Blacktail Deer Plateau he ain't heavy

@Grayday

It had been a pleasure, these past few days. With the implication that he would be invited more permanently into the fold with time, Shale had stayed on the plateau, waiting for the return of Grayday and his scouting party. In the meantime, he had made himself as useful as he could--hunting small game for the caches and all that. It felt good to be a small part of something again.

Picking his way through the thick forest in the east of the territory, Shale found himself filled with contentment for the first time. Even without Day here, he had met some wonderful souls, including his own blood relatives--his nieces! It had been a delight.

The gray man sat in a small clearing, eyes closed momentarily as he took in the sounds of the small woods. The moon was a mere sliver in the sky that night, so the light filtering through the trees was sparse and the forest was quite dark. Rather than finding it spooky, Shale thought it was. . .peaceful. Like a womb--or what he imagined a womb was like--save very cold, rather than warm.

He hadn't known what he wanted while on the journey to Morningside, but he had finally made up his mind upon being here, being among these people. He wanted this, he wanted to stay--if Day would have him.