Blacktail Deer Plateau man door hand hook car door

It had been a few days since she somehow managed to stab herself, and while she wasn't as completely miserable as when she'd broken her paw all those months ago, she felt close to the same at times. She'd lurked around the rendezvous for the past while, often in the position she lay sprawled in now; leg sticking out awkwardly while the rest of her adopted a kind of sphinx position, tail tapping behind her anxiously. 

Twisting backward, she poked at the wound; it oozed yellowish fluid and the whole area felt warm; likely the beginning of an infection. The herbs had hed it off this long, but with a wound the size of her own, it would only take so long before some sort of infection crept in. Luckily for her, and with the season and Pema's care, this one was mild, and one she set to cleaning carefully with a furrowed brow, trying not to dislodge the mass of herbs the clung to the eyesore.

Sunny had been getting used to Morningside again the past few days. He had met some new faces and even participated in the sparring matches that pema had set up. His paw was a bit sorry and sensitive after the match and be was limping again but He felt more like his old self.  Despite that something still nagged at his mind and that was the fact he hadn't tried to find Dawn yet. He was scared she would be angry and think he'd abandoned them again before letting him explain.

He had just come back from marking the borders and grabbing something from the cache when he smelled her scent. Hesitating briefly he sighed and walked toward her,chuffing through the mouthful of prey. He flattened his ears back slightly and chuffed to her before dropping the food and sitting down,noticing her wound. "Hey Dawn...you alright?" He asked trying to start off the conversation on a good note.

She peered up from her tending of the wound to spot Sunny, who's scent she'd noted but never had the time nor means to seek out; she'd been tethered to the rendezvous for the past while. "you're back," She said with a slight smile, appraising him. He looked a little worse for wear, travelworn, but grown well into his frame all the same. Wondering if she should bother to rise but ultimately deciding not to, she raised a brow at his question. 

"a bush had the nerve to stab me"  She said by means of explanation, glancing at the wound in distaste and noticing something that looked suspiciously like a blood-stained twig. Ignoring it, she glanced at her brother. "what happened to you?" She wondered both what he had encountered in his time away, and what, exactly, he'd done to get so roughed up.

Much to his relief she seemed pleased that he returned and he offered her a smile in return. At her explanation he winced and gave a low growl "lemme find that bush...I'll make it a chew toy" he said playfully winking at her. His tail wagged a few times and he tugged the piece of prey toward him "want a piece?" He asked, hoping to share with her.

"I went off to hunt and it started to snow hard, I got turned around. I ended up falling down a cliff and my paw got caught on the way down. It twisted something awful and wasn't properly tended to so it hasn't straightened" he explained with a look of embarrassment. Shrugging it off he smiled again "I seem to be able to function alright. I did fairly well in the spar, almost bested dad. I think I may go for a fighting trade." He said proudly. "So...what's new with you sis? What did I miss, I hope nothing bad happened"

She pulled away a frozen chunk of meat, grinning in thanks as she tucked the meal between her paws, chewing silently as she listened to his tale.  "have you seen Raid, or Pema? maybe they could..." She trailed, finding herself at a loss. She didn't know what the healers could or couldn't do, but twisting a paw the right way round seemed a bit of a stretch. Her brow furrowed in sympathy as the looked to her brother, though lightened a bit when he claimed he'd found an interest in. "you'd make a good guardian, I think." 

 "nothing bad,"  she echoed, affirming his words. "I have a mate - Aditya. I'm an ambassador, now, and - it's been good." She finished a little lamely, about to tell him of her trip with Pema and Aditya, but that would venture into telling him of Blackfeather and the war, and they seemed to be doing well enough that she shied away from telling him quite yet. Her promotion was no news, surely, and while she certainly was proud, telling him of it seemed wrong. He'd gone and fallen off a cliff, and she'd stepped up alongside her father.

Sunny shook his head "no..I haven't seen them." He replied with a slow smile feeling warmed that she was concerned about his paw. He knew entirely well that there was no righting it but he also knew by now he was fully functional with his paw too. As she began to tell him what had happened while he was gone he blinked with surprise and fell silent for a moment.


Suddenly he broke out into a wide grin and his tail thumped against the ground "thats incredible Dawn! I'm so happy for you and proud...you've really worked for it" he said earnestly. At the mention of a mate his brain searched for a face to the name and he remembered the guy he had met at the stream when he had also met dad's mate Catori. "Is he good to you?" He asked once again slipping into the protective brother mode. Realizing this he cleared his throat "I mean...he seems like a good guy..I just kinda feel the need to ask..." He said awkwardly.

He seemed sincerely happy for her, and at that she grinned, tail flickering behind her. His question was grating in the slightest, but he quickly went back to explain himself awkwardly. Her smile didn't fade, and her tail did not stop it's pleased wagging as she replied, "if he treated me in any other way he wouldn't be my mate." She reassured him, asking a beat later, "what about you? any secret lovers?" She did think there had been a girl in Easthollow, but they'd been young, and she couldn't even recall what she looked like. That was far in the past, and she didn't know that her brother had shown an interest in anyone else. While she wasn't one for gossip, in this case, she was generally curious to learn more about her brother.

Sunny was glad that his question hadn't annoyed her too much and he nodded "You'd kick his butt if he did" he laughed and flicked his ear. When she asked if he had any crushes he blinked once and looked at his paws. "I liked Keoni....alot. I miss her too really...but um...other than that I haven't really grown close to anyone. Sorrel Marie seems...sweet" he said his mind drifting to the sickly and nervous girl he had met.

"I've met Aliac too but just briefly...the only girl I gave considerate thought about was Keoni. Even after getting attacked she was so beautiful in every way..." He trailed off and flattened his ears. Despite being the slightest bit older it was apparent he was still just a boy in many ways. There was a question that popped into his head and he looked at Dawn curiosly for a moment "are you two...." He trailed off again obvious scared to ask. "Do you ever want pups? Its something I'm honestly terrified of..." He admitted.

Ah, there is was. Keoni. She remembered the girl, but dimly; grey-scale. Her brother seemed awfully hung up on her, and as he continued to talk, she was silent, wondering if she'd broken up something she didn't even know existed when she'd brought him here, all those weeks ago. Her ears flicked, looking for advice but coming up empty-pawed.  She flicked her ears, gaze ranging into rare sympathy for her brother. 

His next question had her make a small sound, not immediately distinguishable. "pups?" after a moment, she continued, carefully.  "one day, perhaps, but not for a while. I never considered it, never wanted it. it scared me too."   She admitted ruefully. "but with Aditya - it's a future I want, I think." She'd put the thought to rest, knowing that she wouldn't be physically ready for a while yet, knowing that in the span of months, anything could happen.

Sunny noticed the sympathetic look on Dawn's face and offered a bright smile "hey...I don't regret coming back. Y'all needed me at the time and I wanted to help" he said firmly but earnestly. As she moved on to talk about the future and pups he listened intently and gave a single uncertain nod.

"It's just....every mate dad has taken has left him and whatever offspring they make alone. What if it happens to me? How do I make sure the pups dont bicker like we did? How....do I still remain a good father while mourning over the one I lost?" It was a rare moment that showed Sunny wasn't simply a dork with a bit of a slower brain, he was quite deep and understood things alot more than most might assume. The look of fear was written plainly across his features, it was clear that this was a subject that bothered him.

 
Her brother's words reassured her somewhat, but not really; he was selfless, the dork, and she knew that he would never tell her if she'd actually ripped them apart. The thought affected her more than she let on, and she wondered if she, unknowingly, had torn apart anything else by her own actions. Pushing it from her mind, sure to reflect on the concerning thought later, she focused now on Sunny's next words. 

She was silent a moment, then continued. "Khoe was a bitch, and Amber - I don't know." She wasn't sure just how to articulate how she felt about the curse, but continued after a moment, thinking back on what her father had told her. " Catori is different. She's loyal, and good. If anyone can break the curse, Da and Cat can."  She felt as if she weren't exactly addressing his question, however, and after a moment changed track. "I can't tell you how to be a good parent. I can guess, and tell you what Da's done for all of us, but you know that already. I do know that you'll know when you've found the person that won't leave you. With Aditya, things seem clear, easy - I can trust him, and he me. I know he's right." Pausing after her gooey word vomit, she turned to Sunny, brow furrowed. She wasn't exactly the most eloquent, nor had she said all she could about Adi, but she hoped it'd suffice.

Sunny listened intently his sister's less than eloquent way of speaking slowly loosening the knot that had built itself up inside him. What she said made sense and Sunny trusted what Dawn had to say. He mused over the fact that Dawn had said to follow Graydays example and smiled to himself. Their father went above and beyond for his children as well as his pack even though it hadn't always been that way. Sunny would of course take his father's example.

As for believing that Catori would be the one to break dad's apparent curse, he couldn't say. Dawn seemed to believe that she could which meant Catori was probably a good woman but sunny had only met her once. 

And the subject of meeting someone...he didn't know whether he had felt like that about Keoni. He hadn't hung around any other females enough to say whether or not he liked them. "Thank you. That does help. I hope Cat is the one for dad, I truly do. I don't remember ma...Amber..and I don't really remember ever really knowing Khoe.." he said softly. Looking back up at Dawn he smiled again "but dad deserves a good lady. And you're right...to know what a good father is I just gotta look at dad. You always make sense Dawn...at least one of us has a way with words" he joked.

She huffed at his thanks, though her eyes were light. Feeling a little tired of the heavy talk, though glad that their relationship seemed stronger than it had been in a long time, she rose, shaking her pelt stiffly.  "walk with me? I can't stand to be stuck here." She'd been exceedingly good at rest thus far, but was quickly growing impatient. Should he agree, she'd lead him past the herds and towards the borders, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bucks and mark the border, her scents fading after days of not patrolling it. 

thank you for the thread! fade here?

no, thank you! I always like a feelsy Dawn x Sunny thread. Fade away xD

It would seem that their relationship was on it's way to mending, Sunny found comfort in that deeply. When asked if he would walk with her he nodded and stood up, standing close in case she needed help up but not exactly hovering over her either. When she stood, he began to walk by her side marking the borders with her and staring down at the herds.