Blacktail Deer Plateau changing the shape

the sun rises over the horizon, clearly visible upon the plateau. kaevo lies on her belly beside a large tree, front paws crossed and muzzle resting over one of her long, dark legs.  she blinks slowly as the light of day grows stronger, the sun's rays reaching towards her and bothering her eyes. she has gone through the night sleepless, her thoughts once again troubling her. she ponders her parents, and oh, how she misses her mother. her dam was a hard woman, just as fierce as her coal-furred daughter, if not more so. kaevo's stomach twists in anger and sadness. her mother had insisted that kaevo was outcast for her own good, to teach her a lesson, but what woman would do such a thing to her child? nearly a year later, kaevo finds herself to be just as troubled as she had been in her adolescent days. her mother does not love her... it is impossible.

with a sigh she lifts her narrow head and her orange eyes stare blankly, tiredly. she rises to her feet and pads along in the snow, her limbs aching from hours of uselessness. she decides to hunt once again, knowing that it is the only thing that will do her any good. she has never been a fan of work, and it is strange to her that hunting for the strangers of morningside soothes and comforts her more than anything else ever has. she morphs into the huntress that she is becoming and stalks through the plateau, alert to the sounds and smells of prey animals

He was impatient these days, waiting for Grayday and Catori to get on with it and have the litter already. The selfish desire for more nephews and nieces, to play with, to teach, overwhelmed him, since he knew he would not have his own children this season. Shale was a sucker for kids, and while Day's younger brood were entertaining enough, they were growing fast--they would be pretty much adults by spring.

The silver man padded through the snow, the morning sun a comforting warmth on his pelt. He spotted a dark shadow of a woman nearby, long-legged and tall, crouched in the stalking position that marked a wolf on a hunt.

With a small wag of his tail, he set off toward her, making sure he gave her advance aural warning so as to not startle her by his sudden appearance. Shale drew within a few paces and dipped his head in greeting; he'd normally offer a smile, but it was early, and thoughts of pups still itched under his skin.

"You must be our newest member," he murmured. "I'm Shale; Grayday's brother. Welcome."

It seems that she cannot hunt without interruption, but she never resents it. The swarthy woman loves the randomosity of life, and that includes unexpected encouters - these are her favorite, actually. This time, a  fluffy gray male approaches her, his deep amber eyes seeming to hold a familiar kindness, and she is reminded of Grayday. Perhaps these two are related? He speaks without a smile, though his voice is soft and somewhat inviting. 

Thanks, yeah, I'm Kaevo, she returns after being welcomed. He informs her that he is indeed related to Grayday, a brother, and with this the similarities are explained. How are you? she wonders quietly, her voice quite soft, fiestiness lessened by the thoughts she is having and the subsequent mood she is in.

"Kaevo," he repeated, a smile finally coming to his face. Interesting name. Pretty. He liked it. It matched her; she was wild, her black pelt shaggy in an almost unkempt way, with striking orange eyes. It seemed Morningside had no dearth of beautiful women; it was torturous, in a way, knowing only the leaders would mate this season.

"I'm well enough," Shale responded casually, arching his back ever-so-slightly in a stretch. He had slept fitfully last night, and his joints and muscles ached from the thrashing. "How are you settling in? Have you had a tour of the place, yet?"

He stretcheds as he tells her that he is well, and Kaevo watches with a small smile.  There is something about his manner that suggests preoccupation, and although she knows that she could just be imagining things,  she wishes that there were a way to ask him what is on his mind.  Hoping the opportunity will come up later,  she shakes her head in response to his question.

"No,  I haven't had a tour.  I've kind of just been exploring on my own." She pauses briefly.  "But...  A tour would be nice." She doesn't want to miss the opportunity to be shown around,  perhaps to areas she has yet to discover. "I do like it here so far," she adds honestly.

He nodded at the stream nearby, meandering slowly south toward its eventual terminus at Whitefish River. "I'll take you to see the pond, first," he said, smiling. "It's not much to look at, frozen over, but I imagine it must be beautiful in warmer weather." With a flick of his tail, signaling for her to follow, he took off at a slow walk, ears cupped backwards to make sure she was keeping pace.

"It's good that you like it here," Shale added, his voice casual. "I'm pretty new here, myself." Looking over to her, he amended, in further explanation, "Day left my old home when we were young. I came south looking for him and, well, I found him."

He felt a warm glow fill him, still, at the thought. Family was the one consistent joy-bringer in his life.