For
@Grayday. Aditya is being escorted by
@Pema and
@Dawn after
this thread. Assuming this is pre-injury for Dawn still? My main audience is with Grayday but I won't post again until Pema and Dawn have both had a chance to post! Sorry if this is complete crap lol just took a Benadryl for allergies and fading fast
the ladies weren't kidding. compared to what he had traveled over the last couple of days, it was no time at all before they reached morningside's borders, heavily scented with territorial markings. he was stiff, and slow, but he was walking. aditya hoped they weren't getting too annoyed with his snail's pace.
dawn had mentioned her. . ."da." did that mean father? and if so, could she be the daughter of the alpha--the pack's princess? she certainly looked the part. he hoped he had not crossed any lines by flirting with her. didn't need to have his head ripped off this early into the teekon wilds.
he sat down heavily at the border, panting a little. it was a cold day, but the exercise had made him hot. he looked at pema and dawn, indecisive. his voice was weak and hoarse and not at all fit to howl for a far-flung wolf. he figured he'd just wait here until someone showed up, unless one of the ladies wanted to call for their leader.
how had he ended up here, so far from the south coast? it was a question with an answer--the rolling sea, obviously--but kuch kuch hota hai. something just happens. some things in life just happen.
Grayday just happened to be walking the borders when the trio arrived; he'd watched them approach from a bit further along the drop-off and had picked his way over while they made it up to the top of the plateau. Only a few moments behind them, the leader arrived to see a handsome stranger sitting between two of the pack's young shewolves.
Somehow, the male hid his amused smirk.
"What happened here?" he asked, taking note of the male's injuries. He wasn't too worried, since the other male seemed rather cheerful (though that might've had something to do with present company), but he was still curious about what'd happened to the stranger.
Assuming some things. Let me know if something needs to be changed.
it turned out that no call needed to be made, for here a great gray wolf approached the trio, eyes full of curiosity. he stood upright with some effort, groaning a little under his breath, but otherwise gave no outward sign of discomfort, instead fixing the newcomer with a warm look.
they greeted him as leader--and one of them did so as "da." ah, so dawn was the daughter of the leader. feeling a bit abashed, aditya ducked his head in respectful greeting and lowered his tail in deference. the big gray male asked what happened, and dawn explained--pema even further, though her description wasn't very flattering in the least.
"hello, grayday," he said warmly, with a small smile. "though what pema says is true, it was a bit more complicated than that." he shot the healer an accusatory look, though making sure to follow it up with a jesting grin. "i can assure you that my skill set is not limited to clumsiness."
his nostrils picked up the scent of distant deer, and he inhaled for a brief moment, imagining how delicious a haunch of venison would taste in his mouth right now. swallowing the saliva that pooled up from that thought, he continued, "i've been alone for a long time, and have had to fend and fight for myself. i can take down deer and fight off enemies. i imagine that if i can do that all on my own, i can certainly lend a hand to a pack such as yours."
giving grayday a contrite look, he added, "i do ask for a little bit of time to recover from my fall. i know that winter is coming, and that you'll need me for the hunts to come, but i'll be back to my normal self soon. and if you have pups, i'd be happy to watch over them, as well."
his case thus stated, aditya fell silent, waiting for the alpha's verdict.
Grayday looked on in amusement, his tail wagging along to the up-beat mood of the impromptu interview. The girls looked like two kids trying to convince their father to let them keep a stray (in one case, this was exactly what was going on), and Aditya himself seemed to appreciate the attention. Grayday would, too, if he'd had that sort of week.
"As long as Dawn and Pema don't mind looking after you, I don't see why you couldn't join us," said the male, deciding immediately that Aditya was the sort of wolf he could get along with. Something in his words reminded Grayday of when he'd first joined Silvertip Mountain, which had not been the best time in his life, but a part of the road that'd taken him here all the same. "They can get you into fighting shape - I won't expect you to do too much until then," Grayday agreed with a bob of his head. "For now, I'd like you to keep away from the kids unless Pema or Dawn is with you. We have enough sitters either way."
He looked between the three to see if this was agreeable, though he hardly expected to be argued with - it was his way or the highway, around here.
it was all reasonable stuff, even the part about staying away from the kids for a while. aditya had never had kids of his own, but he knew how protective parents were (well, minus his own absentee pair). grayday seemed a good guy, his daughter was, obviously, great, and pema was a kind soul. he found himself eager to meet the rest of the bunch.
"bahut shu--er, thank you very much, grayday," he said, stepping away from his own language mid-sentence. he needed to break the habit of dancing between two vocabularies, now that he was here. none of these wolves knew the tongue, to his knowledge. "i appreciate you giving me a chance."
he gave pema a smile. "and thank you as well, pema. i will definitely let you know whether i need anything looked at. hopefully i won't take any more falls!" he laughed, his eyes remaining soft.
turning to dawn, he flicked his ears at the pretty girl as he began to sidle away. "i'm up for that tour any time you are," he told her, shrugging. "but if you would be so kind as to show me where the dens are. . ."
fading here!
Grayday's tail wagged in bemusement; the man's affable nature was somewhat infectious. "Well, it looks like the girls have you all taken care of," said the leader, finding it a bit cute that Dawn and Pema were both so eager to help out their newest packmate. He wasn't sure yet if there was anything more than friendliness to it, but he suppose there was nothing for that except time.
Turning his attention to Pema, he gave brief instruction: "Let me know when he's well enough to hunt." She, as their resident healer, would probably be best at determining it. And then, to both of them: "Keep him in line, alright?" And finally, to Aditya: "See you around!"
then Grayday turned and continued on his way, marking the borders for a few more hours to come.