Ocean's Breath Plateau all we are is dust in the wind

he'd told @Dutch he intended to check on easy, and also waxwing as well. the latter was hale and hearty; the former much the same.

something had disturbed him, though, on the initial steps of his journey;

a dead wolf, verdant eyes staring sightlessly, sprawled upon the seashore. agouti coat much like aditya's own, but a slimmer build—and worn away by hardship and famine. adi could count every rib upon his flank.

asato maa—

his voice broke. this man could be his son. of an age, and likeness—

asato maa sadgamaya,
tamaso maa jyotirgamaya,
mrityormaa'mritam gamaya.

the prayer spoken, he moved on without a backward glance. the soul was free; the body would decay.

—

days and days later, he reached the outer limits of the plateau and howled for his son, an apology in his voice. he knew his journey would take him far and take him long, and perhaps dutch's mate had given birth by now. he was here to help—however needed.

The call came from far away; Dutch howled back, loud and joyful, and went gladly to meet the man. Raced himself, in fact, and came panting and prancing into sight.

"You made good time," he said, his tail wheeling in buoyant relief to see the man alive, and looking as well as ever. "Come and eat! And tell me their names — how many little siblings do I have?"

He had no notion that these were not Aditya's children. Easy had not confided in him, and he'd never had to wonder about it before.

"How was the rest of your trip?" he asked as he led the way back toward Morningside's borders.

he deserved better than dutch. the way the young man bounded to meet him, the smile upon his face—it struck aditya to the core of his heart, and yet he grinned, too, happy to see his son again.

dreamgirl, he began, eyes sparkling, steadfast, he continued, and added, very close to 'steady,' who was a friend of your grandfather's. and speaking of him. . . . 

with reverence, he cleared the emotion from his throat and intoned, grayday is the third.

but he was hungry, and followed dutch with alacrity. and yours?! he inquired, brows raised. has your mate given birth yet? 

the rest of his trip had been, for the most part, uneventful. he was just happy to be back by the sea.

Dreamgirl! Dutch almost frowned, wondering if his mother knew he'd stolen a top baby name from him. Had he ever mentioned it to her? He supposed it didn't matter anymore, and at least it was the name of someone already precious to him, even if they'd not yet met. So too were Steadfast and Grayday, which at least gave him a few ideas for baby names of his own.

"Not yet," he said after he'd finished exclaiming over the new children. "Another month at the most, I should think! But Valiant's wife has given birth to three girls — Lariat, Lightfoot, and Lilyflower. And his sister, Minnow, is now among us. She had just brought two boys and a girl into the pack. Asani, Usiku, and Mzururaji."

His tone had changed; he was just a little sad when he thought of them.

"I would ask for your help," he said to his father. "We are the only men in their lives. I am doing my best, but they could use a grandfather, too."

he let loose a sigh of relief; he would have sorely regretted missing the birth of dutch's children, and between running here and there on visiting calls, he'd admittedly lost track of time. his smile remained as his son went on, though faded and twisted into a worried frown at the news of minnow's situation.

i thought she had a man, aditya remarked. has he left her? believe me; i'll help in any way i can.

the thought of that poor young woman alone with her children. . . well, not so young, he supposed. but she'd had a hard life, losing both her parents and having her family scattered to the wind. she needed them now more than ever.

and speaking of odd family situations—

have. . .your friend's wives had their pups yet? he ventured gingerly, giving dutch a sidelong glance.

He gave a solemn nod; they'd left indeed, and it was still a sore subject amongst the small but growing family. As for the seal hunters, Dutch found them a much happier subject — but one he would've thought Aditya a little more well-versed in.

"They have been born," he said delicately, side-eyeing his father. "Two girls and three boys. They came a few days before we arrived here. Do you remember?"

Clearly he did not.

the exchange left aditya slightly slack-jawed, brain working overtime to find the— ah. yes. there it was.

haye bhagwaan, he replied, almost under his breath. he met his son's gaze, his own face sheepish. i'm sorry, beta. in all my visits with family, i haven't kept anyone straight. of course they were born.

trying to make up for his lapse in memory, he added, and they are healthy? and happy?

but he was tired. and hungry. of course he could forget even such important matters. he was an old man. . .

the excuses ran through his head like ticker-tape as he waited for dutch's reply.