Blacktail Deer Plateau for the first time in forever

@Grayday! Graydad!

 
Mid-day was upon the plateau, and Lavender was aware that it was the warmest outside that it would be; this time of day was when Lavender usually ventured outside. But, unlike previous days, Lavender had come up with a plan that would allow her to stay out longer than usual— she would wear the sheepskin outside. Lavender had been considering her idea for quite some time, but self-doubt had kept her ambitions at bay. Eventually, Lavender figured that the concept was worth testing out; she had reasoned that the throw kept her warm, and she couldn't find a reason for it to fail to provide warmness outside of the shelter. 

Lavender tugged at the sheepskin that Grayday had given her; her slim frame jerking violently as she attempted to drag her possession outside of the den. But even as she worked, she couldn't help but question herself— what would happen if she failed? She shuddered at the thought, hoping that nobody would see her at that moment; it was embarrassing enough that it was taking her to long to get the sheepskin out of the den.

Grayday returned to the rendezvous that day after another successful hunt, brimming with triumph and self-assured swagger. He felt much less violent and edgy since getting Engel out of the territory - none of the other males around brought out those sort of feelings in him, he'd found - and was in a particularly good mood as he sauntered over to the sounds of a struggle that came from Pema's den. He almost bumped into his smallest daughter, but her jerky movements clued him in at the last moment.

"Whatchya doin' babe?" he asked curiously, only able to detect her in the area despite the fact that she sounded rather like she was fighting with something. He leaned down almost automatically to groom her silky fur, blowing hot air into her pelt as his mother and father used to do for him. Grayday didn't know that she lacked the sort of undercoat that would hold the hot air against her skin.

Although Lavender was concentrated on moving the pelt, she did not miss the moment when Greyday entered the den. With his scent tickling her nostrils, Lavender gave one last tug before she turned to look up at her father. 

"Da, hey!" she chirped with a wagging tail; she felt relieved that it had been Grayday who had found her struggling. Unlike the other Morningsiders, he wouldn't be able to see her struggle with the sheepskin, and somehow that made her feel better about her lack of progress. 

"I was trying to drag the sheep pelt you got me a while back out of the den," she explained, "I'm tired of being cold, so I thought if I kept the pelt with me, it'd help me stay warm." Despite her initial confidence in herself and the plan she had come up with, she could feel her confidence disappearing, and her shift in attitude was reflected in her voice.

It was a bit of an odd idea, but it didn't seem like a bad one. Grayday remembered helping Szymon skin that kill so long ago and wondering what he could possibly want it for - but now he saw that the sheepskin could be of even greater use to Lavender than he'd thought.

"Okay," he agreed, pushing his head into the den and feeling around until his whiskers touched something sof and musty-sheep-smelling. He grabbed it and tugged it out of the den, disentagling it from the slightly larger (and shabbier) doe skin and slightly smaller raccoon skin. Then, he found Lavender and draped it carefully around her shoulders, running his nose along her sides to see where it needed to be straightened out. "How's that? Can you walk alright?" he asked, head tipping to the side.

As Grayday pushed his head into the den, Lavender moved out of the way so that he could help. She watched as he effortlessly relocated the pelt, and once it was outside, she followed after. Once outside, she stood still as Grayday worked to make sure the hide draped neatly over her shoulder. 

Lavender was surprised by how heavy the cloak was, and she had to put in extra effort to make sure she didn't collapse under its weight. "I haven't tried walking but its very heavy!" she exclaimed and looked at her father. "I don't think I'll be able to walk very fast."

Grayday could tell at once that this would be a problem. He couldn't see his daughter anymore, but he knew that she was a lot smaller than that sheepskin. "Don't fret about it. It'll take me a while, but I'll get you a new one. What do you think - coyote, raccoon, or a little lamb?" he asked her, eager to present his daughter with another gift. He tried to give them little trinkets and chew toys whenever he could, but this would be something that Lavender could put to use.

He already had an idea about chewing holes in certain places on the pelt - one for her head, and two for her forelegs. That way, it would stay on her a bit better, and she could run and play with her siblings throught he winter.

Despite her initial worry in regards to her current clothing, Grayday quickly reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. She relaxed visibly, and she looked at her father curiously as he presented her with a choice. 

Lavender considered her options as they were presented to her; each of her choices had their advantages, but there was a particular aspect of the coyote pelt that appealed most to her. "I think the coyote one would be the best," she answered. Unlike the other options, Lavender knew that the coyote pelt would mask her unusual markings. Unbeknowest to Lavender, the addition of the cloak would make her stick out all the more.

Grayday gave a tacit nod, still thinking about what would need to be done to the pelt in order to make it liveable. There were a lot of preperations that needed to be made. He'd have to dig for some dry sand to get the inside of the pelt smooth enough for Lavender to wear - hopefully, Easy or Dauntless would be willing to help him with that.

"Okay - coyote it is. But Lav, I don't want you around the borders with it, alright? You'll be able to explore to your heart's content come springtime, but I don't want anyone but pack seeing you wearing coyote fur," he said sternly. "There's nothin' wrong with it, but others might get the wrong impression. I don't want trouble for Morningside. Got it?"

Grayday had some rules pertaining to her cloak, to which she twitched her curled ears and did her best to hear. It sounded reasonable enough and so Lavender nodded even before he was finished talking. Then by the end, she flashed a look of contented appreciation and said, Okay, I'll be careful, but she was excited all the same.

Soon Lavender would be warm! She would be able to follow her siblings on hunts, journey outside of the territory to find rare herbs and flowers, maybe even scout the paths her family would use during their migration! The thought of finally being useful to her family made her beyond happy; her tiny tail bob was wiggling so fast that it was almost an absent blur.

She wanted to find her siblings right away and tell them about this wonderful development, and all the plans that were spinning out in her excited little mind! But she didn't want to leave Grayday yet without offering, Can I... Can I help? It was completely lost on the girl that a beast of close taxonomic relation would be brutally murdered for the sake of fashion, but that was just how it had to be.

Grayday's ears flicked in thought. He couldn't think of a reason why not, and it would certainly help to have a pair of eyes around for the fight. "If you want," he decided with a little shrug. He hadn't thought she was into hunting, but he was glad that she was finally showing signs of interest. Hunting was a necessary part of life. "As long as we're careful. I don't want you getting hurt - a coyote is probably still bigger than you are."

But he couldn't say for sure. He didn't know what any of the kids looked like anymore.

Although he gave the go-ahead, even encouraging her a little, his warning played in Lavender's ears and caused her to become crestfallen. Everyone was bigger than her. Did that mean she shouldn't try? Grayday was just trying to be mindful but she felt the implication of the words (harmless though they were meant) and seemed to loose her luster.

Well -- then, maybe not, she backpedaled, suddenly feeling too warm beneath the blanket of the skin. She staggered towards the den after a moment, trying to move while keeping the skin draped in place, but it was heavy. As she neared the den mouth she dropped her forelimbs and wiggled a bit, and the pelt slid off of her, becoming a pile at the den mouth which she could tug and pull about.

Immediately, Grayday regretted his word choice. He hadn't meant to cause Lavender to doubt her abilities. He'd just wanted her to be cautious, just as Grayday himself would be. Now, though, her budding interest in hunting had been kicked firmly into the dirt.

"No - it's your coat, Lav. I think you should help with this," said Day, gesturing for Lavender to come along with him. "Let's take a walk and see if we catch any scents. It'll be warm enough if we move quickly, and I'll keep you warm if you get too cold."

For the first time she felt like more of a nuisance than anything. Like a burden. When he tried urging her to come and help she shook her head - then turned around in the den mouth so that she could look at him, albeit with an expression that told of her disappointment and lack of faith in herself. Like her favorite toy had been broken. I'll wait here, she corrected, and emphasized this with the plop of her bottom to the soil. As she slid lower (so that her multicolored chest lay flat on the ground too, sphynx-like) she looked away from Grayday and moped a little. The makeshift pelt she had been wearing previously was laying beneath her, and she coveted the warmth that her body generated against it.

When he realized that Lavender was not following him, Grayday returned to the den with a stern look on his face. This insistence was not welcome, nor would it be allowed. "You're getting older, Lavender," he began, chosing his words carefully. "You and your siblings have had time to play and wander, but now there is work to be done. I'm going to need you to step up and start doing more with the pack."

He thought this was fair; the same would soon be true for Easy and Dauntless as well. "It starts with this. There might be a day when you need to do things all on your own. I hope that never comes to pass, but these are still skills that you will need to learn in order to become a contributing adult. It's time, Arushi."

He gestured for her to follow once more, waiting this time to be sure that she would obey.