The Forest

Twenty-Two.

I spent the morning tidying up around Court and I's little sleeping area. Most of it was dedicated to fixing the pelts and making sure the top ones wouldn't be wet from the melting snow.

I did small things around the makeshift camp we had set up. Some of it involved bringing breakfast over to Lyell and Xerxes.

Eventually I went over to the humans ready to go handle them for the day.

I spotted Arden fairly quickly next to who I presumed to be his mother. The rest of the humans were unfamiliar save for my parents. 

My dad was sharpening up his axe while my mom scrambled eggs over a fire she had started. I went over to them deciding they would be the easiest to start with. 

Everyone here needs to fall into place in the camp. We are on a timer to get a new place to live all built up. Now we have humans which means we need more houses. It also meant more hands to help as well as more mouths to feed.

None of the humans would sleep outside like some of the wolf-shifters were used to. From what I could gather some of the wolf-shifters here in the pack spent more time in wolf form than human form. That meant they slept outside and in dens they had made.

Others spent a lot in their human form which were the ones who desired a house. 

We humans always slept in houses and in our own beds. 

"Morning Ruby, would you like some eggs?" Mom beamed at me as she pushed the eggs around in the skillet, she had brought with her.

The items the humans as well as wolf-shifters brought with them were random. Some of the things were sentimental, others were survival.

The one thing they all have in common is the blankets and pillows. We all have them. The wolves just have deer pelts and other hunted animals while the humans have cotton and wool.

"No thank you mom, I already ate." I told her.

She nodded before giving some of the eggs over to my father.

"What have you come over here for?" Dad asked.

"Be nice." Mom slapped his arm and dad shook his head.

There's a certain tension in the air since I had rejected their offer to leave with them. I had chosen to stay with Court and dad seemed to hold some sort of grudge over that. But I couldn't bring myself to feel guilty over it.

All my time with them was spent sheltered inside a house away from everyone. I had no friends, no relationships besides them and the chickens they raised.

With Court I had gotten to get out and do things. I met Lotus who is sweet. She always was nice to me and talked to me. Especially now with the lack of distance between us. I talked to Xerxes on occasion and most of all Court.

Court is the reason behind all of it. 

Like the lovesick woman I am I wanted to stay with him. He's my first everything. I felt good around him. I wasn't going to give it up to travel with my parents to the city.

Anyways they are here now.

Dad can get over it. 

"I'm going to need to start getting everyone into positions here. We're in the process of building up things again. As of now there are a lot of patrols out so everyone here is going to have to pull their weight here. I wanted to know what you two wanted to do." I explained to them.

"What do we want to do?" Dad asked.

"Yes, how would you guys help out around here? Everyone here must pull their own weight. I'm here to assign everyone." I told him.