Morningside Cuesta let's talk about u & me

The breeze soothed the sore spots of the morning's heat, brushing gently through Khoe's coat. It was a refreshing feeling, as if the gods had used their hands on her very shoulders to keep her moving in spite of the discomfort. The lavender patch was nearby, and she knew from experience how comforting the small blooms could prove in times of stress, whether mental and physical.

Khoe (formerly known as Akuti before deciding to take her mother's name out of respect) lifted her head and made a call for @Grayday. Not only did she have to let him know about her identity change, but they also needed to talk about what the coming weeks would bring. He had given her permission to whelp, but did that same opinion remain?

There was a stiff breeze coming in from the west, and on it, Grayday imagined he could smell Easthollow - Steady and Valette - dancing all around him. Day wagged his tail and gazed into that western skyline for several long moments, silently saluting the missing members of his family. Soon enough, he'd take Sunny and Dawn and Adeline and they'd go and visit their old home - but for now, he turned and paced deeper into the Morningsider's territory.

His own pelt was strongly spiced by Adeline's scent, and to a slightly lesser degree by Dawn's. He smelled like all the Morningsiders, but these were the two he'd been with most recently, and he'd stood closer to one than the other. Too, he stank of the dewy grass he'd rolled in an hour ago, and of the fish he'd caught and quickly eaten, but not before it'd smacked him across the cheek with its tail.

When Akuti's call rang out, he was already headed toward her. A small shift in direction and a minsicule up-tick in his pace carried him quickly to her side, where they could easily take in each other's scent. Grayday's tail wagged when he saw that she'd found herself a new lavender patch.

"Back to old habits, huh?" he teased.

Grayday was quick to report to the call. The haste he moved with gave Khoe a sense of importance, as if she was held as a priority in his life; it was a moment of gratification. She looked at him with a beaming smile and raised herself up onto all fours, rather than maintaining the previous position of lying down. You know I can never get away from 'em, she chirped, jokingly motioning toward the purple blossoms. Khoe took in a deep inhale of the sweet scent and thought about where she would begin, considering all of the things racing through her mind.

There's a few things I need to talk to you about — pretty straightforward — For one, I decided to take on my mother's name. Khoe looked over at him and tried her best to meet his eyes, as there was an explanation behind this which she knew he would appreciate. The love that you have for your children reminded me of my own mother's dedication. I'm changing my name to Khoe as a sign of respect.

Day remained standing when she rose to meet him, his head tilting curiously at this somewhat formal setting. Normally they sat or walked or tumbled around. His ears cupped toward her, intent on finding out what this was all about, and flickered only briefly at her humor to match the smile that crossed his face.

He was even more confused when she said she was taking her mother's name. It seemed very sudden, and he liked Akuti. It was familiar and sounded like Cutie when he called her 'Kuti for short - something that'd always struck him as clever, as if she'd been named solely for that purpose. But now she was Khoe - something pretty enough, he supposed, but not the same as Akuti. He knew Akuti, and he didn't know Khoe.

"That's real sweet of you to say," he said, ears tipping back in embarrassment. Here he was thinking he was a terrible father, and Akuti - Khoe - was changing her name for his parenting skills. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you, wherever she is."

Khoe sucked in a deep breath with Grayday's verbal approval, for she knew that the name change was the easy part of this conversation. But there's something else, too, she began, now retiring to sit back on her hindquarters, I know that you already said I could whelp this year, provided the rest of the pack approves, but if I know myself at all then I know the time to make a final decision is coming soon. In fact, Khoe was convinced that she was in the beginning of proestrus, which meant that the important part was to start in only a week or so.

There was a sudden flush of sheepish thoughts which forced Khoe in on herself, becoming a bit smaller than she already was. It was incredibly awkward for her to speak on these things with a male, though Grayday of them all? She was practically mortified. All that she could hope was that this wouldn't become anymore of a spectacle than it needed to be.

Grayday caught her meaning at once. Without his permission, his nose began to twitch, already searching for a scent that was not yet there. He stopped himself a moment later and resisted taking a step back, knowing that it would only make this encounter stranger still.

"Then we should talk to the others," he said resolutely, trying not to think that he could sense something different in her.

If Grayday thought that he was doing a decent job at hiding his apprehension, then he was quite mistaken. Khoe became even more uncomfortable with each passing moment of silence, only offering up a nod of agreeance. They would talk to the others and (if all went to plan), she wouldn't have to talk about any of this with any other packmates for a long while after. One thing that did concern her, however, was the number of male children within the pack; the last thing Khoe wanted was to turn into a makeshift sex-ed lesson.

Thank you, she whispered, trying her darndest not to whine or mope, though Khoe was having a hard time avoiding the mortified air from creeping up her throat. She folded into herself even more, though this time, she was careful to tuck her paws in a fashion which hid her normally exposed midsection. The next few weeks would be wild ones, and she didn't need anything more to prove it.

Paging @Sylvas Streiter and @Heartha!

Grayday howled for Sylvas and Heartha, thinking that they were the most important wolves to consult at the time. The conversation they had here would determine whether or not they needed to talk to Yglis and Nimue.

While they waited, Day finally took a seat (his joint were hurting him more and more lately - probably because he'd taken to not sleeping again). His mind wandered back to the short conversation they'd been having, and to the new named she'd taken up. Would it be terribly difficult to stop calling her Akuti? What if he forgot this new name? Khoe, Khoe, Khoe, he thought to himself, determined not to make himself look foolish in the coming weeks.

"Does it mean something?" he asked suddenly, remembering that many wolves outside his family had names with meanings, aside from the obvious ones like "Grayday" and "Dawn". "Khoe, I mean. Does it have a meaning?"

She nodded her head in response to Grayday's question. This was a story which her mother had told her many times, so Khoe knew it just as well as she knew her own trade. It does, she began, before clearing her throat in a more relaxed fashion than she might have only moments before, Where I come from, we rarely spoke English outside of business. Hindi and Arabic were two of the most widespread languages, but each faction of our pack system had its own pidgin. Khoe looked Grayday over to make sure that he was following along. This part might have seemed like nonsensical rambling, but it was incredibly important to her. 

Akuti means princess in Hindi, but my family normally called me something along the lines of Korti as I was growing up; it was our version of the proper tongue. My mother's proper name was Kameswari, but my father often times called her Khoe instead. In short, it means Queen. By the time her quickly spat speal was out of the way, Khoe was left beaming and out of breath, waiting for Grayday's response.

"Pidgin?" he asked, having been keeping up until that word was thrown in. It wasn't something he'd heard before - he'd never even known there were other languages out there before coming to the Teekon Wilds. Amber had been the first wolf he'd known that could speak another language - as far as he knew.

"My mother's name was Lark," he offered, his voice soft as he spoke of the beloved woman. "But my dad called her 'Mama' - and she would call him 'Da'. We only spoke plain English back home, and all our names are kind of simple like that."

It's like a slang, but an official slang. Kinda like a dialect, Khoe explained, not realizing that if Grayday didn't know what Pidgin was then he might not know about dialects either. She listened to him explain the history of his name, and his parents' names too, for that matter. His life sounded simple and genuine; it was the sort of life that Khoe wished she lived. After shifting in her seat so that she looked a bit less apprehensive, she decided to ask another question, Is that where you get Sunny and Dawn from? Trying to keep things simple? Khoe quite liked the names of the two youngsters, thinking that perhaps it was a thought process she could use as well.

Heartha heard the call by Grayday, and headed toward Day. She had also heard the call to Sylvas, and kept an eye out for him along the way. She thought along the way what the call was for till she arrived, which then she dipped her head to the two before her in greeting, then seating herself. They were both in conversation, and made no comment just yet, waiting silently while looking between the two.

Sylvas' head jerked curiously as he caught sound of Grayday's howl and the male slowly lifted his head from the ground, his amber eyes glancing in the direction of Day's summons. Slowly straightening himself, the mercenary turned and began to make his way across the Cuesta and toward the others, his pace changing from a casual walk into a swift jog. And it wasn't long till the sight of the others came into view and Sylvas approached the gathered group, offering each of them a polite dip of his head and a smile.

Grayday shrugged, an odd feeling coursing through him at Akuti's question. After a moment, he realized it was the echo of grief he still felt over his lost wife. With Easthollow so far behind him, he began to wonder if, maybe, the woman had simply died. Maybe he didn't have to hate her. Maybe that made her absence that much more painful.

"Their mother named them," he said at length, aware that this was his first time speaking of Amber to her, and that she probably hadn't known much about her. He might've gone on, but soon enough, Heartha and Sylvas were approaching. Grayday wasted no time, wanting to get straight to the point to prevent this thread from getting too crazy-long.

"Akuti - I mean, Khoe. She changed her name to Khoe. But she was hoping to have a litter this year. I have no problem with that, as long as both of you agree."

Heartha came first, giving Khoe a much needed sense of security. It wasn't that she felt unsafe in the presence of Grayday or Sylvas, but she'd had enough experience with driven males in the past to maintain her gaurd. As each arrived, it seemed that they acquired a silent curiousity, and though it made complete sense for them to have questions about why they had been called, Khoe felt nervous knowing that all eyes were on her. 

She listened to Grayday's introduction of the topic and decided that she might add on with a testimony of her own. You don't have to agree if you don't wanna, she began, and I would understand any hesitation you have. But don't think I'll stop working as soon as I conceive. I plan on being a productive member for as long as I can. And that was that.

Heartha pulled her head up a little, ears up and attentive to listen as Grayday spoke of the reasoning for them being there. She tipped her head when Day finished to Khoe, and she too spoke. And Heartha smiled.

"A chance to help look after pups? How could I say no?" She turned to Sylvas. She didn't know who Khoe would be mating with, and her eyes silently asked Sylvas to agree. She just wanted to take care of a child, it felt like a need. Perhaps much more than she expected of herself.

His golden gaze peered to Grayday slowly as the silver male began to inform the pair as to why they had been summoned and as Sylvas listened, he merely offered the ebony woman a smile and a polite nod of his head in acknowledgement. Though it was the subject that followed after Akuti's name change that took the male by surprise, the mercenary stood still, licking his muzzle thoughtfully as he glanced between the gathered group for a moment. The male's brown ears arching forward as he peered over to Akuti, whom now was to be known as Khoe as she began to add her part into the conversation. He listened to what Khoe had to say and his head turned to look to Heartha as she spoke up in agreement on the matter and his gold eyes fell upon her pleading gaze as she peered to him, wanting him to make the same decision. ”Well..” Sylvas started as he turned his attention back to Grayday gradually, ”I don't see a problem with it if everyone else is in agreement.” He said with a slight smile and a gentle wag of his tail.

That was that.

"Thank you both," he said with a dip of his head toward both the wolves that'd come to his call. He shot a warm smile toward Khoe. "You the pack's blessing."

He wondered if she would approach him about fathering the litter, and what he would say if she did. Grayday wasn't sure he could handle that sort of commitment again so soon. Not fatherhood, but becoming a co-parent again. Maybe if he'd known her longer - long enough to be sure she wouldn't go the same way Amber had.

With a sad cast to his dulling eyes, he gave Akuti one more affectionate nudge before bringing up the next order of business.

"I don't know if we should raise the kids here, though," he said, glancing toward the bypass. "With another pack so close, and what we talked about doing for the winter." The last part was said with a meaningful look toward Sylvas. Perhaps it was in their best interests to move early, if they were going to have newborns this year.

One could tell the immediate difference in Khoe's demeanor; she settled moreso into her surroundings and was able to let down the initial face of her gaurd. Grayday brought up the topic of a move, which she understood completely, but she was a bit curious as to what exactly he and Sylvas had planned. What direction do you plan on moving? seemed like a good question to ask, so as to not seem too curious. However, all things considered, she did have a bit of an excuse to pry.

Heartha smiled at Khoe, never taking her eyes off her. It could have been taken as rather creepy, she just kept imagining Khoe with pups. Pups she would help care for. Until Khoe mentioned something about a move. She snapped out of it, blinking and turning to Grayday. "What other pack is nearby?" She knew of no other pack in the vicinity. Then again, she never left the area.

Sorry for the short post, work has been killing me with extra hours x_x also please let me know if anything needs to be changed <3

The mercenary listened carefully and offered Grayday a polite dip of his head as the male gave thanks, allowing a small smile to form across his muzzle as he slowly directed his attention to peer around the Cuesta briefly. But Sylvas' attention was soon stolen from the scenery as Gray's voice sounded once more, golden eyes averting back to the silver male's form as he spoke about his rising concerns for the future.

Licking his maw thoughtfully, the brunette male gradually began to nod his head slowly in agreement, ”Yes.” He replied, ”I think that might be an idea.” Sylvas looked over the gathered group for a moment, ears twitching forward as Khoe and Heartha began to ask questions and rightly so, ”A few things still need to be planned out before we even decide on what action we're taking” Sylvas replied smoothly as he now glanced between the women silently, till his stare returned to Grayday.

"Maybe toward the mountains," he said to Akuti with a small shrug, pointing his nose toward the distant Sunspire. His head whipped back toward Heartha as she spoke, and Day blinked at her a moment before answering, wondering how she'd failed to notice their next-door neighbors. "There are two packs - one just on the other side of that ridge, and the other a day's journey that way," he replied, gesturing toward the Bypass and Stone Circle in turn. Poor woman - she seemed to lead a very confused life.

Finally, his attention returned to his fellow leader, and Day gave a slow, reluctant nod. There was a lot they had to talk about before this move happened - and perhaps they'd better wait until they had a better idea of how the coming months would go.

"You're right," Day agreed. "We'll talk about it some other time. I guess there's not any hurry."