Blacktail Deer Plateau then I need help here with this feather

Set to the 11th!

It was midday when they finally made it back, and Dawn was a little worse for wear. Tired, hungry and sore, she drew up the plateau with @Sunny at her side, stopping at the border. She sighed with relief, for the pace to and from Easthollow had been gruelling, and the mountains hadn't been kind to her bad paw. She sat, tail sweeping the ground behind her in tired gladness, gaze falling on Sunny with a light happiness at finally being home. Bunching her shoulders, she tilted back her muzzle and let out a call for @Grayday specifically, wanting him to be the first to meet them here, as she shuddered at the energy it would take to tell the entire story to some other interested party. She straightened, wanting to seem fresh and alert for whatever might come next, peering impatiently into the territory to await her father's arrival.

Sunny would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling it. He was hungry and his muscles hurt pretty bad, but he still seemed in a bit better shape than Dawn. He trailed a ways behind her but pushed himself into a loping jog when he smelled Morningside's borders. Coming to a stop beside her, he returned the smile with one of his own and eagerly awaited his father's appearance.

Meanwhile he gave the borders a quick sniff finding there to be a lot of new scents mixed in with the old, and he found himself eager to meet everyone within the pack.

The howl woke Grayday from a dead sleep; in an instant, he was awake and on his paws, "Dawn!" bubbling up from his chest in an excited shout. He'd been worried sick over her, even though he knew her paws were well-seasoned, by now. Anything could happen, after all, and that was only his worries over her physical health.

He'd experienced no small amount of trepidation over how the 'talk' with her brother might go.

But he needn't have worried. When he got to the borders, he was greeted by the sight of not one, but two beloved and well-missed children. "Sunny," he said dumbly, stopping short. He drank in the sight of his missing son before his eyes darted gratefully toward his daughter. "Dawn," he cooed, finally approaching and tackling them both in a typical Graydad glomp. "My babies!" he laughed, attempting to wrestle them both to the floor, like they used to play when they were little.

When her father first approached, she felt a sudden stab of doubt at her decision. Perhaps she had been wrong, a bad idea altogether; things ought to have stayed as they were. But her doubt became certainty in an instant when he rushed them, joy written all over his features as he wrestled them to the ground as they used to when they had been a whole, together. Dawn couldn't help it, her body gave an excited wiggle as it had when they were pups, and she whined excitedly, allowing her father to wrestle her over and aimed a few light nips and lunges at him, happiness written in her face and her wagging tail.

Sunny stood there holding his breathe as he waited for their father to arrive. He imagined his father looking sad and distraught, maybe even tired and ill but what he saw instead made him laugh. His dad looked the same as ever though when his gaze turned to Sunny, he thought he saw shock written across his dad's features. tilting his head to the side he was about to speak when his dad shot forward and tackled them both. He yipped softly and gave into the play, happiness washing away all the doubt and regret that he had been feeling up to this point.


He squirmed and rolled away from the pile, jumping to his paws and leaping back toward the pile. He reared up slightly and pawed at his dad before pouncing and nipping at his shoulder and ears, his tail wagging behind him. With a mischievous growl he lowered his head and gave Dawn's ear a quick tug and then hopped away laughing loudly.

After a few minutes of rambunctious play, the father had finally spent enough of his energy to turn his attention to talk. "How did this happen? I glad to see you, kiddo, but I gotta admit - I didn't expect this at all!"

He gave his son a kiss on the cheek, and then turned to give Dawn the same treatment. Had they reached an understanding? Day was afraid to ask, lest he say something to ruin what felt like a very fragile peace. Still, he couldn't stop himself from looking between the two of them in hapless and adoring wonder. It'd been so long since he'd seen his first litter standing together, like the siblings that they had been. That they were.

"How long can you stay?" he asked the boy, not wanting to give them time to think about how much they'd hurt each other. "At least rest a while, and say hi to your brother and sisters, and have soemthing to eat," he fussed, thinking that they both looked a bit tired and worn.

She looked to her father, answering truthfully, "I asked him to come back. I guess - I guess we've grown; I didn't want to hate him anymore." It is the simple answer, but she doesn't want to probe into the web of emotions and logic herself, and thus doesn't expand on her answer. Quite suddenly, she blurts, not wanting to forget, "We met your brother. We met Murdock." There was a hint of irrational unease with her, until her father confirmed that he knew that name she wasn't sure if she completely believed the relation existed. She fell silent, gaze sliding to Sunny as she waited for his input.

It kinda stung that his father didn't expect him to come when he was needed and for a few moments Sunny just sat there in silence. He didn't speak until Dawn had said she met Murdock. "Of course I would come dad....I was told that the pups were upset about Akuti leaving, I don't want them to turn out like me and Dawn did even though we're gonna try to fix that"  he gave Dawn a look that said Right?. He gave a hesitant wag of his tail "Murdock is in Easthollow, I didn't know he was related. I said your name and everything but he never mentioned a relation" he said trying to be helpful.

Grayday shot Dawn a look of mixed emotions at this confession. He hadn't wanted to ask Sunny to come back - part of him felt as though he didn't have the right. But he couldn't be mad at Dawn for doing so, and he certainly couldn't help feeling grateful that he'd come even if it was through his daughter's coercion. Maybe... maybe they'd be a family again. Maybe they'd fix whatever had gone wrong between the three of them, and maybe they'd cobble together something good for the youngest three of their blood.

They were the only ones left, after all. Sunspot had gone and -

"Murdock?" said Grayday, aghast. He almost couldn't quite believe his ears - hadn't he just dreamed about the older male? It seemed too good to be true that he could be in these parts right now, but he didn't know of any other reason why Dawn would know that name. Unless Sunspot had said something... but no. They'd discussed their siblings briefly, and Grayday got the feeling that there was something unfinished between Spot and Mur. Whatever it was, she hadn't been interested in talking about him any more than she had to.

"Everyone named their sons Grayday, where I come from," he explained, wobbling a bit and then, finally, sitting down as he tried to process this information. "He mightn't'a known..."

Her father's words led her to believe that he was a little doubtful about what she had to say, so she continued with what other information she could gather about the male. "His father's name was Mud. He wondered about you." She was a little subdued, wishing that she had spent perhaps a little more time with the male before whisking Sunny away, but the knowledge that she could always return to Easthollow eased the heaviness in her chest.

Their father looked quite shocked by the information but Sunny couldn't blame him. All that time at Easthollow with Murdock as a member and Sunny had no idea who the male was. It was kind of a lot to absorb even for him. Sunny's train of though was somewhat following Dawn's though and he gave a few small twitches of his tail "Well....um...Valette would let you visit him if you wanted? She told me I was welcome back any time so...if you don't wanna make the journey maybe me and Dawn could go try to get him?" he suggested trying to be somewhat helpful in the situation.

Grayday didn't know if he wanted to see Murdock again. So much had changed, and if his failed attempt at reconnecting with Sunspot was anything to go by, it wasn't all for the better. But he'd just begged Dawn to go and see her brother, and now the two were standing in front of him, trying to patch their broken relationship. He couldn't exactly tell the two of them that there was nothing left to be said between the brothers.

"I'll go and see him," he said. He'd wanted to go and see Valette, anyway. She'd had new pups on the way the last time he'd been by, and still some things left on Grayday's mind that he needed to get off his chest. Valette was more a sibling to him at this point than Sunspot or Murdock. "When the kids are a bit older. Maybe we'll go as a family, and they can meet Valette's pups." He looked in askance at Sunny, anxiety eating at his stomach. "Unless - " He swallowed the question he'd been about to ask. "Is she well?" Had the curse struck again?

Dawn dipped her muzzle; a family outing to Easthollow didn't sound quite as exciting as roving around the wilds, but it was travel all the same. Her gaze turned to Sunny, next, unable to answer confidently. The woman had certainly been alive, and she doubted Sunny would have said nothing, or even left, should she not have been well.

Closing this up, since Sunny went inactive.

Assured that Valette and the kids were all doing well, Grayday finally led his children deeper into the territory. The family whiled away a few more hours catching up and resting before eventually going their separate ways. That night, Grayday slept better than he had in a long time, knowing that all his children were near and safe. He'd spent a long time wondering if his fractured family could ever be repaired, but today, it was beginning to feel whole again.