Blacktail Deer Plateau coming to a close, we're down by ten.

Grayday nodded in agreement at this pronouncement; there was nothing he loved better than his children, and very little more exciting than a fresh batch of pups. It seemed that Moonstone shared this love of cubs with him. If she were just a little bit older, he might've considered assigning her the duty of playing 'mother' to the three, but it seemed cruel to steal more of her childhood, when so much had been taken from her already.

He laughed when she seemed excited by the prospect of that particular story. Although it wasn't the happy tale that Grayday would've liked to tell her, he didn't see any reason for subterfuge.

"When Heartha asked if she could whelp this year, I told her no. My pups had already been born, and more than that, we were planning to leave for this place as soon as the kids were old enough," he explained. "The place we were at wasn't a good place to spend the winter, and if Heartha whelped right then, we'd have to wait until hers were grown as well, and that would've cut things a bit close."

He laughed to himself, thinking about it all. It wasn't exactly funny, but it was strange to think about. Things seemed much better off, now, and Grayday was feeling far more generous. "She didn't listen. When her heat came, she mated with Howl, and that was that, I suppose. I was angry, but she's family. What could be done?" He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought. If he'd turned Howl away... he was part of the family, now, too. Grayday wondered what things would've been like without his stalwart presence. "Anyway - she's a bit senile. We had to forgive her. This is probably her last chance at a litter, considering her age. She stayed with us, and I moved the pack a bit early so her pups would be born here instead. Things worked out after all," the male explained, his tail wagging a bit.