[TWWM] Those Connected by Fate

Location: India (Early Spring)

Kaito and Sauvi had only spent less than a full day at his boundary in the town, but they both felt like it had changed them for the better. Kaito happily shed his nature features once more as they excitedly scampered back towards the forest. Sauvi bounded eagerly into the vineyard, her vines and grapes bursting heavily from thin air and clumping gloriously down her back.
Kaito hadn't seen her this happy as an esk before, he was thrilled she had found some sort of purpose finally. They pranced over the hills, climbing through the tangle of vines easily as they chatted and made plans for their little home. Passing near her boundary, Sauvi felt a twinge of pain, but moved past it quickly, ignoring it.  

The two padded into the cover of the mighty evergreen trees, the towering sentinels that guarded the forested lands, and wove their way familiarly to her favorite spot. The stream trickled through the rocks and down into the pool, and the water swirled contentedly there. They both came to a stop, their paws sinking into the moss once more.
"Okay, so I don't want to ruin what is already nice about this place."
"Agreed" he said, eyeing the natural water feature carefully. 

"Lets just, sort of...add to it?" she said, tilting her head to the side. Her long ear tufts swayed comically, and he stifled a laugh.
"Lets!"

And so the two set to work, carefully scouring the hillside for stones and twigs. Together, they stacked the stones carefully around the area, slowly but surely forming a low barrier wall. Kaito headed down the valley to where another, more powerful stream, coursed its way through the hills. Here he found stone sand, not perfect, but it flexed smoothly under his paw, and was satisfying to move. He carefully scooped some into a wide leaf and carried it back up the hill. She had lined hundreds of tiny sticks up along each-other, one right after another, making quite a pleasing pathway. It led up the hill and between the stone wall. Kaito poured the stone sand against the wall, filling in the places that moss had not taken. Sauvi looked at him excitedly and nodded, and so he returned to the river again. Back and forth he floated, slowly but surely filling all the spaces with the smooth pebbles. The path having been finished, Sauvi set again at the walls, she scampered further and further, into areas she'd never felt the need to explore, but now she felt brave, and whole. Eagerly she snatched up rocks and stones from all places, whisking them back to their little garden. Little by little, the walls grew higher, creating such a cozy little area as she never could of imagined. With each pass, Kaito was surprised at how much she had gotten done on the walls, and Sauvi was suprised at how much sand he had managed to move. They occasionally met, exchanged excited glances, and then returned to their tasks. 

Sauvi did not notice, but Kaito did, that this was the first time since he'd found her that they were apart. She was strong now, and her freedom and joy gave him life. He paused at the stream, fighting tears. How vital the happiness of your loved ones is. He fought to keep himself from breaking down. His mind often drifted to his parents. He hadn't been close to them, and yet, he hoped they were alright. He hoped that losing him like this hadn't caused them too much pain. He couldn't change any of that now though, and so he must focus on what he could do, which was helping Sauvi. So help her he did. 

Being ghosts, they didn't physically tire, but as the sun once again began to fall below the horizon, they both wound to a stop near the water. Kaito approached her where she sat, holding, not a leaf full of sand this time, but a stone.
"I found this." he said, holding it out towards her.
"Oh how interesting!" she said, grasping it in her dark little paws. It was a large smooth stone, having been caught between other stones in the river, the water had worn through it in the center, creating almost a perfect circle opening.
"We could..." she started, as she reached over towards the tiny waterfall. "put it here?"
carefully, she wedged the stone under the trickle of water, on its end. It looked beautiful, the water cascading over it. It had fragments of quartz on the edges, and seemed to glimmer.
"Its perfect." he said.

"We did it." Sauvi said, her voice sounding tired, but happy.
"We did." Kaito replied, echoing her state.
"It looks amazing, the sand was a really nice addition."
"As were the walls, I never imagined you could get them that high. There is no...cement...or mud?"
"I guess I'm good at stacking things." she giggled. He laughed and put a arm around her. They snuggled close on the smooth pebbles and moss. It clumped together where it had, they were careful not to disturb it. Tiny islands of green, a moss beach.

The walls circled them, casting round shadows across the sides of the area. They sighed, it takes a lot of energy to float around the forest all day.
Sauvi stretched and relaxed into Kaito, the thick fur of his chest was warm and soft. "Thank you Kaito."
"You don't have to thank me for anything my love."
"But still. Thank you." she insisted, pressing her face against his neck. "I finally feel ... so... so very happy."
He stared up at the moon again, hiding a tear. "You have no idea how happy that makes me." His mind drifted back to his home, not the boundary they'd visited earlier, but the home he'd known as a human. He wondered how his mother was doing, and what would become of the throne with his father's advancing age. He felt guilty, it was bittersweet he thought. All his life he'd avoided thinking about the weight that would fall to him, he'd never asked for that. But now that he'd been free'd to wander the earth as a spirit, now he was worried. He wished he had said more to his family before leaving for India. Shaking his head softly, he drove the thoughts away. He had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't change any of that now. He gazed down at Sauvi's soft face, she was already deep in sleep.

Together, they curled up in the soft sand, the moon's silver light dancing against the swirling waters as they drifted off into a well-deserved rest.