Stone Circle daddy did you think that you could outrun the holy ghost

@Murdock, this is for you!

Ezekiel had heard a lot about Murdock and what he’d done for his pups, though for some reason he’d never been quite kind to the male. Perhaps he was jealous, or just judgmental. Plus, all of his pups seemed to like Murdock better than him, except maybe Clary which was a big blow to Zeke’s pride. But after a dawn patrol full of concentration, Ezekiel decided that the fact that Murdock was more liked by Ezekiel’s family was all Ezekiel’s fault. Murdock hadn’t stolen them or pushed Zeke away, Zeke had done that himself. So today he was going to seek out the other male and thank him, for being there for his family when he wouldn’t.

He sat near the stones and let loose a howl for Murdock, a serious expression on his face as always. He hoped to lighten up a bit once the male got here, though thanking people wasn’t always easy for him. He didn’t like admitting that he’d been in the wrong, it felt... wrong. But he’d do it, for Val and the kids.

Murdock's ears quirked at the sound of a hailing howl. Someone was calling for him - something that didn't happen often, where Steph wasn't concerned. He'd made few other bonds within the pack, but that didn't bother the older male very much. He'd lived a long life on his own, and had made peace with that fact long ago.

Figuring he ought to mind the call, the male heaved himself to his paws and shook the snow out of his fur. His shoudler twinged, protesting the motion, but he trotted along anyway, not wanting to keep the caller waiting.

He followed the sound to the standing stones, his ears going back in unpleasant realization as he caught sight of Ezekiel. This exact same thing had happened before, and Murdock couldn't help but feel this might end the same way: unfinished. But he'd never shied from uncomfortable situations before, and he wasn't going to start now. Buck up, buttercup, he thought to himself, forcing his body to relax as he approached the younger male.

"You spend a lot of time here, huh?" said Murdock, wondering if this might be the de-facto meeting place for this pack. He'd not yet had enough meetings to be able to tell for sure.

Soon the older male approached Ezekiel, and Zeke stood to greet him. His eyes narrowed at the others comment and he started to reply aggressively, No I’m usually at the border protecting my... He cut himself off, remembering that he was trying to be nice and ignore the angry feelings he had towards Murdock. He never did anything wrong to me, it’s my fault. He reminded himself, sighing. Sorry, no I don’t come here often. It’s nice though. He added that last bit, going for casual.

There was an awkward silence then finally Zeke swallowed his pride and spoke, Murdock I called you here to apologize for being cruel to you. I never gave you a chance in the first place, and then you went and made friends with Val and my daughter... I was jealous. But I also want to thank you for being there for her when I wasn’t. I’m going to be a better father, and friend to Val now, but you did a lot for my family. So thanks. He said kind of bluntly, as it was hard to do.

Murdock's ears flicked forward at the abruptness of Ezekiel's rebuttal; he didn't appreciate the tone that was being taken with him. But the other was quick to correct his behavior, and Murdock wasn't the type to dwell on things like that, anyway. He let is slide without comment, not feeling that the insult had been serious enough that he needed to waste him time addressing it. Besides - young wolves like Ezekiel would act however the hell they wanted, and old men like Murdock would just have to learn to let their delicate sensebilities go.

Letting his grumpiness fade, Murdock tried to focus in on what Ezekiel was saying, and found himself feeling genuinely confused. He'd had very little to do with Ezekiel, and the younger male's bad additude at the borders had been rather inconsequential to the Blue Ridge man. Thus, he could only respond with a polite quirk of his head and a rather deadpan stare.

"I wasn't aware you'd ever been cruel to me," the male admitted. "We've only talked once or twice, haven't we?"

He was beginning to get a weird feeling about this young wolf. Murdock wondered if Ezekiel had spent much time thinking about him, and then began to hope quite ardently that he had not. Looking to save the both of them a bit of face, Murdock hurried to move the conversation along. "But hey - no harm done. And it wasn't a problem. I did what anyone would do." Now that was cruel. "And I didn't do it to be there for Valette. I did it for Stephie. So you can stop worrying about me getting close to your sweetheart. She's not interested."

Murdock felt as though all bases had been covered, at this point, but waited to see if Ezekiel had anything more to say for himself. He'd summoned Murdock from his bed for this little heart-to-heart, and Murdock thought he ought to give the other male the choice of when to end it.

Ezekiel’s eyes narrowed as Murdock spoke, saying that he hadn’t noticed Ezekiel’s cruelty and they’d only spoken a few times. In other words (in Zeke’s mind) he didn’t actually care about Ezekiel’s apology. Sure they had only spoken a few times, but those times Zeke had been brutal. And Zeke never tried to talk to him, he always snapped at him in pack hunts, he felt like he’d done a lot. But maybe in Murdock’s eyes, being rude didn’t hurt that bad. So this whole apology really didn’t have to happen. That sucked.

The more that Murdock continued, the more Zeke remembered why he hadn’t liked him. I just did what anyone would do. This one struck Zeke hard. He already knew of his neglect of his kids, he didn’t need to be reminded. He let Murdock finish then he nodded. Good. He replied, a hint of salt in his tone. That’s all I needed to say, I thought my family would appreciate it if we two saw eye to eye. Bye. Ezekiel replied, backing up and turning to leave. He’d had enough of this; he’d done what he’d set out to do, and he felt there was little reward. He reminded himself not to open up to anyone again, and headed towards his den.

Sorry this ended so short! We can have another in the future but Zeke isn’t having anymore haha.

Murdock watched the other wolf leave, a sense of satisfaction warming the cockles of his heart. He realized that part of him did feel wronged by Ezekiel - but it was the part that belonged to Stephie. How could any father leave such a perfect angel without a father figure?

Moo is papa, yes?

An irritable huff escaped the male as he thought back on the poor girl's confused, innocent query. Murdock had been through a lot in his life, but he'd never had to wonder who his sire was, and he'd never had to doubt the man's love. Not even in Mud's dying days.

Murdock wouldn't see eye-to-eye with Ezekiel until he started acting like the sort of father Stephie deserved.