Stone Circle mean streak

Tagging for reference!

It'd been happening a lot, lately. These dreams. At first it'd been understandable - why wouldn't he wanted to kill Amber? She'd put him through a lot, and he was angry. He had a right to be angry. It wasn't so strange to dream about tearing her apart, the way she'd torn him up inside. And the dreams, they'd persisted for a while, but he thought he'd gotten past it.

And then it was Ezekiel, or Niita. Chaska and Mirabelle, after they left. Even Valette, once or twice, while she looked at him with soft and pitying eyes. In his dreams they were all his enemies, even if their only transgressions were following their hearts, or offering him kindness. Day tried to tell himself it was fine, he was a little angry but they were just dreams. Didn't mean anything except maybe he should eat less funny meat before he went to bed, and that (maybe) he should try to left things go when his packmates left.

But the dreams didn't stop, and sometimes, he thought it was better to just... not go to sleep in the first place.

Midnight found him in the middle of the stone circle, staring up at the stars. The kids were with @Krypton for the night, though he half-expected to find them in the alphas' den with Keoni and Nikai by the morning. His son had a bit of a crush on Steady's daughter, and Day couldn't help but think they were alike, in that way. Like father like son.

But had his father ever struggled with these things? Day thought back on his warm but stoic sire, trying to remember if the older wolf had ever shown signs of the kind of rage Day found within himself, these days.

"I wish I could talk to you, Da," he said softly, rolling onto his back to see the stars at a better angle. Distantly, he wondered if Mud was even still alive.

Sunny came crying, years streaking his fur as he ran to grayday. He had an awful dream, where Amber was found bloodied and broken. Though he had tried to forget the woman he loved so much, she never left his mind. He pressed his trembling frame against his father and sobbed once more before taking a steadying breath "she was all bloody, and horrible and someone hurt her. Why would she go? She could be killed! I thought she loved us!" he rambled in a distressed fashion.

Finally having it off his chest he noticed that Gray looked upset "what's wrong daddy?" he asked softly, forgetting his own troubles to be concerned for his daddy.

ooc: just gonna slip in here since she's watching the kids

Sunny? Sunny! Where are you? she called out frantically as she chased after the little boy. she and the kids had been taking a nice sleep together, though Dawn was more into it than Sunny. Krypton originally didn't see anything wrong, but as soon as he got up, she had noted something different in his behavior. He didn't seem happy and right as he began to run, she felt frantic and frozen in place. was he scared of her? Did she make him unhappy? What did she do wrong? Krypton blamed herself for many things but felt even worse that a child was running away from her (though that was not the exact case). She already scared others with her sheer size, but scaring someone as small as the boy made her heart feel dead.

She ran after him after picking dawn up and dropping her off at Steady's den to rest with Keoni and the couple, explaining she had to find Sunny since he ran off. Oh man, she was going to get such a yelling from losing sight of him, it was her one job! She had her ears flattened as she loped to find him, her nose low to the ground as she tried to follow his scent quickly. Sunny please! Where are you, you can't run off like this without telling me! she called out as she ran along, her body beginning to fatigue due to her poor shape. she didn't look as gaunt as before, but definitely shouldn't be running around frantically like this. She called loud enough to make sure any wolf in the territory could hear her, wanting to make sure that Sunny knew she was going to find him.

She was moving so quickly that she stumbled, tripped, and fell many times looking for the little lost boy, fear feeding her energy and clumsiness. Dirt covered her body, along with snow and some new scratches. But that was the least of her concern, she needed to find Sunny!

she skid to a stop, her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach as she finally found the little boy crying to his dad. what was he going to tell him? that he was afraid of her, that he hated her? she feared the worst. she stood there, frozen as if she was scared of what to do. Sunny... she whispered as if she wanted him to come back to her as if he was her own.

At first, he was sure that the unthinkable had happened, and that his son was crying about Dawn instead of his mother. But he was used to soothing these nightmares by now, and very soon, he had pushed his own worries aside in favor of comforting his poor, crying boy.

"She loves more two more than anything," Day lied. (Maybe it was the truth, but he no longer believed it. More and more, he found himself asking the same questions.) "I don't know where she is or why she left, but I know she loves you. Don't ever doubt that, Sunny."

He hate lying, but he would lie to his children every day of his life if it meant they'd never suffer the aching, crippling doubt that'd plague him since he left. They'd all been betrayed and Day didn't know why, but he would never let the kids think it was their fault.

He hated that woman. He hated her for what she'd done to him, for what she'd done to their family. She was the only one who remained an enemy in his waking hours. He didn't  really want to hurt Chaska or Valette, but Amber?

Rage threatened to darken his face once more, but Day kept a cool mask firmly in place. Sunny didn't need to see him like that. (Had his own father had similar struggles?)

"Sometimes Daddy has scary dreams, too," Day said softly, answering Sunny's question. Krypton's worried voice caused him to look around, and then he fixed a hard stare at his son. "Did you run from Aunt Kay?" he asked sternly, already knowing the answer. Day turned and stretched his muzzle in Krypton's direction, hoping she wasn't worried about him being angry at her . He knew how wily his kids could be.

"Is Dawn alright?" he asked tiredly.

The small yearling suddenly emerged from underneath Aunt Kryptons legs, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her father and brother with confusion. "Yeup!" She answered for the woman, before lifting her head up to look at her auntie. "Is Sunny alright?" She attempted a whisper but failed, and could be heard by everyone there. 

Dawn plopped down on her haunches, leaning back into the fur of Krypton. Only then did she notice her dad looking rather troubled himself. "Is daddy alright?" Of course, she assumed everyone held all the answers for the millions of questions she constantly had running off her mind and leaping off her tongue.

ooc: these puppies are too cute i swear oml

She was afraid to hear him, but his cool words made her feel less tensed. she gave sunny a pitiful smile before piping up "he wanted you more than me" she said lightly before thinking about dawn. she was almost dead asleep while she carried her over. "As for dawn, she's with Uncle St-" she said, before feeling a bit of fur pop up between her legs. the woman looked down at Dawn, her smile widening into a happy grin. "Speak of the devil, here she is," she said, adjusting slightly to make Dawn's spot more comfortable against Krypton's body. She marveled at the girl's question, along with Sunny's before returning her gaze to Grayday.

"Yes, is daddy alright?"  she asked him with a concerned look on her eyes. Was about their mother and his mate leaving? He might not feel comfortable enough to talk about her, but Krypton felt it was her duty to make sure her packmates were doing okay emotionally, physically, and mentally, even if it meant digging around and poking the bear.

Sunny sniffled softly as his father comforted him and looked up with wide eyes as Krypton ran over with a scared voice that made sunny feel guilty. "im sorry auntie Kay, I didn't mean to scare you" he said softly and walked over to nuzzle her in apology.

Dawn was here to and he quickly gave his sister a few quick licks on the nose "Im OK. Don't worry bout me sis" he said affectionately. Suddenly he felt angry at his mother, the black furred woman who had abandoned them all. He turned to grayday with a fierce look and stood tall "if she really loved us then she wouldn't have left. She doesn't deserve such a good family and pack." He said with a trembling voice.

Dawn wa just fine, apparently, though she was sufficiently worried about her brother that she'd taken up rule-breaking to come see him. Day thought about scolding them more, but instead, he gave a soft sigh. It was a night of tumult for all of them, apparently.

"Come here," he sighed, gathering his children toward him. He gave them each a kiss on the cheek and settled his head down at their level so that he could see both their faces. "It isn't our job to judge her or decide what she deserves. It's our job to be the best family we can be, even without her. Especially without her. We're Easthollowers, kids. Not Ansbjørn-Ciels. And Easthollowers will always be our family. Right Aunt Kay?"

He looked up at Krypton, hoping she might have something inspirational to add.

Dawn smiled as her brother licked her, and giggled a little, pawing at him playfully. Until her dad spoke and suddenly her attention shifted back to Grayday. He seemed really serious, so it looked appropriate to lower her ears and remove her smile. "Does that mean our last name is Easthollow now?" Of course the young mind was a little off topic, she couldn't help it. She glanced at Aunt Kryp, listeninh intently to what she might add to her father's insightful words - even if she didn't truly get them at the moment.

Day spoke to his children with such skill, she almost had to shake her head to make sure she wasn't dreaming. it wasn't that she doubted he could talk to his kids that well, especially on a tough subject, but that he was able to handle the pressure of being a single dad and he did it well. she waited silently on the sidelines, though heard day asking her a question. the female snapped her attention to Day and the two children before smiling and nodding her head.

"Your dad's right kids, no matter what happens to us, we will always be family. By blood or not, we will always be family and that will never change." she didn't think she said that as strongly as day, but it was better than nothing. she walked towards the two children, bumping their heads with her muzzle gently with a soft smile and look in her eyes. 

as for dawn's question, krypton was not completely sure how to answer it. their last names, well, she didn't know Day's last name, so she really couldn't answer that. " Your last names can be Easthollow, but it probably is your dad's last name more than anything."

Sunny listened to his father intently and sighed "okaaaay...but i still am mad" he said softly. At the mention of their last names being the pack's he pursed his lips. Why couldn't they have both the pack and his father's names? He didn't want to Argue anymore so instead he triedout the name "Sunny Easthollow....I kinda like it" he chirped, his face forming into a bright smile.

Suddenly full of energy he pounced on Grayday's tail, and took it into his mouth tugging gently "cmm on pway, Datthy!" he said through a mouthful of fur. Looking over at Krypton he gave her a mischievous look, as he tugged on his father's tail.

"Me too, Sunny-boy," Day admitted. His ears flickered as Sunny added Easthollow to his name. Grayday himself had been born without a surname. In his culture, pups were only given one name at birth, and most used the pack's name as an identifier when introducing themselves to strangers. Sometimes honorifics were added as well, after acts of extreme valor or stupidity, but Day hadn't stayed with his father's pack long enough to gain one of those. So he'd always been Grayday of Sameth-by-the-River, and then Grayday of Silvertip Mountain and now Grayday of Easthollow. 

At Sunny's prompting, Day finally decided to drop the 'of'. "Names are only names," Day said with a shrug. "You've always just been 'Sunny' to me, just like I've only ever been 'Grayday' to my dad, and to you and Steady and Aunt Kryp. You two can call yourselves anything you want, but your mother left, and those are her names. Not anything to do with us." He didn't say that Ansbjorn had been the man that was almost their father. There were some things that his kids just didn't need to know.

Sunny, however, seemed to be done listening. Day chuckled and whipped his tail away, hoping to catch the boy off balance. Readily, he dropped their current subject. It wasn't anything the kids needed to worry about. When they were older, and if it was still on their minds, maybe they could revisit the discussion.

As Day explained to his kids about the situation, Krypton just stayed quiet and listened. A lot of things has happened to Day with his mate leaving him and his children to fend for themselves in the pack. For whatever reason, Krypton was curious about why she left and who she was. Was this out of character for her? Was this normal for her to leave? Why did she leave? She would've loved to ask the beta himself, but strayed from doing so. It was none of her business, therefore, she would refrain from doing anything stupid and intrusive.

She could only smile at Sunny's antics, returning his mischievous grin and starting to inch towards Day before motioning Dawn to help her tackle "Dad".