Stone Circle Lovely weather for a sleigh ride

A couple hours before the storm

Mara had yet to formally congratulate Day on his newly given title as Beta, nor check on his wounds since she first saw them. No matter how small they had been, she couldn't help but worry, what if it got infected? The temperature seemed to be dropping drastically, just when she thought it couldn't get any colder. She decided if she were to see him, it would have to be now before Easthollow turning into a popsicle, so she lifted her muzzle into the air and howled for @Grayday, a foggy cloud escaping her maw as she did so.

She could imagine how proud Sunny and Dawn must be of their father, she truly believed he was best fit for the role, Steady had chosen wisely. The agouti wolfess began to pace back and forth while she waited, causinf a small dent in the snow from her repeated footprints crossing over one another. Hopefully he wouldn't be too long, as a distraction from the bitter cold would be a gift.

He'd just begun his last set of rounds when the call reached his ears. It didn't sound urgent, so Day gave a shore howl - be right there - and finished up the last touches on the trench he'd been digging into the snow leading toward his den. After surveying his work, he hopped up and headed off toward Mara, wondering if she needed help with a trench of her own. He'd completely forgotten about the scratches on his underbelly. There were still scabs - and they itched something awful - but Day was used to having a few nicks and bruises on himself.

"Hey," he barked as he found Mara pacing in the snow. "Keepin' warm?"

Her ears lifted when hearing the crunch of the snow warning of Day's presence. She turned to face him and smiled. For a moment, she almost answered truthfully to her question, but realized she didn't want anyone to worry. "As warm as possible." Mara exclaimed, giving an apprehensive grin. "I just wanted to give another check of your wounds," she cocked her head to the right attempting to catch a glimspe already, "if you're okay with that of course." 

She wondered if he'd taken her advice to go to Krypton, if not she wouldn't mind as long as he was healing up well was all that mattered.

"Oh, right," said Day, a little surprised (and maybe kind of touched) that she would remember. Guiltily, Day realized that he'd never actually followed through with the doctor's orders - but he felt fine. "I think it's mostly healed. Kinda itchy, though," he explained, laying down and then rolling over so that he could be examined.

Day didn't know it, but Mara would find all but one of the scratches were now pink, puckered lines that would soon fade to nothing. The remaining scratch appeared to have been re-opened, probably by rough-housing with his children, but it was already scabbed over once more.

It seemed almost routine when he fell to the ground and turned to show his underside, despite they had only done this once before. "It wouldn't be if you took up my suggestion." She teased with a smile that was too difficult to hide, instantly being able to tell he hadn't gotten any extra help with the wounds, as they would be much farther along with the root being applied. 

She scanned across every scar, noticing the prominate wound that seemed to be healing slower than the others. "You're doing well so far, but you might want to relax with your kids, unless you want a scar."

Day remained silent when she spoke, secretly wondering if she was just bluffing and trying to get him to admit to neglecting the wounds. How could she have known, right? Maybe he really should have seen Krypton.

He was even further abashed when Mara seemed to know exactly what had caused his scratches further aggravation. With a friendly whine, he lifted his paws and batted playfully at the woman's chest and legs, as if trying to ward her off. "You got it, doc. No more rough-housing," he said appealingly, flipping back onto his belly.

It wasn't particularly strange to have a well educated guess, she didn't think he had been in any attack lately, but knew well how rambunctious his children were. She wasn't even one-hundred percent sure, it was just a random statement. Mara sent him a reassuring smile. "Listen to doctors orders this time." She insisted, playfully. 

"How are you doing? Besides your injury I mean." The agouti femme truthfully wanted to know Day a bit more, and there had always been an air of glumness around him since they met, hopefully everything was alright. That, and he looked a little sick.

Day stood, shook the snow off of his pelt, and then licked at a few droplets that he didn't want to feel against his skin later on. The scratches were doing fine, so there was no harm done, but he gave Mara a sheepish look anyway. "I will," he promised, eyes glimmering appreciatively at her good-natured scolding.

"I'm doing good. Keeping busy," he answered, feeling a little on-the-spot as he tried to come up with a decent answer. He would normally try to pretend he'd heard "What have you been doing" rather than "how", but he felt like lying to Mara wouldn't get him very far, since she was a mind-reader and all. "I guess... I've been feeling a little ,more tried than usual, lately," he admitted.

She instantly lifted her ears when he mentioned his last comment, her mind shifted through all the possibilities with the symptoms of tiredness - it was a lot. "Raising two pups alone has that affect." Mara admitted, for a moment gazing into his eyes in an attempt to find any other hidden feeling. 

"Maybe you shouldn't be 'keeping busy' and relax a little bit." Her maw presented a comforting smile, she only wanted the best for her pack mates. For a moment she fret Day was depressed, she didn't know the entire story but she was aware Sunny's and Dawn's mother left. Hopefully, that wasn't the case.

Though neither of them knew it, depression was something that Grayday had struggled with - perhaps even since his youth. It'd kept him from forming close relationships when Easthollow was still Silvertip Mountain, but it was plaguing him less and less these days. He still had fits of anger and grumpines, but it was a far cry from the listlessness that'd haunted him in days past.

This time, though, he'd only worn himself out trying to do too much in too little time. He wasn't as young as he used to be, but he was still running around enough to match any yearling.

"You're right," Day said with a soft sigh, realizing some of this. "It's this weather, you know? I wanted us to be prepared, and I maybe pulled one all-nighter too many." Well, this time, he would follow the doctor's orders. Well, after the danger had passed, he would. "Thank you for your help, Mara. I appreciate it."

Depression wasn't a foreign feeling to the young wolfess either, though it wasn't for years on end. Steady of all people know how off she was, fortunately she had changed for the better. Her brother had definitely aided her, though Easthollow was by far the biggest cure. She needed family again, a group who cared as much as she did. 

She didnt fullt believe it was just the weather, but Mara didn't want to intrude where she didn't belong. Perhaps Day would open up more later on, but for now he was no easy book to read - despite her mind reading abilities. 

"My pleasure, if you ever need anything just call." The femme insisted with a smile, "and no more all-nighters, you need sleep." Her ears then peeked at the second reason she had howled for the grey brute in the first place. "Congratulations, by the way. I never got to do that when you were crowned Beta."

Day couldn't help but laugh at the way she worded it. Crowned. "Thank you, ma'am - but this rank isn't a crown to be worn - it's a duty to be performed," he insisted, a little uncomfortable with the idea and hoping that it wouldn't persist. He repeated something he'd said to Steady the other day: "All wolves are servants."

He felt a little silly for disagreeing with her when she'd been so kind to him, but Day liked to stand by his convictions. He'd been raised with a certain set of beliefs, and those beliefs hadn't failed him in all these years.

Mara didn't mind the contradiction (though admittedly was embarrassed when he laughed), she enjoyed seeing the perspective of others. She tilted her head as he continued on. "Can it not be both?" She suggested, after all it was a title, and he was given it - "crowned" or not. His second comment was slightly confusing though, and her head cocked to the side in curiosity. "How so? What are lone wolves servants of?" Her grin shifted slightly into a smirk.

Day shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that one. He wanted to say 'no' simply because he didn't like the idea, but it seemed prudent to give in to Mara at least a little bit. "Maybe," he reluctantly agreed. For her next question, though, he had an answer ready. He'd heard his father give that speech a thousand times.

"Lone wolves serve themselves - their own needs," he replied, tail swishing as he remembered all of his father's lessons. "But they are no better off - It is better to serve many and be served by many than to struggle to serve only yourself."

He knew that lesson on a personal level.

She could tell he didn't fully agree, or at all, but he was kind enough not to be blunt, for which she was appreciative. He then went on the give a rather insightful speech. Mara could agree, she hated being a lone wolf, she was a family wolf built to care for others. For a moment she thought how often she was served, she was one who liked to give more than to receive, but his statement allowed her to see how that may be flawed.

"I see, that's very perceptive." The femme nodded, grinning at his moment. "You're right, Day. Thank you." She wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking him for, perhaps the new outlook or interesting point.

He was really putting his paw in his mouth lately. There was no reason he couldn't have just smiled and nodded through that little comment. Crowned. It wasn't a big deal or anything. But he'd gone and opened his mouth, and Mara didn't seem upset or anything, but for some reason, her kind response only further flustered the silvered male.

"No problem," he mumbled, looking around as if he'd heard someone call his name. He wasn't really sure what she was thanking him for, either, but he was done contradicting the sweet woman for the day. He was done talking to her, too, because it was making him feel kind of... weird. "Well, I better go. Preparing for the storm and all," he said loudly, offering her a genuine smile and a wag of his tail.

Mara was a little unnerved how the wolf seemed rushed, even after her suggestion to relax more often, but she said nothing about it. "Bye, then," all that mattered is she could tell his smile wasn't a faux, so she sent one in return, and saved him the energy of leaving first, and was already off. The abrupt closure of their conversation wasn't a bother, something seemed to be tugging his attention another direction for which she didn't mind - besides, she needed to find a den before the weather proves it's often fickle ways and become too cold to roam around in again.