Sun Mote Copse bury a friend

Weather: -8˚ Mostly Cloudy. Snow (1–3 in.) starting tonight, continuing until tomorrow morning.
Attention: @Wildfire!

The Roost was where Clover felt most at home—even more so than she had ever felt at the Plateau. Although she couldn't place a paw on just what was so homely about the Coupe, she accepted it at face value; she had made the right decision. With this feeling came an equally unexpected feeling—one which urged her to earn her keep. 

Today, Clover felt the need to organize the cache closest to The Roost—it was located underneath the eldest tree in the area. She had managed to weasel her front-end into the stockpile, while her rear-end (and tell-tale birthmark) remained outside. With her nostrils flared, Clover rooted among the morsels with an outstretched paw, as she attempted to gauge whether or not anything had become rotten.

The hunger persisted. It felt as if Wildfire grew hungry within an hour of eating. Although pleased by the implication, she didn't like it when the snarl of her stomach forced her to abandon her patrol and move off in search of food.

She crossed The Roost on her way elsewhere when she remembered the stockpile nearby. She veered in that direction, then stopped short when she was greeted by the sight of a rear end thrust out of the cache's opening.

"Aun—Clover?" Wildfire had initially thought she was looking at her Finley's backside when she noticed the marking on her hip.

"Yeah?" Clover asked in reply to Wildfire's bidding; the leader's voice was unmistakable. "D'ya need something from in here?" she asked then, realizing that she was blocking the cache's entry (and giving Wildfire quite the view). "I know my fat ass is in the way and all, so... lemme know what you want and I can drag it outta here for you," Clover offered.

Normally, Wildfire might have pushed aside her hunger, favoring the chance to interact with a pack mate, especially one she wanted to get to know better. But her stomach clamored, audibly demanding to be fed. She threw Clover a humorous look, in part because of the way she talked but also with a touch of sheepishness over her savage-sounding stomach.

"I'm famished. I'll take anything," the Sovereign said breezily.

When Wildfire admitted that she'd take anything, Clover examined the stockpile carefully, and a large hare quickly caught her eye. Grabbing it by the hind leg, Clover dragged it out of the cache and until it laid at Wildfire's paws. 

"There you go!" she chimed once she had let go of the leg, "Nice and ready for 'ya."

Wildfire fell upon the proffered carcass even as Clover declared, "There you go!" She felt a little embarrassed by her own ravenous behavior as she quickly bolted down the meat, though she felt like she couldn't help it. Any conscious thought pretty much subsided anyway as the Sovereign made quick work of the meat.

As soon as she finished, she looked up and smiled at Clover. "That's better. Thanks." She licked her lips and folded her haunches, planting her hindquarters and regarding the girl she could consider a cousin. But sister-in-law felt more appropriate these days, even if things weren't entirely official with Eljay.

Speaking of him, Wildfire said, "So, I take it you're excited to be an aunt?"

Wildfire was ravenous, and Clover couldn't help but stare. "Is this what happens when you get laid?" she couldn't help but wonder to herself. Instead of voicing her concern, she replied sweetly to Wildfire. "You're welcome," she chimed with a grin. 

Clover's simper persisted as the Sovereign asked a question. "Very excited," she replied with a sway of her tail. "Kiwi and I have already talked about all the kickass thing we'll teach 'em," she added, her grin growing.

Kiwi hadn't taken the news that well at first. Clover's statement made Wildfire wonder if the young Blackthorn had helped sway her daughter's take. If that was the case, she was extremely grateful. She would never force Kiwi's hand in the matter, though knowing she now embraced the prospect of younger siblings readily pleased Wildfire very much.

"I'd love to hear about some of the things on this list," Wildfire said brightly.

Although Clover intended to teach her nieces and nephews the gruntwork of cache organization, she did not reveal this to Wildfire. "I'm going to pass along all that I know about hunting to them," she replied, not entirely lying to the Sovereign. 

"Like, the best place to hunt rabbits, the best stockpiles..." she trailed, mentally derailed by her true intentions. "And, uh, teaching them about bigger prey when they're old enough! It's, like, a right of passage, you know?"

She'd expected some chicanery in there. When Clover mentioned several totally above-board (and frankly pleasing) ideas for mentoring the pups, Wildfire resisted the urge to grin broadly at the girl. Instead, she rearranged her features into one of playful scoffing.

"You're not going to teach them all manner of mischief and mayhem?" She clucked her tongue, then dissolved into soft laughter a beat later. "Actually, that all sounds great, Clo. May I call you that?"

4/10: hey, would you like to finish this one, @Clover? If not, just ship it to the archives when you read this! :)

Clover fought the urge laugh; if only Wildfire knew what she and Kiwi had in store for the newest generation of Firebirds. "Yes, you can," she replied sweetly, "May I call you Wifi?" Clover wasn't often one for manners but as a leader that she respected, Wildfire was an exception. 

Sure! Really sorry for the wait—wedding stuff!

No worries! I think I'll wrap if that's coo'? :)

Clover bounced the request back at her. "Yeah, of course," the Sovereign agreed. She might hold a very stately-sounding title—and she tried to behave like a matriarch—but she certainly wasn't formal when it came to how she was addressed. Heck, some wolves called her Wiffle...

"Now that I'm fed up, think I'm gonna go for a nap. It was nice chatting with you Clo. I'm sure we'll bump into one another again soon. Thanks again for the snack!" She waved her black tail and dipped her head with a smile, then proceeded to the nearest comfy spot for a lie-down.

OOC: Nice threading with you, Kat! Sorry I took forever. I'll make us another thread soon. <3

"No prob," Clover replied; she had seen how fatigued Finley had been during her previous pregnancy. "Have a good nap, Wifi," she called after, watching the Sovigern make her way to where she would nap. 

When Wildfire was out of site, Clover returned to her business within the cache. There were still some things that we wanted to shuffle around and figured that she could knock out the task quickly. Despite her intentions to finish quickly, Clover organized for quite some time—the sun was beginning to fall as she re-emerged. 

Feeling content with both her conversation and her organizing, Clover set off to her den and quickly fell asleep.