Morningside Cuesta can't touch this

 
after her adventure on the mountains, Dawn had decided it ought to be best to stick closer to home- for a time. while adventure still called to her -how fun was it to do the things she really shouldn't- she knew how it frayed her father's nerves, and she was hardly completely inconsiderate. so she decided rather than get herself into another bad situation, it would do her well to find her pack members- perhaps the moody @Hawthorn, or the other boy- @Kieran Adrien. They had to be around her age, and they interested her- though she had not seen them since Da had said that they ought to stay here.

thus she wandered the territory that was not-exactly theirs, but she still thought of it as such. she did not care exactly who she found- justed hoped that someone interesting would chance upon her path.

Kieran had been slightly happier after his chat with Hawthorn. The other boy understood - like no one else did. He had given the former heir back the little spark he needed to go on. Even if that wouldn't last forever. Despite his mood improving a little amount, the boy was not very active in contributing to the pack. He still wanted to be a counselour, a therapist, but he needed more time to adjust to living without his mother (she was up in the stars now, hopefully watching him) and his sister. Where his Sorrel was, he did not know. He only hoped that he would find his only sibling soon.

When he came across the figure of Dawn, a pup that he had not yet met, he was not quick to approach. Instead he hesitated, watching her for a moment. He resisted the urge to leave and instead forced himself to go and say hello, even if it was brief.

"Hi," he said simply, his large form padding closer. He stopped and tilted his head a little distance away, but close enough to talk without shouting. "It's Dawn, right?" What was he to do know? He didn't really feel up to having a long, playful conversation with her, but he thought that he might as well do something. And what was there to do right now?

mud, like socks, coated her limbs. the earth was unpredictable, she found- at times solid beneath her paws, and then a mushy mess. not that she cared- vanity was the least of her concerns. her search did not continue much longer, however, for soon the form of another came into view- pausing, waiting for it to come nearer, she noted it to be the boy, the one a little younger than her- Kieran. he paused a short distance away, greeting her, to which she replied with a nod. 

"You're Kieran, right?" she echoed, grin tugging at the corner of her maw for a moment as she beheld the boy. not waiting too long for an answer, for she already knew her question to be correct, she asked of him, "How do you like it here so far?" 

Kieran watched as the other looked at him, then perked his ears forward as she spoke. The words she said made the pup give a barely audible hmpff as a small smile crossed his face. She had humour, at least. 

Then she asked a question, and the agouti boy shrugged his shoulders. He had had far too many failed homes before, and currently this one did not yet feel any different. It would probably fail him like the others had. Maybe one day he would come to love this land, but for now he was defensive and not willing to settle. "Doesn't feel like home yet..." He replied as a hint of sadness was evident in his tone of voice - or perhaps it was his eyes. He thought back briefly to his most recent home, where his mother's grave still lay. Boy how he missed her.

Her brow furrowed in the slightest. "Well-"  she begun, for she did not know what to say to someone who didn't feel at home quite yet. she didn't exactly feel at home, but she had Da and Sunny, and that was good enough. She did not know exactly who the boy's family was, which she found odd...she thought Hawthorn was his brother at first, but he seemed older- she wasn't quite sure where the boys fit in amongst the group.

never the less, an idea came to find. "Do you want to explore with me? Maybe it'd feel more homey if you knew it better?"  she suggested with a tilt of her head. she had traversed a lot of territory since arriving, but she hadn't seen everything- a thought came to mind a moment later. "Have you seen the Drop?"  she didn't know what it's name was, if any, but that's what she called it- the point of the territory where the ground simply dropped away.
she had hardly been close, yet, though.

He did not blame Dawn for not knowing what to say - after all, he found it difficult to know what to say a lot of the time too. "S-sorry.... I didn't mean to bring down the... mood." Kieran shuffled uncomfortably on his paws, twitching his tail. He said nothing for a bit, only looking up at the other pup again once she spoke at last.

"I.... don't think it would make me feel any more at home," he mumbled something under his breath. "But it's worth a try, I guess." The boy did not yet have faith in the land, and he also did not believe that Dawn could change that, but she could give it a go. Kieran just didn't trust anywhere yet. He had lost every single home he'd ever had, as well as family along the way; he had not known any better. He didn't know you could have a safe home that lasted for a long time.

he was quite the pessimist, she realised, though it did not deter her. Kieran had a heaviness to him, a heaviness that made him so much older, even if they were the same age. she wondered of it, but as a question bit at her muzzle, she decided it would be unwise to ask it. she buried the question, for now, and with a flick of her tail gestured that he ought to follow. "C'mon, then," she said with a small smile, her normal enthusiasm to explore a little subdued. 

should he follow, Dawn would lead the boy to the drop, which ought to only take a few moments. the last few meters she leapt ahead, before falling back a little warily. rather impressed with the sight of the land simply stopping away a few meters before them, she looked back to Kieran with a question in her gaze. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

Kieran nodded, following just a little behind Dawn. He inhaled, biting his lip in confusion. He wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be happy and cheerful - he had promised himself that he wouldn't allow himself to act like this. Yet, here he was. The boy had wanted to be therapist, right? Well then, he needed to stop being so down. He wasn't the only one in pain. His father, Sylvas, was too. And Hawthorn. Heck, Haw had left his sister to come and be with Kieran. But then again, his sister had never liked Kieran and she had wanted to go her own way.

As they approached the 'Drop', Kieran attempted to give a smile, nodding to her. "Yeah," he replied, flicking his tail. With a guilty expression he turned to look at Dawn. "Look, I'm sorry for being so miserable. I just miss my... family. Y'know, you're lucky to still have your brother." Perhaps she might see that he was pained from something that had not happened all that long ago. Of course, it was doubtful that she knew of his mother, but he was hinting at his sister. "This place is cool."

the boy, oddly, made her uncomfortable in the slightest. perhaps it was the heavy air that he seemed to carry, or the sadness that he seemed to always portray. she attempted to ignore this feeling, for a time, but when she looked back to him now, with his soft-spoken apology, speaking of a feeling she did not have for any member of her family. she did not miss the woman she had never really known, and even now faded from her memory. 

as she looked to Kieren, she was reminded suddenly of the conversation she had had with Heartha. His mother, gone to a better place. obviously, he would be sad- his mother must not have left him willingly. "I heard about your Ma. I'm sorry, Kieran."  she said in a subdued tone, rare for the girl. She settled on her haunches, looking to him with a tilt of her head. " You know, my Ma's gone, too. Only she left us, when we were little. I don't think she liked us much." she said in a surprisingly steady voice. she had no proof of the fact, but why else would she leave? In Dawn's mind, lacking all the experience of adulthood, that was the feasible explanation.

He had indeed noticed that there was no mother for Dawn and Sunny, but he had not known what happened to their family. "I'm sorry too, Dawn. I guess... I guess that most families are broken in some way. I may not have my mother or my sister, but I should be happy that I still have my father. And Hawthorn, too. He may not be my real brother, but he sure as hell is my best friend." He paused, flicking his tail, before opening his mouth to continue. "And you have Sunny and your father. We're not completely alone... Besides, I guess we kind of have each other. We're packmates, pretty much, after all."

They weren't exactly a pack yet, but it was safe to assume that they would indeed be living within the same borders for a while. And they had things in common - he, Dawn, Sunny and Hawthorn had no mother. Hawthorn's had abandoned him and his sister (taking their other littermates) and then vanished, Kieran's mother had passed and his sister had gone missing, and Dawn and Sunny's mother had left them. Perhaps they had other siblings, too, but he didn't feel like it was right to ask, especially in case it was a touchy subject.

He moved a little bit closer, smiling at Dawn. "I promise I'll stop being such a grump now." the boy let out a small chuckle, giving the girl a comforting grin. "Besides, I have to admit... this place is pretty awesome."