Stone Circle Timeline: Impossible

Sometime after returning from her trip to the coast, probably, Easy had left guide dog duty to @Lavender in order to head out on a little side trip of her own. It'd been some time since she'd last been to Easthollow, but Daddy had said it was just south of their new home, and Easy's nose was getting better by the day. Following these loose instructions, she'd found the other pack in no time flat.

"Hello!" she howled, tail wagging cheerfully. "Morningsider at your door!"

She bounded around the outermost reaches of Easthollow's borders, not willing to delve into their territory the way she often delved into the Maplewood her brother-in-law and sister had sequestered themselves into. As she went, she hummed a cheerful tune to herself, adding words here and there when they came to mind.

Though the job as a guardian had been pretty boring, Birk was very loyal to the promise he had given to Valette and patrolled most of the time, when he was not off either sleeping or hunting. Therefore the voice of another, calling out to the Easthollow wolves, was a welcome change in an otherwise very mundane routine. 

He was not far, therefore he reached the visitor shortly after the echoes of the call had disappeared in the forest. "Good day, traveller," he greeted the other, approaching it with a confidence of a land-owner and a high-ranking wolf. "State your business here," he asked, stopping few feet away from the gray wolf and giving it an evaluating head-to-toes-to-tail glance.

Easy wagged her tail at the stranger, forgetting entirely to lower her stance. Not that she behaved dominately - her submission was wiggly-puppy submission rather than demuring adult. She was, however, getting far to big to pull that off.

"I'm Easy!" she chirped, as if that answered his question. A moment later, she realized her mistake. "I mean - I mean, I'm here to see Clary and Steph and Aunt Val," she explained, giving another hopeful wag of her tail. "'cause Daddy says she would know the most about hunting bison, and I was hopin' she'd teach me a little bit about it. And me and Steph and Clary are friends, so maybe they could come and play?"

She paused, then, allowing the stranger to get a word in.

The girl was impressive in size, which almost matched his own and, though Birk did not let this on, until she opened her mouth again to speak, he felt a teeny tiny bit of uneasiness nagging at the pit of his stomach. Of course, with his home in the background and ability to have a support any time he needed it, he was not afraid in the least. Just... well, he felt a healthy respect to the visitor.

However, her manner of speaking was so child-like and so not, what Birk had expected it to be - especially because "business" could not really be applied to play-dates and hunting lessons - and he was unsure, how to act now. Had it been entirely up to him - he would have told that there was no time for silly stuff and that the other should move on. Since it was not - he decided to call for Vallete and let her decide. "I will see, what we can do about that - @Valette !" he howled for the gray lady, hoping that she was in the vicinity and come to the rescue soon.

Valette was curled up next to Stark when she heard Birk howling for her. The female lifted her head curiously. She wondered why he called her to the borders. Valette didn't wait though, she knew that Birk was a good asset on their borders and had very keen eyes. Valette howled back to him that she was heading his way.

The female arrived a few minutes later, not that wolves could tell time. Valette instantly recognized Easy. She was glad that it wasn't something bad. She greeted Birk with a nod of her head. "Hello, Easy," she greeted and wagged her tail. Morningside wolves were always greeted more friendly and especially if Valette knew them. "What brings you here?,' she asked.

Easy was a tiny bit worried that she wouldn't recognize Valette, citing that Easy herself had grown quite a bit since the last time they saw each other. But when the woman appeared, the Morningside girl finally connected the dots and realized that Valette obviously wouldn't have changed a bit. And, luckily, her own growth spurt hadn't made her unrecognizable. "Hi Aunt Val!" Easy chirped, casting a curious look toward the unidentified male before bounding a few steps toward the leader and giving a playful bow.

"I came to see everyone," she replied, "and also because Daddy said that we should tell you we're all settled in the plains a few days north of here. Y'all can visit us anytime."

She looked hopefully behind the older woman.

"Do you think Steph and Clary can come play? And do you think you could tell me about hunting bison for a while before I hafta go back?"

"I will leave you two then to talk," Birk said, feeling that between the two the third party was unneccessary. He took his leave, but did not wander too far off, deciding to stay near the borders and stationing himself among the trees. That way he could keep an eye on his leader and the visitor without drawing too much attention to himself. And with the fresh tracks of porcupine to entertain him, he was all to happy to engage in a useful activity, while waiting for the encounter to finish.

You can skip Birk from now on. Cameo somewhere in the background.

Valette was pleased to see Easy, but before she could get into details Birk gave them the space to talk. She gave him a grateful nod. He was a good guardian and she really appreciated the work he did. She then focussed on Easy. "Settled somewhere new huh? Okay good to know. These plains are in the Taiga, I assume?," she asked. She was a master in scouting so she knew the locations around her lands.

"Oh well, Clary actually left with her Aunt Nanook. She really wanted to travel and I couldn't keep her here. But she will return. They are making a really long trip," she admitted. "Perhaps Steph wants to play but she is still recovering from her injuries. A bison attacked her. But I can teach you about bison!," Valette spoke. She also was reminded that Steph was quite sad about Murdock's passing. "Oh and there is something else Grayday should know. Murdock, his brother, died. He died from illness," Valette spoke with a sad tone.

Easy was stricken by the knowledge that Clary had left - she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye! - and that Steph was likely bedridden. What a waste of a trip! But at least she would still get to learn, and perhaps get closer with the woman her father spoke so highly of. Perhaps she could get another tough female role model aside from Dawn. (She knew Pema and Catori were tough in their own way, but neither of them were as intensely physical as the sisters.)

She was further shocked by the news of her uncle's death. Easy hadn't known Murdock well, and she got the feeling that her father wasn't particularly fond of him. That was odd to her, because he seemed to be a big fan of Uncle Shale, and she remembered him being friendly enough with Aunt Spot. He even had nice things to say about Valette, but Murdock? He was hardly mentioned at all.

"Oh," said Easy, a ripple of sadness trickling into her expression. Her brows scrunched together. Would Daddy be sad? "What was - I mean, will you tell me a little about him? What he was like?" she asked. "Daddy didn't talk about him much. Sometimes I thought he didn't like him."

Valette didn't know about the rocky relationship between Grayday and Murdock. Valette was surprised to hear this from Easy. "Well there were quite some similarities between Murdock and Grayday I feel like. They were both very dutiful and good with kids," she spoke with a nod.

"I do wonder why Grayday didn't like Murdock then,' she wondered out loud. "Guess we won't know that for sure. He was a good guy though. Always on the lookout and ready to help me," she spoke with a nod. "The only thing I disapproved of was that he had a relationship with a dog," she admitted.

"Oh - he never said he didn't like him - I guess I just thought that because he never talked much about him," said Easy, cheeks coloring underneath her fur. She had to start watching what she said. What did Daddy keep telling her about tact?

And then Valette said something that gave the girl pause. Easy blinked at her aunt, taken aback by the notion that such a thing might be frowned upon. Sure, she knew her mother was disliked among the Morningsiders, but that had been for her faithlessness, and not for her mixed blood. Right?

"I'm part dog, Ma'am," she said to Valette, shifting uncomfortably at the implications of the conversation. Was it possible that Valette didn't know that? What if she wasn't welcome anymore? What if she was chased away and Valette got mad at Daddy?

"Okay, well, maybe you should ask him about Murdock then. Perhaps we are assuming it all wrong," she spoke with a kind smile. She also didn't talk much about Sesi, her timid sister, but that didn't mean she hated her, not at all. Sesi had been gone for most of the time and just didn't know a lot about her. Valette wished she could but it seemed she had vanished once more.

Valette then remembered that Grayday left with that Akuti wolfdog female. The one that had left her pups behind and got Steady all fired up. She believed Grayday had another female now but she was really sure. She had not been interested in his love life really. Especially not after she lost her own mate at the time. She glanced at Easy, so she was the daughter of Akuti, she definitely liked Easy better.

"Part dog, yes. Which is perfectly fine. I believe your mother was a wolfdog, right? Some wolf instinct at least. This female was a full dog. She wouldn't have survived if we took her in. Though, she seemed to have packed her bags ever since Murdock died. So much for loyalty." Valette was not the greatest fan of Poppy. In her eyes, the female wouldn't have survived the winter but that was just her opinion on Poppy. She had tried to be nice later on, and the dog had been useful with some things. But now, after helping her through winter she had vanished. Perhaps it was only the death of Murdock that made her leave but she could at least have said goodbye.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Easy. That wasn't my intention. I don't think any less of you if you were wondering that. It was more a dislike for this being who was a dog than a general dislike for dogs," She offered. Though she wouldn't accept a dog in her pack again if she was really honest with herself. Valette wasn't sure what set her off to dislike Poppy so much, perhaps it was because she didn't look like she could take care of herself and pull the weight of a pack. While wolfdogs didn't seem to have a problem with that.

Easy would ask her dad about Murdock - after she told him the news, of course. And she'd probably give him a little time in between as well, as she didn't want to seem insensitive. Daddy was always telling her to think more about what she said.

Maybe Valette had the same problem - obviously, she held no ill will toward Easy. The girl gave a few tentative wags of her tail. "It's okay - my mom was a bitch, too," she offered, thinking that maybe they had that in common. Not the part about their mothers being bitches - Easy didn't know Valette's mom - but the part where they both disliked a dog for who they were, rather than what they were. Well, part-dog. Although, perhaps it was just something in a dog's nature that caused them to R U N N O F T the way Poppy and Akuti had. "But I'm a wolf!" she added with a wag of her tail. "I'm never gonna leave my dad."

Valette watched as Easy seemed to accept her explanation. She was relieved however she didn't expect such language coming from her. "Easy!!," she let out in surprise and gave her a reprimanding glance. Of course, Akuti hadn't been her favorite wolf, she had left as well, but to hear Easy speak such a language... Valette didn't really like curse words.

"I know you are," she confirmed. "I bet he will need you just as much," she grinned. She then remembered that she should explain her something about bison hunting. "Alright, shall we go and see if there are some bison around?," she questioned then.

feel free to fade with your post!! :D

"Sorry, Aunt Val," said Easy, ducking her head as soon as she realized her mistake. Daddy didn't approve of foul language, either - at least, not when it was applied to other wolves. But it seemed as though her elder was willing to gloss over that point, so Easy was glad to consider herself forgiven.

Her chest puffed out in pride when Valette said that her dad would need her - Easy knew it, of course, but it was still cool to hear it from others. "I'm right behind you!" she agreed, obviously up for anything Valette wanted to do. She was cool, and that meant Easy wanted to be just like her.

But with more swear words.