[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Borealis giggled as the little boy (now named Tristan) wiggled his toes and sneezed into Cassus' face, little tails wagging as he turned and scrambled over to sniff at Cassus' chin.

Cassus chuckled warmly, and picked the little pup up to rub their noses together, rewarded with a grin and a delighted chuckle from Tristan as his sisters ignored their antics in favour of their mother.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus' stomach tumbled deeply, and with a regretful sigh he handed the little ball of fur with wagging tails to his mother, who coped at him as she scooped him up and muzzled his nose with her own, as Cassus had done.

He stood, and stretched, and wandered over to their supplies to make dinner, noting with dismay they were lower than he had hoped.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He scrounged up enough meat and vegetables to make stew, but as he glanced at their dwindling pile of herbs and remedies to sell he knew the time had come at last, and with a heavy heart he readied himself to plan for his excursion to the rainforest, knowing it would hurt to tear himself away from his new-found family for any amount of time.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Borealis noticed his subdued mood, and sighed; she had been dreading this ever since he had first stated his intention to go, and the closeness they had just found made her so much more reluctant. The truth was however that a lot of unplanned expenses - necessary, but unexpected - had decimated their reserves.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassius noticed her glum face and without a word stepped forward to embrace her. He kissed her gently on the forehead and tucked her head under his chin as he played with her hair.

"I have to go" he murmured, feeling the tension in her taut muscles and back as he held her close, her regular breathing calming him.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"We can't put it off any longer - if we have an emergency, we won't be able to pay for it, and we can't risk that happening. If it were just the three of us we could maybe make do, but we can't risk the pups going without- especially now that they're growing so fast. They'll be teething soon."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

His voice was gentle, but it chafed at her even so, and she fought to keep the thoughts of being a burden out of her head. She knew he didn't see her - or any of them - like that, and he had proved it to her every day with each of his actions, but her insecurities remained.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I know you're right" she said at last. "At the very least, you must take Ebele with you."

Cassus shook his head gently, ruffling her hair a little with his chin. "No," he murmured, stroking his fingers through her hair. "She stays with you - I can look out for myself, but if anything were to happen to any of you while I was gone..."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

His voice trailed off into silence, and Borealis shivered, imagining Kale finding her and forcing his way into their home, finding out about the pups - she could not bear to think any further, but she could not hide the way she shook and shivered at the thought of being discovered by him, especially alone and with Cassus so far away.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Ok" she murmured at last, despair clutching at her heart. "I can't bear the thought of being found without you here, and I agree she will protect the pups - I'm so sorry" she blurted out, tears falling from her eyes as she hung her head against his chest in shame, as she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Cassus hated it when she cried, and desperately tried to comfort her. "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, for you to be sorry for. Money goes, on things we need - that's not a crime, and you're not at fault. That's just life." He nuzzled the top of her head, and held her close as she cried into his chest.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

It was hard, the next day, to make himself leave the warm bed when he awoke tangled together with Borealis, her arms looked around his waist and her chest steadily rising and falling as she slept. He awoke before dawn, and carefully rolled her over to curl around the pups, gently waking her with a soft kiss on her cheek.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I didn't want to wake you" he whispered, as he saw her eyes blink open, "but I didn't want to leave without you knowing, either."

His warm breath blew over Borealis' cheek, and she yawned, turning to kiss him gently.

"Be safe, and come home soon" she murmured, eyes already closing again, heavy with sleep.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I promise" he murmured, and stepped away to dress himself. He had prepared his things the night before, and strapped on the backpack and various pouches filled with bottles and jars of all sizes, ready to be filled with the bountiful harvest from the rainforest, before turning to make his way to the door.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Ebele watched him from where she slept, acting as both guard dog and draught excluder, and a steady stream of murmured noise came from her, muted so as not to wake the pups.

"Not this time, I'm afraid" murmured Cassus as she stood and stretched before turning to face the door, expectant of the voyage and clearly wanting to accompany him.