The badger, unknowingly dubbed Papa Badger by a force too alien and bizarre for him to comprehend, awoke from a long day’s sleep feeling refreshed and renewed. After traveling for so long out in the open with his mate, potentially exposed to many dangers, it had been a relief for him to finally have a safe place to spend the day. That, combined with his previous lack of sleep, had meant that he had slept soundly through the day without waking up even once. Judging by the fact his mate was still solidly pressed against his side, grunting away softly, she likely hadn’t budged much either.

He watched her for a moment as she slept, her snout crinkled up and her lips pulled back from her teeth. If he knew her as well as he thought he did then she was likely dreaming about picking a fight with one of the older badgers from her previous clan. Judging by the satisfied little grunts she made, she was winning, and he felt an overwhelming fondness fill him. She had picked him, him out of all the other boars who vied for her affections, and everytime he looked at her he found himself thinking of just how lucky he was. This was the sow he would spend the rest of his days with, and he let out a contented little sigh just before her back legs jammed themselves into his stomach, turning the sound into a grunt of pain.

This first room was still a bit too cramped, but with the need to search for food and bedding hanging over him there had been a need to rush things. It made due for their current needs, and he could spend his night improving it until there was a little more wiggle room. Once his mate gave birth in the next month this would be her room, and so he would need to dig out another offshoot before too long. The last thing he wanted to do was to get in her way once their cubs were born.

There was so much to do to really make this area theirs, and they didn’t really have all that much time to do it, but Papa Badger would take his usual steady and stubborn approach to it all. All of it would be done when it needed to be done, and not a moment after.

First thing was first, however, and that was to get breakfast and something to drink. He would leave his mate sleeping for now, she was far too grumpy when she woke up for him to even begin bothering with, and head out on his own. It wasn’t as if she would miss him too much, and if he brought her back something tasty then she was even more likely to forgive him for going out on his own. She had always been extremely independent, and that hadn’t changed just because she had become his mate. She still preferred to do things on her own and without him underfoot, so the only real danger in his leaving without her would be her accusations he had eaten something delicious without sharing.

With this plan formed in his mind, Papa Badger carefully extracted himself away from his sleeping mate, doing so as slowly as possible to minimize the chances of waking her, and then set out to leave his burrow. He didn’t get too far, however, before it became clear that something unusual had happened while they were sleeping.

There was an odd scent in the sett, one that he couldn’t place at all, and it left him bristling and defensive as he looked around. He sniffed the air in a heavy fashion, making sure to sound as intimidating as possible with every grunt and grumble just in case the source of the smell was still nearby. His beady black eyes swept the narrow passageway as he searched for the intruder, but of course he found nothing at all.

The sett was empty, only he and his mate occupied it, and yet there was a new scent mixed in that he couldn’t truly describe. Something a bit like a lizard of some sort, but with an almost canine influence, combined with a hot summer day filled his nose, as he took huffing whiffs of the air around him. Moving forward one careful step at a time the badger trudged along the passage, finally stopping when he found something bizarre enough that it made him briefly forget about the intruder.

When he had laid down to rest there had been a tangle of roots against the side of the tunnel, with a small hole behind it, where he assumed the strange sweet-smelling rock he had previously found had dropped through. When he had paused to sniff at this small hole before, the same clean and fresh scent had wafted out of it that had come off of the weird stone, only cementing his theory. Now, however, where there had once been a curved wall with roots growing through it, there now was a flat sheet of wood, wood that had that same fresh scent spread all over it as if the rock had been rolled across it.

Papa Badger squinted at this wood in confusion, wondering how it had gotten here and what had happened to the roots that had been here before. How had it changed? And how had it done so without him noticing? He practically shoved his nose into the wood grain as he sniffed it all over, struggling to figure out how this had come about. The only thing he could really discern was that it looked a lot like the kind of thing that often sealed up buildings people lived in.

Somehow, someway, without him ever waking up once… Someone had put a door in his home.

He would be a lot more upset than he was if it didn’t smell so good, the scent coming off of it telling him that it was safe. There was no scent of people on it, and aside from the other strange smell in the burrow, there was no sign that the door had been put there by anyone. It was almost as if the door had always been there and he had just somehow not noticed it before.

Though he knew that was impossible he couldn’t help but relax somewhat. Could it really be that this door had been buried in the dirt and he simply hadn’t noticed it until now? That was impossible, but his nose told him it was the case. Papa Badger let out a frustrated-sounding huff and continued up the tunnel a bit more, just enough so that he could back up and press his butt up against the door. In this new position, he began to rub his butt across the door, smearing his scent across it.

Every movement seemed to scream “mine, I claim this as mine” as he continued to press and bump his butt against the door as though scratching a terrible itch, making sure to thoroughly cover as much of the door as possible so that it would be unmistakable as something that he owned. He stopped after a bit to sniff the door again, and once he was satisfied that it carried his scent heavily enough he let out a satisfied puffing sound and continued to trudge along his way. When his mate awoke she could blend her scent with his and the claiming of their new object would be complete.

Papa Badger hadn’t finished marking what was his however, oh no. Far from it, in fact! Though briefly distracted, he hadn’t forgotten the smell of the intruder, and he wanted to make sure that they knew the place they had entered belonged to someone. He wanted to make sure they knew that it was home to badgers and that they would be in danger if they ever returned. He wanted to make if obvious that anything that invaded his territory would be met with sharp claws and even sharper teeth.

Once he was out of the sett and in the open he commenced to treating the entrance of the burrow the same way he had the door, rubbing his butt against roots that framed the sides of the entrance, as well as nearby stones and grass until there was practically a sign in the form of smell that declared this place to be his. Anything with a strong enough sense of smell passing by would know instantly that they should avoid the hill at all costs, and that was precisely what the badger was hoping for.

It was only when he was satisfied that whatever had entered the sett wouldn’t be doing so again, lest they risk death by badger, that Papa Badger relaxed once more. Tension eased out of him slowly as he let out a long breath.

Maybe, just maybe, he had gotten a bit too territorial back there. The scent had been something that was distinctly reptilian after all, even if it did have a bit of a canine stench to it. He wasn’t afraid of lizards or snakes, and in fact, they were a favourite snack of his. There was also no reason to believe that his mate couldn’t handle herself against a simple lizard. To add to the list of reasons why he had probably overreacted, whatever it had been that had come into their sett hadn’t gone any farther in than the strange door, and it didn’t seem to be bigger than he was.

Since he could protect himself against things much bigger than him there was no need to fear something small enough to squeeze into the sett, though that hint of dog smell had briefly set off his fight or flight instincts. Perhaps the creature had been accosted by a dog and had come there to hide briefly? Papa Badger sniffed at the air again, searching for the scent of a canine, but whatever had happened must have gone down hours ago judging by how old the smell in the burrow was, and looking about the area revealed no signs of a fight.

It was no matter now. Whatever had happened, he was sure it wouldn’t happen again. Badgers lived here now, and he had made sure anything passing by would become aware of that fact. Not many other animals were stupid enough to pick a fight with a badger.

Huffing softly to himself he began to make his way down the hill, meandering off to the left and down toward where a gentle river ran out of the forest and across the plain. The water there had been clear and clean, and though food would do more for improving his mood, a long drink would be more beneficial for getting his head back on straight. He needed to calm down, after all, and food would only make him more energetic.

It didn’t take Papa Badger too long to reach the riverbank, not when he was still moving as if in a hurry to pick a fight. The water was almost too cold to drink, runoff from a snowy mountain in the distance making it like ice against his tongue, but it felt good against his dry throat and helped him to cool his temper down. He drank deeply, and after filling his belly with water his ears caught the sound of something moving across the river, immediately attracting his attention.

He looked up and to where the sound had come from, squinting as he searched for the source of the snapping branch, not initially noticing nor realizing what it was he was looking at. Slowly he became aware that the wheat gold grass was actually hair, and the round pale stone surrounded by it was a face, complete with a pair of bright eyes that stared right back at him. The more Papa Badger looked the more he was able to make out the shape of the person who sat opposite the river, frozen in place, body hunched low to the ground as if trying to appear smaller than they really were.

Despite how alarming it should have been to discover he was being watched Papa Badger remained perfectly calm, assessing the situation. He squinted, nose lifting as he sniffed at the creature. It was a person, obviously, but people came in many varieties and depending on which one it was he might have a fight on his hands. The creature was being very still, of course, but it could either be cowering in fear or preparing to leap into action and attack. There was simply no telling when it came to people.

The person tilted their head at him, large eyes blinking, and then they very slowly reached into something that sat beside them. He hadn’t noticed the object previously and likely wouldn’t have had they not moved towards it the way they had. He tensed, ready to flee should a weapon be produced. The river wasn’t very wide here, but it was wide enough he couldn’t simply jump from his side to the other, and deep enough that he didn’t want to charge across it to attack. Running away would be best in this situation, but that was only if the creature chose to attack in the first place. He was holding out a small sliver of hope that the person wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that.

They moved so slowly that, had Papa Badger not been highly on guard and watching them closely, he might not have even noticed each careful movement. They were holding something leafy and green in their hands, and after taking a moment to press and roll it between their palms, they chucked it across the river to him.

He jumped back, expecting something to explode when it hit the muddy ground, but instead the plant splatted against the riverbank with a wet smack, a couple of the leaves getting caught in the water and washing away. He was even more curious now than he had been before and, with his nose to the ground, he sniffed and snorted as he moved closer to investigate.

He knew the scent instantly, even though it was tainted by the person’s smell, and before he could stop himself he began to quickly dig into the watercress. As he ate the bundle that had been tossed to him Papa Badger’s ears twitched, swiveling towards the soft chuffing sound the person was making as they continued to watch him. Whatever they were it seemed they meant him no harm, and as soon as he finished eating the bit they had given him they threw more across.

This time the badger was better able to control himself, the ravenous hunger he had woken up with briefly calmed. This bunch would be better suited to bringing back to the sett and left outside for his mate to find when she awoke. What a treat this would be! The watercress grew on the far side of the river, so unless they found a narrow place to cross they wouldn’t otherwise be able to indulge in the plant. It was rather nice of the person to share with him.

Too nice? Perhaps… But as Papa Badger gathered up the leaves carefully he looked at the person as they watched him. They were making mouth sounds at him, surprisingly sweet-sounding chirping sorts of noises rather than the screams and shouts that normally came from people. When Papa Badger and his mate had scouted out the area for their territory they had discovered there weren’t very many people places around, so he could only assume the person had come from the nearby farm. This boded well for him. If someone at the farm was willing to share their food with him then they might not complain too much if he came to sneak the occasional egg or vegetable when things grew scarce.

He looked across the water at them, watching them watch him, before he made his own chuffing noise back at them. It was the closest that he could get to saying thank you to the person, and judging by the way they made their own sounds back at him he could only assume they understood. There was really no telling when it came to people, after all. There were those out there who could actually speak the same badger language that he did, but most of them seemed to have no idea at all. This one wasn’t even close to communicating with him, but it appeared willing to learn.

Now that he had gotten a good sniff of the person from the food they had tossed to him he was feeling much more at ease. Though it was muddied with a sharper sort of stench, the smell of the person was the same as clean clay during a spring rain. The people who smelled like that were known to never attack badgers, and so he was able to turn his back on them without worry as he made his way back up the hill towards his sett.

If he had been versed in the speech of people he might have known that the creature was wishing him good luck as they watched him leave, but since he didn’t he only knew they were continuing to chatter at him in a voice like that of a little bird. It still didn’t sound like they had any intentions of attacking, so he didn’t so much as glance back.

His mate would hopefully be amused by his encounter with the person. How lucky it was that the stone people were living on the farm nearby! She was truly a genius when it came to picking places to live. Their cubs would grow fat and healthy long before the next winter arrived.