Sandstorm

former herbalist, now finally enjoying a peaceful retirement after dealing with an extremely willful apprentice.

(in a throuple with landslide and gator. or, more accurately, landslide is his mate, and gator is his boyfriend.)

----

"bad weather this morning," landslide murmured around the leather strap of sandstorm's bag as he helped his mate get ready for the day.

"i know," sandstorm said, somewhat laughingly, as he ducked his head so that landslide could slide the bag across his shoulder. "i woke up with my hip aching, i don't even need to go outside to know it's raining."

landslide frowned at him, but he'd known for years that there was little that could dampen sandstorm's spirits-- not even rain. "you'll be careful, won't you?"

"of course," sandstorm assured him gently, licking at his nose and mouth in appeasement. "i'm always careful."

as sandstorm rose to his feet, his back right leg began trembling beneath his weight. landslide quickly came up beside him and dig his paws into the rock, bracing to let sandstorm lean against him. "i hate that you go foraging when you're in pain. don't deny it," he said, sternly, as sandstorm opened his mouth to argue. "i know you, sand. i know you."

sandstorm lifted his head, and landslide lowered his obligingly so that his mate could lick his ear. "gator will be with me," he reminded landslide, and then laughed again when the larger wolf growled. "don't be like that! he's lovely, you just have to get to know him."

"he's rude," landslide grumbled, but let sandstorm continue to groom him. "he doesn't talk to anyone and he growls at the puppies. how is he still allowed to be a sitter when he growls at puppies?"

"he talks to me," sandstorm said gently, nuzzling into landslide's thick fur. "and he's sweet to the puppies, too, they just don't say it. they only complain when he doesn't let them wander off wherever they want."

they began to move, landslide letting sandstorm lean against him until they got some momentum and he could limp on his own, his back right leg barely touching the ground as they made their way through the mineshafts of the den towards the entrance. "i suppose," he huffed, "if he's sweet to you and he watches over you, that's what's important."

sandstorm smiled, his eyes soft. "he could be sweet to you," he sighed, "if you'd let him."

"pass," landslide growled, and sandstorm laughed. when they left the mine, the world around them was grey and damp, only a drizzle now but with a humidity in the air that warned of a harder rain to come. muddyfur, on sentry duty, wagged his tail at them cheerfully as they emerged from the den. to the side, under the shelter of their usual tree, gator was already waiting for sandstorm. he didn't move when he saw them, simply waiting.

"be safe," sandstorm said to landslide, nuzzling him once more. "hunt well, my love."

"be safe," landslide replied, even as he narrowed his eyes in a glare at gator, who simply blinked in response. "happy foraging, my love."

he watched as sandstorm limped over to where gator was sitting, fur bristling slightly. gator bared his teeth when sandstorm drew close, and sand licked them in response. they touched foreheads, and then they were off, gator's imposing figure an odd sight beside sandstorm's limping one as they disappeared into the gloom. landslide stared after them until they were gone, then sighed. his hunting party was waiting for him.

---

sandstorm entered the pack as a pup, offered as trade by his parents for silver. he was meant to be a hunter, alongside several other pups who'd joined the pack similarly to him close to the same time, and was being trained as a stalker until a fateful accident during his apprenticeship. he was trampled hard by an elk stag, crushing his back right leg and hip, resulting in a painful injury that led to him being laid up for a significant period of time. during his convalescence, wherein he had to do minimal activity, he developed a friendship with the pack's herbalist and started to learn more about healing and medicine. his leg never fully recovered, despite best efforts, but he was determined not to be a burden to the pack and decided to become a herbalist as well instead of a hunter.

landslide, a fellow pup he'd been apprenticing as a hunter with, became something of a childhood sweetheart, helping sandstorm wherever he could and encouraging him. their bond grew even stronger into adulthood, and they eventually became mates. however, sandstorm also grew close to one of the pupsitters who'd joined the pack as an adult, a stoic and independent wolf named gator. gator had come from the swamps and scared many of his packmates with his large size and quiet demeanor, never putting much effort into making friends. but he would offer to go with sandstorm on his foraging expeditions, acting as both protector and crutch to the handicapped herbalist.

sandstorm had enough love in his heart for two mates, though landslide and gator at first only tolerated each other for his benefit. over time, though, as gator began to open up more, landslide discovered that gator was actually a fairly kind wolf, he was just a little antisocial and had difficulty conveying his feelings. the two of them eventually became friends, though they were never as close to each other as they were to sandstorm. sandstorm wished that his beloveds could find love in each other the way he had with both of them, but accepted that they were not romantically compatible. the three of them were often found together, when sandstorm wasn't foraging and landslide wasn't hunting.