confident tail poised high in the air. Every time Astera interacted with her packmates, every time moment spent, made her feel more at home. Home. That was a word she hadn't known since she lost her mother. Or her mother lost her. Astera didn't know, but at the moment nothing mattered more than her pack, her new den, and the crab. 

Last from me?

of course! thank u for the thread. always happy to take more on when ur life is a little less busy <4

astera forged ahead.

in his heart he felt a fondness for the girl: she was like him in more ways than either knew. born outside, but intangibly part of sapphique. her blood, alongside his, would see their home grow.

the pair spent the rest of the afternoon decorating sea flower, bathing in late summer sunglow. when it came time to leave val placed a small seashell by the mantle.

a token of their friendship and kinship - that astera would be reminded she had family here, no matter where life’s road took her.