Dawnlark Plains wait for me to come home

@Aditya @Aliac @Dawn @Pema whoever can come and let him in officially. Forwarded to the 13th.

He had been gone over a month and seen more of Teekon than he had in his entire life. He had met many and he had almost experienced his first time. He had drowned in his grief and resurfaced again, repeating the process several times before he felt purged. He had become a bearer of bad news and brought Seelie sadness during a time when she really did not deserve it. He had been gone for so long that when he began to smell the traces of Morningside he almost stopped and turned around. It wouldn't be the same, he personally no longer felt like he deserved to call it home there. Yet he had loyalty to it and even despite his guilt deep inside it would always be his home.


When he entered the plains he sniffed at the borders. He was glad to smell that almost everyone was there but he panicked when the smells of Dauntless,Lavender and Easy were found to be missing. The grief arose again when he found that his dad's scent was completely missing. He choked as he raised his head and called for his sister, for Aditya or Pema or even Aliac. He wanted someone to pour out his apologies to, he wanted someone to welcome him home. He wanted to feel loved again.

---

her brothers howl sent relief flooding through her swiftly and suddenly, and already she was adjusting her course. luck had it that she had been within the borders, rare, save for when she spent time with @Aviana and slept. she'd felt most comfortable with the woman, and thus disclosed to her in the barest details what had transpired, neglecting to include the name of Aditya's tryst. 

she threw herself towards her brother, foregoing the usual greeting and pulling him into a swift wolf equivalent of a hug, withdrawing to scan him hawkishly, watching for scars, wounds. she did not know if she'd done the right thing; lately, she was unsure of much anything. "you're back."  like her conversation (to put it civilly) with Aditya, there was so much more she wished to put word too; and yet, could only encase him in her gaze and wait for him to speak.

The one who answered his call was the one he least expected and the one he wanted the most. When Dawn came rushing toward him he tensed, expecting something negative and then froze when she embraced him. He felt a lump rise in his throat and pushed his head into her fur, whining softly and swallowing the thick lump down until he felt he could speak without breaking down. "I am" he said softly and meeting her gaze his eyes watered up and he spoke again. "I am sorry for being such a child" for once that was all he said. No grand speeches, No excuses, no emotional tirade. Just an apology filled with regret and honesty as he stared into his sister's eyes with ones that were filled with sorrow and hope for forgiveness.

---

something in her leaped at his apology, direct and sincere and lacking any of his usual petulance. there was something changed in his gaze, and still. "I'm sorry, Sunny. for forcing you to grieve alone." a quiet acknowledgment of her own mistakes, in forcing him out. perhaps, he'd needed it. perhaps, it had done him good to grow up as she'd told him to do. still, no one deserved to be forced to endure the grief alone, so far from any familiarity. "it was wrong of me."

still, she saw something changed, there. something older, something different. she could only hope that whatever it was, whoever he'd grown to be after the grief, would stay. she was silent, pushing her muzzle into his shoulder, pulling back. "Pema and Aviana have had their pups. Dauntless left to find his sisters." there was information he needed to know, and while she bit her cheek hard enough to draw blood, she continued after a beat. "we don't have enough hunters."  that bit was fairly self-explanatory; her own thinness beneath her dense pelt was growing noticeable. her voice grew quiet, soft, as she watched him, waited him to draw the conclusions of the threat that lurked, silently.

She apologized too and he wasn't surprised by this, instead he gave a nod to accept it though he smiled in a watery way "What you did was good for everyone as a whole. I...would have made everything worse by staying around" he said and though the whole duration of being gone had been hellish because of the loneliness, he still meant it as the truth. He closed his eyes briefly as she pressed into his fur, heart soaring at the contact before reopening them when she stepped back. The change in demeanor lead him to assume that business was coming next.

He was right, she began to tell him the pack news. His face began to break out into a happy expression at the news of pups before he noticed how she looked. She didn't look happy at the news, she looked scared almost. His eyes swept over her pelt and he noticed the thinning of her frame as she said that they hadn't enough hunters."We're at risk of starving..." the words made his heart and spirits sink, mouth opening as his mind raced. "Perhaps....Whoever is strong enough can join me on a trip to search for prey elsewhere?Somewhere off territory" he suggested. If there wasn't enough food here then they must turn to other places right? They couldn't just let everyone starve. "I can also go recruiting if you trust me to bring home good members." he offered. He would work just as hard as he had before, perhaps even harder at the news that they were in danger.

he said allowed what she feared, and she nodded, carefully. she hadn't seen much of the newest member, though trusted his relation to Aviana would have him stick around. at his suggestion, she nodded carefully. "I've been leaving the territory daily. but a hunting party, now that we'd be able to leave behind a couple members to watch over the mothers and pups, would bring back more than a single wolf could." she knew the best places for game, now, besides the plains. their home territory offered a good amount of game; they only needed more hunters to bring it down. "we could take Shale."  the hunting party could wait a day, however, and she peered at Sunny hawkishly as he offered to recruit. she did not have to hesitate before answering, suddenly confident in the man she'd seen in his apology. "I trust you." 

there she paused, knowing she'd not shared all she ought to; the words coming easily, almost, after all the times she'd murmured them to herself. her gaze flickered again to his, and she added, "there's something else you should know. Aditya and I - we're no longer mates."  the words were soft, featherlight. she'd told very few this explicitly; didn't know who would know, know the reasons for it. no one, to her knowledge, knew exactly how twisted things had become.

just a cameo, skip me unless directly addressed

he had been hunting, lax in his border duties in the wake of impending starvation, when the call burst over the plains. it spooked the game, anyway; the rabbit rushed past him with swift feet, and not even the quick snap of his jaws, nor a hasty pursuit, could pin it down. sides heaving, aditya shook his head ruefully and carried on at a steady lope, heading to where the howl had rang out.

two grayscale wolves stood talking, and his heart caught in his throat. his ex-mate. . .and her brother, returned at last from his self-imposed banishment. he stood statue-still for a long moment, torn between embracing his friend, his packmate, and leery of getting too close to the woman he once had loved--still probably did. after hesitating, he trotted down the slight slope, coming to within a few tail-lengths of the pair.

he gave dawn a curt nod, not meeting her eyes, then looked over at sunny. his gaze was warm and full of joy, and aditya offered the boy a smile, knowing that they must talk later. they had much to discuss.

The sick feeling he got at the news originally grew as he thought more about it. If Dawn looked thinner then how did Pema and Aviana look nursing children? How were Catori and the kids fairing? He found he felt desperate to go and check on them as soon as possible. While his mind raced he made sure to listen to what she had to say and nodded  "Shale would be good. I'll start hunting solo immediately of course...bring in whatever I can." he said trying to sound calmer than he felt. It would do no good to panic, he needed to keep calm and focus on working. Then when she gave her trust he felt a piece of him heal, a change go through him. Perhaps that is all he wanted, maybe he just wanted Dawn to trust in him like dad always had. 


The next news was completely unexpected and he stared at her in silence. Despite how calm she spoke it and how accepting she was, he knew she couldn't possibly be that way inside. She had to be hurting and even though he had grown in many ways he hadn't the experience to know how to comfort on this. He could at least sympathize though "I'm sorry Dawn. Everything's just....everything's just falling apart huh?" he murmured softly, ears going back against his head. He wanted to know what happened, if Aditya had done something or if Dawn had been the one to cause it but he wouldn't pry like that.

---

she'd done so well at avoiding him entirely that the sight of Aditya hit her like a punch in the gut. she glanced away instead, hurt lancing up from her chest, and moved once more to drape her neck over his shoulder, lingering only a moment in the sensation of touch that she'd so craved before pulling away, already moving back. "find me later." despite the tightening of her chest and her desire to be away from here, the words were hopeful, almost. 

without another glance at Aditya, she continued her backward momentum, until enough distance had been placed between the pair to allow her to turn on her heels and continue along the border towards a stretch of trees, wanting only to be swallowed up by the shadows between them.

Almost as if summoned by his name, Aditya appeared and while Sunny was glad to see him and glad to see the warmth in his gaze, he also cringed at the almost physical tenseness radiating between Dawn and his friend. He did give a quick wag in return to Aditya's smile and then turned back to Dawn, touching his nose to the top of her head briefly before she pulled away. "Of course." he said with a small smile before she left and he turned to follow after Aditya.

Sunny out!