Stone Circle fish scales and fairy lights

I am PPing Easy in this thread, though I might jump in and out with her. Please allow @Engel and @Dauntless to post first.

Although the second leg of their journey had not been quite as exhausting as the first, Grayday was still quite relieved when he caught the scent of Easthollow's borders. They had a long journey back ahead of them, but the male hoped that taking a less exhausting route through the mountains would conserve some of their energy, even if it took a bit longer to get home.

"We're here," Grayday sighed, tail wagging happily. He moved to sniff over each member of the scouting party, giving the kids a lick on the cheek and Engel a cheeky grin. "I guess we made it. Let's call for Valette, huh?"

With that, the male lifted his head and howled for @Valette, the call long and joyous. Easy joined in as well, excited to have reached their destination.

Engel stopped by Day's side, but not too close. He received Day's grin, and gave one back. Unconsciously throwing a wink in there, then blinking quickly to try and cover it up. "Got a bit of dirt...in my eye." He turned back to the territory, waiting for the wolf Day had called to appear.

Valette heard a familiar howl. At first, she thought it was Murdock but it was a bit different. Valette trotted to the border. Her tail raised. She couldn't even imagine a time where she had trouble to take the lead. With Steady's death, she had to step up her game. It had been swimming or drowning. She had learned to swim.

The alpha female came closer to the borders and saw Grayday with some other wolves. Grayday? Wasn't Murdock visiting his brother?? "Gray!?," she let out. She realized that she was still sort of mad for leaving but then again, it had been a long time ago before Steady died. "Murdock was traveling to see you! Don't tell me you missed each other?," she spoke instantly, briefly glancing at the others standing by.

He brought company it seemed. "I'm Valette, Alpha of Easthollow," she introduced to them. She knew Grayday, but the others she didn't know.

Dauntless had known their journey was concluding when he had first caught the scent of Easthollow's borders. Though he was a stranger to the territory, Dauntless recognized the smell quickly from the aroma that still clung to Burr's coat.

When they did make it to the borders, Dauntless couldn't help but ogle at the expanse that was Easthollow's territory; it seemed as if their claim was neverending. He was captivated as he observed at Easy's side, his tail tipping idly as his gaze meandered across the frozen land.

Dauntless did not have much time to investigate, as Grayday redirected his attention. His eyes regarded his father curiously before turning to the territory in anticipation of the wolf that had been beckoned.

When Valette arrived at the scene, Dauntless greeted the alpha with a wave of his tail. "I'm Cub, Dauntless of Morningside," he greeted with mirth in his eyse.

Grayday's one-eyed gaze turned wistful when Valette appeared. She was a dark smudge against a white background, much like Dauntless and Easy were, but he could never mistake her scent, or the confident way in which she carried herself.

"Valette," Grayday hailed, tail wagging when she drew near. She smelled healthy and strong, and like she had a good-sized litter somewhere in the territory. He was about to comment on that when her words registered with him.

"He was? I didn't see him," said Grayday, sounding more disquieted than disappointed. It would have been interesting to see Murdock again, but truthfully, Grayday wasn't sure how meaningful the experience would be. His and Sunspot's reunion had left him unaccountably forlorn. Besides, the last time he'd seen Murdock, circumstances had not been ideal.

"Does he seem... okay? Happy?" asked Day, ears falling back at his last memories of the older wolf. But it was no use going there - Grayday tried to muster the same enthusiasm he'd had before the mention of Murdock.

"Well - It's good to see you again. These are two of the kids, Easy and Dauntless. The last one - Lavender - had to stay home." He was proud to show off his latest litter to Valette, and almost forgot to introduce the last member of their party. "Oh, and this is Engel. No relation."

He shot the male a stern look that said, Keep it in your pants, only to lose the glare when Dauntless decided to introduce himself. With a little chuckle, Grayday plowed on. "We're here about Burr. He's alright, but his leg is broken. Dawn, her mate, and our medic found him in the mountains on a scouting trip and brought him home. I don't think he can make the journey back yet, but we'll care for him and escort him home in the springtime," he vowed.

Clary had heard the call from the edge of Easthollow and, from a place among the trees, had watched her mother depart. Common sense told her to stay put, but the borders held an intrigue the girl didn't have an urge to stifle. After some moments passed, Clary picked her way out of the snow-laden bushes and tracked mama's pawsteps through the snow.


She stopped when she caught sight of mama's dark shape looming dark against the grey and heavy sky, with three silhouettes beyond. She now knew well enough she'd only be reprimanded and turned around if she sprang up to mama's side, so she sank into the snow as low as she could manage and peered over the bank. Clary honed her ears toward the noise of talking and stilled herself, curious to the exchange - and curious to how differently mama approached these strangers than the one she'd torn at just the other day. The girl shivered, fixed her eyes ahead, and tried to ignore the damp chill of snow against her belly.

Cameo - feel free to skip unless she is noticed!

Easy looked up at Valette a little shyly, but immediately liked the woman before them. She seemed very cool and dignified, almost like Dawn, but older and... different. Whatever it was, she liked it, and so uttered a quiet, "Hello," when she was introduced.

But while her reception toward Valette was a bit lackluster, she perked up immediately when she saw a smaller shape beyond her father's friend.

"Da - there's a girl!" Easy said, ears pushed forward and tail whipping back and forth. She'd never met a girl her age before, except for Lavender, of course. Look, Da! Can Dauntless and I go play? Please?"

Easy looked entreatingly between the three adults, wondering if they knew how very boring they all were.

Engel watched as the female came over, and like everyone, he felt a flirt coming on as his introduction. But he let Day introduce him, waiting till then...then completely shut up upon Grayday's glare. He understood perfectly. But, he did manage a tiny hint of a smirk and a sidewards glance to Day.

Valette stood before the group. It seemed that Murdock missed his brother by a few days. Valette now felt bad for him as he wished for Murdock to see his brother. After all, he had told her that they hadn't seen each other in a long time. The female nodded. "Yes, very happy. As far as I know? He is pretty close to one of my pups," she explained.

Then one of the pups introduced himself before Grayday continued with introducing everyone else. The female nodded at each one of them. Two children and one pack member. Valette was a bit surprised when one of the other pups mentioned that there was a girl. Valette glanced over her shoulder and then spotted Clary. She squinted her eyes for a moment but instead of chastising the girl the mother decided that it was good for her social skills. "That is Clary, one of my own children," she introduced. "Clary, you can come closer," she called out to her daughter.

Valette eyes at the dark girl, she didn't know that Grayday had mated with Akuti. The female that left her pups behind before. Steady had disapproved of it. She had done that as well. Valette was quite surprised to hear about Burr. "Oh!! That is very kind of you. I should call his father," Valette spoke and then howled for @Mawk. She was certain that he would want to hear the good news that at least Burr is alive. "Burr's father was quite worried," she explained. "Do you expect something in return for taking care of Burr?," Valette then asked, sounding more formal and political about it.

He had begun taking up his duties once more, the hope that his family would one day return (for the loss of both his mate and all his children at once had been terribly unexpected) engraved in his mind. He spent his time, for now, marking the borders as he had done before, the tasks beginning to consume all of his time. For a worker he was at heart, though it was also a way to keep his mind off the lingering sadness that wallowed a great pit in his heart.

His approach was steady - he was not often called for, and Valette's summon would not be ignored. He wouldn't dream of it. Mawk, upon arriving at the scene, cast a curious glance at the wolves present. A large grey male, two youngsters, and Valette. They weren't here to join, were they? Well, surely that would not require his presence specifically. The wolfdog sent a respectful nod to the alphess, smiling softly, then his gaze fell again upon the male and his children? At least, he assumed they were his children. It sent a small pang to his heart, though he pushed it away. He nodded to them, sending the male a smile like he had to Valette. His head turned then back to wolfess. "You called for me, Valette?"

When Dauntless' joke didn't land as anticipated, he lost interest in the exchange at hand. With a look of disappointment evident in his expression, his emerald eyes sought the territory behind Valette.

Dauntless had not spotted Clary by the time that Easy had. At first, he was moderately confused by her excitement. His searching intensified until he spotted the girl in the distance. Quickly, upon seeing her, he turned his gaze to Grayday and looked at him imploringly, as if silently begging to let him and Easy go and play with her; he was desperate for something to do that wasn't standing around and talking.

Grayday>Clary>Easy>Engel>Valette>Mawk>Dauntless? Also, please PM me if I forgot to respond to your character in this post. There's a lot to keep up with XD

There was a brief flare of indignation at Valette's question, but Grayday knew she was only being the smart, thorough girl that he'd come to care for during his time at Easthollow. "No," he said succintly, his expression somewhere between amusement and deep affection. "Easthollow is still part of my family, and I'd like it if you considered Morningside part of yours. If anything, I'm repaying you for the months you cared for my son, and the times before that when you helped me look after both of them. But it's not about getting even. It's just the right thing to do," he explained with a little wag of his tail.

At Easy's question and Dauntless's pleading look, the male looked to Valette for permission. This was her land, and her children were younger. Besides - his attention was soon stolen from the children by the arrival of Burr's father - a man whose scent he recognized from the Bypass pack.

"Good news," said Grayday with a grin, overjoyed at being able to share good news with the man, even if he was a stranger. He'd be heartbroken if his child went missing. "We found Burr in the mountains. He's recovering from a broken leg, but doing just fine, otherwise. We won't let him starve or freeze until he can get safely back to Easthollow - probably in the spring, according to our medic."

Thanks for the post order! You've definitely brought the party to Easthollow haha (:

Clary tried so very hard to hide, but every time she sunk out of sight, the snowbank blocked a clear vantage of what was happening down at the borders. What use was it to even be here if she couldn't see? With an irritated flick of her tail, she gave up a film of cover to allow her eyes to peek over the crest of her hideaway. It didn't hurt for her to look - but Clary put little thought into what else of her the strangers could see - namely the whole crown of her head, tall ears and all.

Enough for one of the smaller wolves to notice her, and with a gasp, Clary ducked down - but not quite in time. The sound of mama's voice reached her in the snow, surprisingly without a touch of sternness. There wasn't much point in hiding anymore - besides, mama sounded pleased enough for her to join in the party, and Clary sprung from her hideaway to lope toward Valette, greeting her mama with a lick before turning bright eyes toward the smaller wolf who'd seen her - and there were two! The boy must have been blocked from her sight, and a broad smile took hold of her delicate face.

Like the other pups, Clary craned her neck skyward and stared at mama with wide eyes and an interrupting echo of Easy's own plea, "Can we, please?" Her body shook with the want to play - surely the adults didn't need them here. They seemed to be wrapped up in something of their own, anyway.

Easy was sure she'd never wanted anything as badly as she wanted to play with that girl. Her young mind was certain of this fact, and she used her young body to display how very anxious she was to meet her new friend, wiggling and jumping and whining in childish desperation. And, while her father knew she was overtired and oversimulated and thus prone to great overreaction and hyperbole, she knew only the frantic desire to play.

Well, she also knew that look that Daddy shot her. Seeing that good behavior was a necessary evil, and that Valette was, in fact, the one they needed to entreat, Easy put on her nicest smile and turned it toward the dark alpha.

"Can we pretty please play with Clary, Miss Alpha Valette Ma'am?" she asked politely.

Engel looked at the pup, that turned out to be Valette's. It had been a long time since he had interacted with a pup, and he still had a soft spot for them. He smiled lightly to them, then returned his attention back toward the conversation at hand. "I can look over them" he said to Grayday. "If you wish it, of course" he then added to Valette.

Valette glanced at the bouncing children by her feet. She quirked up her lips. "Of course. But don't wander too far, alright?," she returned to her children. Valette eyed at the male that came with Grayday. She didn't know him and he wasn't family so she rather not have him watch her children. "No need. I trust my daughter," she spoke to him with a nod.

Valette was mostly happy to have the good news about Burr. She watched Mawk with a happy smile. "If you want you can go with them if you want to see your son. I understand that you would want to see him," she spoke with a nod of her head. Valette then remembered the wolf from Moonspear that told her about a war. Now the kids were too busy with playing she felt that she could tell such news. "Grayday. A wolf I met from Moonspear warned me about a war they were having with Blackfeather. Please watch out for them on your travels. They are bad wolves."

His mind had begun to drift as they spoke of other things, though when the grey man spoke to him his attention was quickly drawn back. His amber gaze rested on this stranger, but as he listened, ears perked forward attentively, Mawk's eyes widened. Burr. The wolfdog could barely contain his relief, his joy, and a huge grin spread across his maw. "Burr? He's safe?" It was true he felt awful that his son was hurt, and the distance between them pained him awfully so. At least he was safe.

Spring... that was a while, wasn't it? Well, not really, but if he spent every day waiting it would feel like years. Mawk nodded, simply joyful to hear he had not lost all family - Burr was alive, the little trooper that he was. "Thank you, thank you so much - I cannot express how much this truly means to me... To know my boy is safe. Thank you for taking him in and helping him." The curled tail that rested on his back wagged back and forth, little bounces as his eyes sparkled.

Then Valette spoke again, announcing that he could go and visit if he so wished. And although, perhaps, he wanted badly to continue working for Easthollow, he needed to see his son. "I would love the chance to see him. Thank you." He gave her a bow of his head, gaze returning to Grayday for a second. Then he fell silent, listening to the talk of war. He had not heard of this, but he was listening now - blackfeather and moonspear. He'd have to remember those names.