Blacktail Deer Plateau something just happens

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.

Her gaze travelled back to the male every so often, making sure he didn't outright collapse; he seemed the worse for wear. She was relieved when they made it to the Plateau, and her gaze travelled to the lone figure they approached, realizing quickly it was her father. Picking up the pace in the slightest, she greeted her father with a grin and a wag of her tail, gesturing to Aditya after he had spoken. "This is Aditya; he's looking for a pack." After a brief pause, she added, "I can vouch for him, Da. I think he'll make a good pack member."  She'd be willing to take responsibility for him initially, as he highly doubted he was a slacker or a mass murderer. Turning to the male, she added, "Aditya, this is Grayday, our leader." She offered him a smile, keeping fairly quiet as to allow him to speak for himself.

They walked at a slow pace back to accomidate their injured companion Adi. Pema didn't mind the slow pace, she didn't often wonder out of the of the terriory so being able to admire the surrounding as a slow pace was nice. When they got to the border they were greeted by Grayday. She wagged her tail when he approached and took steps to walk across the border to stand by his side. 

Dawn remained at Adi's side so she didn't feel too bad going to Grayday's side. He asked what happened and Dawn gave him an introduction, though she suspected that wasn't exactly the question he was asking. "He fell down a cliff and then got caught in a storm and then almost drowned in the sea." she told Grayday the list any things that had happened to the male recently. Realizing how abnormal it sounded she add with a joking tone to her voice. "Seems like he's had a tough time."

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.

When Pema spoke, Dawn offered a sidelong glance. She felt that there was something wrong with speaking for others, and especially now when Pema hardly made Aditya look good. She did not pursue the topic, however, and instead looked back to Aditya, waiting for him to speak. When he did, a grin played at her muzzle when his words echoed her own from an earlier conversation, and she was pleased that he handled himself well before her father. She rather liked Aditya, better than she liked most new members (at least, initially). When her father delivered his verdict, she dipped her head, adding quickly, "I can hunt for him. Prey is so abundant still, it won't be a problem." She expected that Pema, their aspiring medic, would take care of his healing. She offered a smile Aditya's way, glad it had gone well for him, before rising. " I can show you around the territory if you'd like, unless you'd like to rest first. Either way, I'm up for giving you a tour sometime." She offered, believing it unlikely that he'd like to do much more than rest at the moment, but offering all the same. She wanted to spend more time with him to know him better, not at all because he was a handsome mystery man.

In Pema's explaination as to what had happened she didn't mean to put Adi in a bad light. She simply wanted to answer Grayday's question of 'what happened'. Looking out onto a foreigner wanted to join a pack and seeing them weak and not at their best shape, she wanted to explain why this was, as she felt that once he was healed he would be able and willing to offer much more then he could now.

She also thought that others might enjoy hearing information from those they trusted. Adi could have told Grayday the same thing, but he had already explained it to Pema and Dawn a few time, she thought he wouldn't mind avoiding becomming a broken record. But he did do a great job, hitting all the important points after his situation was explained. She couldn't wait to see him live up to those words.

Pema nodded to Grayday when Adi was placed under Dawn and her responability. Dawn was quick to volunteer her hunting skills for the time being, and offered to give him a tour of the territory. Before they had a chance to go off she wanted to add in. "Feel free to call me if you would like some other medicine than time for those wounds." she smiled to them, tail wagging knowing that they now had a new member. He just had some cuts and bruises here and there, but come other herbs and medicine would help them heal faster.

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.

Her gaze flickered to Aditya, bright with interest when the odd words slipped through; though she had no time to ask about them now. She stored the information in the back of her mind, offering a fiery grin to her father as he continued on his way, Aditya's acceptance into the pack formal and complete. She slipped towards Aditya, smile dancing on her muzzle as she agreed readily to show him to the dens, and ensure that he was well situated before heading out to the south of the territory to see just what she could find to serve as dinner.