Morningside Cuesta and that wall is insurmountable

Another AW, but I am hoping for @Sunny

Grayday meandered around the outskirts of the area he and his companions had settled into, sniffing idly at any trail that caught his fancy. Though he was still ambivalent toward the idea of staying, he had to repress the urge to scent-mark the borders as he had done for Easthollow, and Silvertip before it. The land didn't feel like his, but it was where his family now slept and ate - of course he wanted it protected.

But he resisted, feeling in his bones that to scent-mark this land would be like a betrayal to Easthollow, to Steady, and to Adeline as well. We were supposed to go back, he thought. But how can I?

Sunny had set off after his father, his steps filled with a jovial bounce to it. He had gained a newfound sense of confidence as he grew older, something that he would utlimately try to use to charm the ladies. He had also begun to admire a woman's beauty in more than a awed way, but now in a wow she truly is lovely, look how she moves, how soft her fur is.. type of way. He was becoming close to being a teenage boy moving into manhood. Finally he spotted his father in the distance and chuffed to announce his presence to the man with failing eyesight "Dad stop pacing will you? Relax for a while, what are you so on edge about?" he said with a lopsided smile as he drew close.


Coming to a stop beside his father he nuzzled him affectionately before sitting down and tilting his head to the side in a very doggish, and questioning manner.

Grayday turned his head, nose twitching as Sunny arrived on the scene. "Hey, buck-o," he greeted, grinning in wry amusement at the boy's little tirade. He hadn't realized his nerves were apparent to the kids, and now he worried that they would begin to worry, too. "Nothing serious," he sighed, going with his first instict, which was to conceal such adult matters from the kids.

But Sunny was getting older, and Day realized that this affected him, too. "I've just been wonderin' if we oughta start marking the borders," he said after a moment, looking back toward the outer edges of the territory. "I'm thinkin'... maybe we'll stay here. For a while." He glanced back at Sunny. "What do you think?"

When Grayday tried to lie to him, Sunny quirked an eyebrow and patiently waited for him to continue as sunny knew he would. Sunny wasn't surprised by the fact that Grayday wanted to stay here for a while, the fact that they had been gone so long had became suspicious to the boy who then figured they had left Easthollow for good. "I agree. you have alot of followers and friends around you, it would be a shame to tell them to be on their way and go back to Easthollow. Besides If you feel torn, then Easthollow was never really the place for you in the first place." Sunny had always been a smart one, though his intelligence never really had been put to use much.



Tossing a look over his shoulder he thought of Dawn, and how much she had enjoyed these past few weeks. He supposed she would be wanting to stay here with their father so she could explore. He though of Keoni and Nikai and he felt a pang of guilt, He thought of Uncle Steady and Auntie Valette and knew he would miss Easthollow. Then he thought of leaving Dawn and his father to return to Easthollow without them, and he felt worse. Taking a deep breath he turned toward his father with a soft smile "Wherever you and Dawn go, I will follow" he added with certainty his decision having been made.

Again, Day was surprised by Sunny's articulate response. He seemed very calm and collected about it, so the father figured he did not have any complaints about this course of events. Grayday couldn't find as much peace of mind.

"I'm worried Adeline will hate me for it," he admitted, though he immediately regretted his openness about that subject. It was one thing to tell Sunny about his plans, and yet another to bare the darkess reaches of his heart. (Had his own father struggled with these things? Had he been plagued with monsters, as Grayday was now?) "I think we should go and visit, at least. The four of us. I want to tell Steady myself, and I don't want you two to forget where we came from. I hope that they will be our family still, even if we don't live on top of each other anymore."

Sunny's eyes widened as Gray said what was truly worrying him, and Sunny felt a bit confused. Addy wouldn't hate Grayday for leaving would she? Truly she would understand, Adeline struck sunny as the more understanding and kind type. "Addy loves you Dad, I dont think you two could ever have bad feelings toward each other" he responded trying to soothe his father's nerves.As for visiting Easthollow, Sunny thought that was a great idea. He was relieved as well that they wouldn't just be abandoning his birth pack without a single word.

He could say goodbye to Nikai and Keoni, and Aunt Krypton. He felt the pang of sadness again as he thought about saying the final farewell, and looked away. "It would be nice to say goodbye to Keoni and Nikai. I will miss them something Awful" he said softly, allowing the sadness to slip into his voice.

Grayday sat in the grass and regarded his son - how big he'd grown. But he was still a cub, and Day knew there were some things that took time to understand. "Love can't fix everything, Sunny," he explained. In fact, Day was certain he'd never seen anything fixed by love alone.

He remembered Steady telling him about his feelings for Valette, and telling the male that he'd have to 'let love be enough'. But Grayday himself still struggled with this, and it was not always so simple as love. Because it was not just a feeling in your chest, but in the actions you took - for and against. He'd brought Adeline into the wilderness, away from her home and the family she loved. He was going to take her back there, only to go away again. And she'd be forced to choose between them once more, and if she chose Easthollow, she would know that he'd lied when he said he'd never leave her.

Love alone wasn't enough to fix that.

"Sometimes, it makes things even harder to forgive."

Sunny's ears flicked as his father told him love wasn't enough all the time, and a look of confusion took over his features once more. Love was the strongest bond of all, it came in so many forms. What could daddy Gray have done that would be bad enough to ruin that type of bond? "But she doesn't just love you daddy, she likes you. She cares for you. You two are how I would have wanted you and momma to be if she hadn't left" he responded honestly.


At his father's next words he found he couldn't quite understand them just yet, and so he moved forward placing his head on the back of his father's neck. "Why do we gotta go then? If you love Addie, and love Easthollow why do you want to leave?" he asked trying to get to the bottom of it.

A wry smile crossed his face at Sunny's defense, and his heart thumped unevenly inside his chest. He doesn't know what he's talking about, Day said to himself, not wanting to think too much on his son's perception of Day and Addie's relationship.

"Addie's like my own daughter, Sunny," he said weakly, and this time, even Grayday could hear the lie in his voice. He cleared his throat and soldiered on, hoping he could distract his son from the topic. "And sometimes when you love someone, it makes it harder to forgive them - because it hurts more when they do something wrong. Because you trusted them, and you believed in them. Like when Ma left us. It wouldn't have hurt if we didn't love her."

Yet again, Sunny's questioning hit a little too close to home. This was a topic he was not prepared to broach with his young son. Day sat quietly for a moment, feeling a bit grumpy, now. "It's complicated, Sunny," he said at length. he could not say that it was because he loved Adeline that they'd left Easthollow - not after he'd already denied anything but filial love toward her.

Sunny felt the confusion deepen and shrugged it off. Maybe when he was older and had more experience like his father he could understand better. For now all he understood was his father was grumpy and that was never a good thing.


Pushing himself onto his hind paws he placed his forelegs on the back of his dad's neck and began to playfully tug on his dad's ears. "why" tug "is" tug tug "life so" more playfully tugging insues "complicated?" he spoke between tugs,  playful growls mixing in with his words.

Grayday laughed, glad to have the tense mood broken and appreciating his son's comic relief. He just didn't have all the answers to the questions he was being asked. There would come a time when he'd have to answer for all his wrongdoings and erratic behavior, but thankfully, today didn't seem to be the day.

He gazed at his son with warm affection for a quiet moment, thinking about how thankful he was to have such an easy-going son to balance out tempermental Adeline and rough-and-ready Dawn. He and Sunny seemed one-in-the-same, except Sunny seemed to have a better handle on his emotions than Grayday did.

You wait, he thought ruefully. Just you wait until your own summer girl walks into your life. See if you have the answers, then.

But he didn't say that. Instead, he turned and attempted to tackle his son, thinking that some wrestling sounded like a lot of fun right then.