Stone Circle I can't be told it can't be done

This takes places about 8 days after Sunny's joining thread. Grayday has been bitten by a snake on his left flank. Feel free to notice his heavy limp, a lot of weight loss, and the grapefruit-sized wound on his flank. If you'd rather wait to close up Sunny's joining thread before answering this one, go right ahead! I just wanted to get this posted before I forgot or something.

The journey was long and arduous. What might've been a one-day journey had stretched into a three-day expedition, made possible only be stopping frequently and leaning heavily against @Adeline and @Dawn. He feared more than anything that his son had not made it to safety. Grayday merely pushed himself harder when they picked up faint spoors of Sunny's scent, not trusting the relief that flooded through his body each time.

Finally, though, they reached their destination, and could smell the good, clean scent of Easthollow on the borders. Immediately, Grayday let out several short, sharp bays - @Sunny! Sunny, are you here? - pacing the borders as he did. He didn't know if he was welcome here, but he ached to charge across the borders and seek out his son. He thought he could smell him, but it could just be his wishful thinking. With a frustrated huff, he let out a longer howl, this time calling for @Steady or @Valette.

going to assume sunny knows of Steady's death and stuff by now!

Sunny made it to Easthollow and was accepted back. He had been here for almost a full week, and was getting back into the swing of things. Things weren't the best at Easrhollow, Uncle Steady had died and Keoni had been hurt by someone badly. He was glad he came back because he thought maybe Easthollow needed him more now.


He was walking along the borders when he heard a familiar voice call for him, and he ran forwars letting his own sharp barks and howls signal he was coming. His father had come to visit at last, and Sunny wanted to apologize for how this happened. He knew he shouldnt have ran away, and he knew he had been wrong. He saw his father up ahead and stopped in his tracks. His dad was skinny and limping with a huge wound on his flank, he looked awful. "Dad..." Sunny croaked hoarsely, afraid to know what had happened to his father.

she hated seeing Da like this. 
he had alway's been strong, always been her superior and the Da she looked up to. and now, he leant on her for help, was thin and in pain and less than what he had been. she didn't show this; didn't want to. she had stopped travelling with Aoife for a while, and though her heart longed for their adventures, her Da needed her and she would not go. she did all she could to help, but frustration paced her mind, frustration that she would not immediately restore him to being Da. 

and there was anger, too. anger at Sunny, who had simply run away. if he hadn't her stubborn mind had reasoned, Da would be fine. or at least better than he was now. she needed someone to blame, and Sunny was it, even if it wasn't completely logical. if Sunny hadn't met with Da and run away, Da wouldn't even have been there and the snake wouldn't even had bitten him. so, even if it might have been unfair, Sunny was the source of her anger. 

when he came, she didn't greet him, didn't yell and didn't glare. instead, she merely watched him with stoic coldness, the first she had ever displayed. somehow, it seemed worst than the shouting matches they had had, or the things she had yelled at him before.

Valette was a wreck. The love of her life, the one that wasn't supposed to leave her died of battle wounds. This loss was worse than the death of her mother. With her mother, she had seen it coming. Her mother didn't want to live anymore. She accepted that. Valette heard the howl, a familiar howl. The mourning female did not even want to meet them. She didn't want the drama related to Grayday. He shouldn't have left Easthollow in the first place.

Valette pulled herself to her feet. At least it was some purpose she could do. She wanted to wallow over Steady. She wanted to cry her eyes out. But then again, her pack needed her. Valette took her time coming to the border. The whole family was there already. Valette felt like an outsider. She shouldn't be here. This was a family dispute. Not something very much relevant to her now.

Her hazel eyes appeared sad. Most of the life that was in it covered by that sadness. Valette wasn't sure what to say or why she was called so she just let someone do the talking for now.

As soon as Sunny came into sight, Grayday was no longer thinking about the borders. With a whine of sharp relief, he flung himself at his son, glad that they wouldn't have to part on a bad note. If Sunny needed to be at Easthollow, how could he stop him? The important thing was that his son knew -

"I'm so glad you're safe," he croaked, grooming furiously at his son's fur, even though - if he thought he was old enough to live on his own - he was likely too old to appreciate it. "I love you, Sunny - I don't agree with this, but... if it's what you're doing, I guess I'll have to deal with it. Just know that you'll always be welcomed back."

He hadn't even seen Valette, yet. To him, it was as though they were alone one moment, and she'd simply appeared before them the next. It startled him - badly - but he did his best to appear calm.

"Hey, Val," he greeted, a bit subdued. He guessed she wouldn't be happy with him, though he could not really see her face to determine what sort of mood she was on.

Sunny could see the displeasure on Dawn's face and was not surprised by it. After all he had been the first to leave, and when he did obviously something happened. He stared back at Dawn with a sad but calm look before tearing his gaze away to see Valette's arrival. Sunny had no time to greet her as he was tackled by his father. He yelped in surprise but snuggled under his father's familiar chin, closing his eyes as he fought back his regret and shame.

"Daddy..What did i do?"  he whispered hoarsely, licking beneath the large grey chin and sitting still for the rough and honestly welcome grooming. Remembering his new alpha was watching he nudged his father toward the borders, standing up to go with him "Dad...the borders. You gotta get back" he whispered between him and his father. 

The words of acceptance weren't lost on him though and he smiled brightly, happy and sad all at once. He was being let go to become his own wolf, but he was also losing the guidance and love of his dad. He swallowed and took a deep breath, his tail wagging behind him "I hope I can come visit..." he admitted. He didnt plan on leaving Easthollow anytime soon, but surely a visit with his family wouldnt hurt.

Then he grew serious and felt his shoulders sag. There was news he wanted to tell Gray and Dawn but he wasnt sure Valette would want him to. "Valette...may I..may I tell Daddy about.." he couldnt say the name. It hurt him to say or think about the deceased Uncle and alpha he had loved, imagine what it would do to his wife.

she didn't understand why Da could just cover Sunny in love like nothing was wrong. things were wrong! was she the only one that noticed that Sunny had left them, left them all without even telling her? "Were we not enough?" came her words then, sharp and firm, voice oddly steady as her hurt swirled beneath the surface. "Obviously, you didn't care enough to say goodbye, Sunny."  she stated, voice oddly steady and tinged with coldness as her hurt manifested in bitterness instead of roared anger. she didn't want to fight in front of Da, still healing, but couldn't keep her words inside her maw. he'd probably have some answer about how he was superior to them all if she asked him why,  so she didn't bother.

the silent arrival of Valette had gone noticed, but she had not spoken and Dawn's focus was on her brother.  her gaze flickered to the alpha she remembered from puphood, and attempted a smile of greeting, though likely it came out as more of a grimace. she seemed subdued, oddly, and silent, so Dawn's attention returned to Sunny, half-missing his words toward Da.

The trip had been exhausting but against better judgment, the trio moved. She is excited to go home and see her family she hadn't seen in months now. It has been the longest she'd been away from them and her heart burst thinking about it. But Grayday struggled with the travel and while she couldn't win the argument, she could at least help him along

However, when Sunny approaches first her tail wags in greeting, setting aside thoughts of her friend, but there's a damper to him and sudden bickering from Dawn than holds her attention. When she looks back, however, Valette is there with an air of sadness she can't avoid. Her breath lodges in her threat as she remains silent, Sunny asking to be the one to share the news but her brows knit together. Adeline looks behind them, waiting for Steady to bring up the rear—oh! to see her father again.

Valette stayed quiet, as the family squabbled. Grayday looked bad. Somehow she couldn't find a will to care for him. She felt him disloyal for leaving. He was their Beta, but apparently, it wasn't enough for the male that was slowly becoming blinder. She wondered how that worked. She bared her teeth lightly at Grayday for coming too close to their borders. Definitely not as friendly as she was before.

Sunny was too forward. He seemed eager to tell them about Steady, while she didn't feel like sharing that news with them. It was too soon. Valette cleared her throat looking at the group before her. She shot a light glare at Sunny for even starting about it. To her, Grayday didn't deserve to know. He abandoned them. "Steady passed away," her voice carried over to the others. She sounded devastated but her voice didn't crack.

She wanted to add that she didn't care for Grayday's family drama. She had other things to think about, and definitely not in the mood to deal with this. Her tail was still held up, as she was still the leader here, and she could send them away.

Day felt as though the world had dropped out from under him when Valette gave him the news. The male had been healthy when he left - in his prime. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what had happened, but his mouth didn't want to make the words. He simply sat there, limp and weak, exhausted after his journey and still deeply hurt by the way that Sunny had left.

And now this.

His ears laid back, and his face seemed to fall in on itself. "Valette," he said, perhaps to apologize, perhaps to offer sympathy. It didn't matter, because his tongue stopped there. What else could he say? All his explanations, all his excuses - they seemed so inconsequential, now, in the face of the alpha's grief.

Suddenly, his head whipped around, and his eyes fell on Adeline's familiar form. "Addie," he began, his voice choked. But again, it was all he could say. What was he supposed to do?

Sunny stared at Dawn a look of shock and frustration taking place on his youthful face. He fought back the anger that threatened to make him explode and instead responded with a shaking tone "I called for both of you, but you didn't come. You were hardly ever around anymore Dawn." His voice cracked a bit before he turned his gaze away and looked to Valette in time to catch her glare.


Flattening his ears he lowered his gaze, feeling foolish for bringing it up. He knew it would only bring more emotions to the surface yet he had spoken if it anyway. He sat silently as he watched his dad's face crumple with despair and felt a lump rise in his throat.


He hadn't noticed Adeline until Grayday spoke her name, and he looked to her with a slight smile and wag of his tail.  It was a big reunion for everyone it seemed, but Sunny had ruined it with sad subjects and his disappearance to Easthollow.

apparently on Mobile I cant use italics or bold...

his words ignited a fury in her, a warm kind of anger instead of the icy kind that seemed to lull over her now. she almost retaliated but knew very well that the borders of Easthollow were not the place to have a spat. still, she imagined what she might say to him, until Valette broke the tension that was hanging over her and Sunny with a few words. 

Steady had died. she blinked, shocked that the huge alpha had suddenly died; but did not feel any great amounts of sadness for the male. a felt an odd pang, but none of the intense sorrow those near to him felt. she was simply young, and her memories of him were few and far between, thus the news to her seemed as if some great great uncle had died; sad, yet not overly so. 

still, she was not a compassionless creature, and her gaze flickered to Adeline and Da and Valette in turn, knowing their hurt must be greater than hers. "I'm sorry." she offered lamely, then swore never to say something stupid like that again. I'm sorry seemed to little, to flimsy a pair of words to say to grieving people.

Her eyes shift back and forth from one wolf to the next as if she hadn’t heard the words Valette tells them. Her ears plaster against her head as their expressions are turn around and the others make sense. Her throat seizes up with a hardened lump and her mouth turns dry within seconds.

It isn’t what she heard. Those aren’t the words that came out of Valette’s mouth.

Adeline turns her head to catch Greyday’s eyes and she stares at him for a long moment. Her brows burrow between her eyes as she’s forced to look away, seeing the words in his features. Her stomach turns and she can barely open her mouth to speak.

“Where…?” she trails off, uncertain of what she wants to ask. “What happened?”

Valette watched how they were all in shock, and sorry for her loss. She couldn't do anything with their pity. She didn't want it. Valette eyes went over the group. "He was attacked and dragged his broken body home to me." Valette admired his strength. She would need to remember that for herself. She needed to continue and be strong. She still was loyal to Steady and wanted to prove that she was a good mate. She would continue to lead the pack.

"So if I am honest your family issues of Sunny being here are not that important to me," she stated honestly. "I think Sunny can decide for himself where he wants to live, and I promise you Grayday that we would keep him safe." She still thought it was weird that he went away from their pack. He was a beta surrounded by friends. Valette wondered what made him want to go. His eyesight wasn't going to become any better. But who was she to judge? Perhaps she was still a bit bitter about him leaving. Everyone always did.

Day finally tore his eyes away from Adeline when Valette spoke, and he remembered why he'd come in the first place. "That means a lot to me, Valette. Thank you. But I didn't come here to bring Sunny back," he said regretfully, wishing that he could do such a thing. "I wanted to make sure he'd made it safely, of course, but I wanted to visit to talk to you - to you and Steady," he said, his voice cracking a bit toward the end. That would be impossible, now, and he doubted that Valette cared what he had to say. Sunny's untimely arrival had likely ruined his chances of being heard out. Now, all Valette would hear were excuses from a traitor, rather than pleas from an old friend.

But it didn't matter. None of that mattered, in light of the news that he'd just heard. Day simply stared down at his paws, not really caring to expand on the reason. Not anymore. He felt sure that Valette knew what he would've wanted to talk about, anyway. Sunny had probably told her - and why else would he be here?

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, looking back up at the grieving alpha. Did they need food? Protection?

So now they all knew about Steady's death. Sunny heaved a sigh as Valette told Grayday that he could choose where he wanted to be, and Sunny noted the aggravation and bitterness in her tone. She was angry with Daddy Gray, and Sunny wondered why. After thinking for a few moments all he could wonder was if Gray had told Valette that he was leaving for good. Everyone was upset now and Sunny felt it was his fault, if he had only waited until the visit to ask if he could come back to Easthollow maybe everyone would be in a less foul mood.


Standing up he looked at his father and at Dawn, then toward Adeline and Valette. He wanted to apologise so badly, but what good would it do now? He had messed up awfully bad. With an unsteady voice and watery eyes he approached his father and spoke quietly "Its my fault. Everything..all this negativity. If I had waited to leave Morningside until today, maybe everything wouldn't be so tense. Im sorry dad...im really sorry.."  he murmured softly. His nose quivered gently as he sniffed at the familiar scent of his father.