Blacktail Deer Plateau blue sky black death

She's looking for @Atticus but anyone's welcome. :)

She hastened toward the plateau looming overhead, the sky behind it a deep, burnished orange as dusk encroached. Bones drew up in the plateau's shadow, her pink tongue lolling from her silvered muzzle and her spring green eyes bright in the gathering gloom. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, partly because she'd just run miles to get here but also because she was excited to finally meet her father, Atticus, face-to-face.

Without really thinking about it, she howled, her voice light and puppyish. "I'm looking for Atticus!" she announced, feeling her heart leap into her throat and her stomach fill with what felt like wriggling octopus tentacles. She shifted from foot to foot as she awaited rather impatiently on the borders, her pale eyes scanning the lip of the plateau for any sign of a black-furred, blue-eyed wolf heading her way.

As evening slowly fell into dusk and creatures of the day settled down for the night, Atticus was concluding his last patrol near the borders for the day. He did not keep a den; rather, he preferred to sleep in a different location each night, wherever he found a reasonably safe and comfortable place to hunker down. So his eyes, ears, and nose were on high alert not just for threats, but also for a bed. And so it was that the howl, sung in a sweet, youthful voice and, bizarrely, addressed specifically for him, came to his ears. Quickly, he averted his course to take him in the direction from which that howl had come. Who was it and why were they looking for him? What did they want, this late in the evening?

It didn't take him terribly long to get there. In the quickly-waning bronze light, he glimpsed a shadowy pewter figure, small, wiry, and slight of build. A young wolf. As he drew nearer, he amended that assessment to very young wolf, which added to his confusion. What did a kid want with him? He didn't even know any kids. Hell, he didn't even know any parents (except for Perry, but he didn't count because his kids hadn't arrived yet).

Even though this was clearly a pup, it was still a stranger and he was still a guardian of this land. He had a lot to protect, with his brother's puppies due any day, and so he bristled as he approached, and a soft growl rumbled in his chest. His manner was not intended to frighten the pup off, but only to remind her very clearly of his position in relation to hers. He had all kinds of questions for the youngster, but when he spoke, his voice was gruff and straightforward: "It's late. Who are you and why do you summon me?"

When a silhouette materialized, Bones's heart jumped into her throat and her entire body seemed to pulsate with its rapid, fluttering beat. Her pale eyes fixed on the figure as it moved nearer. Black fur! Blue eyes! She checked off his features as they came into view, a grin spreading across her maw. This was Atticus, her father! At long last! The youth nearly swooned.

Neither his growl nor his gruff question deterred her. Pausing and smiling rather foolishly at him, Bones's mouth opened and she gushed, "Hello! Me name's Bones and I'm your daughter!" The way she grinned at him, eyes dancing, seemed to say, Surprise! Then, because she was quite an astute youngster and she knew his memory might need to be jogged, she added, "Me mother's Cutlass, a wily marauder and strumpet from Tortuga." Her eyes flickered darkly for a second before brightening again as she regarded him, waiting for a reaction to this information.

Atti right now, lol: ಠ_ಠ


Anything. The youth could've told him anything just then, and it would've been less unexpected and jarring than what came out of her mouth. Daughter? What? Atticus sat there staring at her with a mixed look of confusion and "what the fuck?" on his face. There was no way he had a kid. No way. She didn't even look like him. At all. She had a grey coat and bright green eyes. But Osprey is grey and your mom had green eyes, something in the back of his mind whispered to him. He closed his eyes. Cutlass.

He remembered Cutlass. It'd been…eight, nine months ago now. He had been naive and reckless, not much past his second birthday, when the exotic, gorgeous female had seduced him and stolen his virginity. He'd been captured by her brash fearlessness, her wild stories of adventure and conquest, the crudely accented way her sharp pirate tongue shaped her words. He'd been lured by her beauty, the way her strong, wiry muscles rippled beneath her coarse pelt, the angular planes of her body where curves should've been, displaying power and practicality rather than pampered beauty.

She had come to him, in season, and he being too young and stupid to understand, he had run with her. And he had lain with her. She was his first. It had been a drunken and wild night, intoxicated on berries and mushrooms together as she showed him what it was to be a man, and the next morning, he'd awakened sore and bewildered with only a headache for company. Like a tornado, she'd spun him around and then vanished. He hadn't thought much about it since then, but he'd certainly never forgotten it. Remembering that fiery woman in his arms was enough to make his blood run warm.

Still, he couldn't believe that crazy tryst had resulted in children, and he stared at Bones, refusing to acknowledge that in some of the planes of her face, she looked very much like him. "Wh…what…" His voice was dry and his tongue felt like cotton. "I can't…I'm sorry..." He wanted to say "There's no way in hell I can be your dad, kid. Go home." But he couldn't because he knew she was right. "Just…gimme a minute." And so he just stared at her, completely stunned and at a loss for words.

Bahaha, poor Atti the baby daddy!

Young Bones began to chew on her lip when he seemed utterly taken aback by the news. It was clear he needed a minute to process it, especially when he said as much. The youth nodded vigorously to show she understood, then retreated several feet, as if giving him space would hasten his acceptance of the news. All the while, she couldn't quite stop herself from smiling at him in an adoring sort of way. He's my dad! she kept thinking to herself and the thought made her chest swell with happiness.

After a few beats of silence, Bones thought she should go ahead and tell him, "There were two others. Me twin, Skull, died early on and the other, Kraken, went missing a few months ago. And me mother never paid me any attention, so that's why I came to find you." She didn't want to overwhelm him, so she managed to bite her tongue beyond that and sit back on her haunches, albeit Bones rocked gently, simply unable to sit still.

Poor guy, lmfao. He's going to need a good stiff drink after all this. XD Btw, I'm taking a few liberties here in assuming the different ways that Bones resembles Atti. If you disagree with anything I've written, just lemme know and I'll fix it. :D

His whole world rocked around him. Finding out he had children completely changed everything. Everything. He looked at her as she spoke, revealing that there had been three of them -- one of whom had passed away -- and he noticed how she had the same toothy, half-crooked grin as he. Her nose and ears were shaped like his, the set of her shoulders much like his own. She was tall, gangly, and spidery in her build, just as he himself had been at her age. "You're…my child," he spoke the strange, foreign-sounding words more to himself than to her, a tone of wonder seeping into his voice as he did.

He didn't know how he'd ever be able to fit himself into the mold of a dad, how he'd ever be able to adapt to that new identity, and yet…she was so beautiful. So strong. So resilient and vibrant and independent already. She'd traveled here by herself from god only knew how far away with the single-minded task of finding him. And she'd succeeded. Any father, even one who'd only known he was a dad for three minutes, would've been proud of that. "I…I don't even know what to say," he confessed after a moment, unable to suppress the crooked grin -- just like hers -- that crawled across his face and the sheepish chuckle that accompanied it. He was a dad.

I don't mind at all. I love when other players take creative liberties like that, actually, and add in so much more detail and dimension to the situation. :)

"Aye!" she agreed exuberantly to his quiet utterance. "I'm a good one too!" Bones told him, eager to please him, especially now that he seemed to be accepting the facts of the matter. "I came all the way from Tortuga to find you! I just knew you'd be here somewhere around here and I was right!"

When he grinned crookedly at her, it made Bones's day week month year (never mind that she was only six months old). She returned it, her tail waving so quickly back and forth that it quietly slapped against either flank. She wanted to rush to him and give him a hug, so she did just that... though she slowed just before touching him to look at his face and gauge his reaction. Only then did she throw herself at him, burying her face in the dark fur between neck and shoulder.

She drew back almost immediately, beaming. "You don't have to say anything! I'm just happy to meet you!" she told him in a blithe tone. "You don't even have to take care of me or anything, 'cause I take care o' myself!" Bones shared with very childlike pride.

She came to him, burrowing into the nest of his thick black fur in a big hug she'd clearly been waiting a long time to give him. At first it felt strange and intrusive to him, this youth that he didn't even know pressing into him in such an intimate gesture. But a moment later, something clicked and it just felt right. This was his child. His baby. His blood. He tentatively reached an arm up around her skinny, narrow shoulders and pulled her into him. Somehow, the hug was a balm to his own soul, which had been chafed raw with the recent drama and angst between himself and his brother.

She pulled back from him a moment later, assuring him that she could take care of herself. He detected a sort of childlike pride in her, and he remembered feeling that way himself not so long ago. It was liberating when one learned to feed and provide for oneself instead of relying on adults to do it for you. Still, he was impressed that she could make such a claim at her age; he himself hadn't made his first successful kill until he was close to nine months old. He looked at her, again marveling and awestruck that this pup was his. "If you're my kid, then you must be quite a hunter." He grinned at her again. "Have you been staying anywhere around here?"

Bones lifted a paw off the ground and waved it absently. "I've never hunted big game before but I'm pretty good at catching fishes, frogs, turtles, snakes—that kinda stuff," she explained with a proud, lopsided grin. Being praised by her father was absolutely delightful. "Though me crew member, Tu-wa-wi, has helped me learn some more," she added and nodded at his question. "I live in a place called Swiftcurrent Creek, under the leadership of Cap'n Fox."

For the first time since arriving, Bones's eyes sought something besides Atticus; they drifted upward to the plateau jutting into the sky, which was now a deep plum color. The enormous outcropping loomed like a giant, shadowy ship above them. What had Osprey called it? Black Deer Plateau?

"Is this where you live?" she asked a little breathlessly, her eyes finding Atticus's face again. "Are you in a pack? Does anyone else live here—relatives, I mean?" The silvery youth wondered if she might not only gain a father but perhaps other relations as well. She sucked in a breath, daring to hope, although Atticus alone was prize enough for young Bones.

Swiftcurrent Creek. He'd heard of the pack not long after it had been established. He was glad that she had a pack to support and look out for her, but he grimaced at how far off it was. Did she plan to stay with them? Since her purpose for being here was to find him, and she had now accomplished that, would she want to move here? As much as Atticus balked at the thought of being a parent, he couldn't escape the reality that was now sitting here looking at him with eyes hauntingly reminiscent of March Owl's. If this was his child, he wanted to get to know her.

"Yeah, I live here," he told her, following her eyes to where they lingered on the stately silhouette of the plateau behind them. "My sister and two of my brothers -- your uncles and aunt -- live here also. In fact, your uncle Peregrine's the Alpha male. They're expecting pups any day now, and then you'll have cousins." Privately, he wondered how Peregrine would react to the news that Atticus had a child. But it felt strange and yet somehow satisfying to share these relations with her, as if by doing so, it solidified the shared blood between them. He hoped that having so much family here might lure her to move to the Plateau. He almost asked, but then something more important came to mind: "Tell me about Kraken?"

Like a flower under sunlight, Bones's heart bloomed at the news of her nearby aunt, uncles and soon-to-be cousins. "Uncle Peregrine," she murmured to herself. She'd never had an uncle before (well, she had, but not to her knowledge)! "What're the others' names?" she demanded excitedly, wanting to memorize their monikers and, of course, hopefully meet them personally at some point.

But first, Atticus had a question for her. "Kraken looked a lot like our mother. He just disappeared one day. We weren't that close. And I never really knew Skull, since she died pretty young." Bones's mouth momentarily twisted into a slight frown, then she shrugged. "I bet Kraken's out there somewhere, makin' his own way. And we gave Skull an honorable funeral, at least." It seemed ironic to Bones in hindsight, that the pack—and Cutlass, in particular—paid so much more attention to her in death than in life. "She doesn't have any worries anymore," the juvenile said lightly.

She looked thoroughly thrilled with the news of so much family being right here, Atticus couldn't help but be elated too. He expected her next question, and answered it with a grin, "Your other uncle's name is Crete, and your aunt's name is Osprey." He had no idea that she'd already met Osprey and that that meeting was, in fact, how she had learned of Atticus's whereabouts in the first place.

He listened avidly as she briefly described Kraken, her brother. He nodded as she concluded, not really knowing what to say. I have a son, he almost whispered to himself, in awe. A son! And a daughter! If the world had inverted and the sky became earth and rocks and stone, and the stars the ground upon which he walked, it wouldn't have been as big a deal to him as this was. He couldn't wait to share the news with his siblings…and yet he was afraid to, at the same time.

"So what do you want to do now that you've found me? Are you going to stay at the Creek?" He couldn't resist asking. Her answer would, in large part, determine how their relationship progressed. He'd visit her at Swiftcurrent if that was what she chose, but in truth, he wanted her here.

A surprised laugh burst from Bones's muzzle when Atticus revealed that Osprey was her aunt. She did not mention that she'd already met her, nor that it was Osprey who'd directed her here, but the look on her face probably told Atticus everything. The juvenile snickered to herself for a good fifteen seconds, delighting at her aunt's mysteriousness.

Truthfully, Bones hadn't thought too far ahead about what she'd do once she found Atticus. She hadn't wanted to bench on any particular reaction from him. Not only had she found him, he'd accepted her quickly and openly and even informed her of her other relatives. This was the best possible outcome!

For once, the young scalawag was speechless. After hesitating, she declared, "I'm not sure! I like the creek and I'm loyal to Cap'n Fox and the rest of the crew." One side of her mouth fell uncertainly. "But I want to be near you too..." she quickly added.

Young Bones assumed it went without saying that Atticus was firmly planted here at the plateau, what with his siblings here. Otherwise, she might have invited him to come live at the creek, as it really was a great place. As it was, she was mostly joking when she said, "You could come live with me," and gazed up at him. She was so independent for her age, yet now that she had a father, she almost craved for Atticus to tell her what to do. And Bones thought she just might obey if he did.

Atticus didn't draw the connection between his mention of Osprey and Bones's sudden laugh; he simply took it as another outburst of mirth over learning of her newfound family. A fond smile of amusement played over his face, but was quickly replaced by a more serious expression when the conversation moved to future plans.

As her father, he wanted to insist she move here. After all, her family was here. Why go to all the trouble of finding them and then not join them? But as a pack wolf, he understood her loyalty to the Alpha who had accepted her, and he respected that. She was clearly a very independent youth who might not take kindly to him telling her what to do. He hadn't earned that right yet. He'd only been her dad for like ten minutes. If she chose to remain with the Creek permanently, he could deal with that. They just wouldn't see as much of one another as either of them would like. Swiftcurrent Creek was at least a good full day's run from here, and that involved crossing the mountains and everything. It'd be a pain in the ass. But he'd do it, if that was what his daughter wanted.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't plant a seed of possibility. "Well, your family's all here," he said softly, his pale eyes lingering on her avidly. "If you want to stay at the Creek, that's okay. But the door's always open here, if you want to join the family. I'd like the chance to be your dad, and that'll be kinda hard with a mountain range between us." He smiled at her, genuine affection written in his features. "Just think on it. You don't have to decide now."

Atticus didn't seem ready to tell her what to do, though he heavily implied his preference. Perhaps another pup might have felt uncomfortable with it, yet it merely delighted young Bones. He wanted her! Really, she didn't care about any other details at the moment. That Atticus wanted to be part of her life, to step up as her father, made her giddy. If she died right now—the victim of a freak brain aneurysm, perhaps—she would die happy.

"Okay!" she agreed readily and rather thoughtlessly, though she would tuck his words away into her mind and heart for later perusal. "I wish it wasn't so dark!" she complained next, without missing a beat. "I want to go look at the plateau and meet everybody! I bet you can't see anything and that everybody's in bed." Again, her face fell.

But frowns never lingered long on Bones's lips. Smiling broadly again the next moment, the juvenile planted her rear end firmly on the ground and declared, "Let's play Twenty Questions!" It would be the perfect way to get to know each other a little bit, she thought, and she was glad to have this time alone with him before they wandered forth into the world as father and daughter. "You start!"

The more they talked, the more he came to like the girl. She had a sweet, playful, amiable personality and a fleeting attention span that moved from one topic to the next like a butterfly on a breeze. He just couldn't stop grinning at her like a fool. It was still completely mind-boggling to him that this was his child, but really, who else's child could it be? She was so much like he'd been when he was her age. Full of questions and curiosity, possessed of an independent, willful spirit, affable and emotional in her interactions with others.

"Okay," he said willingly to her suggestion that they play Twenty Questions. Even though, truth be told, he had about Twenty Thousand Questions for her. He wanted to know so much. And yet at the same time, it was so hard for him to decide what to ask her. How did you ask a question of someone when literally everything about them was a question? He decided to start with an easy one and go from there. "What was your pack…ah, Tortuga…like?"

Atticus wanted to know about Tortuga, the place where she'd spent her entire life before leaving to find him. Her ears fell back, not because she found the query distasteful in any way, but because she didn't know where to start. There was so much to tell about Tortuga!

"It's a place just down the coast. We claim Keelhaul Bay and Turtle Island," young Bones started, forgetting to use the past tense. "There's lots o' different crews there—me crew's the Blackflag—but we all make up one huge pack together. It's a very rough-'n'-tumble sorta place with lots of unruliness. A lot of the wolves there leave Tortuga often to pillage and plunder other packs. That's probably how you met me mother—while she was on a raid." The youth paused, then finished by saying, "I love it and hate it at the same time. Maybe one day, I could take you there..."

And now it was her turn to ask a question. She stuck her tongue in her cheek and screwed up one pastel eye as she tried to think of what to ask. Eventually, she decided to inquire, "What are my Uncles Crete and Peregrine and my Aunt Osprey like?" She'd met the latter but they'd only spoken for a few minutes before Bones had raced here, so she didn't feel like she'd gotten to know the woman very well at all. Not to mention, she hadn't known Osprey was her aunt at the time!

Tortuga sounded like an…interesting place. He couldn't decide if her description intrigued him or disturbed him. He did remember Cutlass rambling drunkenly about "raidin' an' plunderin'", but he himself had been intoxicated as well and couldn't recall the details. Clearly, those of Tortuga -- his daughter included -- knew a most savage and brutish life, a life that he thought was rather unnatural for a wolf. He wondered if Bones would be able to adapt to ordinary pack life.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, she finished her brief run-down and then parried him with a question of her own. It was a completely natural and expected question, and one he was glad to answer. "Oh, you'd love them," he replied with a grin. "Crete is mute. He can't talk, but he's still got a lot to say and he finds ways to say it. Peregrine…you'd like him. He's got the 'tough guy Alpha' thing going on, but underneath that, he's a really cool dude. Don't tell him I said that, though." He gave her a conspiratorial wink as he said that, his grin becoming something wry and comical. He'd had to be careful not to call him 'Pencil Dick' in front of her. "And Osprey, well…honestly, I think she's the smartest one out of all of us. She's kind and gentle and creative, but let me tell you, she could bust us boys' asses when we were kids. Probably still can." He chuckled at the memories and visuals that lingered in his mind.

Leaning back on his haunches, he thought for a second and then came up with his next question. "What sorts of things are you good at? Like…what are your favorite things to do?"

"Mute?!" she repeated sotto voce, then bit down on her lower lip so as not to interrupt Atticus again as he regaled her with descriptions of her uncles and aunt. She wondered how Crete managed to communicate and why her father didn't want her telling Peregrine that he was actually a really cool dude. Young Bones returned his wink without quite understanding the reasoning behind it all, delighted to share in an apparent inside joke with her dad. Atticus's description of Osprey jived pretty well with what the youngster already knew of the mysterious, clever woman.

She wanted to fire off a thousand and one questions but it was Atticus's turn. He wanted to know what she liked to do, presumably for fun. "Anything in the water!" she declared without even thinking about it, then tittered at her own outburst. "Swimmin', fishin', snake-wranglin'... I also like to talk and make friends!" That was probably rather obvious by now.

A sudden feeling of tiredness washed over her, yet Bones determinedly pressed on, unwilling to let something as stupid as sleepiness disrupt this long-awaited reunion with her father. Tiredly but enthusiastically, she plumbed her brain for something to ask him next. She was only six months old, so her range of questioning was bound to be narrow and perhaps even a little silly.

Although she felt decidedly uncreative, Bones eventually turned his own question back onto him. "What about you? What do you like to do?"

She was just so cute. Her disbelieving outburst at Crete's muteness brought a smile to his lips as he spoke. It would be fun seeing her meet and get to know everyone in the family. He could just see her trying to teach Perry's young daughters how to talk like pirates. When she shared that she enjoyed doing things in the water, he nodded approvingly. "That's awesome!" he commented with enthusiasm, genuinely pleased. It was clear that she could take care of herself, which was by itself quite a feat to be proud of. Six month old puppies didn't always last long without the support of the pack; his daughter, though, had done just fine. And to find that she liked to do such rough-and-tumble things as wrestle snakes and fish, well…he was beginning to understand what it felt like to be a proud dad. It was what any father would want in his daughter -- a strong, confident, self-sufficient woman.

Then she turned the question back on him, and he thought for a minute. "Hmm…I like to run and hunt. And I like protecting our packlands and keeping everyone here safe." He grinned toothily at her for a moment, imagining that together, they might make quite a team someday. After a brief pause, during which he considered what to ask her next, he grew a little more serious as he asked, "If your mom didn't pay any attention to you, who raised you and cared for you?" It bugged him that anyone could have kids and not take care of them or pay them any attention, but remembering Cutlass's wild, carefree ways, he figured he oughtn't be surprised.

Unaware that he shared in her mental imagery, Bones pictured the two of them hunting side by side, conquering everything from fish to moose. She couldn't wait for the opportunity to go on a hunting trip with him... not to mention all the other father/daughter activities they could do! Her heart suddenly swelled as ideas swarmed her head.

"The crew," she answered his question nonchalantly. She could see the concern in his eyes, which made her heart burst even more. She found herself wanting to allay it, even though it made her feel warm and fuzzy. "Me crew was called Blackflag. There was about ten of us, including mother and Kraken and me. A few went off with her whenever she went but the rest stayed behind and looked after us... at least, kinda," she admitted. She'd spent quite a bit of time unsupervised, looking after herself and getting into things no pup should. But that was the way of Tortuga anyhow: uncivilized and disorderly.

"What are your parents—me grandma and grandpa—like?" she suddenly wondered aloud, which worked perfectly, seeing as it was her turn to ask a question.

He listened as she explained, in the brief, glossed-over way kids tended to, the circumstances of her upbringing. Atticus didn't much like the sound of it, but then again he knew it wasn't unusual for an entire pack to be involved in the raising of puppies. Clearly, Bones had turned out just fine. She had traveled all the way here on her own, providing for herself along the way and managing to stay out of harm's way, so obviously her packmates had done something right.

Still, he couldn't help wondering if she might've had a better life with him and the Falcons.

She asked him what her grandparents were like, and he sighed softly. "Well, unfortunately they're no longer alive," he said in a neutral voice. He hadn't really had a chance to sort through his feelings over his mother's death. So much had happened in the past few months since his forced departure from the Falcons that he just hadn't found the time to deal with it yet. He had really loved his mother. "They were both pretty old. But your grandmother, her name was March Owl. Everyone just called her Mo. She was…" he trailed off for a moment, a fond smile on his face as he remembered his mother and tried to find the right words to describe her. "She was really something. Fiery, strong, and hot-headed, with a wild heart and a tongue that could burn your ass to kingdom come. I don't think Dad -- your grandfather -- ever really knew what to do with her."

He grinned, remembering his parents together and the interesting dynamic between them. He missed them so much. "Your grandfather's name was Aether, or Aer for short. He gave that to me as my middle name, you know. He was quiet and steady, cool and wise and intelligent. I always liked to say that Mom was fire, and Dad was water. And he always had a way of knowing exactly what was on your mind, you know? You couldn't lie to him or hide things from him, because he just…knew. He was a really great dad. Both my parents were really awesome. I sure do miss them." He paused for a few beats before adding, "Y'know, your grandmother had green eyes too." He thought she might appreciate that small physical connection to her grandma.

As thoughts of his deceased parents swam through his mind, he tried to think of a good question to ask Bones. The problem, though, was that the questions he really wanted to ask were questions she couldn't answer for him right now, questions of where they would go from here. "How'd you find me, anyway?" That, at least, was a good question. The only place Cutlass would've been able to direct her to was the Falcons' lands. He had left to come here long after Cutlass had disappeared out of his life.

He informed her that his parents were no longer alive, which caused Bones's ears to flatten and her eyes to lose some of their luster. She brightened again when Atticus went on to describe them in enough detail that she was able to paint a mental picture of them. Since he hadn't described them physically (save for his mention of Mo's eyes, which won a tail wag from Bones), she pictured them all wrong, not that she knew it.

"I followed me heart," she answered honestly. "Tortuga's not far from here," she added. In a way, Atticus had actually come to her, not the other way around. She couldn't know that, though, as she was unaware that Atticus had lived elsewhere prior to joining ranks with Blacktail Deer Plateau. In fact, she exclaimed, "We weren't very far apart this whole time!" even as the thought struck her. Her expression was one of mixed happiness and sadness over this perceived fact and she forgot to ask her own question.

Feel like wrappin' this up? :)

Atticus still wasn't really sure where this Tortuga place was in relation to the Teekon Wilds, and her comment that she had followed her heart told him nothing about how she'd actually found him. He knew she was young and likely didn't understand the importance of details like that. It wasn't a big deal. Though he wasn't so sure, he grinned at her exclamation that they hadn't been very far apart all along. "Well, you're here now. Better late than never, right?" he commented, tail waving.

He noticed that it was starting to get really late. The sun was long gone and stars were gleaming brightly between patches of clouds moving lazily across the sky overhead. Night birds had begun their songs, and crickets could be heard somewhere, singing their symphonies for the sleepless. He himself was tired, and he was sure she was too. The trip that one would have to make here from Swiftcurrent Creek was no quick walk at all. It was quite a distance to to travel and involved a lot of high ground in between. "It's gettin' pretty late, kiddo. Why don't you spend the night here with me and we can talk some more 'til we fall asleep? Then you can head back to the Creek in the morning."

Sure thang!

When Atticus proposed she stay the night with him, Bones hesitated, wondering if Fox or anyone else might miss her and worry... or perhaps even wonder if she'd left. She ultimately decided nobody would draw that conclusion after a single night and, anyway, the temptation was too great. She could hardly bear the thought of parting with him so soon, so she jumped at the chance to linger at least until morning.

"Kay! Can we sleep here? I don't wanna intrude," the juvenile said, her voice soft and her eyes sleepy. Also, she just didn't have the energy to traipse around the plateau and, besides, she wanted to save the grand tour for another time, a time when she could also meet all her relatives. Right now, she just wanted to stay right here, with just her daddy.

Curling into a ball at his feet, Bones snuggled up against his legs. She smiled up at him, her pastel green eyes brighter than the moon, her eyelids heavy but her heart light and happy.