Redhawk Caldera [aw] another dawn

Grandpa. He loved the word, and everything about it. Eljay had been overjoyed to be a big brother so many times. He had loved watching his siblings and other pups in the pack. Becoming a father for the first time — though it was a joy that was quickly overshadowed by the death of Wildfire — had been a dream come true. And now, being a grandfather...? He wasn't sure that he would've expected to ever get here. Maia seemed to think the same.

The easy smile slipped off his face momentarily when Maia said that he hoped everyone else was happy, wherever they were. He thought fleetingly of Elfie — a thought he was quick to push out of his mind — and then of Weejay. His sweet little girl and her flower garden... He hoped that wherever she was, she was doing well, however sad he was that he didn't get to share his life with her today.

I hope so, too, he said solemnly, with a light sigh.

He shook his head when she apologised. You have nothing to apologise for, he spoke softly. I'm grateful for what we have, too. I feel so lucky that we get to see our grandchildren grow up. Eljay frowned as he finished the sentence, staring out over the lake and leaning gently into Maia's side. He hoped, at least, that he would get to see them grow into themselves all the way. It seemed every day got tougher, though at least his mind was still sharp, and he knew he'd been lucky to live a more privileged life than many others, with enough food to fill his belly for the last many years.

That made him think briefly of the famine where he had almost passed away to spare food for the rest of the pack. He felt privileged again, that they were not undergoing such a famine right now.