Firefly Glen Or need an escape just because

Ahuhuh, I rolled a whump for him. 
wc:1103

It came to Bronco as a relief that Fennec hadn't pirated the den from another creature, as it might've invited conflict had it belonged to one that had still been in the area. He was impressed as well, by the fact that she'd found a good place to start digging, and had gone for it. He felt fairly certain that he wouldn't have had the right instincts to know how to begin a den from (pun intended) scratch. He preferred to leave that choice up to other creatures- ones which knew the earth better, that were born with the claws to dig all day if they wanted to. But here she was- a wolf who had simply chosen a spot and had begun to dig, hollowing out a fair-sized cavern in the ground, at least until she'd come up against a boulder she couldn't manage on her own. To be fair- she'd probably given it a shot, but he simply assumed that by the time she came up against it, she was already tired out and sore from having worked on the den for however long before.

When she admitted that she'd been working on the den since she'd arrived in the Glen, it made him reflect on just how quickly she'd assimilated to life amongst the former Moonspearians, having decided rather than simply staying for a week or two to learn from Kukutux she would stay indefinitely. It was a sign, to him, that she was happy here. And to be frank, he'd done much the same thing- he'd gone to Moonspear with Meerkat with the intention of serving as her guardian, and perfecting his own skills while she worked to become an ambassador- but it had never been said that the two would end up staying there. By now, though, Bronco felt as though he could never really go back to the Firebirds.

She'd plotted out not only the denspace, but a garden she wanted to grow- a sure sign that she intended to stay through the winter, and truly make herself a part of the pack, though by this point he had no doubts that she'd made that decision. Her plans reminded him of the area surrounding Kukutux's den, where she had made some areas for fish to lay out and dry, and other places for her pelts to do the same. She, too, kept her herbs underground, in the mound-shaped den she called her Ulaq. He wondered if perhaps Fennec had taken some inspiration from Moonspear's medic, and the way she'd planned her own area out.

“That sounds pretty neat, Fen,” He admitted. Naturally- having spent very, very little time learning about plants, aside from what he'd gleaned from Fennec herself or Sugar Glider- he had no idea that Fennec might have been referring to poisonous plants. He wasn't even aware that there were poisonous plants in the area, as he wasn't exactly interested in ingested plants just to see what they did to him, or to see how they tasted. So- what he didn't know, wouldn't likely hurt him, unless he decided some day to go browsing through Fennec's gardens for a lark. “You'll need to find some way to get the water from the river to your garden, though, if you mean to water your plants. Unless you're gonna do it mouthful by mouthful,” He joked.

He reflected on the carrying pouch he'd given her- but wasn't sure it would hold water without it seeping through. It might also eventually cause the skin to decay, if it was wet all the time, so he decided he might ask Kukutux if she had another invention he could potentially find or fashion for Fennec...Maybe as a den-warming gift.

She seemed keen on having her den dug out, so he rolled his shoulders in preparation for the effort he'd have to put into shifting that boulder, but made a face when she mentioned the badger. He balked. “Well, you, uh, hopefully won't find one anytime soon,” He admitted, and bumped his muzzle against her shoulder. Well dangit. Too late to go back and ask for the badger's help now- he and Antares had killed it. He thumped his tail against her side as he breezed past her, and entered the den, once again hunkering down so that he didn't bump his head off the ceiling, and allowed a few moments for his eyes to adjust.

He considered the boulder for a few moments, and the way it was wedged into the wall. He could only see the face of it, and had no idea exactly how large it was, or how far it went into the back wall of the den. It was like looking at an iceberg- he could really only see a bit of it, and assumed that from the curve of stone he could see, that there couldn't have been too much more of it past what he could see. So, he started working away at the earth around the edges of the boulder- and quickly came to realize that it was actually broader than he'd expected. It also went more deep into the wall than he'd originally figured, as well, but he felt that if he was simply to continue digging around it that it would take ages for both him and Fennec to get it free. His original plan had been to free up the sides of it so he could get a grip on it, and then try to pry it out. Not knowing any better, and without being wise enough to consider the possible repercussions of his actions, he stood on his hind legs, gripping the stone somewhat awkwardly with his forelegs, and began to pull at it with his claws.

At first, it did nothing, and stubbornly remained imbedded in the wall. It was hard to get a grip on it, and a couple times, he attempted to shove it one way, and then the other, by slamming his shoulder against it. Finally, he felt it budge- and a couple grains of dirt fell to the ground at his feet. Content that that was a sign he'd finally loosened it up enough to pry it out, he attempted again, to pull it out and when it came free, it rolled forward, shoving him aside as the stone, nearly as big as him, came free. And when it did, he heard a soft rumble, and then felt the weight of the earth as it came falling down across his shoulders, flattening him to the ground in an instant, and covering him completely.