Digging a den had never been the sort of thing Lumt had been good at. He'd always had fur enough to stay warm at night, and sense enough to hide from teh sun. Thema had more experince with the art of making slightly-better-than-passable scrapes, but she'd come fro ma wet, cool homeland where they were more needed. Here in the desert things were different. And for a newly mated couple that dind't meen setting aside tedious hours to dig (especially in the sand, that would always try to fall in and refill the potential den.) Instead it meant simply notifying their respective barracks groups that they'd be moving, and being given permission to take one of the unused dens or ravines that had been set aside for mated pairs and family.
Most of them were full - large families were common in the firekin, though the was the added bonus of the majority of the cubs going off to the barracks once they grew into their ranks. There were two large areas to look through to find a place. The southern and northern areas. Southern had the advantage of mostly facing towards the barracks, and thus having a bit more shade in the day time and less wind at night. They were on the edge of the main area though, and a bit more of a walk from some otehr things.
The northern section of dens was more exposed, on the outside edge of the collection of cliffs and ridges, leaving it open to wind and sun. It was closer to the healing dens though, and faced towards the heart of the open desert that was the center of the total area of the pride's domain.
Lumt for his part carred little one way or the other which area they asked leave to live in - he had never been one to speak up when he felt things were not critically important. And he would be able to do his job from either location. He had some vague notion of considering which area might be better for possible future cubs, but then, both areas had allure for that too. A safer, more central location? Or a tougher spot that was still near the healers, and more isolated? It was a difficult choice, and one that wasn't easy to lean, one way or the other. He'd let his Thema decide, he'd concluded.
Hours later as said dull red female dragged him through yet another tight crevice to inspect a recently vacant crack in the cliffs on the western north end of the denning areas, he wished he'd simply put his paw down on the first or second one and been done with all this.
Thema, of course, found something worth praising about each den and ravine. This one was spacious, that one had a nice rock formation that made more shade, and so on. She was thriving, nearly glowing, and apparently indifferent to her mate's suffering. This was exciting! Not that she'd minded the barracks. She'd made ample friends among her fellows, and it'd helped her begin settling in and getting used to her new home and the role she played in it.
But this! This would be her real home. A place to retreat to that she could have all to herself. Or well, herself and her chéadsearc. Her Lumt. She glanced back over her shoulder, eyes roving over the male as he (admittely uninterestedly) scanned a rising cliff wall for any sort of imperfections. It was luck they'd both had the day free to do this. Then again, even the Motoujamii would have to take time for things like this.
Still, he didn't seem to be having as much fun as she was. Admittedly after so long all the crawl spaces and hollowed out areas did start to look alike. And as long as there was just enough space to grow (some day) why worry? They could always move again if they had to. And really, this ravine was as good as any other. The crack way in was narrow, and hooked to the side, making the way in rather like a quarter of a circle. That would help keep the main area free of blowing sand, though they might have to clean out the entrance more regularly. There wasn't any sort of overhang to keep the sun off when it was overhead, but the high walls would do...and the ycould always barter for a hide to work into the cracks above to make a sort of roof.
It would be good enough. It would be theirs.
"Well? How about it then?" She turned and chimed, making the white male look her way with something like a mix of relief and exasperation.
"They're all fine. This one will do, if it pleases you."
She was right - he had been bored. But she didn't take offense. His nature had always been cool, standoffish, uninterested. It was the little peeks behind the wall that had gotten her interested, and thankfully she had more patience than he could resist on her own, not to mention enough fire to melt him when she needed to.
"It's good enough. None of them are perfect, but that's alright. We'll make it perfect ourselves. And I like it. It's not too far from the healers, or the sandstorm shelters, and there's plenty of space even if it might be a bit hot at midday. We can fix that." She would be content with any of the places they'd seen. As long as Lumt had no objections. Life was rough enough in the desert without a grouchy mate.
If he had disagreements though the male held them in, simply nodding and setting about clearing out a thin layer of sand that had built up in the vacant period. The female joined in after a moment, eagerly working to inspect each inch of the new home. There werea few little nooks and crannies, but nothing really worth wondering at. The area was oblong, and thinner at both ends where the crack opened out into the desert and opposingly vanished in a crease too thin for her to even wedge a claw into. That was good. No chance of any cubs getting stuck back there.
With their choice made, Thema stopped Lumt's dutiful cleaning long enough to butt her head against his before slipping out into the evening glow of the sands. She'd swing by the barracks to pick u pa few things - trinkets and scraps they both laid claim to, then let those who needed to know know that they'd made their choice of the options given to them. And then they could really get settled in!
[Words: 1118]
