Heron Lake Plateau spare dad

Eljay's face lit up even further when Owen appeared. Maybe it was because Owen was awkward, like Eljay, or maybe it was because of all the pups, Owen had treated Eljay the most like a big brother or a spare father than any of the others; but somehow, they'd always been the closest. Eljay's tail wagged happily even though Owen's greeting was a little half-hearted and seemingly surprised. Why would he be surprised to see Eljay visit? He'd promised, hadn't he? Of course I'm back. I promised to visit, didn't I? Eljay said with a soft smile. He hoped that the pups would make the visit the other way around too, if they could manage with their duties here at the Plateau. He'd love for them to meet his pups at some point, once they were born.

Not much was going on at the Plateau it seemed. How's your mother? Eljay asked, curious to see how Raven was doing. Owen asked awkwardly how Firebirds were doing and Eljay wondered if Owen was still sad about Eljay's departure. I mean, Eljay himself was still sad about it, but in the end it turned out that following his heart on that one had been a good thing for him.

Vasa told Owen to stop being weird, and Eljay interjected: Owen's not weird. Just... Uh... Different. Eljay smiled at both of them, and then decided he could no longer contain the big news: Wiffl-- uhm, Wildfire and I became mates, and we're expecting puppies soon. He just hoped Owen wouldn't think he was trying to replace him and his siblings. Eljay really hoped that they would come visit their little... whatever they would be to one another.