Blacktail Deer Plateau olympians

@Lavender @Dauntless and Easy! Any other pack members also welcome.

It was a cold day, but not cold enough to keep snow on the ground. What snow was left from the last storm was only a thin, slushy layer of ice in most places, and completely gone in some. Hopefully his youngest three would be warm enough for a leisurely stroll around the territory. He knew that Lavender had been shaken by her encounter with the stranger, but he didn't want her to get into the habit of hiding away at the rendezvous site.

"How are you holding up, sugar?" he asked, nosing his smallest daughter's hip as they walked. Easy was close at his side, taking over Cat's job of making sure he didn't run into trees for the duration of their walk. Dauntless was... "Dauntless?" said Grayday, lifting his head and looking around. He wasn't worried about the boy wandering off - they were far past the age where their activities within the territory needed to be under watch - but this was family time, and he wanted them all together for a while before they went off on their own again.

Easy had grown more subdued since the attack that had left her sister hurt and her father with only one eye. It was strange to see the infallible man in such a vulnerable state, but while it frightened her beyond any fear she'd ever known, it made her feel more protective toward her family - and her father - as well.

The girl hovered by her father's side, craning her head to keep an eye on her sister as well, and keeping one ear cupped toward her brother.

"He's fine, Da," she said when he called for Dauntless, her stomach twisting at his sudden motion. She knew he said he was all better, now, but she could still remember when moving even just a little bit had often made him vomit. Those days had been awful.

Despite the circumstances of his father's disability, Dauntless couldn't help but marvel at his father's missing eye. It looked cool, and he inquired his father often with questions about it. Deep down, Dauntless was inspired to be as brave as his father and hoped that he could do something as heroic as Grayday had; any injuries from the said incident would only be a bonus to the experience.

As Dauntless joined the rest of his immediate family on their jaunt, he found himself distracted by the scent of a nearby squirrel. He had paused a few paces behind the rest of the family to get a good whiff but, as Grayday called, he lifted his head to answer his father. "Yeah, Da?" Dauntless asked.

"Did something cool happen with your missin' eye!?" he added after a considering the reason behind his father's call, his expression suddenly bright. With this thought, all hope for investigating the squirrel's scent was lost; Dauntless moved to join the rest of his family and see why Grayday had called to him.

Grayday chuckled at the boy's question. At least Dauntless didn't seem frightened or nervous about his father's altered appearance, unlike his sisters. The guilty looks that Lavender shot him made him feel sick to his stomach, and Easy's anxious hovering was getting less endearing by the day. He'd had an accident, and it'd left him somewhat diminished - but he was still alive and well, and it was time the kids saw the situation for what it was.

"Yeah - it made you disappear," the male said blandly, craning his head so that he could see Dauntless again. "You're here - " He turned his head again. " - and now you're not! Here, not, here, not - phew! I'm gettin' dizzy."

"Disappear?!" Dauntless echoed with excitement, his eyes shining as he looked at his father. As Grayday demonstrated his trick, Dauntless watched with wonder in his eyes.

"I wanna do that, Da!" Dauntless decided once the excitement had ceased, "Can you take out my eye so I can make you disappear and get dizzy?!"

Although secretly horrified to hear those words come out of his son's mouth, Grayday couldn't help but laugh. It reminded him of another young cub, asking how she could get sky eyes like his. What was it with children wanting things they didn't need? Why had a young Grayday gone out into the wild, searching for adventure and losing his family in the process? Why had Sunny sought supremecy over his sister? Why had Adeline, even at a year old, throw a tantrum when he'd taken Khoe as his mate?

Why was he so introspective? There were kids to play with.

"I think I know a better way to get dizzy," said Grayday, a mischievous glint coming into his eye. He darted to grab at Dauntless's tail, giving it a gentle tug before turning to chase his own. "I bet I can get my tail before you get yours," he bragged. He'd had a lot more practice.

Easy's tail wagged when she saw that Daddy seemed to be in good spirits. He usually was, but she was always worried lately that he would be sad somehow. She was sad quite a lot, nowadays.

But it was impossible to be sad when Daddy was playing with them - and she bet she could get Daddy's tail before either of them got their own. Seeing her opportunity, Easy leapt at the larger wolf and grabbed his lashing tail, holding on for dear life when he swung around to see what was going on.

Dauntless was quick to assume an expression that suggested he was up for Grayday's challenge; he was always eager to compete. He turned to mirror his father's position and shifted his eyes to the prize: his tail.

Just as Dauntless was ready to leap into action, a movement caught his attention. He was unable to hide his amusement at the scene he spotted; Easy had caught Grayday's tail before his father had even had a chance. Laughter rolled from his mouth as he marveled at what had happened, "Easy beat us both!"

This was a rare moment where Dauntless wasn't pouting over a loss.

Grayday scoffed, darting forward to nip at Dauntless's tail while he was distracted by his sister. "It's not a game you win," he said pointedly. "It's a game you play."

Silly kids. Didn't they know how to how fun?

Turning, he snapped at Easy's tail as well, and when she leapt out of the way, he turned back toward Dauntless again and went for his, spinning all the while to keep his wily daughter from biting him. She wasn't just going for tails, either, but kept trying to snap at his ankles as well.

SO sorry for the wait. <3

To Grayday's explanation, Dauntless' excitement vanished. If there wasn't any winning involved, then what was the point? He contemplated this for a moment as he watched Grayday turn to snap at Easy's tail.

"Then what's the point?" he asked and quirked his eyebrows. Dauntless was skeptical and still couldn't comprehend what fun that would come from playing a game that named no winners.

Grayday rolled his eye at Dauntless's question. "The point is to have fun," he said simply, although he wondered if the boy would be able to comprehend the idea of fun for the sake of fun. It seemed as though he equated it with winning - but life didn't work that way.

"C'mon - we can still play," said the male, patting the ground with his paws. Easy was clearly eager to.

We can probably close this up after your post!

“hmm,” dauntless hums in contemplation as grayday tells him simply that the point is to have fun. plenty of games had winners and losers and you were either a winner or a loser. it’s easy for dauntless to understand: put in retrospective of asserting dominance over littermates and/or other children. that is the concept he applies to those games; his continued skepticism can’t be helped and really isn’t his fault. he’s at the age where developing a hierarchy between him and his siblings is important to his cognitive and social development. omitting a definitive winner and loser(s) is changing up the rules and dauntless isn’t too sure how he feels about it. "alright." dauntless gives in; setting aside his skepticism to inspect at a later time, favoring and prioritizing play time with his sister and father.