Stone Circle stranger, stranger, where have you been?

@Grayday

Akuti was now much more comfortable in her new home, having had her fair share of work to take on. She'd met most of her packmates, save for a few of the children, and it seemed that she would find herself in the ranks of Easthollow for quite some time. The moon was at its peak and the wind was blowing in thick gusts of white, though the tiny femme remained at her post beside the lavender patch she'd recently become fixated upon. Her black form made quite the contrast to the matted snow which lined her pelt, and had she not been so entranced by the strange beauty of her purple ladies, she might have realized just how quickly her temperature was dropping.

Day paced through the territory, checking in on each and every den. There would be a storm rolling in overnight - a bad one - and he wanted to make sure there wasn't too much snow gathered around the den entrances. It would create more work for them later, and the less digging through snow they had to do, the better.

So Day did it now, recruiting help where he could, but mostly just soldiering through. He didn't want to scare anyone, but he had a bad feeling about this weather. He could only hope that it would let up soon. They all needed a chance to thaw out, but for now, they would have to make do with huddling up and waiting it out.

Which meant he had to be worried, when he dropped by Selkie and Akuti's den to find one of them missing. Day set off at once, following her trail until he caught sight of a small, dark form lounging in the slush.

"It's way too cold for this shit," he said as he approached, a little annoyed at how glibly his packmates were handling the cold. They were wolves, and he knew that, but elk were dying and there was a storm coming. This had to stop.

Her trance was broken by Grayday's voice, the annoyance in his words apparent. Akuti turned to look at him with her brow furrowed and her head cocked, contemplating his words as the cold began to set in on her small body. She shivered slightly, though it quickly became more violent. You're right, she told him in a low voice, I just...I don't know what I was doing. There was nothing bothering her per say, but she'd been drawn to the spot in the same way an infant might be drawn to their mother's embrace. It was comforting in some odd fashion, though Akuti wasn't quite sure why.

As soon as he spoke, Day began to feel guilty. It was rude to swear in front of a lady, and worse to swear at one. He didn't apologize - he'd spoken the truth, even if he'd done it harshly - but tried to soften his voice when he next spoke.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, sitting down beside her - near enough that their pelts brushed, but not close enough to crowd her.

Akuti appreciated Grayday's warmth. Her harsh shakes and shivers subsided just slightly, though she knew that the two of them would soon need to find their respective dens before the weather got any worse. That being said, she was in no rush to see him leave her side. I just..., she began, though she soon found herself at a loss for words, I don't know. And Akuti didn't know; there were so many things on her mind, she couldn't pick one from the other. I think it's just a bit of homesickness. Not for the actual pack, though. I just miss my family, is all. She gave a sheepish smile and looked down at her paws, though she considered moving just a bit closer to the male's side.

He could understand that. Easthollow had plugged that hole for him, but there were still days where he found himself daydreaming about seeing his old family again. That, and Amber's absence was still stinging him rather harshly.

"What happened?" he wondered aloud. "I mean - do you mind if I ask? Why you left?"

What happened?

Akuti sighed and allowed a moment of silence to pass between the pair before she spoke up in the matter. I didn't want to leave, she told him as a sort of preface, but there were no other options. She looked down at her paws and remembered the look on her sisters' faces as they watched her go, leaving the children behind. Akuti remembered the whimpers from the maws of the newborns as they suckled at another woman's teat. Had her anger not outweighed her sorrow, she might have broken down with Grayday as witness.

My sisters and I were married to our husband a few months before our second birthdays. He was a kind man at first; he gave us everything we asked for, no matter how hard he had to work to get it. We each had our first cycles at around the same time, but I wasn't ready for children. Akuti's cheeks were hot and it took all of her might to keep her whimpers and whines hidden. He used force to get what he wanted, and I ended up pregnant. He stopped being kind after that. She turned away from Grayday, ridden with humiliation, though it felt good to finally have the story told.

I had a traumatic birth; my litter was large and I was small. My husband didn't have the same high opinion of me as he had when we first became partners, and he threatened to kill some of our children if there were too many to take care of, but I knew that meant he would take my life as well. So, the night of my birth, my sisters and I divvied up the litter; Pihu, my eldest sister, took two to match her own numbers, and our sisterwife Vihaan took the others. I left right after we were finished. Akuti took a deep breath and turned back to Day, a crooked smile wiped across her maw, Sad story, huh?

Day stared at the tiny woman, mouth gaping open. It was a sad story, but... "What about your sisters?" he asked, confused. "Did they leave? I mean - didn't they have as much of a reason?"

Whoa. That was not a cool thing to say. She was clearly sore about this, but Day couldn't imagine how leaving would help things. It might've eased her own burden, but what about the rest? The whole situation sort of made him uncomfortable.

The difference between my sisters and I is that he saw them as having worth. Akuti's words carried a harsh tone, as she couldn't understand why he would question her. Did he not see that leaving her children behind was undoubtedly the painful thing she'd ever experienced? If he thought that my children were theirs, then they would have been safe. He didn't see me as his wife, therefore our children were considered bastards. But if they were legitamite, then there was nothing he could do to them. Such was the law of their land.

Day stiffened at her harsh tone, seeming to realize what he'd just said. He obviously didn't know the whole story - or maybe just didn't understand - but Day tried to leave his own opinion at the door. There were bigger things going on, and this was clearly hurting the shewolf very badly.

"Sorry," he said after a moment. And then, "Jesus. I'm sorry, Akuti. No one should have to go through that."

He thought about his own children, and how much it would kill him to leave either of them behind, even if it was for their own safety. Part of him began to wonder if Amber could have her reasons... but there was no explanation for that, and Akuti's story only made his anger toward his absent wife burn all the brighter.

Akuti sighed, then turned back to look at Grayday. She didn't mean to sound harsh, but the ache in her heart just wouldn't go away. No it's...it's okay. I'm sorry for being rude; it isn't your fault. She turned back to look at her purple ladies one more time before she had to go, then turned back to Day with a proposition, Walk me back to my den? You can tell me stories about your kids to make me feel better. Akuti gave a playful wink, though friendly in nature. It was time for them both to head into safety, and she decided that she could use the rest.

It might not have been his fault, but Day still felt badly for the poor woman. For all three of them, and for those tiny kids, too. He wondered what had happened to cause the male to treat Akuti so badly, but knew also that some wolves were just born tired and evil. His own parents had weeded those ones out of their litters, and Day had grown up happier for it. He was glad that his two kids were angels, and that he hadn't been forced to be so heavy-handed. (Briefly, he wondered if Amber had made that decision on her own.)

"Of course," he agreed, thinking that such an acitivty would cheer them both up. "My Sunny - the wanderer - I think he's got a crush on the alpha's daughter..."