B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

42. Take A Breath

The den wasn't as nice as our home in the city, but I loved it and its possibilities. It had a lot of decoration potential, and I planned to work on it while I was here.

I looked over our temporary home with anticipating eyes. It only had one bedroom, but it had a small storage room and a larger living area. The kitchen had stone counters with a fire pit erected towards the door.

We had a dining table and chairs set and a wooden bed frame in the room. Winston got to unloading the furs and cotton-stuffed mattress I made. Once the pillows followed, it looked like a real California king bed.

Shuu left to check on the short-birds he relocated prior, and I restrained myself from running out after him to take a look. Harvey and I organized our goods and small furniture pieces.

Once I was satisfied, I went around touching everything. All edges were intentionally smoothed out, making me smile. They all must have worked hard on this den.

I stepped outside and checked that out as well. Sadly, the garden hasn't been transferred, but Harvey planned to work on that.

I admired the lush greenery and stray vines that fell over the den. Shuu offered to be rid of them, but I stopped him. I loved the look and begged him to keep it. He agreed immediately.

Looking around, we really were on a cliffside. It wasn't especially steep, but taking a tumble down it would hurt a lot. There was a path that I could safely walk up and down, but I must consider the kids. We'd need to build a fence or railing for them. Maybe netting would be best.

I checked out the coop, which was a better version than the one back in the city. Winston's carpentry skills were improving. The short birds were living in luxury.

The den itself was mostly cave, but Winston had laid down bamboo flooring inside and added a wooden front wall and door for the den. Ascetically, it was okay, but I still loved it. There was no sandbox, instead, I had an actual outhouse. Yet another improvement that I loved.

Winston, Shuu, and Harvey all waited nervously for Grace to say something. When she finally turned to them and expressed her love for the den they built, they relaxed and bathed in the praise.

I spent the rest of the day working on little projects. I fixed up a proper straw broom with Shuu's help and decided that thread spinning was something I would do. Winston unpacked my fishing net with the intent to use it, but Harvey got a call from a patient, meaning dinner was on him.

Winston got a bath ready for me in the storage room that was going to act as my bathroom for a while. He even provided a chamber pot for me so I wouldn't have to go out to the outhouse if I didn't want to. And it was a real bathtub too. I guess I did let my preference slip somewhere along the line.

I really am lucky. Winston is truly amazing. Not that Harvey or Shuu were slouches, because they weren't.

I wish I magically knew how to run piping and plumbing so Winston wouldn't have to carry a tub in and out, but I don't. Maybe we could experiment in the future though. It might still be a pain to get the water to the tub, but draining it out might not require extra effort if I can run a pipe from the tub to the outside.

That was a fun thought for the future. Yes, fun. My heart feels a lot lighter already, and I can't wait to plan more. The only real damper on my great mood is Muir not being here for this, but it was his choice to leave. Just like it was Mitchell's.

I shook my head vigorously as if to fling the thoughts away. Muir will come back, and one day, Mitchell will too. In the meantime, I had a lot to look forward to.