Gyrfalcon's Keep moored

if a wild @Grayday is interested!

While she wasn't exactly excited about leaving the area without talking to Seelie she still had that itch. It had lead her through the waters again, and she had a few options. Turn right, turn left. She'd ended up going towards the right - a properly timed cry from a bird urging her past the sandy shores and into a territory she didn't know anything about. In the recent days there was a shift of sorts, the inky male had left to find his own paradise of sorts and with it came his scent on the wind. It had dictated she wasn't going into the Forest, but, instead, the nearby Keep. Beneath her breath Catori was humming, keeping a few simple bars going as she traveled the area - it made her surge, the cadence of the tune almost like the steady pull of the ocean. Higher notes, lower notes, a basic rhythm to them. 

She drew in a deep breath as she broke the cover of the trees to see the rocks scale the upwards as if she was enclosed and safe there. Birds still called out, and Catori looked up to watch them for a few moments before she fixed her gaze on the landscape again. It wasn't unheard of for her to become too distracted by drinking in everything the environment had to offer. The Spiritwalker took it in stride, the scent of the sea till clinging thickly to her coat even as she made her way further into the unknown territory. 

There he was again, skirting Silvertip Mountain. (Purposefully, the male had not followed the in the pawprints of his estranged lover. She'd made her choice, and Grayday wasn't sure he'd ever forgive her for it.) He could see it out of the corner of his eye, but if he wanted to keep his footing, he'd have to focus - that meant no staring at the peak.

He didn't have any particular reason to be up where he was, aside from natural curiosity about his surroundings. A lesser reason could be that he simply loved the scent and taste and feel of feathers, but that seemed almost too frivilous to voice. He'd left the kids with @Pema for the day, so he wasn't worried about them. But he didn't want to make the same mistakes he'd made with Sunny and Dawn all those many times before.

He'd been gone enough, lately. It was time to go home and commit to staying there. The search for Khoe was over, after all. Feeling resolved, Grayday moved to grab a large feather for the kids to play with before turning back home. Except, instead of turning, the male lost his footing and slid several yards down the steep, gravelly hillside, an indignant yelp escaping him as he did.

The faded hues offered by the dying sun were beautiful but it also meant that the shadows had begun to grow and consume the rest of the world. Catori drew in a breath when she heard the scuffle of what sounded like rocks sliding, only to hear a yelp moments later. She wove her way between the scare trees until she'd skirted the edge of the rocks she'd previously avoided. "Hello?" Her voice was sound, confident; even if it was a ruse to ambush her Catori had never been one to back down from a challenge and to consider foul play she was still too accustomed to having Chelan nearby to keep her safe. She hadn't seen her brother in months, and yet, he still felt like he was with her. 

She tilted her head up a bit to catch the scent and followed it until she spotted the male where he'd at least come to a stop. Okay, not the most dignified the Spiritwalker had ever found someone, but also not the worst. "Are you okay?" Catori asked, wondering if he'd twisted an ankle or just lost his footing or what. For her, there was no shame in a misstep, and so, she had no issues making the assumption to help him as well. "Let's get to more sound ground," She hummed out, leaning down when she was nearby to offer her shoulder to help brace him if he needed it. 

When he slid to an uncomfortable halt on the lower-grade slopes at the base of the incline, the male simply laid there a moment, gingerly testing each limb. Then, he spat the feather from his mouth with a huff of breathless laughter and - just as the stranger came into view - began picking himself up off the geound, shaking the gravel from his pelt as he did.

"I'm okay," he chuckled, a bit embarrassed to be caught in such a position, but knowing it was too late to do anything but take it in stride. "Just slipped a little. Gotta learn to watch here I step." He plucked the feather back up off the ground and allowed the cream-colored shewolf to guide him back down to flat ground. There, the feather was dropped once more so he could address his Knight in Shining Armor. "Thanks for rescuing me," he said, his voice halfway between greatful and teasing.

A dull pain was throbbing on his chest, paws, and chin. Gradually, he became aware of the smell of blood, and realized that he was not quite as unscathed as he'd first thought. There were a few shallow scratches over his body, and one painful gash on his chin where he'd hit it against a rock. Maybe this trip hadn't been the best idea; he was a bit out of practice, where mountains were concerned. 

He glanced up at the mountain that always seemed to be on his mind these days and saw, as always, Adeline looking proud and fierce. "She's laughing at me," said Grayday, indicating the dusky silhouette of Silvertip.

"I couldn't leave you to waste away," Catori teased, giving a little grin as she stepped back to survey him. He had a few scrapes, maybe his pride hurt more than anything else, but he didn't seem to be too much worse for the wear. Catori canted her head a bit as she followed his gaze, brow furrowed in concentration as he indicated with a sweep of his muzzle the mountain that loomed in the distance. She'd never been driven to go to mountains - not much anyways, not when there were options with sandy shores and a view of the ocean. As close as that one was though with any luck they should be able to see the ocean too. 

"Well. That seems rude, yeah?" Catori mused. "Must not be a very kind mountain." Like it had pushed him down or something but still. Catori could understand the notion and its feeling since she trusted in the very real emotions and impulses of the earth. "Your chin, you're bleeding." She pointed out. "Want some help?"

Grayday let out a small hmm at this observation, thinking that it was true that Adeline had not always been kind - but when she'd been unkind, it was when she was bristling with righteous indignation, every bit as beautiful for her fury as she was for her joy. "I think that if I really got hurt, she'd cry for me," he said sagely, lifting his chin in silent acquiesce. He was pretty sure there was gravel in there, and he'd have a helluva time trying to get it out himself. "It's okay," he said, eyes sparkling mischievously, "you can laugh, too. I don't mind."

After all - he'd laughed when he got to the bottom, after realizing how silly he must've looked, and how carelessly he'd stepped.

His statement made him more curious, turning her eyes towards the mountain again. She scrutinized it, curious over what had altered his opinion of the mountain in such a way. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious," Catori began, turning back to look at him. "If I tried to suggest I wasn't wondering what happened between you and that mountain." There was her and her sea - not much more than a love story of the ages. She was gentle as she began to clean his chin out, making sure that she didn't do anything to injure him further as she removed some of the mess of rock and dirt from his chin.

"I didn't even get to see it, so, how do I know it's laugh worthy?" She teased, stepping back after a few moments to survey her handiwork. "My cousin is good with medicine if you need it." But it would be hard to tell if he would straight away. Some folks protested and paid for it later, maybe he wanted to be proactive or maybe he wanted to play it off. "I don't think you'll lose anything, maybe just look more distinguished in the long run." She mused with a little smile. 

Grayday merely grinned, declining to take the bait. It would take too long to explain that his true connection was not to Silvertip, but to someone who'd been born there. It would take too long to tell her how he'd come to love a red girl with green eyes, tiny in stature, but towering in spirit. He didn't think it was possible to say enough that she'd see the same thing he saw when he looked up at Silvertip.

We should rename it, he thought, to 'Adeline Laughs'.

"Maybe I'll have to repeat the performance," he suggested when he thought she'd finished her ministrations, their muzzles bumping together as he tried to look back down at her face before she'd fully moved away. "And you'll just have to clean me up again."

He gave a little shrug, not minding the thought of a few scars. There were plenty of other worries to keep his mind occupied. "I'm sure I'll be alright," he said brightly, shaking out his pelt once more to get rid of the pins-and-needles feeling from the rest of his injuries. "I'm Grayday, by the way," he added.

 

Catori gave a little laugh as he pointed out she'd just end up cleaning him up again, half shrugging it off. "Lucky you, I guess." She hummed out as she moved back enough to be able to look him in the eyes again. Grayday - it was easy enough to remember, and rather matched to his general appearance. "I'm Catori." It was easier to just give her first name, rather than the sometimes pretentious sounding title that had been bestowed upon her. She'd been the Spiritwalker for as long as she could remember though, and it was second nature in many ways. 

"So, Grayday," She let his name leave her tongue in a little lilt, testing it as she spoke it; reaffirming it in her mind too. "Do you live near here?" She asked curiously, given that she knew nothing about the other packs other than the small collection of scents she'd picked up in the nearby forest. She hadn't exactly spent her time discovering the area, after all, having stuck to her familiar shoreline. 

"Lucky me," he agreed, examining the stranger in turn. Like always, he was at a bit of a loss with these foreign names. Catori sounded strange and exotic to the male, even after all the strange names he'd heard in this land before it. In his mind, he shortened it to Cat. "Thanks for cleaning me up, Catori," the male replied, giving his tail an earnest wag. She seemed nice - kind and down-to-earth. Maybe we oughta name a mountain after her, too, he mused, a smile quirking his lips.

His grin widened at the way she said his name, almost as if he was the one with an odd one. "I do," he replied, bobbing his head and pointing his nose toward the plateau. "My pack's right over there. I'm just out getting feathers for the kids."

He looked down at the bedraggled item at his paws. "Well. Feather," he laughed, glancing regretfully back toward the keep.

 

Catori was used to plenty of people finding her name a little....out there. It was flowy, pretty, all those things that her parents had decided on. She'd always loved the naming theme of her family, all of those watery-perfectly flowy names. She didn't think her name was too out there, personally, but it wasn't everyone's cup of tea. If she knew the simplicity of Gray's family; well, she'd be just as enamored. "Any time," She said with a little grin, tail flicking a couple times behind her, it's ginger tip brushing her hocks. "Although I'd probably try and space it out so you don't get too banged up." 

Kids? Her ears perked a little, looking in the direction he'd indicated like the very trees would part for her and she could see straight into his homeland. "How many do you have?" She asked curiously, completely not thinking about the fact that to some that was a rather direct and perhaps odd question. Anyone might scope out the kids, do something malicious, but Catori had never considered such things herself. 

Neither did Grayday think that a woman - espcially one he saw as nice - could want to harm a child. Although it was his natural instinct for fathers to keep strangers away from his whelps and Grayday was no exception to this rule, he'd always tended to be a little naive when it came to other wolves. Why would anyone want to hurt a pup?

"Five," he replied with a happy wag of his tail. "But two are all grown up, now."

He couldn't detect any scents of pups or family upon the woman, but then again, she smelled of the sea. Perhaps it had washed them away. "What about you? And kids? Family? Mate?"

Five kids - that was fairly impressive, especially for someone like her who lacked much of a family here. What she did have was only her inkblot cousin, fond of her as she was, and she knew the girl was off most of the time in her own adventures. Catori gave a thoughtful hum as he explained that two of them were grown - which meant he was probably older than she was, maybe not by too much given males didn't need the downtime that females did. 

"Well, if you've got three littles, one feather won't be enough." She pointed out with a chuckle. "But...let's scrounge around here, we can climb again if we have to." She didn't think they would though - hoping enough of the birds might have cast off some of their lovely feathers nice and low on the ground. She had already started to sniff around the ground, stopping when he mentioned a real settled set of roots. "Nah, my cousin lives on the island across the sand bar. Otherwise, no other ties for the Spiritwalker." She pointed out, returning to her quest to find a few more feathers. 

A wagging tail broadcasted the male's pleasure at the notion. He was glad that Catori wasn't going to head off right away - even better if there were going to be more feathers involved. Feathers were awesome.

Grayday left his own where they'd stood, planning to come back for it when they'd gathered what they needed, and followed after Catori, failing to keep himself from gawking at her strange coloration while her back was turned. Although it wasn't a usual appearance, the male thought she was rather fetching. The bright scarf around her neck added to what was already a cheerful demeanor.

Grayday's ears perked curiously at the mention of a cousin, but he was distracted from that train of thought by the utterance of a new name. "Spiritwalker, huh?" he asked, his head cocked. Although it was more like the sort of names he grew up with, he was interested to hear more about how she'd come about the title.

 

Catori didn't pause too long in her steps to think about where the name had come from - or how she'd earned it so to say. She gave a little hum, tail swaying a behind her for a moment until she had found the easiest way to explain it. "You could sum it up with my father and brother," She admitted, a little smile on her face at the fond memory. "I've always had my head in the clouds, you could say, and while my brother Chelan is more....practical and pragmatic. I, on the other hand, am more inclined to enjoy nature and the environment." Some people considered her to be foolish in her drive but she didn't mind it. 

"So Spiritwalker became a nickname as much as a title. If we're honest, I am not much for the fighting and squabbling of ranks and packs. I would rather have the freedom to pursue my interests." She explained, making an aha! sound as she found one large feather and grasped it carefully. She turned around to show him her prize, letting him inspect it and see if it was worthy. 

Grayday listened intently, his ears flickering in thought as he imagined a tiny, ginger-tinged girl with her head in the cloud, growing up alongside a wolf that was probably more like him. It was cute to picture. But, while he admired her free spirit, he couldn't help but allow his thoughts to be drawn to Khoe, another very free-spirited wolf. He supposed his life was full of women like that. Dawn, Adeline, Sunspot... They all tended to leave and find their own way.

"And what are your interests?" asked Grayday, making a playful lunge for the feather in an attempt to force his mind away from unhappy thoughts.

 

Her interests? It seemed to pass and change every day! She gave a breathy little laugh although Grayday would of course not know why she was almost giggling to herself. "Well. I like to learn, Chelan was the driven one, and I'm...well. It's different. I want to be respected but I prefer not to fight. I was good at mediation, not only between our pack and others, but also between wolves. I also like to weave stories and tales, but that's as much to let off steam as anything." Which could be good she imagined when it was late or when things were getting a bit heated - why not break the tension with something more playful? 

Catori's eyes went wide and she swung her neck to counter, careful to keep her prize firmly in her jaws. She chuckled and danced a few paces away, tail wagging in an invitation to play if he truly felt up to the task of chasing after her. 

Grayday huffed when she jerked her head away, his tail going up in mock affront. "I like stories," he stated, following dutifully after her and wondering if he did feel up to chasing anyone right then. His legs were still smarting, but he'd been through worse...

And she had a feather.

The male charged after the smaller figure, knowing he probably wouldn't be fast enough to catch her, but hoping that he would all the same. "You must be pretty proud of yourself, huh? Stealing feathers from a poor, single father, just looking for something to bring home to his kids?"

 

She didn't take off too fast, not wanting to make him hurt because then she would have to drag him across the ocean to Coelacanth. She took a couple fleeting steps, giving a little hum as he made his accusations. She snorted and was careful as she adjusted her grip, not wanting to lose the feather. "You're just jealous mine is prettier." She said with a laugh, a playful glint to her eyes. He'd given a hint of more information, too, that he was a single father which just gave her more questions. If two of his kids were 'grown' how un-grown were the others? 

She decided to take a little pity on him, changing course as she rounded a tree to face him head on, perching up on her tip toes on her front legs for a moment so she could weave the feather behind his ear into the thick of his scruff. "Now then. You have to find the next one." She decided. 

His momentum almost carried him into her, but he kept from ramming Catori by scrambling to an ungainly halt. For a moment, he thought that the tides had turned, and it was time for him to flee - but she merely tucked the feather behind his ear and told him he'd have to find the next one.

It was an odd feeling, having something stuck in his fur. He gave an experiemental wiggle, and then had to struggle to keep himself from shaking it out, as was his habit when he felt things sticking to him (a common occurance with fur as thick as his). Hoping to distract himself from his urges, he cast his gaze around until they narrowed in on something nearby. There were white streaks of bird droppings on a cliffside a few dozen yards away. Grayday shot Catori a smug look and darted in that direction, hoping to reach the wall before her. The feather flew out of his fur without his knowledge, but he made it to the cliff in good time.

"Gold mine," he declared, looking around at all the feathers - big and small - that were scattered around below the nest and - coincidentally - licking a bit of saliva from his chin.

 

If there had been a near miss Catori hadn't noticed it, not bothered by the near miss or the proximity between them. She gave a little hum, surveying her work before Grey took off and she gave a bark of a laugh, trailing after him. It didn't take too long before the feather was unlodged, Catori managing to sweep down and catch it so that it wasn't lost. She skidded to a stop next to him, the plush fur of her brushing against his own. "Gotta show me up, hm?" She asked as she nudged Greyday with her shoulder, grinning around the feather she'd found. 

"I mean, there's enough to take one back for all your kids." She mused, it seemed that there were plenty of variety and options for him to choose from if he wanted to. If he was truly interested in it, she'd be happy to help him take them home although it might be easy enough to just carry a mouthful of feathers on his own. 

Grayday's tail kicked into overdrive as he gazed upon the myriad of feathers littered about. Catori strolled up beside him while his heart pounded excitedly; he turned his head and planted a sloppy lick on the side of her muzzle.

"Let's take them all!" he declared, bounding into the mess and grabbing as many as he saw. Soon enough, though, he found himself distracted. Surrounded by the smell of feathers and with the floaty presence of Catori by his side, Grayday soon reverted to his basest, most natural state: rolling around in bird droppings and feathers, an expression of euphoria and liberal amounts of drool on his face.

 

His kiss just made her chuckle, watching him as he took to playing in the muck and mire. While Catori wasn't exactly prissy she also wasn't as keen as Grey to dive into the muck, instead watching him as he rolled and played like a child. She laughed and stepped back, giving him the moment as she took stock of a few of the feathers and gathered the ones she thought were the prettiest. Maybe the next time she ran into him she would get something impressive to give his kids; maybe she could find a pretty conch shell. 

She took a seat, tail wagging behind her before she reached out to nudge his rump, laughing merrily. "You're going to have to rinse off before you go home; those kids won't be able to recognize you like this." She teased with a little grin. 

"Ha!" said Grayday, rolling to his paws and getting ready for a good shake-down before he remembered Catori sticking a feather in his fur. Not knowing that it'd fallen out and having a good idea that there were plenty more now lodged in his pelage, the father resisted the urge. "That gives me an idea," he said with a wide grin.

He'd need help, though. All these feathers wouldn't stay in his fur for long. They needed to be inserted just before the kids saw him and - yeah - he probably needed a rinse, too, unless he wanted to be giving the kids their weekly baths several days early.

"Wanna come meet the kids?" he asked, tail wagging hopefully.

 

Catori couldn't help the infectious good mood that he was in, giving a thoughtful little hum as she looked him over. "Yeah? Just one?" Because between the feathers they'd found and his desperate need of a bath she could think of many things - but he was likely thinking of other things. She considered the options for a moment, settling her paw over her prizes so they didn't flutter away in the breeze. 

"Your kids?" She echoed, partially feeling bashful all of the sudden at the possibility of something that seemed so intimate. They were his children, probably the most important thing to him, but it would also give her an idea of how close his lands were to the shore line and that was something she was curious about. "Bath first and then we can head home, yeah?"