As gently as she could, the she-wolf set down the Jet, the Bloodstone, and the Chalcedony on a flat rock, not wanting to lose them. Her nose was good, and her eyes weren't too bad, but even she could easily lose Gemstones in such a massive Tunnel.

This Tunnel was nothing compared to Tunnel N but, she knew, she couldn't return. None of them could--their home had been compromised, was little more than a Tunnel, again. She was on the hunt for another home, and it looked like this would be it.

Really, she would rather have had a Cave but, well, she had lived in a Tunnel her whole life. She didn't know otherwise, but Mother must have had a reason, didn't she? So it was a Tunnel she looked for, and it was a Tunnel she found.

It was damp, and didn't seem too often traveled. The scents in the air, kept fresh with moisture, belonged to Lessers, and she could only find Lessers prints. This place seemed like it would be the perfect home for her wayward family.

She approached the wall of the cave, finding a soft spot in the dirt and beginning to dig. There needed to be a nook for her to put the gemstone, where it could be safely hidden as it nourished the life inside. Her paws moved rapidly, fighting to ignore the pain in her leg, and dirt flew behind her.

Once she was satisfied with the depth of the hole, that the gemstone would be protected while it grew and gave life to the Gemling inside, she backed away.

She looked, then, to the Gemstones. So small, but so full of promise, and hope. A new generation, one who would grow up learning from their mistakes, who would have a far better life than she had had, who would be trained up better than she had trained up Yewberry. who would never know a harsh word from her, but would still be able to protect themselves, and fight, and protect their family, too.

Looking over the Gemstones she chose, finally, the Chalcedony. It was very different from the other two, being varying shades of blue and purple. She had to admit, it was pretty--although not what she would normaly consider as such, and caught her eye. So, carefully, she took it between her teeth and pushed, feeling her Magic flow from her gem into the gemstone, a slight glow engulfing it.

She had done it, Yewberry would have a sibling. The Bloodberries would have a new member.

As gently as she could, she took the Gemstone more firmly between her teeth, and turned, approaching the nook she had dug for it. With a care she seldom showed, she nudged it into place, the back pressing against the back of the nook. There, that was good, wasn't it?

A soft smile on her lips, she backed away, looking around and trying to decide where to place the next one. Not too close to this one, if something happened she didn't want them all to be destroyed in a single, fell swoop. She'd give her life for these Gemstones, but she was not naive in the least, knew that not everyone was above harming Gemlings, or destroying or stealing growing Gemstones.

It took her a minute, pacing a bit of a distance, before she found a spot she determined to be 'acceptable'. The soil there was more damp than she had found elsewhere, and she sniffed around to see if there was anything nearby. And so, having decided it was safe, she nodded, and went to work.

Bracing her hind paws on the ground, she began to dig, ears flat against her skull, eyes tight with determination. The pain in her leg was pushed aside--she could deal with her pain later, right now she had something to do. Dirt was flung behind her and aside, scattered across the ground to make sure it wouldn't be obvious that there had been something buried. No heap of dirt would be left, no easily found tracks.

For once, her past was useful. She looked at the room as she would have, looking for all the signs that she would seek out, and making sure to cover them up.

The hole dug, Jayberry took a moment to step back, sitting down and bringing her paws up to lick the mud off of them. It was... actually pretty gross, and she wrinkled her nose, but it would be much harder to get off once it had dried, and matted her fur. 'Mud,' she thought, 'is the worst invention, in the history of inventions.'
Finally, she was satisfied, having used her teeth to get the rapidly drying mud out from between her toes. It had only taken one time to learn that she never wanted to let mud dry between her toes again, it itched so badly. So even though she wanted desperately to do this, as fast as she could, she took the time to save herself from later discomfort.

But once she was done, she loped back to the gemstones, looking between them for a moment before gently picking up the dull Jet Gemstone. It accepted her Magic easily, seeming to gain a gleam that it had been lacking, and her tail couldn't help but to wag as she trotted to the hole she had dug for it, carefully setting it inside.

Once she was positive the Jet was safely ensconced in its home, after a great deal of nudging and walking away and turning back and adjusting, Jayberry walked back to the rock that she had placed the Gemstones on. The only one left was the thorn-like Bloodstone, black flecked with red (some of it likely to be her dried blood), and she had high hopes for it. It had started its life with them by hurting her, surely it would prove to be a fighter.

But she didn't stop, and kept walking. She walked and walked, until she felt that she was far enough away from the other two, before beginning to dig. Her paws ached, and her poorly healed leg was throbbing, but she refused to stop and, before long, she had a safe, if somewhat sloppy, tunnel dug.

Stepping back, Jayberry looked over her tunnel. There, that was good, wasn't it? Would protect the Gemstone as it grew, until it could protect itself. Might even serve as a bed, once they hatched, until they outgrew it.

The she-wolf returned to the rock where the lone Bloodstone sat, small but promising. Who could imagine that, within such a thing, there could be something lying dormant, waiting to be given life. This one, she didn't touch with her teeth, but instead pressed her nose against and, exhaling, felt her Magic flow into it as well.

Three for three. She had only had one child the first time around, but now she had a full litter--just like Mama and Papa had. Was this a sign? Was she the new Mother? The new Leader? Surely not, she was only playing as such until Mama returned. But Mama would be so proud of her, she knew, giving her three new Grandchildren.

Picking it up, carefully, in her teeth, she placed it in the tunnel, as gently as she could. She stepped back, finding a position where she could see all three--well, where she knew all three were, at the least--and stood tall, pride pooling warm in her chest.

Three new Bloodberries. Three new children. Three new beginnings.

The Bloodberries would rise again.

=exit Jayberry=