Ocean's Breath Plateau sunny days that i thought would never end

aditya and kitimat, side by side, went searching for @Katmai this morning. neither of them had been able to sleep, and so, they had hatched a plan to snag the youth and go for an adventure around the plateau.

dadaji, why were they gone so long? kitimat asked him.

it took a while for him to formulate the answer, but by the time they had reached where katmai was sleeping soundly, curled up near dutch and valiant, he perhaps had something to suffice.

sometimes wolves go away for a while, adi murmured. he crept forward, nudging the other boy gently to rouse him. they still love us all the same.

he could not guess as to why they had been away so long—but they were back, and that was what mattered.

Katmai had slept for a very long time, curled up against his mother and father.

It was strange to be back home. First and foremost because it wasn't exactly home to him — he'd spent precious little time here before setting off to find his father, and that "cousin" he'd never gotten the chance to meet. But it smelled like home; like his mother and father and siblings. And it sounded like home, save for the distant crash of the waves and the much more present cry of the gulls.

Still. It was hard to trust in the peace and safety that it seemed to promise, even if the presence of his family was far more interesting to focus on. He was grateful, then, when he was given no time at all to stew in his worries. Instead, there was Kitimat and dadaji.

"Good morning," he yawned, while his father startled awake much more sharply behind him. He climbed awkwardly to his paws and immediately tried to tackle his brother, unaware of the stark difference between their frames. He was sickly thin, his growth just slightly stunted by the malnutrition he'd suffered during these formative months. Doubtlessly, he would gain the height and weight he'd been lacking in quickly enough.

For the moment, the sight made Dutch sick with shame.

kitimat and katmai grappled, while dutch blinked sleepily—with a look on his face that aditya knew all too well.

all is well, beta, he murmured, drawing his muzzle toward the right temple of his son's face in a gentle caress. you're all home. that's what matters.

then he turned to the boys, face split in a grin. who wants to go explore the beach? he asked. kitimat fell off his brother with a wag of his tail, yipping approval.

nothing brought guys together more than looking for shiny things to show off.

Katmai, of course, was filled with boundless enthusiasm at the mention of the beach. He couldn't remember having been there, himself, though some half-formed ideas of what it looked like still lingered. "Yes!" he cheered, his tail wheeling from where Kitimat had him pinned to the ground.

"Just watch him closely," Dutch murmured to Aditya, hoping the boys were not listening. "He tires quickly."

And it was no wonder, looking at the state of him. He was far too thin, even if he was better fed than his father and uncle. He succeeded in wiggling his way out from under Kitimat and came to bite at his father's face.

"I'll be okay, baba," he assured the man, his young voice earnest and kind. He had heard, apparently, but it slid off like duck on a water's back, or something. In the next moment, he whirled around and reared back on his hind legs to attack Aditya's face as well.

adi nodded solemnly to dutch's request, though his mouth quirked in a half-smile at katmai's insistence. he knew quite well that wolves this age had infinite energy, even in the worst of times. he reared slightly back, dodging his grandson's blows, and shook his head.

all right, theek hai! aditya declared, laughing. chalo, then.

the trio walked on to the shore, kitimat practically glued to his brother's side. kitty was a boy of few words, and was even now—but there was no denying the joy that reverberated through the child at katmai's return, and the grandfather smiled to see it.

when they reached the beach, adi looked them over, eyes shifting between the two. find me the prettiest seashell you can, he instructed, eyes twinkling with mirth. let's see if we can have a nice collection to trade with our inland neighbors, who don't know such beauty.

kitimat shot off, with katmai surely soon to follow.