Of course Qianhuang tripped over him in the morning...
"Stupid feral beast, why are you sleeping in-front of the bedroom doorway!"
"The female said I could sleep where I wished. I wished to sleep as close to the female as allowed!"
"No fighting! Geez you two, a woman can't sleep late if you are being so loud!" Chiaki said as she appeared in the bedroom doorway.
"Forgive me, female." Curtis said, as Qianhuang said, "I'm sorry."
Chiaki sighed. "You two... you fought it out yesterday."
The males relented. Qianhuang warmed the leftover broth from the night before for Chiaki and himself. Curtis refused the hot liquid.
"The wolves were quiet last night, I didn't hear howling in the distance."
"Do you think they headed for the mountains?"
"It's possible, each pack has lost two or three members to my hunting and the prey numbers are low here. I should stay here today, to work on smoking and preserving what we already have. Then there are the clay pots..."
Chiaki nodded. They did have a long list of things that could be accomplished at home, and she could tell Qianhuang didn't want to leave her alone with Curtis. "What about you Curtis? We are getting ready for Winter- the cold season, is there anything you need?"
"I will sleep through the cold season." He shook his head. "I will need very little during that time."
"You hibernate? For a whole season? Don't you need to eat?!"
"I will be ravenous upon waking in the heavy-rainy season, but catching prey to eat during the cold season is too difficult. I can't stand the snow and cold, I would fall asleep outside and be left unprotected."
"That's horrible! You could die if that happened!"
"Many feral beasts die in the cold season." Qianhuang added. "And even those of Clans will loose the weak, sick, old... and starvation can take even otherwise healthy members." He stood and headed to the front entryway. "It looks like it will rain today." He said as he looked out at the cloudy sky.
Chiaki stood. "That's going to make drying the meat difficult." She paused. "Have you heard of a smokehouse?" The blank looks from both males was all the answers she needed. She sighed. "I don't know much about them either... but it's a small hut used to smoke and store meat. It'll keep the rain from being a problem if we can build one." She saw light rain begin outside. "First though, lets get everything into the house before our progress is ruined!"
Between the tree of them, the drying hides only took a single trip and they now lined the inside walls of the main room of the house. The finished pots were in the storage room, some of them filled with the smoked wolf meat that was ready to be stored for the cold season. The rest of the meat got hung up in the main room, just above head height in long lines. Once everything had been moved inside, the house was more cramped and smelly. Outside it looked messy and the odd patches where things had been sitting looked barren.
"Nothing should draw moisture while in the main room, as long as we keep the fire going. But the small fire we use inside won't do anymore than that." Qianhuang said as he looked at the crowded living space. He smiled over at Chiaki. "We are doing very good to get ready for the cold season."
Chiaki smiled back. "I'm happy to hear that, Key."
"Now about your idea for a... smoke hut?"
"Smokehouse." She laughed. "Yeah, let me think... we need the same building materials that were used to make this house... but that's cut lumber..." She mumbled to herself. Qianhuang and Curtis watched as the female began to pace back and forth, brow furrowed and arms crossed. She looked quite angry, but gave off no aura. A few minutes passed and she stopped. "Okay!" The sudden loudness caused both males to jump. "We need tree branches, about this big around and this long." She made a circle with her fingers to show the size around she needed, then spread her arms as wide as she could to show the length. "Bring back enough to make three walls at least my height! Key, can you do that?"
"Yes, small trees and tree branches of that size will be easy to gather."
Chiaki smiled brightly. "Thank you!"
Qianhuang blushed. He had made his mate so happy with him! "I'll go gather them right away!" He said, transforming into his winged lion beast form as soon as he was out the door. Even in the drizzle of rain he was able to take to the sky.
Curtis watched him go for a moment, then a smile made it's way onto his face. "We are finally left alone." He said a he turned to Chiaki and suddenly scooped her up.
"Wha!" Chiaki yelped as the sudden movement. Instinctively she grabbed at the nearest thing, putting her arms around Curtis' neck.
He chuckled. "No need to seduce me, female. I am happy to give you want you want." He hissed in her ear.
Chiaki freed a hand and pushed his face away. "I'm not trying to seduce you."
"You hold onto me so tightly though."
"I'd grab onto poison ivy if I suddenly felt like I was falling."
Curtis frowned. Poison ivy was a horrible plant to let a female handle, they would be hurt badly. "No, I would not let you grab poison ivy, I would catch you if you started to fall."
Chiaki rolled her eyes. He hadn't understood at all. Still it opened up a way to talk with him that moved them away from his attempt at seducing her. "Thank you, Curtis, I'm glad to hear that." She watched as he smiled. It wasn't the sudden brightening that she could see in Qianhuang when she thanked him, and Curtis had no animal ears to help judge his moods with. Still, the smile was happy instead of seductive. "I need to gather more than sticks though. I need mud to cover the wood frame."
"I can bring you mud."
"Trust me, with it raining the mud is bringing itself!"
