Stone Circle Just came to say hello

@Valette @Steph @Minnow @Aeryn @Valiant Backdated to the 19th

He brought them to a stop a few feet from the borders and he breathed in the smell of Easthollow, the familiar and unfamiliar scents making his heart race as he looked down at his kids "This is Easthollow. This is where I was born. The leader is a woman named Valette, she is like family to me" he explained to them briefly and then howled for Valette and unable to contain himself, he also called for Steph to let her know he was there.

the last time the family had gone to visit their neighbors, aeryn wasn’t as thrilled as he could’ve been. and who could blame him? no child coming to grips with the death of their mother would be in the right headspace. he was still recovering from the trauma and and that’d be the case for awhile, but at least he was more active now than he was before.

aeryn stuck to his father’s side during the majority of the trip. any place outside of elysium put him on edge and it was easy to tell by the way he was constantly curled into himself. but by the time they arrived at easthollow aeryn was alive and filled with wonder thanks to the atmosphere of the place and the territory around it. 

the boy sat next to sunny and looked up at him. i didn’t know you had more family outside of elysium, papa.

Valette lifted her head when she heard Sunny's call. She always was glad to see him, she heard that things were good for him at the moment. Valette moved to the border and realized that Sunny wasn't alone. The female approached with a light trot, her tail raised. She would show the little ones that she was in charge but her approach was very friendly. "Hello, Sunny. Who are all this?," she asked with a smile.

She adventures on her way here and saw the large wolf approach and she seemed to be nice enough. Minnow was at her dads side and her tail swayed behind her and being the brave pup that she thought she was, Minnow spoke up. “Hi!” She seemed to squeak with excitement. “I’m Minnow!”

The howl had her head popping up at almost a whiplash pace, and Steph wasted no time in heeding it. She raced to the borders, her eyes on Sunny when the group came into view. She was so excited to see him, and Minnow, again, that she could hardly contain it. She wanted to pounce him and pin him to the ground so he could not leave. But, that would be rude. Right?

She came to a stop next to her mother, her tail wagging as she smiled at Sunny, and then Minnow, and then Aeryn. Steph hadn't seen much of him in Elysium, but she was happy to see him now. Her eyes went back to Sunny, tail still wagging.

"Valette was like....a aunt. She was my dad's friend and she kinda helped raise me" he explained to Aeryn with a smile, glad to see that he was interested enough to speak up. Valette strode forward and greeted him asking who the kids were and he grinned opening his maw to reply when Steph arrived. He froze and his heart hammered inside his chest as he stared at her, wanting to step forward and embrace her but like.....that'd be weird and all in front of Valette and his kids right so he flashed her a warm smile and answered Val's question "These are my children. Aeryn, Valiant and my brave girl here already introduced herself" and then he turned and looked at Steph, a dopey smile forming as his tail slowly wagged behind him "Hiya Steph" 

Vailant hung back a bit, intimidated by meeting new wolves outside of his home. He had met Steph, but it felt like a long time ago to the young boy. And Valette, although she looked familiar with her similarity to her daughter, was a complete enigma. Still,

"Your name sounds kinda like mine," he said to the venerable woman, liking her immediately because she was a link to his father's mysterious but oh-so-interesting past. Too, there was something about her that seemed inherently trustworthy, and Valiant found himself curiously invested in ingratiating himself to her, and to Steph as well.

sorry for the hold up! feel free to skip me

aeryn didn’t have much time to react to what his father told him. he managed to chirp, oh! well, that’s nice of her. just before the lady in question and her comerade came to greet the family.

they both appeared friendly, with each offering a warm smile. as his siblings offered their own greetings, aeryn held back in his usual shy manor. a quivering smile was the best he could do.

She wagged her tail happily when Steph appeared. She was probably her favorite other wolf second to her dad of course. “Hi!” She squeaked. Minnow smiled at valiant when he stated the lady’s name sounded like his. “It does huh? Cool!”

@Minnow you skipped me!

Valette smiled at the children. "Yes it does," she responded to Valiant. The pups all seemed very cute and polite. What the mother noticed the most was that Steph and Sunny were grinning at each other like idiots. She looked from one to the other curiously and then focussed her gaze on Sunny. "Yes, you could say I am an Aunt. Steady's dad was a member of Easthollow before he founded his own. We stayed friends and then Sunny came," she explained. It was the gist of it, she didn't feel like explaining the whole story that she hadn't been pleased with Sunny's dad when he left.

He found it hard to pull his attention from Steph though he felt it was obvious and did so with a quick clearing of his throat. All three of his children took to Valette very well, something that warmed his heart. Valette explained some of their history and he smiled "My dad tried to take me away to form the pack. I ended up leaving against his directions to come back here. I did it in a bad way but my dad let me stay and I grew up here before going to Morningside, my dads pack which..which no longer exists" he told them the rest as summarized as possible, voice faltering at the end as a sharp wave of regret for Morningside hit him again. He smiled through it and looked at Steph, his tail wagging a few times before he faced Valette again "I was hoping I could show them around? We won't be here long and you know I'll always try to help fill a cache a little bit" this smile was warm, for the moment he had forgotten how Steph had told him of her little sister's attack.

The scent of new wolves around -- and of course, the presence of Valette herself -- excited Valiant to no end, but there was something else about Easthollow that kept his interest. The willows where he'd been born were so different than the bright, loud meadow they were standing in, now. It seemed like a marvelous place; he couldn't imagine that it was ever cold or soft or quiet or especially sad among the flowers and the sunshine.

"Is there anyone to play with?" he chirped, looking up at Valette with bright, curious eyes. He remembered that his aunt Dawn had brought cousins for them to play with when she'd visited, and that her aunt Lily had been in charge of some of the other pups that lived with them. Valiant could never remember which ones were his cousins and which ones were not.

I'm not sure where I am in the posting order anymore, so I'm just gonna go ahead and post? lol

Steph's tail never ceased wagging as the conversation went on, her eyes darting from the kids, to Valette, and to Sunny. But, they mostly stayed on Sunny. How had she not had feelings for him way back when? Well, she was an emotional child, and a little all over the place. Besides, Sunny had loved Keoni then. That might have bugged some females, but it didn't Steph. Sunny had his past, it was what made him who he was today. How could she not like that?

The question of playmates had Steph throwing a smile to Valette. It would be a great opportunity for her sons to let off some steam and meet some new pups around their own age. Steph didn't offer, however, as she felt it was Valette's place.

Clay continued to keep to himself after the disasterous event that was his parents teaching him how to hunt with his siblings. His brothers and sisters had been so bright, so eager to listen and please. And well, Clay... Was Clay. He had been aloof, too uncordinated and energized to pay attention to anything. He tried. He really did. But after the scolding something in the young boy had turned bitter, and the passing days only let it sit longer and solidify.

Hearing the howl didn't surprise him. It seemed like strangers were coming at all hours of the day, all days of week to meet his mama and papa. He normally wasn't afraid of such a thing—but the giant tremors did little to settle his young mind, and he was going to get the bottom of it.

Charging into the direction of the howl, Clay was met with the scene of several wolves. Two of them being his mother and big sister Steph. He didn't feel the need to announce his presence to them, but the big gasp that escaped his lungs at the sight of others probably did.

Clay didn't like it. THEY had to be the cause of the tremors. THEY were in his territory. 

Barreling downwards with a screech of "ENEMIES!", the young lad set his sight on the one that was closest to his age and his mother.

And unfortunately, Clay was not there to play as he tackled @Valiant.