Dawnlark Plains It's Been Months And You Ain't Off My Mind
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#1
Engel recognized the scent. At first, he had just gone on a scouting trip in a direction he had not been. But the scent...it was so familiar. Morningside had moved, and of course it had moved right here. For a long moment, he stood still out in the open. Thinking, perhaps he should just move on. Forget about it. But he remembered what Sunny told him...maybe things had changed. Maybe, just maybe...

Engel sent out a call for @Aditya, hoping the other was around and not out somewhere.
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the howl sent his hackles up immediately. it was both familiar, and for him, specifically. aditya let loose a ragged sigh, not wanting in the least to deal with this, but rose to his feet, trotting toward the sound with gritted teeth. grayday was dead, and part of the lingering disgust had died with him. but aditya knew he could never forgive the ruddy man for what he'd done.

"what are you doing here?" adi asked engel upon arriving, pulling to a halt and surveying him with flashing eyes. he sounded more exasperated than anything, but there was a part of him--a small part, but there nonetheless--that felt differently. a sense of relief, perhaps? they had been friends, once: best friends. to see engel alive and well was. . . fuck. he cursed his soft heart, instead fixing a hard stare on the man.

memories of what had been said and done altered this wavering opinion, and he padded over the border, toward engel. "step back, now," he commanded, a snarl wrinkling his muzzle. he thought of the young women of the pack, how he was sworn to protect them against all threats. the incident with sorrel had proven that, no matter how innocuous he purported to be, engel was indeed a threat.
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#3
Engel heard Aditya's tone and it immediately made him think to back up. He hadn't expected a friendly welcome, only wished for it. He backed off more under the command of Aditya, whining lightly. "I-I came to give my condolensces...I saw Sunny on his way to Undersea. Helped him there and...he told me what happened, I am sorry" he said, not daring to look in case it aggravted Aditya more.
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the words took him aback, slightly; with all that had happened, grayday's death seemed much farther away than two moons and some odd days ago. when it finally clicked, adi's jaw sagged a little, slightly lost for words. he regained his composure quickly, but it was too late; he had clued engel in to the reluctance within him, the glimmer of regret amidst the disgust.

"ah. . .yeah. it was hard on all of us." he was uncharacteristically tight-lipped, the familiar grief rising in his throat like bile as he thought of grayday. what would the late leader think of engel standing so close to the border, especially with his children behind it? the thought alone kept aditya on edge, and he continued to stare warily at engel, eyes more owlish than usual.

"is that all you came for?" he questioned, cocking his head slightly.
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Engelhard felt bad for having come by now. "He told me that...Grayday was a great guy, you know." He finally lifted his eyes. To someone whom he once saw as a good friend. A close friend he could talk so much to about. A good wolf. A good friend. Something he broke. 

Engel shrugged. What he had honestly come here for, was to scout. "I wanted to share my condolensces...what more is there to do?"
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"he was," aditya agreed, gaze straying to an undetermined point in the distance. thinking of the last, tumultuous time the three of them had stood together, watching engel leave the plateau. what he had learned, that had changed his opinion of his friend forever. and the truth of the matter, whatever it was, was now buried, for sorrel and kieran both had left the wilds. . .perhaps forever.

he sighed again, looking back at engel. "look, you were like a brother to me," he said, shoulders sagging. the anger was gone; now all he felt was pain, a heavy weight on his stomach. no longer did betrayal feel like fangs, cutting hotly into his skin: it was indigestion now, churning in his gut. "i trusted you, even if you had a big mouth, and you flirted with everything that moved.

"sorrel is gone,"
adi continued. "left with kieran to go travel. i had meant to ask her about what had happened, but now. . ." he blinked slowly at engel, face impassive. "i have only your word. you told me you were innocent. please, engel. . .if you respect me at all, if i was ever your friend, tell me the truth."

grayday had never liked engel. it was blasphemous to speak ill of the dead, but that was a fact he could not deny. there was the slightest chance that grayday had misheard gossip, misread a situation, and used it as an opportunity to expel the red-pelted man from his pack. grayday was not infallible, for all his positive traits.

and try as he might, aditya struggled now to see engel pursuing mousy, timid sorrel. maybe at first, but surely he would back down, with denial? adi stared hard at his old friend, hoping for both their sakes that he was wrong.
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Engel nodded in agreement. He was silent, silent for a long moment. Till Aditya was sighing and addressed him. Spoke of him as a brother and that warmed his heart somewhat. Only for the warmth to plummet. So it was this again. Yet he stood strong. 

"I thought she were someone else. I rounded a corner, playfully scaring her. I didn't know...before I could calm her, Grayday came in. You know the rest, I told you." But he still didn't think that he would be believed.
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"you told me," aditya agreed. his breathing had begun to calm, the sharpness in his eyes receding. now he was trapped between the resolve of a dead man and the words of one still living. between his father, of sorts, and a good friend. biases came into play here; misunderstandings did as well.

in the end, though, he wanted to let it go. he wanted desperately to believe engel, to hold onto the notion that wolves were inherently more good than bad. grayday's revelation had shattered him, but if there was the slightest bit of doubt. . .

"i lead morningside, now," adi commented, mouth twitching as if it wanted to smile but had forgotten how. "we've got new pups. catori had some with grayday, pema with shale. dawn leads alongside me, but we're. . .no longer together." his throat burned. why was he sharing all this? he had gone from snarling protector of the plains to shameless gossip in mere minutes.

"i can't let you stay here, engel," he continued, and it clicked, finally, why he was so candid--because as much as he wanted to invite his ex-friend back into the fold, repair their relationship, he couldn't. by virtue of his new station in life, he simply could not. "i promised grayday i'd keep his family safe from you, and i. . .i can't break that promise. even if you didn't do what he said you did."
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Engelhard sighed, so Aditya believed him then? Is that what Engel was to expect now? He hoped so. And then he was about to congragulate Aditya on it, being a leader now. Though he saddened upon hearing the news. A break up...and then the promise. "No, don't you worry. I'll...I'll find someplace for me to go to." He looked off distantly.
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adi looked at engel in some puzzlement, brows raising. "didn't you have a home by the sea, last i saw you?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. "what happened to that?" maybe he didn't want to know the answer--perhaps engel was as bad as grayday had thought, and had earned the ire of yet another pack. he felt tired, suddenly, felt the weariness deep in his bones.

"i want to believe you so badly," he murmured. "and part of me--no, a lot of me--does believe you. even if it did happen like grayday said, there are misunderstandings. . ." aditya sighed, gaze falling to the ground. "it broke a lot of my faith in the world, when it all fell apart the way it did. i lost a friend, my best friend. i hated you--not necessarily for what you had done, but for proving me wrong. because i thought you were good, deep down. . .and then you weren't.

"i don't know, yaar," aditya said quietly, dropping the nickname he hadn't used for engel in so long. yaar. it meant friend, but deeper--it was "buddy," a pal. someone close. someone who had earned the proximity to his heart. "i just know i'm happy to see you again."
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"Oh, I do, I do" he reassured. "Just if that falls through, I'll find some place...besides I always end up moving on somewhere" he said as he put on a light smile. Engel did not want Aditya worrying too much over him. 

Engel sighed again as he heard that. He couldn't blame Aditya, he didn't blame anyone. It was a bad case of timing is all it was. So who could he blame? No one came to mind at all. "Yeah, I've heard that a lot...lots have lost faith in me. So can't blame you there...."

Now that last part. It took him by surprise. Aditya, he was happy to see him? After it all? It almost brought him to tears as a happy smile came across.
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the ruddy man had touched the right chord; sympathy welled in aditya's heart at engel's words, the feeling of wanting desperately to care for a friend. he let out a sigh and flashed his friend the smallest of smiles, shoulders sagging. "i don't know," he said again, ruefully. "maybe you didn't do it, after all. maybe we all overreacted."

adi blinked slowly at engel. time felt like it was standing still, the earth shifting beneath him as all his perceptions over the last moons changed. it had not been a grievous mistake on grayday's part, ousting engel as he had--but aditya had lost his best friend in the process. but it wasn't all bad. . .because this was the world bringing him back to his doorstep. right?

"maybe you could join easthollow's ranks?" adi suggested, nodding toward the stone circle, far off and out of sight. "or there's a pack in the valley, just south. plenty of options." he swallowed, shifting his weight from one side to the other, and back again. "i'm sorry i can't help you more than that," he murmured, mouth twisting in a frown.
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Engelhard wasn't sure either. He did think perhaps Grayday's reaction was an overreaction. "Well it's in the past. Can't fix it now, can we?" he asked, with a light smile. Not that he really minded that much. He knew others here would not agree with Aditya, they would still see him in the same light as before.

"Easthollow, I remember that place...but maybe not." Howl was there. And Engel had left Heartha, who had become Howl's mate. He doubted that the latter would be rather forgiving knowing that. "You've helped plenty, Aditya. Come on, I got a friend back."
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he shook his head again. engel was right. nothing he could say or do would fix what had happened. whatever injustices engel--or anyone else--had suffered as a result of this misunderstanding would forever go without remedy. if aditya was not bound to morningside, he'd perhaps go with engel, travel the wilds. but his loyalties lie here; they would have to continue their friendship from a distance.

friend. adi hadn't thought of engel in that light in quite a long time. a smile came to his face again, bigger than before. "i'm glad for it," he said softly, fervently. he took one step forward, then another, gently butting his head against the russet shoulder before pulling back and grinning. "i'm sorry, yaar. will you forgive my anger, from before? i only wanted to protect my pack."
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Engel nodded, and was so glad at seeing his friend smile. Aditya was a great friend for him, and he hoped they would meet again. "I forgave you ages ago. Trust me, when you get run out for the amount I ha-" He paused, nervously chuckling. "I forgave ages ago, Aditya." And he meant that to him.
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aditya laughed. "that means a lot to me," he answered, tone genuine. his eyes were warm as he stared at engel, but not without regret. he wished he could have been there, to soothe sorrel, to diffuse the situation! if only he could turn back time, and remedy the wrongs done in the past. true, if engel hadn't gathered a reputation as a playboy. . . but that was neither here nor there.

engel was his friend. adi would never think otherwise, for as long as they lived.

"wherever you go, i'll come visit," he said solemnly. "i promise you that. we'll go on some adventures, when things are less crazy here and the pups are grown." the trouble they could get into! he suddenly craved a few moons away with engel, exploring the land. it would be like old times. . .just with a new friend at his side.
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"Adventures...that sounds like a great idea. Who knows what we'll find?" There was a long pause...then he put his head to Aditya's shoulder. "I'll visit when I can...if anyone sees me, I'll just say I'm scouting." That way Aditya wouldn't get in any trouble for seeing Engel, considering the things Engel had been believed to have done.
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"that works," adi chuckled, closing his eyes at engel's solemn touch. he returned the gesture fervently, holding the pose for a moment before reluctantly pulling away, staring at the russet man. "i am glad to call you my friend again," he murmured, tears--joy? regret? at this point, he knew not--stinging the corners of his eyes. "and once a friend, always a friend."

perhaps that adage hadn't held true for them before. . .but aditya would make damn sure that it would from here on out.

he gave engel a nod and a watery smile. "take care, bhaiyya," adi said, a lump rising in his throat. "safe travels." with a twitch of his banner tail, he turned and departed, a blur of golden-brown as he trotted over the plains. had he known this would be the last time he'd see engel, he would have said more, done something--anything!--for him to stay.