Escape is Only Temporary [boyxboy]

Epilogue

~Thursday 22nd November 2018~

"If we extend out to the west, we avoid the river," Beau mused beside Reece, scrawling down another sketch whilst the latter continued with the fruit he was cutting. Apparently, extending the open area where the pack lived wasn't as easy as Reece believed. He thought it would be as simple as just tearing down a few more trees and using the wood to build houses. Instead, he had to think of where and why and how. If there hadn't been such a need for it, he honestly might have abandoned the idea.

"And there's no cougars or bear dens nearby that way?" South met with the river. North met with uneven ground toward the mountain range. East met with too many hunting grounds of other predatory animals. At this point, Reece thought building upwards was probably easier.

"Nope. We can check later on, mark out how far you want to go, but it looks good," finally. Reece had been planning the extension for a month already, having wanted it at least started before Christmas but it didn't look like that would be the case. With the directional issues and now the heavy snowfall, it was looking more like a task for the new year. Either way, Reece would make it happen. He had to. The pack had grown so much in the past few years, there just wasn't enough room anymore.

"Here," Beau placed down the pad of paper he had been sketching on for Reece to scrutinize, "if we tear down a few houses here, we can extend the courtyard into an L-shape. Then there's room for a play area for the pups maybe? Or some more gardens, we need to extend the crops too so either would work," Reece preferred the prior. A place for the pups in the pack to play. They weren't allowed much further than the courtyard and, although Reece tried his best, there wasn't much for them to play with. They climbed the tree a lot, however, that was risky. It would be nice for them to have somewhere to play without so many adults breathing down their necks.

"We could move the gardens altogether. Move them over here," Reece pointed to the Northern side of the courtyard, "they can run West along that treeline. Shep says the soil there is good, it's got more minerals or something. We might be able to grow some different crops," Shepherd had been talking about adding more variation to the crops that were grown for the pack for months now. It would be a nice surprise for him if Reece was actually able to provide that. There was never anything wrong with staying on the good side of his husband.

"Yeah. I mean, the only reason they stayed where they were was because they were close to Shep's greenhouse. We could always build another, a smaller one just for tools and stuff. And anything that needs a warmer climate," it was nice to see that Beau still took the safety and comfort of the pack so seriously. Even with his own family to deal with, he still cared for everyone else. He would make a good husband to Kai, whenever he decided to pop the question that was.

"Mmm, go for it. Shep'll love it," having finished with the fruit he was cutting, Reece separated it into semi-equal portions and tipped it into six bowls. Three, he added cream to, three he squeezed some lemon juice over. The thought of the latter made him shiver but, apparently, sour was to some of his family's taste.

"I'll show the plans to Aris, he should be able to help with figuring out the specifics," Beau was muttering to himself, adding measurements and other bizarre markings to the sketch whilst Reece picked up three of the bowls. He nudged the man, drawing his attention from the sketch and nodding toward the other three bowls. Beau collected six forks, slipping them into his pocket before he followed his alpha's instruction.

"You think we'll be able to start in January? Weather permitting, I mean?" Reece hadn't bothered to remove his coat or boots when he entered the house, knowing that the fruit salad wouldn't have taken long to make. He did feel the bite of the cold prickle at his bare fingers as he and Beau left the house, closing the door for once to keep the heat in, but it didn't bother him that much. His blood ran hot, a little discomfort wasn't too big of a deal.