Title-- The Berry Story
Rating and Warnings-- G; warnings of extreme cute.
Species and Characters-- Lupos - Treestrong (Lupos brave; beta of the Tehar clan), and Stargrey (Lupos feral shaman; wanderer). Suncaller (Lupos shaman, alpha of the Tehars) is briefly mentioned. Also, Stargrey is poetrywolf's, not mine.
Summary and Notes-- A few years before Treestrong dies in battle, he finds a wanderer and invites her into his clan, and into his life. This is a brief glimpse of a day spent berry-picking, when the worries of the Elderwar and clan management are far from their minds. (Note: this was originally a roleplaying session, so it's been edited to feel more like an actual story... but if it feels different, that's why.)


Stargrey sang as the two wolves moved through the woods in stride.

Treestrong had been surprised, the first time he heard her hum; most Lupos sing, but she'd always struck him as quiet. And then, as the days passed, her voice grew stronger, and today it rang boldly through the forest as the sun filtered through the trees.

The brown-furred brave openly admired his companion as they moved, weighed down by full baskets strapped to their flanks. Berries along the border of the territory had ripened, and Tehar Suncaller had sent them out to gather the tiny fruits. It was a pup's job, and most the clan's young were idle and lazy in the early summer's bounty, but the two adults had been sent out instead. Knowing Suncaller, it was no absent-minded choice.

Treestrong picked his way around a fallen tree, breathing deeply of the rich air and listening to Stargrey's voice. He didn't know this song, either - she knew so many more than he did - but the words hardly seemed to matter. This voice had come to mean so much to him, and it was this voice that brought a relaxed smile to his muzzle as they slowly meandered back towards the village in the heart of Tehar lands.

There was a slight drop in the volume of her gentle soprano melody as golden eyes, warm with the sun and the internal laughter of a good mood, turned to appreciate the rough-furred brave as he worked his way around the fallen log. Stargrey's gaze fell almost immediately to the smile that touched Tree's features, and though her lips were still moving methodically to the rhythm of a song memorized in cubhood, her eyes crinkled slightly in the grin of one stuck in the middle of a song. She tried to hold his attention with a deliberate slowing of the tempo as she came to the end of her current verse, padding deliberately over to the hand-woven basket attached to the muscular brown flank while still holding his gaze. Obligingly, Treestrong paused, one forepaw lifted in preparation for the next step.

With a sudden laugh, Stargrey reached one scarred hand into the berry-carrying container, quick as lightning, and snatched a small handful of berries. She popped them into her mouth, chewing and trying to start up the refrain simultaneously as she dashed away, half-singing and half-laughing at the gooey vocal mess that resulted. Treestrong let out a hearty guffaw and, not one to pass up a chance to go bounding headlong through his own lands, fired the lethargic muscles in his haunches and leapt after her. She was faster - she usually was, lighter and defter than he - but he managed to catch up enough to snake a hand into one of the baskets at her medial shoulder, messily grab a handful of berries (squishing half of them into a violet pulp in the process), and sharply veer off to the left.

Star's song finally broke into unrestrained laughter as Treestrong retaliated with some berry-snatching of his own, and her blue-grey limbs pushed her to higher speeds as she turned and powered after him. A rumbling chuckle found its way to his mouth and the beta male let it escape, the growling sound weaving with him as he powered past trees and lunged over brush and rotting logs. He knew she'd give chase; he was counting on it. When he judged Star to be close enough, he sprang to his left and stopped dead, damp mulch and last autumn's leaves squelching beneath his big paws, and calmly raised his fist of dripping berries to his jaws. His eyes on her and his muzzle creased in an unsuppressable grin, he lapped up his reward from his stained palm, plumed tail wagging behind his haunches in wordless mirth.

The rogue Lupos lost track of him briefly, less familiar with the grounds than he was (though she was learning quickly); in the split second it took her to catch a whiff of the comforting scent that she knew better than any other, he was already behind her, licking the sweet purple juice as it dripped down his palm. She unsuccessfully tried to hold back a snicker at the current state of the stolen berries, then popped a hand back into her own pack and pulled out another bunch. There was no longer any consideration of possible revulsion at the mutilated state of her flame-scarred palm; her empty hand instinctively reached out to his and gently pried the sticky fingers open to deposit the berries from her own pouch. The sight of her smile brought a larger one to his own face, and Treestrong's free, un-berry-stained hand traced the movements of Star's hands without touching as she gifted him the cluster of berries.

Carefully closing his fingers around the little cluster of fruit, Stargrey grinned up at him. "I hear they taste ten times better when they haven't been squished," she said solemnly. She lifted her hand back to her own muzzle to lick away the juice, one finger at a time, that had spread from his hand to hers. At the taste, she gave a deliberately over-dramatic look of contemplation after her tongue removed the last bit of purple liquid from her clawed thumb. "Then again, I could be wrong!"

Affecting a look of solemn consideration, the brown wolf opened his gently-closed fingers and peered thoughtfully at the mostly-undamaged bunch. "I will test this theory of yours, if you are uncertain!" he declared, nipping one berry from its stem at a time with unusual deftness, given the bluntness of his muzzle. After carefully finishing the entire cluster, he paused, tilted his head, and resumed looking pensive.

"I am not convinced that you're correct, lady shaman," he stated with exaggerated formality, shooting her a berried grin that was all but formal. "I do believe you should try both sides of the story." With that, he reached back, extracted another handful from one of his own baskets, and closed his fist tightly around it. Juice spurted out from either side of his palm and between his fingers, which he awkwardly attempted to catch with his other hand. Then, cupping both hands together to hold the pulpy, gooey mess of smushed berries and juice, he proffered the mishmash to Stargrey for her inspection and perusal, grinning ear to ear.

Stargrey's ears angled forward as she watched the proceedings with a grin, the expression fading for only the briefest of moments to be replaced with a look of startlement - upon smashing, some of the berry mish-mash had gone flying right through Treestrong's fingers and straight onto her muzzle. Her laughter rang out unrestrained as she suddenly realized what it was that had just plopped onto her face, and she let the berry-bits remain where they'd landed, taking a step towards the purple-goo-covered brave. "Though I hate to keep asking questions on the matter of the best berry benefits, I still am rather curious about one little thing." She dipped a finger into the mash, holding it up in front of her eyes for a moment. "Can you get the full flavor of the squished berry from a hand that did not do the squishing?" She popped the purple goo into her mouth, swallowing before she spoke again. "Or, for the full flavor, must you try it from the hands of he who did the squishing?" She shot him a roguish grin as she cupped his hands in her own, tilting her muzzle down to carefully lap up some of the offered berry-paste while it remained in his own palms. Tree laughed heartily, permitting his hands to act as her bowl without looking so much as slightly surprised.

Stargrey drew back, golden gaze amused as she licked away the violet remnants from her lips. "I think I might have to choose the latter."

"I'll trust your judgment," he chuckled, the grin never fading from his face. Looking warmly amused, the guardian brave let the rest of the seedy, dripping mess fall from his hands as he parted his palms, flicking his fingers at the ground to spatter it and the nearby paws with flecks of purple. Absently, he checked the harness that bound the four baskets to his lower torso and, finding it secure, settled into a seated position easily. He gestured for her to sit as well, the grin growing just barely more thoughtful as his eyes settled again on her face.

"It is so good to see you smile," he said, genuine honesty in his voice, sheer admiration and affection in his gaze.

She pulled herself down into a similar sitting position when Tree's gesture requested that she do so, her hand reaching to adjust the pack full of berries slung across her right medial shoulder as it shifted to an uncomfortable angle with her movement. For a moment, Stargrey closed her eyes, simply taking in absolutely everything about the location with the rest of her senses to store away as part of the memory of the afternoon. But, at Treestrong's comment, she immediately focused her gaze back upon his grinning face, an expression of amusement returning to her own features.

"Purple and all?" she quipped, all too aware of the vibrant stain along the edges of her pale muzzle. She gave a little wink to the male, then continued to speak after her silly grin shifted to a more serious smile without losing an ounce of the good cheer behind it. "But to be honest, a day like today... it would be impossible not to smile. Beautiful weather, a cheery task, and company that makes even these smile-worthy aspects of both day and duty pale in comparison."

"Yes, even with the berries," he chuckled, warmth in his tone. He reached out and snagged one of her hands, clasping it in both of his, heedless of the damp stains on their palms and darkening their fur. For a moment, he studied the captive hand, tracing the ridges of scarred flesh on her palms with a padded fingertip, then turning it over to examine the tendons and knuckles. Then, the brave lifted his eyes and smiled again. He knew her story of the scarring fire, and he had never really spoken on it, save to listen and offer her an understanding hug at the end of the telling.

Stargrey wordlessly allowed her hand to be lifted up in his, watching patiently as he turns it about, running strong fingers along both mutilated underside and the miraculous mechanics of the muscles and tendons on the unharmed back. She only lifted her gaze when he did the same, head tilting to the side as intuition gave rise to curiosity - there was something slightly different today in the way he was acting, something she couldn't quite define, yet seemingly nothing to be worried about.

"Stargrey?" Despite himself, even her name came out with extra importance in the undertone. "Are you happy here?" Evenly, Tree met her gaze; though he thought he knew the answer, evident in her smile, he still showed no expectations - just an openness to hear an honest answer.

Her uncertain glance shifted to one of warmth and perhaps even slight relief. She gently squeezed his hands, though she continued to look into his eyes. "More so than I'd ever believed possible."

"Good," he said softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. The next words were spoken with just a hint of anticipation, of bated breath. "Will you stay with me, here?"

Her golden gaze widened, breath catching in her throat, though the instinctive answer was already at her lips. The briefest of afterthoughts touched her mind, something to the affect of asking if Treestrong was certain, given who and what she was. Or, even before that query, could she somehow be sure that she was actually hearing him correctly? The look of shock faded as rationality replaced the flashes of doubt and concern, and then she smiled so broadly that the edges of her muzzle began to ache. She knew this brave, knew that he said only what he meant and was certain of, and that who and what she was no longer mattered if he had said so. Hands now gripping his own tightly, she managed an enthusiastic spurt of nodding through the overwhelming surge of joy that still left her incapable of speech. An uncharacteristic bit of water collected at the corners of her eyes, which she swiftly tried to squint away.

Treestrong's eyes widened as well, just slightly, and then he broke into overjoyed laughter, a rolling sound like distant thunder. Without missing a beat, he pulled her closer, springing upright with the exuberance of the motion, and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Eyes crinkling with sheer happiness, he held Star to him, heedless of the awkward and bulky baskets strapped to their flanks. "Thank you, Stargrey," he managed to whisper, unable to keep the immense relief from his voice.

Stargrey held back another breath of shock as she was suddenly entwined in the safety of the arms of one she'd never dreamed might hold her. Restraint broke, and happy tears flowed freely as a little gasp allowed the return of normal breathing, her shaking form pressed tightly against the brave's broad chest. The brown-furred Lupos made no move to pull away or release her from his embrace; he clung tightly, as though the strength in his arms might convey the emotions in his heart. Star wrapped her arms around his waist, then buried her face into his thick neck ruff as she laughed and cried and generally allowed herself to just exist, emotions finally unrestrained in the presence of one whom she loved and who loved her in return.