Firestone Hot Springs Goin' Round The Mountain

Chaska recalled having passed by these springs before. He had always wanted to come here, yet he never had. He could never recall why he hadn't. Now that he was here, he found one reason why. While he had not aged well with hearing and his sight could have been better, his sense of smell still stuck with him. His nose wrinkled at the smell of the springs. 

"Glad I never came here before" he muttered to himself, and he went about looking around. He could only just see the mountain, but sight from was somewhat blurred, like the haze of a heated day. He gave the mountain one last look over before he started to move through the springs.

@Grayday

Grayday was at the hotsprings with @Lavender when he heard a familiar voice. His ears pricked curiously, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard the voice before... unless - but it couldn't be!

He promised Lavender he'd be right back and trotted toward the sound, ears pushed forward atop his head. "Chaska?" he called, hardly daring to believe what his ears were telling him. "Is that you, buddy?"

Chaska's ears flicked. He thought he heard someone. It was somewhat familiar, but he had grown hard of hearing. He turned his head slightly, peering past the hotsprings. That's when he spotted a sight for sore eyes. 

"Grayday?" He walked closer, trying to spot him out. "Grayday, that you?!" He continued to walk till he almost slipped in a hotspring, and swore loudly, shaking one of his rear paws. He didn't like the water against some old wounds.

It was him! "Chaska!" he said with a happy shout, bounding toward the blurry silhouette of the other man. "It's you! I thought I'd never see you again!"

He barrelled gently into the older male, covering his aged face with happy, apologetic licks. "Chaska, I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me for what I've done to you. We should never have turned you away."

Chaska turned about, only to suddenly see someone bounding for him. He was about to get in a defensive stance, thinking it someone else before he saw it was Day. He stood still, receiving Grayday's apologetic licks. 

It made him chuckle a bit. "Forgive you? Day, I forgave you before I was turned away." He knew very well it was his own fault for what had happened. "I'm glad to see a friendly-" He cut off, upon seeing something about Grayday that made him step back. When did he had one eye? "I...I see we've both earned many scars since then..." He glanced down into the spring he had almost slipped in, the reflection of his now many scars.

He was forgiven - Grayday accepted this and put the past behind him, ears perking as he heard Chaska draw in a breath. What was - Oh. "Ha!" Grayday laughed. "I wouldn't know, to tell you the truth. I can't see worth a damn, anymore. You smell like you could use a good meal, though. Where are you staying?" he asked brightly, tail wagging. "Will you come and meet my family? We live not far from here. Sunny and Dawn are still with me - Dawn's married, now! She was a baby the last time you saw her, wasn't she?"

Suddenly, Grayday was not sure Chaska had met Dawn at all.

Chaska slowly nodded, glad Grayday could laugh it off despite missing an eye. If it were himself, well he would be in constant fear of what he could not see. "Yes, I could..." He shook out his fur as he listened, and he was most surprised to hear then ews about Dawn. "Dawn? Your little girl has a mate now? Grayday, you lucky man. So, is he worthy of the might Day?" He thought about having pups one day, but he did not know that for his body, it was an impossibility.

Grayday grinned. There were days he couldn't quite believe it, either. But Dawn was all grown up, now, and it didn't seem so very odd to him anymore than she should have a mate, as well.

"He's a good man," Grayday replied. "Part of the family. She couldn't have chosen better, in my opinion."

He liked Aditya, and hoped that the pair would soon get to the business of making grandkids for him. He wasn't even sure they'd consumated their mateship yet, so that could be quite a long ways off. But it was fun to daydream about Dawn's kids running around, pulling on his ears and tail.

Chaska was glad to hear that Dawn had gotten a good man. "And Sunny? Does he have someone yet, or is he still waiting for the right woman?" He recalled the times romance had struck him. Once when he tried to play matchmaker, and the other time...he frowned slightly upon thinking of that. That, and Easthollow.

"Easthollow...how is it?" He paused for a moment. "Is Steady still angry at me?"

Grayday shrugged. Sunny hadn't seemed to settle down yet, but Grayday got the feeling he was pining over someone. The male had to guess it was Keoni, considering how taken the boy had always seemed with his cousin, but he'd never asked. He figured Sunny would come to him if he wanted to talk about it.

"Still unattached," he decided, going for the simplest answer.

There was no simple answer for Chaska's next question. "Ah, Chas," said Grayday uncomfortably, not sure what else to say on the subject. "I don't think he ever hated you. He was just hurt, you know? But Chaska... Steady died. Months ago. I'm sorry to have to tell you this."

Chaska was surprised to hear that. "What? Really, no one? Surely he has had his eyes on someone...Well, he'll find someone." For Grayday had found someone, or rather multiple someone's. Chaska only knew of one, however.

His face shifted to utter shock. "Steady? He..." His face grew dark and he stomped a paw against the ground. "I should have been there...I never should have left!" He paused, for what seemed like a long time. "How....how did it happen?"

Grayday didn't know much about the circumstances surrounding Steady's death. He felt much the same way, and still felt guilty whenever he thought of the dark alpha. He'd left Valette and the kids behind, and Grayday wasn't sure it had been a good idea for the girl to run into Ezekiel's embrace so soon after what had happened, but he liked to think that they were happy, if only to alleviate his own worries.

"He was attacked. Outside the territory, I think," said Grayday, recalling only a few details. "He died at Easthollow, though." Surrounded by family, the way he should have been. "I wasn't there, either. The kids and I left a few weeks after I last spoke to you. It just... it didn't feel right anymore. I meant to go back when we left, but then... well, this pack ended up happening. There were too many of us to return."

He still wished he'd been there. Perhaps he could've done something... but he was past regretting the path that he'd chosen.

Chaska couldn't believe hearing this. "And...and Valette? Is she all right?" He doubted he would ever go back to even check up on her, if Easthollow even remained. He shook his head, he couldn't believe it. "If I had not left...if I had stayed I...I might have..." Things would have been different. So much more different.

"What about...the others?" he had to ask. What about Krypton? And the others that had still been at Easthollow. Did they still live? Was Easthollow still around? "Are they still alive?"

Grayday shrugged. He didn't know too much about Easthollow's current state of affairs. "Val was fine the last time I saw her," he supplied. And the others? "I don't think there's anyone else that you'd remember. Oh - except Keoni and Nikai."

He gave what information he could about Easthollow, but soon exhausted his supply of information. He had bigger things on his mind than how Easthollow was doing, truthfully, and it was difficult to draw on information about the other pack when he was worrying over other things.

He paused for a long while...then sighed. "I'm sorry...I really am...maybe I should make it up to her, visit her just once." Though he very much doubted an apology would help with that. "I somewhat remember them..."

"So, shall we? It has certainly been quite some time since I last saw your kids. Plus, my ventures have been...somewhat tiring." He was very much exhausted.

Grayday's blind gaze softened at Chaska's tone. "I think you should see her," he agreed. It had been some time since she'd last seen Chaska, and Grayday was sure her temper had cooled somewhat. Valette had always seemed to be a reasonable woman to him.

"Yeah," he agreed, padding toward Morningside. "Let's get on our way."

"I will...I will be sure to." And that was a promise he intended to keep. Steady had been a good friend to him. But, after Chaska had left, he wasn't sure how Valette would be to see him. No doubt, not happy with him. At all.

He followed Day, keeping beside him. "Quite proud of you Grayday...starting a pack, got a son-in-law...sure are living the life." Minus the eye problems.

In response, Grayday offered a tight smile. Times had been trying, as of late, but he wouldn't trade his life for anyone else's. The kids were all alive and well, and he and Cat were keeping everyone together. He supposed he couldn't complain.

The pair swung around to pick up Lavender before heading back to the plateau. Chaska would stay a couple days before heading out on his way.