Morningside Cuesta daddy lessons

How about @Grayday?

There were certain things which Khoe had learned as a child that would stick with her forever. Whether it be how to sit or how to eat, how to address her superiors and her inferiors alike, certain lessons had managed to stick with her even years after leaving her parents' home. It only occurred to her how much of a soldier she had become while she sat splayed out beside her lavender patch. Once she noticed how she had been postured, Khoe shot up and shook away the dirt that had rubbed its way onto her bottom, then she considered how her father might have responded if he'd seen her legs spread and eyes shut.

Then she thought about what he would have said if he knew she was carrying Grayday's litter.

The thought of Khoe's father in hysterics made her utter a slight giggle for he had always been a serious, hard-faced man. She loved him and all that he'd done for her, but he was nothing like what a father should have been. Khoe stepped into the patch, despite the nearly overwhelming ache in her side, and began sniffing the ground for weeds and mites, carefully nipping and pulling them from the ground while she had the silence to occupy her mind.

There were times Day couldn't help but watch her. It'd been that way from the start. But now that they'd mated, now that she could be carrying his young, Grayday found himself staring more and more. He hadn't been around while Amber was waiting to find out whether or not she would quicken, but the male couldn't help but feel that it would have felt different, even if he had been there. That it wouldn't have been like this.

He started forward again when Khoe leapt up as if bitten, realizing he'd been stopped when he'd meant to go and see her. "I didn't mean to stare," he said as he approached, thinking that he'd been the one to startle her out of her relaxed position.

Grayday's voice stole Khoe's focus away just as quickly as she had found it. A smile grew across her maw, albeit short-lived; there was too much anxiety in the air for her to keep one emotion for longer than a moment. I am quite the looker, she joked as he drew in. Khoe moved to nose his shoulder and sneak a lick in beneath his chin before settling in the patch once again. The smell which she had once loved was growing stronger, more potent; she knew that it wouldn't be long before she would have to retire her hobby. The lavender is coming in nicely, don't you think?

His tail wagged when her eyes seemed to invite him, and Day sprang the last few paced with the sort of agility that hadn't been availible to him in the past several weeks. He was getting better every day, and he could feel it, lately. Or maybe it was just this girl, making him feel so young again. Maybe he'd gone too long comparing himself to a child.

Pushing such sad thoughts away, Day returned her greeting with a lick to the side of her muzzle. "You are," he agreed, settling himself beside her and doing his best not to crush any of the flowers she was so fond of. At her next question, he only flickered his ears; he could hardly see the little buds, and even if he could, he knew nothing about plants.

It was okay that he didn't respond; he was there and listening, and for that, Khoe was beyond appreciative. He plopped down beside her (a most ungraceful movement) and she gave him one last lick to the muzzle before returning to her weeding. I don't see you on this side of town too often, she cooed, Just wanna talk or is something on your mind? They were at a point in their relationship where Khoe felt safe in asking these sorts of questions. Before, she wouldn't have dared pry into his thoughts, but now that they had something holding them together, she figured he didn't have much of a choice but to answer.

Day ducked his head, a bit abashed. He had no reason for seeking her out other than simply wanting to lay eyes on her. He couldn't detect any change in her scent yet, but simply knowing she could be carrying his whelps made Day feel energized and protective - perhaps a bit possessive, too.

"Just wanted to see you," admitted, watching her doing... whatever it was she was doing. He wished there was something he could do to help, but he wasn't about to offer when, chances were, he'd only end up hurting her flowers.

Mhm, she replied, despite being flattered by his comment. This was such a different climate than her last relationship; her first husband barely wanted to see her, let alone waste time to do so. In that respect, it was easy to understand why Khoe was a bit skeptical.

Well, she began again, if you're just gonna sit there, you can make it a bit less weird by trying to hold a conversation. Although sweet, having Grayday stare at her left an unsavory taste in her mouth; Khoe didn't like to be watched, no matter whose eyes were on her.

Sensing the woman's discomfort, Day rolled onto his back and wiggled appealingly, attepting to appease her with silliness while he thought of something to say. He found that there was much on his mind, these days, but very little that he thought he could share. Specifically, he wasn't sure he wanted to mention Adeline Khoe or anyone, even though it was about Adeline that he mostly thought. Was she okay? Would she ever stop being angry with him.

Day let out a soft sigh, tucking his paws into his chest and staring up at the sun. It didn't hurt his eyes anymore - not like he remembered. "Dawn and Kieran are doin' real good," he said, thinking of how far they'd both come in their hunting skills. "My sister says they're good listeners - helped her take down that doe the other day. And Dawn helped you with that fawn."

He wondered how Sunny was doing. He'd shown the most promise in the early days of teaching the kids to hunt. Was he learning well without Day there to teach him? Maybe he doesn't need me, he thought bitterly.

Khoe looked to Grayday and rolled her eyes, though a grin had worked its way onto her maw. Yeah; she takes after her daddy. It felt strange to use such intimate terms in reference to Grayday and his children, but it was something she figured she ought to get used to. And besides, it wasn't the first time it'd come up. I haven't had a chance to see Kieran in action, though. I should take him out while I can, she laughed, sighing toward the end of her comment. 

Although spring was at its peak and would soon give way to summer, it seemed that her poor lavender patch was having to work twice as hard to maintain its beauty. Weeds ate at the roots and tangled themselves into the shoots, making the process much more difficult than it should have been. Maybe we should go on a hunt sometime. Could take both of the kids with us, if you'd like.

Yeah, she takes after her daddy. The words made him wiggle in appreciation, his tail sweeping the ground as he thought of that, and what the future might hold for them. Still on the ground, Day arched his back and reached his forepaws toward Khoe's dark pelt, scrabbling aimlessly at her haunch. He was being a pest, he knew, but she'd just have to get used to it. He'd be her shadow until she whelped, or until they knew she wouldn't.

"Yeah," he agreed, the word drawn out in a lazy drawl. That sounded nice, even though it'd be nicer if they were talking about Dawn and Sunny, instead of Dawn and Kieran. Still, he was a good kid, and Day liked having him around. "Yeah, we should. before we've got more underfoot, stealin' the limelight."

Khoe huffed in mock frustration as Grayday wrapped himself around her. She gave a playful growl and pawed at his muzzle as a weak attempt to get him to leave her be. When she realized that her strength was nothing in comparison to his, Khoe surrendered with a nudge to Grayday's shoulder.

Oh God, she laughed, all of the limelight? He was going to spoil the poor things rotten! The thought of the tiny beings growing up under their wings with all of the love they could need made her heart warm, but she knew better than to give sprouts the wrong idea about the world around them. 

Just try not to suffocate 'em with all of that affection you've been hiding.

"Who's hidin'?" he asked, rolling to his paws and mouthing at one of her dark, velvety ears. His own ears flickered forward and then back as he contemplated her words. Perhaps he had been a bit distant with his own children, when they were young. But things would be different now; better than before. Day swallowed back a knot that tried to rise up in his throat, determined to keep his good mood.

"We're gonna smother 'em silly," he said firmly. "These kids are gonna have so much love they won't know what to do with it. Dawn, too. This time, we're gonna do it right. Right?"

He gazed at her, impoloring, needing to know that this was the way things would be. He didn't necessarily want to spoil them, but he wanted them to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that their parents loved them. He didn't want more sons running off all alone.

Khoe gave another playful growl and a soft yelp as Grayday took hold of her. It was then that she gave in and found herself lying against him with her head resting on his chest. Right. There was something in her that loved Dawn, though uniquely more than a packmate and less than a daughter. It was as if guilt had taken a hold of her; maybe she saw something in her that reminded her of the little faces she'd left. And for that, Khoe had made an unspoken promise to stick by her side as if she had been her own. 

What do you think Dawn is gonna think about being a big sister?

He took her lack of response as enouragement and fully tackled the smaller woman, covering her face in sloppy kisses and then rubbing his face and neck all over her, instinctively wanting her to smell like him. He did not consider that she might get tired of being man-handled by him, finding it hard to comprehend how her smaller size made it a bit difficult for her to retaliate.

"I don't know," he admitted, finally stopping to rest his chin on her chest. "I don't think she'll be jealous, and I bet she'd get a kick out of a bunch of little mini-Dawn's that she can teach to give me heat-attacks."

There wasn't much that Khoe could do outside of pawing helplessly at Grayday's face and trying her best to keep back laughter-induced tears. Once he stopped, she was caught in between relief and disappointment, but found solace in his resting position. They're gonna start a gang dedicated to driving you bonkers while I, she cooed, ever prestigious in her tone, will only see their sweet, angelic sides. It's one of the many gifts of motherhood, compared to the many woes of being a father.

She had a better chance at bonding with the pups by default; they were going to be the first (and only) thing she saw for quite some time, so it only made sense that an attachment form. Provided, Grayday would be there every step of the way, but there was something unique about a mother's relationship with her children. Khoe turned her head upward and gently caught the side of Grayday's muzzle with her own as a show of affection. But I'm sure they'll get used to you eventually.

No matter the teasing in her words, Day could only close his eyes and fervently wish for this future to come true. That these babes would have a loving mother, and a good enough father in him and Akuti. He hoped they would be strong, that they would be kind to each other and as close as Akuti fortold. He hoped that they'd have time to turn his muzzle white, and that he'd die of a heart-attack long after they stopped needing him. He hoped he'd die like his father - in his sleep, and surrounded by the ones he loved.

This hope was something akin to agony in the sterling male's chest. It seemed so fragile and far-away, and he had not yet gotten used to the idea that life was what was happening right now, and not those big events that would happen in the future. Life still happened in-between.

"I know you're teasin', but I want all that so bad, 'kuti," he sighed, leaning into her touch. He hesitated to say what was on his mind, then, because he knew it would sound a lot like an accusation, instead of what it was - him baring his own insecurities. "Akuti - will you... will you promise me you'll stay? I know that you will. I know - but... but I need to hear it. Just one more time."

Because he'd done this, once, and he'd spent these last five months getting over a woman he'd never meant to love in the first place. Amber had left, and so had Adeline, and - and Khoe had left. She'd left her first family, no matter how vastly different that situation had bee. And she'd left him before, too.

"I just need you around," he said in a low voice. "I just... I need you."

Khoe used her head to roll into his chest, snuggling herself up much closer than she had previously been. She took a moment to breathe and inhale all that he had to offer her; it was comforting to sit and listen to his heartbeat, knowing that it would always be there when she needed it. Grayday wanted her to stay — he was practically begging — and Khoe wanted that, too, but she was a wanderer at heart and knew that she would need to keep moving until the day she couldn't.

Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't come with her.

With you, she whispered, I'll stay with you.