moving on to pastures new

Saul Stormbringer · 04-01-2012, 12:20 PM

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If I had words to make a day for you,

I'd give you a morning, golden and true.

I would make this day last for all time,

Give you a night deep in moonshine.

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28th March 2012 . Moonstone Lakes . Optime Form.

It hadn't taken as much persuading as Saul thought it would to try and move Lilin from the Hilsburn residence. When she'd arrived home, dripping wet and weeping, Saul had been so worried about what was wrong. He managed to calm her down long enough to get the answers from her, but the news she bought home with her was something he hadn't expected. Of course, his shock was nothing compared to Lilin's. He'd only been there for just over a month, whereas his dark furred cousin had spent most of her time in Nova Scotia in the dwellings. He knew she found it much more difficult to leave, but both of them knew it wasn't enough for them to stay there, nor was it particularly right. The lands belonged to Barrett and with the male gone, it would no longer be prudent for any of them to stay in his property. When Lilin had told him, Saul had left the next day to find somewhere suitable. Of course, his trips out to the Moonstone Lakes had been certainly opened his eyes and he'd somehow managed to convince his cousin that, at least for now, it wouldn't be too bad to move out there and live a little more simplistic life.

And so they'd packed up their belongings, attaching almost all of it to Hermes and Artan so that they would take most of the load. Temeraire had cried his eyes out when he'd learnt that firstly they were moving, and secondly he would be leaving his best friend behind, but Ezra had already said that he and his son would be leaving Hilsburn for places unknown. It had been a sad goodbye, that was for certain, but Saul viewed it as just another chapter in his life. He'd left Ichika without any real knowledge of where he was going or where that would take him. But he'd found Lilin and Hilsburn and even if he hadn't had much interaction with any in the house, it had still been a nice place to live and recuperate. It was a shame it had to end, but perhaps this move would bring something better for the cousins that they couldn't have foreseen.

Their journey was relatively silent, only speaking when necessary. He sensed that Lilin would rather not talk about it and he respected her need for quiet. He'd walked beside the horses, mumbling softly to them every now and then. Temeraire had decided that it was far too early for him to be awake, and Saul probably figured that he didn't want to face the two people who, in his eyes, had taken him away from his best friend. Saul had already dealt with one of his sons tantrums when he'd roused him this morning. He could see that his dark furred son was going to be a problem, but the man planned to hopefully distract his son with the place that they ended up. So instead of trying to persuade his son to cheer up, Saul had allowed him to fall asleep on Artan's back, curled up in the crook of the horses shoulders.

The small party of travellers had arrived at the Lakes around midday- it wasn't a massive journey from Hilsburn and the pace wasn't slowed by a lagging puppy. Lilin might have been reluctant to move, but she wasn't immature enough to drag her footsteps to slow them down. After a relaxing lunch, although equally as quiet, Saul had removed all of the saddle bags from Hermes and Artan and had allowed both stallions to roam free in the area around the lakes. Eirias had taken off once he'd been released from his wooden cage and Saul had watched him settle in a tree not too far away. Temeraire had woken and decided to go off and explore, which Saul was fine with. He set down firm rules and informed his son that if he didn't check back in every hour, Saul would come looking for him. With a begrudging agreement, the Stormbringer males had parted. With a sigh, Saul had started to look around the area. It was about that time that an idea had formed in his mind- an image of a stout wooden hut had presented itself, and without thinking too much on it, the grey male had begun to collect large, straight branches from the trees that surrounded the lakes, including from the Dampwoods nearby.

With Lilin as an onlooker, and his reassurances that come tomorrow he would build a separate hut for Lilin on her own, Saul had gone about making one. For the better part of a day, Saul had picked, stripped, cut and aligned branches that were just a bit shorter than he was into a uniform shape and size, before digging a shallow ditch the size he wanted it to be. Placing the branches inside the ditch was easier said than done and the branches kept falling before Saul realised that he was going to have to push the ends into the ground before they would stand up. When all of the branches needed had been places, Saul filled in the ditch, compacting the earth tightly to keep it in place. The roof was harder- the walls were sturdy, having been tied together and inserted into the ground, but it wasn't enough to hold his weight full. He'd had to build some kind of ladder to get up there and lay the sticks across the top, fastening at the peak to the thick mid-beam, leaving a small circle at the top for ventilation. He'd slid down to the floor, exhausted, as night had fallen.

"Welcome home..." He'd mumbled as the three of them had walked into the hut. Curled up in a heap of bodies in the furs that they'd bought along with them, Saul had fallen into a dreamless and easy sleep, too tired to realise the achievement he'd made.

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