Stone Circle Renegade

Any and all welcome!

Adeline had played a little on the downside for the past while, especially since Grayday's scent had returned to the pack, mixed in with a new female's scent. She had wanted him home, of course, and had said that she wanted him to bring the female. But, now that she was here, Adeline felt weird. Would the female like her? What if she didn't? Did that mean she couldn't hang with @Grayday anymore?

She sighed as she made her way through the forest. The leaves of the trees had long since changed into a bunch of different colors instead of just green. Adeline thought it was pretty cool to look at. She wondered about maybe searching out @Valette and going for hunt, or maybe seeing what @Nikai and @Keoni were up to. She rather liked the little wolflings. Maybe because she knew exactly how they felt. Not able to decide, she plopped down on her haunches, her gaze simply taking in the scenery around her.

Even with all that Day had going on, he still found himself thinking about Adeline. It was always a short thought - he was good about distracting himself when her scent came to him on the wind, or when he heard her voice in the distance. By now, she might even have realized he'd been distancing himself from her, but then again, he'd been distant with almost everyone. He was busy, after all.

But some nights he dreamed about her. It was never good - usually she was angry with him again, or else he was reliving that day he saw her and Philos frolicking in the meadow. Worst of all was a reccuring nightmare where he was forced to preside over their nuptiuals, Adeline having roped him into it by blinking her pretty green eyes and calling him Uncle Day.

He didn't know what to think of her, anymore. He didn't know if he should be around her, or if he even could. Part of him felt guilty for even thinking of her when he had Amber by his side, but then again, the woman had her own agendas, had Dagfinn. If he was honest with himself, Day knew there was a very specific reason he'd been so okay with Amber loving another - and that reason's name was Adeline.

It was becoming something of a complex for him. Even the mention of her name invoked a spike in bloodpressure and anxiety from the male. And although he'd had no intention of facing his fears that day, when Addie's scent reached him on the wind, Day still found his paws carrying him in her direction. When he saw her sitting in the grass, looking (to him) as lost and alone as he felt, Day guessed it was about time.

"Hey, greeneyes," he said quietly, feeling off-center as he waited for her to turn around. He realized he didn't know how she would react - he couldn't even guess, at this point. Maybe he didn't know how to react to her, either.

No pressure to match length; all Day's posts are probably going to be heavy on introspection for a while.

Lost could be a good way to describe Adeline. Not physically, but mentally. She was becoming a young adult, and had an extended family that she loved. But, she hadn't quite found her niche in this world yet, and she felt it. Steady was the leader, the guardian, the protector of them all, Valette was the provider, and Grayday... At one point, she focused on him as a friend. Well, that was still true. But, was that all? What else was he? She supposed he did the same as Steady and protected them, but she knew he hunted, too. Was he the Jack of all Trades? Maybe. He was also an expectant father.

Her eyes scanned the trees above her as they shifted in the wind, the familiar rustling reaching her ears. Her bright green eyes shifted to the wolf whose voice reached her ears. There was only one wolf who called her that. Instantly, her expression changed, shifting into a smile as he walked towards her. Hey, Day, she greeted, her tail wagging. I was wondering when I'd see you, she said honestly. She wanted to ask what his girlfriend's name was, as she hadn't bothered to find it out. And she wanted to ask if they were going to return to their normal friendship. But, would his girlfriend like that? Maybe they had already discussed it, and that's why she hadn't seen Grayday until now. 

It was almost like whiplash when she turned to him with that smile. For a second, Day was dumbstruck trying to process her happiness at seeing him. He'd forgotten that he was the one that had misgivings about their relationship - Adeline had no reason to fuss over it. Probably just glad Uncle Day didn't die abroad, whispered the more bitter part of his head, but that side of him was quickly overruled as he tried to reconcile the little baby Addie he'd left behind with this long-legged version in front of him, now.

"Look at you," he said, forgoing more conventional greetings in his shock. He took a few swift steps closer and then faltered, remembering himself. "I mean, damn," he chuckled, still a little light-headed with the reunion. "I leave for a couple weeks and you go and turn into the belle of the ball?"

He had to stop - this wasn't right. He was supposed to be over this, now. He had kids on the way - kids like Adeline.

Day shook his head as if ridding his ears of flies and trekked the remaining few steps between them, determined to keep his observations a little more familial. It wasn't exactly something an uncle wouldn't say, but it was definitely something Day felt better keeping his mind off of.

"I've been meaning to track you down," Day lied, though it didn't show on his face. Thinking about it was close enough to meaning to, right? Pushing such thoughts from his head, Day moved forward to bump his nose against the other's cheek. She was almost as tall as him, now. She even smelled different, but maybe he'd just forgotten how nice her scent was. "I've missed you." That, at least, was nothing but the truth.

Adeline was no stranger to attention, and she generally welcomed it. So, when Day commented on how she had grown, she smiled, prancing in place for a moment before laughing. Adeline didn't consider herself a princess, or a girly girl. But, to mock one was a little fun. It must have been when you were gone all that time, she pointed out, though she smiled. His absence was water under the bridge for her, since he had kept his promise to return. 

Her tail wagged as he said he'd been looking for her, bumping his head to hers. I've missed you, too, she said genuinely. She had quickly grown accustomed to his presence and had deeply felt his absence. 

Sooooo, she said. Tell me about her. Adeline wasn't good at ignoring the proverbial elehant, and she wanted to know about the female Grayday had brought back with him.

Day blinked at her when she asked about Amber, and something in his expression clearly fell. For a moment, he just stared at her, still trying to reconcile this Adeline with the one from his memories. The more he searched, the less differences he found, until he was forced to realize that it was his own impressions of her that'd changed. Absence, they said, made the heart grow fonder, and it seemed to make Adeline prettier, too.

"Her name's Amber," he said, looking toward the sound of a bird-call so that he did not have to look at her. Sometimes when he blinked as saw the tiny girl she'd been when they met. "She's got a dark pelt and blue eyes, and she likes the stars. Knows a ton of stories about them," he explained, knowing in his heart that there was much more to tell. He just couldn't find the words when Addie was in front of him. Not when his eyes kept finding their way back to her like this. Day gave up on averting them. "And, uh, she's a little moody," he added with a chuckle, ears flickering as he checked to make sure no one but Addie was around to hear that. "But that might just be because she's very pregnant right now - I wouldn't know."

His expression fell at her question, and in turn, so did Adeline's. It seemed she had upset him, but she wasn't sure what she had done. Was asking about the female off limits? If that were true, he answered her question anyways. It seemed her name was Amber, and she had stories about the stars. And, apparently, she was cranky. Well, she sounds like a peach, Adeline said, a little sarcastically. 

She had no real reason to dislike Amber, and she had done her best to keep an open mind about the female. But, as Day described her, Adeline suddenly found herself not liking the "dark-pelted" female at all. Adeline would think of a reason later.

In effort to steer the conversation elsewhere, Adeline's green eyes settled on Day. So, what were you doing before you came upon me?  she asked. Maybe it was something they could do together.

Addie wasn't impressed; Day didn't know exactly how that made him feel. He wanted to rise to Amber's defence, speak more on the good qualities he saw in her. Talk about the way he was growing to appreciate her sassy nature and sense of humor. He wanted to say that she was allowed to be grumpy, that Addie would be grumpy one day, too, when she - don't think about that.

He didn't say any of that. "She is," he murmured as if in agreement, though it was clear to both of them that true sentiment was present in neither of their statements. "I'm in love with someone else," his tongue tried to say, but Day bit down the words. "How's Philos?" came next, but honestly, he didn't want to know.

It seemed like neither of them had much more to say on the topic. Addie seemed keen to skip over, and Day was eager to follow along. Truthfully, he'd forgotten his purpose entirely the moment he'd caught sight of her. Maybe I came out to find her, he thought, who knows?

"I was going to see if I could hunt up some rabbits," he decided, thinking that it might even be true, based on the direction he'd been headed. If it had been his plan, he'd lost interest in it now. "Did you want to do something? I can hunt later," he added, perking up a bit as he caught up to the implication of her words. Did she want to do something? Day could do things. Whatever she wanted. Even if she wanted a slimy fucking fish, he'd dunk his head into the water until he drowned. Until he'd caught ten times as many as stupid fucking Philos.

Day let out a silent breath, and a wry smile found a way to show his teeth as he wondered at the sudden vitriol that'd taken up in his very bones.

Adeline gave a noise that said she did not, in fact, agree that Amber was a peach. Nevermind that Adeline had never even met her. It was an impertinent fact to the young girl. 

Grayday admitted he was going hunting, and Adeline's ears perked. She thought he would ask her to come along, but instead he offered that they do something else. Sure, we can, she replied. Though, off the top of her head, she couldn't quite think of anything to do. It seemed awkward now, and weird, but she wasn't sure why. 

Well, uh, what do you think we could do? She might have suggested swimming at one point, but it was too cold now. For the life of her, she couldn't think of anything.

He was a little burned out on hunting, honestly. A little burned out on border marking. On Amber. On life. A part of him knew it was just the stress, the lack of sleep, but despair was a sneaky, lying thing. This will never end, it whispered, and things will never be the same. And though he'd gotten through it before, there were times when the bitterness seemed to well up without warning.

Looking at Addie, though... well, things seemed just a little bit lighter.

"Ever played snow bear?" he asked, tail wagging as he remembered his favorite childhood game. Some of his best memories were of playing with his brother and sister in the snow - maybe he could give Adeline something like that for her first winter.

He brought up something called "snow-bear" and Adeline tilted her head, her ears perked in interest. No, I've never heard of it, she admitted. What is it? If it sounded even in the slightest bit appealing, she would probably be on board with trying out whatever it was.

This being her first winter, Adeline had no idea of any type of snow games. But, she waited eagerly for Grayday to explain what it was. He was generally a upbeat wolf, so she couldn't imagine anything he suggested might be boring.

Sorry it's so short! >_<

Good. No one had taught her, yet. He could be the one to introduce it to her. "Snow bear," he said importantly, leading the way out of the forest and into the nearest clearing with snow, "is a game you play when it snows. One person is the bear, and everyone else is the prey - they have to run from the snow bear," he explained, digging a little rut into the snow and standing upon the dirt that he revealed. "The catch is that the snow bear can only stand on the snow, and the prey can't go on the snow at all. Usually, the bear rolls around in the snow like this - "

Day flopped over and flailed around in the snow, playing up the movements to better entertain his companion.

"And the prey have until the bear's pelt is completely covered in snow to dig out their shelter."

He gave a few more half-hearted rolls before hopping back to his paws and looking toward Adeline to try and guage her reaction. The game was a bit childish, but Day didn't feel like doing anything productive right then. It was about time he had a break.

No worries! And also, slight pp to get them there. Let me know if I should change this.

She followed, interested in learning this game. Her tail wagged at the anticipation, and there was a smile upon her maw. Gray began to explain the game, and Adeline listened intently. She chuckled when he rolled over, covering his fur in snow. She was quiet a moment as she went over the game rules in her head.

If the bear has to stay on snow, and the prey can't go on the snow at all, doesn't that... Keep the prey safe since they won't be on the same ground? she questioned. It was how she understood what he said, but it didn't make sense if the bear was supposed to go after the prey.

"That's why you keep digging through the snow to uncover more dirt, and I keep pushing more snow onto the dirt you uncover," he explained. "Normally, you'd have until my pelt is covered in snow to dig enough dirt that I won't be able to catch you right off."

Day laid down and covered his eyes with his paws, tail swishing mischievously behind him. "This time, I'll wait for you to give me the signal, alright? Don't take too long, though - I might get impatient."