Let's Take a Walk...

"'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 ))