Stone Circle No, sir, I don't mess around.

Day laid in a patch of bare, muddy soil, snoozing lightly in the late-morning sun. He'd finished his morning rounds not too long ago, and although there were plenty of things he knew he'd need to get done, he thought they could wait until later. It was time for him to follow the Doctor's orders and take it easy for a day. Well... for a few hours, at least.

So he laid in the weak, cloud-filtered sunlight, trying to absorb as much of its warmth as he could. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and steady, but his ears - ramrod straight and incessantly twitching - belied his restless nature.

ever since wren had been accepted into easthollow, she had been quietly contributing to the pack by the little things such as patrolling and hunting. however, she still hadn't been able to find a suitable den, and whenever she slept, she found a flimsy shelter and hoped her fur would keep her warm enough to survive the night. wren had always been an exeptionally independent creature, surprising for a wolf, and she hated asking for help even though she knew she needed it. so she survived by herself - her inherent shyness forbiding herself from interacting with her packmates, and her individualistic tendecies further increasing this unhealthy independence.

today, wren had just finished her morning patrol and was wandering through easthollow, mentally mapping down the landscape. however, halfway through doing so, she got pulled into one of her numerous and intense daydreams. she didn't notice the branch in front of her until it was too late, and with a loud crash, she toppled over into the freezing white snow. little did she know that in front of her lay the gray furred beta that she'd met some days before, and that she might've accidetally woken him up from his well-deserved nap.

Day jumped up at the sound of the crash, and at once, his eyes were drawn to a flurry of movement to his left. It looked like an avalanche to his weathered eyes, all white and motion with few defining features. But it was too small to be an avalanche, and on flat ground besides. In that moment, it was just strange and unnatural, and Day's hackles rose as he let out a loud, warning snarl.

And then, promptly, began to feel very stupid. Because it was just that white yearling he'd already met. He knew first because that's what his nose told him, and second because, when he looked a bit more closely, he could see that the tiny avalanche was actually a wolf.

"You alright?" he asked, realizing - finally - that she'd pitched forward. Tripped.

she fell face first into the snow. bitterly, she was about to let out a loud sigh, muzzle still buried in the cold when she heard a loud warning snarl. immediately, her muscles tensed and she stiffened, eyes widening as a fear coursed through her veins. wren remained still, not wanting to provoke any unwanted attention from the stranger or whoever the hostile creature was. plus, maybe if she didn't move, whoever it was would go away and leave her alone. 

however, instead, the creature moved towards her. and then she realised the creature was grayday, the beta of the pack that she'd met when she first joined easthollow. instantly, like the grayscale male in front of her, she began to feel very stupid and quickly straightened up, clearing her throat loudly in an effort to clear her reddening cheeks from the hot embarassment that threatened to consume her. 

"sorry," she mumbled, looking at the ground.

Seeing that he'd scared her just as much as she'd scared him, Day backed off, lying back down in the shallow he'd dug for himself. He hated to think how he must've seemed, menacing at a woman just because he'd been disturbed. He didn't want to be thought of that way.

 "No, don't be - I'm sorry," he said firmly. "I don't see well, and you startled me. I'm a dumbass, too. My first thought was 'tiny avalanche'. And I growled at it."

Day waited a beat, hoping she'd see the humor in the situation and open up a bit.

she watched with carefully averted eyes as grayday backed off quickly and lay back down on the shallow hole he had just been sleeping in moments ago, before wren's clumsiness had woken him up. immediately, the girl felt a strong twinge of guilt and she swallowed thickly, velvety white ears flattening against her cranium in shame. she avoided his gaze, though when he started speaking and apologised, she quickly interrupted. "no, i'm sorry. i woke you up from your nap - i'm sorry," wren blurted out, then realised her mistake, bowed her head and murmured yet another apology. "sorry."

wren managed a small, shy smile at grayday's words and shuffled her weight between her two paws. "it's okay," she said quietly, "i was a bit clumsy."

The girl still insisted on apologizing, and Day, wanting her to feel at peace, decided to simply accept. "All's forgiven," he assured her, tail whisking through the dirt. "Wasn't really napping, anyway. It's hard to relax when I know how much I still need to get done today."

Even just saying those words made him want to jump up and get started, but he remained in his lowered position, not wanting to rise and risk further alarm from the yearling. It seemed like, no matter what he did, it only caused the poor girl to fret. "You seem nervous," he commented, ears swivelling uncertainly. He was pretty sure mentioning it wouldn't put her at ease, but maybe he could get to the bottom of why he was upsetting her.

his words set her at ease - well, mostly. wren felt guilty nonetheless, but had decided to put her distress to a side given that he didn't seem to mind that much and well, he was also at fault anyhow. if they both decided to forget and forgive, then all was well. wren smiled softly at him and simply nodded in agreement, her ears slowly lifting from the base of her skull whilst her muscles relaxed ever so slightly. grayday didn't seem to be a bad wolf; he seemed like a genuinely nice person, and a part of her wanted to get to know him better whilst the other part was still wary, rightfully so, given that though they were in the same pack, wren barely knew him, and he barely knew her.

he commented on her nervousness and wren simply smiled in response, averting her gaze. "sorry," she apologised, "i'm just very bad with strangers and people i don't know. it's not personal...i just find it hard to talk to them if i don't know them, i suppose. i don't really know," she shrugged, unsure of how to continue.

The beta's ears flickered indecisively as he took this in. He was glad that it wasn't him in particular that made her so nervous, but it was sad to see such a young wolf so stunted and withdrawn. Part of him thought it would be best if he just closed his eyes and let her get on with her day in peace, but Day was a doer. A fixer. And there had to be something he could do to fix this.

"Let's go hunting," he said, the words more command than suggestion as he lurched back onto his paws. "C'mon - I have to go and check the meadow next to ours, anyway. We might as well make ourselves useful and bring dinner home on the way back."

There was a family of wild turkeys that he'd sniffed out on his way back into the territory with Remy. If there were enough, Day thought they might be herded into Easthollow territory, to be kept as an easy meal when times got tough.