Let's Take a Walk...

She wasn't at all surprised that the trip was silent and quick, and she followed him to the storage den without protest and grabbed her share of food before following him to the den he had chosen after he left the healers den. When he laid against the back wall with his food, she laid down nearby and ate her food slowly. When she finished eating, she silently groomed her white fur free of blood from her meal and discarded the bones to the side for future disposal. She found that she was perfectly fine with his silence, although she was a bit worried that he was re-thinking his decision to stay. But she forced the worry to the back of her mind, determined to trust him and take his word.

Now that she was finished eating, she yawned softly, feeling the exhaustion filling her from the day's events. Tessa's pups were healthy and strong, she had nearly lost Coven, and now all she wanted was sleep. Finally giving in, and too tired to get up and harass the eating male in the back of the den for his warmth, she curled up in the center of the den where she was, her head resting on her paws as she faced Coven, blinking sleepily at him as she fought the exhaustion long enough make sure that he was still there with her.

Coven finished eating as Molly curled up, ready to sleep. Too tired to chew the bones up tonight, the wolf pushed them aside, feeling Molly's gaze on him. He got to his feet and walked around the wolfess, settling down beside her with his back now facing the entrance, blocking the chill. His voice was lost, but it was possible to say what he needed to without words and without being completely functional (he was that tired). As if the last few months of sleeping apart hadn't existed, Coven's form naturally curled itself around Molly's, hugging her body as close to his as possible. His breathing relaxed audibly even before falling asleep; it was wonderful to have Molly back.

Molly blinked sleepily as Coven got to his feet and moved behind her, smiling and cuddling up against him as he curled around her, her body fitting perfectly into his. Now she could sleep, and she gave into her exhaustion, falling asleep leaned against him. She hadn't fallen asleep this fast since before Inferno left. Now she slept peacefully, curled up against Coven and dreaming like she hadn't done for a while.

-----------------------

The sun failed to wake her as it poured into the den, Coven's large form blocking the light from spilling onto her face. Instead she remained sleeping, curled up tightly and leaning against the black male with her head on his paws. She was still dreaming peacefully and enjoying the morning as the rest of the pack woke and emerged outside.

Sleep had done a lot to lighten Coven's mood. He'd spent a good while laying with Molly and contemplating the choice he'd made to stay. With a clear head and a well-rested body, it was easy to appreciate the fact that he'd narrowly missed making a horrible decision. If only he'd remember this revelation the next time his or Molly's pride flared up again...which was often. At least one thing had been retained since yesterday: it was clearly understood now that the healer tended to freak out over little things when she didn't feel like she could trust him. A bit of wisdom gleaned from their chat the day before was that no way would Molly waking up to an empty den go over well, not today. Though usually Coven was moving about right now, this was a good chance to show Molly he was serious about staying and keeping her alongside. With the first smile since he'd seen Molly yesterday, the black wolf tenderly licked at the top of Molly's neck, trying not to wake her, though if she stayed sleeping for much longer, she'd have Fallon beat.

The white female remained sleeping peaceful beside Coven, enjoying his warmth and the fact that it was still beside her. Coven's assumption about her waking alone was correct, and as he licked her neck, she woke slowly, and quite stubbornly as well. Her body wanted to wake, but mentally she had been enjoying the sleep. Finally her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Coven, smiling. "Good morning." She said with a slight yawn, blinking up at him and stretching as she leaned against him.

She couldn't express how happy she was to wake and have him still beside her, and she tilted her nose up to lick his chin, her tail wagging gently as she yawned again and stretched her legs lazily. She knew Coven well enough to know that he was probably antsy to get up and get moving, so she slowly got to her feet and stretched, her back arching as she did so with another soft yawn.

"'Morning," he replied, smiling in return as well as becoming infected with her yawn. "Sleep well?" Coven knew what it was like when Molly didn't sleep well, so from what he'd observed from her peace in sleep and her glowing countenance today, it had been as good for her as it ended up being for him. Fatigue had put him under quickly last night, but he'd woken up restless multiple time early on, until finally his mind had picked apart everything that'd happened as much as it could, and he was able to let go of all the negativity and finally get some sleep. The difference this morning was phenomenal - he felt almost like his old self.

Grateful that Molly seemed ready to get up, the black wolf stretched as well and got to his feet, nipping the wolfess's ear as he turned to leave the den. Stomach rumbling, the wolf knew his first stop would be the storage den.

Molly nodded as he questioned her sleep, and as he got up as well and nipped her ear, she shook her head and smiled. When he exited the den with his stomach rumbling, she followed him slowly, blinking as she exited the den into the sunlight and paused a few moments to let her eyes adjust. She figured that Coven would continue to the storage den, but she knew he'd return for her eventually, so she sat, enjoyin the feeling of the sun warming her body. The meal the night before held her over now, and she found that she wasn't hungry quite yet.

As he eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she let them wander over the den area, taking in the sights of the other pack members waking and beginning to move around the dens. After a few minutes she got to her feet, suddenly realizing how thristy she was. She glanced over at the storage den, walking towards the lake, but not disappearing from sight until she made eye contact with Coven so that she was confident he knew where she was headed.

Though Coven couldn't fathom how Molly was not starving and not taking advantage of the huge amount of food the pack had stocked up (bracing himself for leaving had rekindled appreciation for the food storage he thought he'd never have again), he padded to get his food alone. Grabbing a small piece of meat, the black wolf returned outside and catching Molly's eye. With a flick of his ears as acknowledgement for where she was heading, Coven lay down next to the storage den and finished off his meal fairly quickly, as it was a smaller portion and there were no bones to gnaw. Licking his lips, the wolf stood and stretched before shaking his coat and taking the trail down to the lake. It'd be a while before he could disassociate the lake with the events of yesterday (the ones that mattered to him, not the birthing of the pups), but he was thirsty, and he also knew Molly alone caused a lot of trouble sometimes. Like near-fatal health problems and near-fatal bear attacks.

He arrived at the lake and got his drink, stepping into the water with his front feet. After gazing over the rippling water for a moment, the wolf turned his head to watch Molly. It was nice to see her without becoming filled with anger or confusion. Now he could look and feel relief that she not only was looking the healthiest he'd ever seen her, almost completely well, but also that he could expect her to look back.

Molly took her time making her way to the lake, figuring that Coven would appear beside her after he finished his meal. That was fine with her. He had proven, by remaining beside her this morning, that he wasn't leaving her. She trusted him. She finally reached the water and lowered her head to lap lazily at the water, enjoying the cool feeling as it poured down her throat. When she finished, she stretched lazily with another yawn, not at all surprised when Coven appeared next to her and drank.

She found herself laying down and dangling her front paws in the water, her eyes watching the ripples as they expanded around her and towards the center of the lake. Only a few moments later she felt his eyes on her, and she turned her head to look at him, a smile crossing her face as her tail wagged slightly. She found that she enjoyed his gaze, and she slowly got to her feet, walking over to him and licking the base of his neck at his shoulder since she'd need to rear up on her back feet to lick his cheek because he was so much taller than her.

The male was glad that they didn't have to talk much today. They had talked enough yesterday so that it wasn't quite necessary today. The tense feeling had almost completely dissipated; what was left was his issue that would be resolved with a little time. Already, a lot was better about today. Coven had discovered this morning that he relished once more being near her and knowing she wanted to be near him, too. He wanted more of her with every passing second, but for now he settled for lowering his head to caress the nape of her neck with his tongue, burying his nose deep in her fluffy white fur every so often and rubbing his head against her shoulders. Without talking, it was easy to tell Molly how much he really did want to be with her. He'd already said sorry once, and now he was ready to move on and start repeating 'I love you'.

Molly let her eyes slowly close as Coven's tongue ran over her neck and he buried his nose in her fur. The gesture sent tingles down her spine, and she smiled, loving when he did that. She didn't know why she loved it so much, but she always enjoyed the gesture. She moved a bit closer, nuzzling against his chest, which she fit perfectly against while he rubbed his head against her shoulders affectionately. She soon found herself inhaling deeply and enjoying his scent just like she always had, relishing in the closeness of it all.

She was a bit surprised when she realized that she didn't mind the lack of conversation, and she let her eyes close as his caresses showed her just how much he did care about her, even without words. Soon she sat in front of him, leaning against his form and relaxing, simply enjoying the closeness.

Coven stayed standing, letting Molly lean on him and resting his head gently over her shoulders, breathing slowly. He knew that either he or Molly was going to have to break this up sometime soon and go enter the crazy world of the pack, so he was making the most of this brief period of calm and solitude for them as well. With a final lick at one of Molly's ears, Coven spoke, softly and with a begrudging tinge, "It's probably time to get back...we wouldn't want any pups to come with you a million miles away." Only because Laek was a good friend did he even care that Molly be around in case anything non-standard happened during the birthing. If it wasn't for that, he selfishly wouldn't have let a pregnant wolf ready to pop be a reason to make them head back.

Molly frowned and groaned softly as he said they should head back. She was enjoying their solitude and peace, but she knew he was right. "I suppose you're right. But you know, I'm a lot stronger than I was a month ago." She said with a roll of her eyes and a playful nip at his chin, "Although I don't think I'll be running any races any time soon." She said as she got to her feet and stretched slowly, licking his shoulder and turning back towards the pack. She not only wanted to be back for Laek, but she had been watching Blitz lately and it seemed like he had finally made decisions about Cas and other pack issues. She figured he'd be calling a meeting soon and she wanted to be around when he did so. She made her way slowly back to the den area, but just before they entered into the pack sights, she looked up at him, wagging her tail and licking his neck. "I love you, Coven." She said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, but loud enough so that she knew he could hear her.

"I was noticing that," he replied, tail wagging slightly, "But I was talking more about focus than on your ability to get back." The wolf padded beside Molly, fur brushing hers, on the way back. At her words right before they got back, Coven smiled softly, pushing his nose into the fur by her ear and responding just as quietly, "I love you, too." Enough to stay and abandon his misgivings about the pack for now. He'd deal with his unchanged feelings toward Blitz's leadership later, but in the meantime, to be with Molly he'd suck it up and do his job for the pack as best he could. If he was going to be here, he might as well stay on Blitz's good side.

Coven then pulled away and walked into the den area, sitting down and watching Chaos closely, noting that she seemed to have already headed out on a patrol. It was strange and not a pleasant change, to him, to have her back as head warrior, but this came with being here. In a bit, he'd go see tasks she had in store for the warriors today.

((Coven/Molly continued here: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t110-altogether-now ))