Blacktail Deer Plateau I read the news the other day

@Grayday

She stifled a yawn as she walked at her father's side, filled both with a gladness at being home, and too, a general unease and bubbling anger at what had come to pass while they were gone. She knew very well that even had she been here, the outcome would still have been the same, but, just maybe, had she fought beside him, the trespasser couldn't have stolen from him his eye. She looked to him now, pace slow to accommodate his own, waiting for him to reveal his reason for wanting to speak to her without the company of her companions.

They only moved a short distance from the others; out of eyeshot, and out of earshot if they kept their voices down. He knew she must be tired, and although he didn't want to further burden his daughter, he knew better than to try and keep things from her. Especially things like this.

"Cat and I have pair-bonded," he said, keeping his head turned so that his good eye could take in her reaction. He wanted to go on and over-explain and defend his choice, but he thought he'd let Dawn say anything she needed before he went off on a tangent. Perhaps he wouldn't need to defend himself at all.

Her head snapped to the left, ears flicking in shock. "a-" she bit back the reflexive word as quickly as it had come, blinking instead. "again?" was not the right thing to say or ask, and she ought to have seen this coming, really. She liked Cat, truly, and she'd had her thoughts about her relationship with her father since they'd first met and she'd seen that tiny, intimate gesture. She considered a moment before finally saying, "I like her. I'm happy you're happy, Da. But - how do you know she won't be like the others?" She understood, now, why he didn't simply give up on love, now that she'd felt it herself. But still, she wanted reassurance that Catori wouldn't simply bear children then up and leave.

Grayday raised an eyebrow - he knew exactly what Dawn had been about to say, if only by virtue of assuming she'd say it in the first place. Fortunately for them both, it was the brow that was turned away from his daughter, and thus, they were both spared whatever conversations or hurt feelings that might've sparked from the gesture. Either way, Dawn quickly smoothed over any awkwardness with her easy acceptance of her father's new status as not-a-bachelor.

The father simply quirked a smile. There was no way to answer that question to Dawn's satisfaction. Not that he knew of, at least. "I'm bound to get it right one of these days," he said instead, knowing that the words would likely be just as good to Dawn as the many platitudes he might've spouted instead. "And at least I'm doing it right, this time. Married first, kids later - if at all." He wilted a bit, then. "But I don't know if that's in the cards."

She huffed at his answer, though there was no harshness behind it, and a glint of humour in her gaze as she turned back to him. The latter remark, however, and his subsequent reaction (however small it was) had her ears flick forward in concern. "but why? you've always loved kids, and you're the best father to them, to me." Was there something wrong with Cat, perhaps? or- 

 "your eye?" she guessed, tail lashing briefly as anger bloomed again. She hated the thought of his eyesight having something to do with it, but could imagine that raising children (especially ones like Easy and herself) would be made exponentially more difficult without sight.

Grayday's ears fell back in confusion. Dawn didn't mention the true reason at all, and Grayday wondered if she was simply dancing around the subject before remembering just who he was talking to. Didn't it even occur to her? His head drooped in embarrassment, and he lowered his voice to speak his next words:

"They disappear. Mothers," he said, not quite meeting Dawn's eye. "Wouldn't you be worried? Your mother, Khoe, Heartha, Althaia, and all the others... What if there really is a curse? I couldn't risk her like that."

To hell with his eye. He'd raise his children blind if he had to. Cat was strong enough for both of them. But Grayday most certainly wasn't, and he wasn't about to risk this last chance at love for kids he didn't need. He had kids... 

But Cat didn't.

So concerned had she been with the loss of her father's eye that she hadn't even thought of the true reason he might be cautious. Blinking tiredly, she dipped her head, understanding then that he would not dare risk his woman for a chance at a whole family with her. She opened her maw and closed it, realizing that there was not a single happy family's story she could bring to mind to appease her father with. To appease herself with.  "you wouldn't dare lose her. does she - know?" 

 "curses can be broken, can't they?" She finally said, voice tired. Coincidence was a thought that had crossed her mind once or twice, but faded as quickly as it came; surely this much didn't happen to a single wolf.  "was it always like this?" She added, pausing now and blinking the sleep from her eyes as concentration trickled in.

"I told her about what's been happening," he quickly confirmed, not wanting Dawn to think that he'd keep something like this from a woman he was supposed to be in love with. "She's not too concerned about it. When I'm with her... I feel like we can beat it. Like we're stronger than that," he revealed, his voice quiet. "I think... if she wants to whelp, I won't try to stop her."

Suddenly, he looked to Dawn, realizing he'd never gotten around to having a certain conversation with her.

"We never had the whole 'sex and babies' talk, did we?" he said with a little laugh.

She was silent as he spoke, brow furrowed but not quite knowing what to say. Her mind wandered to, to the possibility of herself becoming a mother; she'd never quite considered it, nor ever thought she'd fill such a role. But now, with Adi, the thought crossed her mind, a brief glimmer that quickly vanished as she convinced herself such a time would be far, far away. 

 "you told me that a woman smells different. when she's ready to bear pups. I just assumed I'd have to figure the rest out myself."  She admitted, though quite honestly the thought left her more than a little worried. When would she be ready? Would she even know? Surely she would, if her scent changed. Wrinkling her nose, she added, "Khoe mentioned a hole that blossoms. I can't imagine some flower growing out of someone when they're having pups, though." It had been a short and clipped talk with the woman, and Dawn had ended it quickly when Khoe began to use her weird flower imagery.

Grayday held back a chuckle, at this. She was lucky he'd remembered to have this chat - otherwise, she really would have been on her own. The mention of Khoe had his ears flicking back, and the talk of flowers was, quite frankly, absurd.

"It's nothin' to do with flowers," he assured her with a laugh. "It's nothing too complicated, and most seem to have an instinct for it. Pups and scent-changing is only part of it, though. Sex is just for fun, too." As he'd recently learned. "The only time you might get pregnant is when you're in heat, and to do that, you have to have sex. But you can do it when you're not in heat, too."

He paused for a moment, running into the same problem he had when he'd tried having this problem with Sunny. He still had no idea what to call her womanly parts. If he'd ever known the word, it was lost to him, now. Still, dancing around the unknown word, the male explained what he knew about sex to his daughter, not knowing that she already had someone with which she might soon want to explore these things.

"And... I think that's it," he said, wracking his brain for any information he migth've left out.

 Thank gods.  She didn't think she could have dealt with Khoe's flower talk being the truth, nor the knowledge that things could bloom out of her unannounced. She noted the flick of his ears at the thought of the horrid woman and half-wished she hadn't brought it up. Still, it was good to get the flower stuff out of the way. 

 "for fun?" she echoed, tail flicking behind her.  "so it's a game, unless I smell odd. do you have sex with many people? or only someone important, like a mate, a lover?" She suspected, that, if one of the side effects of sex was pregnancy, one might want to keep such activities restricted. But if it was fun, and harmless, most of the time, did that mean that others went around having sex? 

Grayday wasn't quite sure it was a game. "It's more like a special thing," he disagreed, not liking the idea of Dawn going out and sleeping with everyone and their brother. "It doesn't have to be your mate, but you shouldn't do it with just anyone. It's a very intimate and often emotional act. And it leaves you physically vulnerable, so you have to make sure it's someone you trust with your body."

He laughed at Dawn's question. "I used to, when I was younger," he admitted. "But not that many. And not too often, either." He gave Dawn a thoughtful look. Although he'd spoken to Aditya about a possible relationship between the two, he'd not yet interrogated Dawn about it. "Is there someone you have your eye on?" he asked curiously, wondering if anything had come of her time out in the wild with the strong and handsome male.

She chuffed an agreement, though didn't quite understand how an act both intimate and one that left you physically vulnerable could be fun. She supposed, however, she'd find out. Her father's next question wasn't entirely unexpected, and she dipped her head in a simple affirmation. It'd be fairly obvious, as Aditya was the packs (only) most eligible bachelor. She yet to learn about Engel, and Kieren was rarely around. "Aditya." She paused a moment, adding, "I think I love him. I trust him, certainly, and with him, things seem - easy." She didn't quite know how to explain the ease she felt with him, the trust, the knowledge that things seemed a little clearer with him.

Grayday's face twitched, somewhere between a grin and a grimace. He was happy for Dawn - ecstatic that she'd settled on such an upstanding man - but also terrified of how quickly she was growing, and what she might have to face in adulthood.

"I thought there might be something there," said Grayday, a smile finally winning out. "Aditya is a good man - I'm glad he's won your affections."

The father stepped close and nuzzled his daughter. "I don't know if you'll ever want to have pups... But Cat and I will do our best to break the curse for you. I want you and Adi to have that option, if the time ever comes." Besides, he'd already prayed that Aditya would be fertile and multiply.

Her own brow twitched at her father's odd face-twitch, though relaxed when a smile seemed to win over his features. "he is" She agreed, glad to see that her father thought the same. She returned his affections gladly, sighing at the gladness of being back home again. At his next few words, she smiled ruefully, pausing a moment before speaking. "if the curse can be broken, you and Cat'll be the ones to do it." She considered a moment, adding, "I guess I never saw myself as a mother, really. With Adi, that's different, now. But still - that'd be a long way off." The girl was in no rush at all to be a mother, but she understood the appeal of the idea a little more, now. But before that happened, there was far too much to do and to see, hopefully with Aditya by her side.

Grayday made a sound at the back of his throat and quickly turned his head away to hide the deep emotions Dawn's words were dragging up. His little baby girl was all grown up, even if she wasn't about to become a mother just yet.

"Well - maybe you'll get some new siblings to practice on this spring," he said when he'd reigned himself in, his voice just a bit throaty. But he misjudged his self-control; as soon as he looked at Dawn again, he had to tuck her under his chin for a quick cuddle. "I'm proud of you, Dawn. Damn proud."

He stepped back and gave her a serious look. He'd been thinking about this for some time, now, and had finally come to a decision. "With everything that's going on, I'm going to need some help. I want you and Pema to take on leadership roles. You don't have to, but it would really help me out." He licked her cheek. "What do you think?"

Her father made some noise in the back of his throat, and her ears flicked in concern as he turned away. When he seemed to have gained control over whatever it was he'd just experienced, he turned back to her, voice a little odd. Still, she smiled, adding afterwards, "it's all I've wanted."  It had been so since she'd been young; if she made her father proud, then surely she must be doing something right. She pressed against him breathly, blinking her eyes shut and sighing in pure happiness. 

When he stepped back to look at her seriously, curiosity glinted in her gaze, startled by the sudden change. When he made the request, she blinked, stilled by the request a moment, before answering with absolute confidence. "of course. I'd be honoured, Da." A smile split in her muzzle, and joy mixed with fierce determination shone in her gaze, a flurry of perfect emotion having her look down for a second, not quite able to wipe the smile of her muzzle. She'd wanted this for a while now, and to finally achieve it had the tiredness vanish from her.

She accepted - Grayday hadn't expected any less of her, but it was still good to have that decision off the table. It was settled, and he was glad to know he could rely on her for the coming months. He really couldn't have asked for a better daughter than Dawn.

"Alright - go on and rest up," he said, releasing her from the conversation. "Make sure you stop by and see your brother and sisters before too long. It'll do Lavender good to see her big sister again."

They said their goodbyes, and then Grayday headed back to Catori's side to tell her that their friends and family had finally returned.

He released her from their conversation with a few words, and with her assurance that she'd seek out her siblings and a few parting words, they parted ways. Her steps were light as she trekked back to where she'd left Aditya to follow his scent back to the rendezvous and tell him the news, awaiting the time when she could finally sink down and sleep for ages.