Lost Creek Hollow lions in winter

It it were anyone but Adeline, Day might've been frustrated by the frequent stops and starts they were taking. As it was, he was simply pleased to have her all to himself. This was less of a scouting trip and more of a field trip, since Grayday had already scoped out the hollow a few times before. So when she turned to peer into his eyes, he merely stopped as well, holding still enough for her to see what she was looking for. He was used to people looking when he brought it up, and sometimes even when he didn't.

What caught him was her question. He remembered telling her about his eyes when he'd first met her - although, she'd been very young, then, and it was possible she'd forgotten. Still, she knew that he'd gone to Donnelaith to seek a remedy to his fading vision. Maybe she thought it would cure him completely. Day had certainly hoped so.

"I'm going blind, greeneyes," he said simply. "The healer I talked to gave me some advice to slow it down, but time keeps marching on. I've got some good years still left in me, but..." He laughed, then, to fight the bitter taste that'd welled up in his throat. "I don't even know what you look like anymore," he admitted. "Or the kids. I think the last time I saw you clearly, you only came up to my shoulder."

It hurt to know he would never see the beauty he'd always known Adeline would become. In some ways, it hurt even more than being unable to see his own children grow up. He'd never known what Sunny and Dawn looked like, but he'd seen Adeline when she was just a cub, had watched her learn and play. It seemed strange to look at her now, this red-gold-brown blur, and know that it would only get worse from here.

But he didn't need to see her to know that she was beautiful, and on days like this, it was enough just to know.