Dawnlark Plains I come bearing news.

AW but... @Grayday and Tag Myself. At border.

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He had found little luck in the Phoenix Maplewood. Valette had informed him that she last heard that the pack would be splitting into two and moving over into the Maplewood. But when he arrived there, despite their linging scents he found no true members of Morningside. Though he did meet a young lady the mission Valette had sent him on was for members of Morningside. So Howl traveled to the pack's borders, hoping to ask a few question and inform them of new news at Easthollow. He called out to Grayday and Pema, the leaders, but wasn't opposed to the appearance of the other members.

Grayday recognized the voice that called to him from the borders. It struck a melancholy chord in the male, who still sometimes wondered if Cat would be taken away from him and the kids. Too, it brought back memories of Heartha's death, and of how helpless he'd been when confronted with Howl's anguish. When he'd left the pack behind, Grayday hadn't tried to stop him, but he still thought of the male every now and then.

"Howl," he greeted, arriving on the borders at a stiff-legged gait, his posture defensive but not unfriendly. He wasn't sure why the other male had come, or if he was still angry about the things that had come to pass both at the cuesta and upon the plateau.

The first one to greet him was Grayday, no surprise there as he had been the alpha of the pack when Howl was a member. Howl dipped his head in greeting, not knowing of Grayday's lack of vision, "Greetings Grayday." he said in a friendly voice. He wasn't sure if there was still any bad blood between the two. There never really was but when Heartha died Howl hadn't been himself when he lashed out. He hoped Grayday knew that and hadn't taken it personally.

"I was sent by Valette to check in on Morningside and to deliver some news from Easthollow."  he said stating his business. With Pema and others of the pack coming to visit now and then he wasn't sure if his presence in Easthollow had been passed down to Grayday.

He sounded friendly any unphased - something Grayday was willing to take at face value, since he'd never known Howl to dabble in duplicity in the past. Apparently, it was all water under the bridge. That was a relief, since Grayday felt the same way.

"We have some news as well," Grayday said with a wag of his tail, belatedly remembering that he had known that Howl was an Easthollower, now. It was good to know that they were still family, even it was more distant, now. "But you go first - how is everyone over there?"

Howl took a mental sigh of relief when Grayday went along with their exchange just as he had. It sounded as though Howl would have some additional news to relay back to Valette other than just the reason as to why the pack wasn't in Maplewood, but Howl would have to go first. He thought of two pieces of information that Morningside should know, one much more delightful than the other. The thought to lead with the good news,  "We are doing alright. The big news is that Valette is expecting."  he said with a friendly voice. Then he remembered what Valette asked him to replay specifically.  "Oh... And she has a new mate by the name of Stark." he stated a bit more common. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about Stark. He didn't have anything bad to say about that man, but also nothing overly good about him either. 

"That's wonderful!" said Grayday, who had hoped the news would be something like this, and not something sad or terrible that he'd have to do something about. They'd had enough of that for a lifetime, lately. Although - he did wonder about this Stark fellow. Was he good enough for Valette? Grayday thought her taste in men sometimes left something to be desired. Steady had been a good one, but it wasn't as though he'd been her first choice.

Hmm. Something to think about.

"My wife, Catori, just gave birth to a litter of our own," he shared, tail wagging. "Two boys and a girl. Winterbourne, Eventide, and Kasatka." He didn't expect the names to actually get passed along, though. They were something of a mouthful, and Grayday had trouble enough remembering them himself.

So Valette's pups would have a few friends their age just a short trip away. 3 in fact, Winterbourne, Eventide and Kasatka. Though their names didn't quite roll off the tongue Howl still thought their names were quite interesting sounding. Howl had never meet Catori before, but if Grayday had chosen her as his wife she must have been a good wolf. "Well congratulations to you both."  he said nodding his head to Grayday.

He tried to think of other things that Howl should tell Grayday before asking his own set of questions. Nothing came up for him, other than the death of Murdock. But he thought that Grayday had already learned his news. None the less Howl thought he would offer is condolences. But perhaps this wasn't the best time, not just after congratulating him on his new litter of pups.

"Part of the reason Valette sent me over here was to see how Morningside was settling into Maplewood. But when I sent there I only detected faint traces of your pack. Are you still planning on moving part of your pack to that area?"  he asked.

Grayday cocked his head to the side, confused about why Howl thought they were occupying the Maplewood rather than the plains. "Looks like we got our wires crossed," said Grayday, pausing a moment to wonder what wires were, and how that related to their current confusion. "We live mostly in the plains here, but we do some hunting in the woods. Make sure to send any visitors to the plains first, though."

 

OOC: I'll just finish this up. Let me know if you rather play it through and I can edit.

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So it would seem that there had been some miscommunication somewhere down the line. Howl wasn't sure where Valette had gotten her information, but she would be happy to know the true location of the Morningside pack, as well as learn that whoever had told her got it wrong. He didn't want to throw anyone under the bus but it was good to know that some scouts were better than others.

"I see there must have been some confusion there. I will be sure to clear that up with Valette." he said. After that, there wasn't much else to say. Both of them had finished giving each other information from their pack. Howl wanted to apologize to Day, but he could sense that the old man didn't take it personally. The situation was understood, though it hadn't been pleasant. 

They finished up by saying their respective goodbyes and wishing each other a fair well.