Morningside Cuesta Ghosts make me twitchy

tagging @Minnow for reference and also maybe @Bhediya?

Where had he even come from? He had just focused back in as he stumbled clumsily around, half formed thoughts floating obscurely around his mind. 

All he had to go off of was what hung between his legs. He was a man and a sick one at that. In and out of fevered half lucid imaginings as he wandered aimlessly. That day he was more lucid than not though the fever had it's grips deep into his mind. He stumbled through the Cuesta "Miss them dad" he snapped as he heard someone shouting at him. His eyes caught a beam of sunlight and he focused on it, shivering and sitting down "It's hot out isn't it? Sunny for winter" he murmured to himself and sighed as he heaved himself to his paws, slipping back into full lucidity and glancing around him checking the air for scents and any clues on where to direct himself so he could find help.

can we forward date a few days?

bhediya was tired of being afraid. the evening prior, after settling in the grove, she'd decided to visit the cuesta and make amends. there was no more morningside and she knew this; everyone was either dead or moved on. bhe knew this but decided that it didn't matter. being able to go and make the effort was the important part.

it was a long trip, about two days with only a few hours rest. once coming to the border, the scout collapsed and allowed herself a moment's reprieve. 

there was a distant mumbling that roused her from her rest. bhediya rose up onto all fours, blinking as she scanned the horizon. the frame of a stranger stood in the distance, appearing somewhat distressed. hello? i...oh, she called, sunny? she rose up onto all fours and began a slow trot in his direction. do you remember me?

Turning at the voice he spotted a small black she wolf. She seemed surprised to see him, which was odd since their kind was instinctually social and formed packs to survive. He gave her a confused look as she called out to him, recognizing him as someone by the name of Sunny and asking if he remembered her. The only memory his brain responded with was waking up half lucid as he stumbled like a walking corpse through the woods. "I'm sorry Ma'am, you've got the wrong guy" he said gently and then frowned "Then again I don't remember anything at all" he shivered and his brow furrowed, alarm written on his expression as he processed the realization that he didn't have a name. He looked up at her and gave her another once over as if trying to jog a memory, breathing in her scent. The smell of lavender was recognizable but it didn't bring anything specific to mind "How do I know you?" he asked her curiously.

Yeah! The 19th work?

oh. it could have been a mistake. the wilds were filled with grey wolves, so it wouldn't have been surprising. still, bhediya had been so sure... 

but the boy said that he didn't remember. if that were the case, then maybe she was right. sunny, son of grayday. she called, her tail moving at a slow, pensive wag. i'm- well, i was akuti, his mate.

the scout moved closer then. easy's mom? surely the boy remembered his own family, if nothing else.

The names were totally unfamiliar to him, not to mention he was struck by the unoriginality. His dad was named Grayday, he tucked it away and gave her a blank look as she crept closer. He didn't back away, after all he was bigger than her and could probably hold his own but he flattened his ears back and shook his head "Nothing, Sorry. I just remember falling into water and then I was wandering all feverish in this direction" he said it so casually it was like not knowing who he was was the same old day to day for him. "I guess I'm Sunny. Nice to meet you again Akuti" then he paused and smiled, curious "Who's Easy?"

bhediya was dumbfounded. it seemed too unlikely to be true, and yet it apparently was. luckily, sunny was being agreeable which made maneuvering the situation much easier. she didn't retreat as he approached, rather taking a few steps forward to meet him in the middle.

no, she said, call me bhediya. a wry smile grew steadily on her maw, though the confusion was still clearly writ in her expression. easy is your sister. she's... how long had sunny been here? was he alone? who had he been talking to?

it was too cold for him to be wandering like this. the boy was impaired, if only by loss of memory. the thought of leaving him here without offering an alternative made bhe uneasy. are you hungry? she asked. then, she remembered easy's mentioning of his children. where are your kids? 

if sunny wasn't starving, surely his children were. right?

edit: yes the 19th is good!!

Pygmalion hadn't liked that Bhediya had gone all this way on her own, so he trailed her per usual, making sure she was all right. Everything seemed fine until this moment. The conversation itself was strange (from what he heard of it) but even more noteworthy was the putrid scent coming off the man's coat in waves, like heat haze, on the breeze.

Sickness.

Bhediya, he barked, coming toward them at a quick walk, his shoulders stiff and squared. He's sick. Ye dinna ken what he might do—he's no in his right mind. He snapped his dark eyes to the stranger, sizing him up. A formidable fighter at full strength, perhaps, but even in his weakened state, he could do damage to Bhediya.

In a way if he was honest, it would have been preferred that he hadn't been told how much he couldn't remember. All this family he had forgotten, it hurt him in a way that he couldn't understand. What was a blank slate of a man like himself supposed to do with family? Pretend to know them, pretend like everything he was to them still existed? "Bhediya I..." he began and trailed off unsure what he wanted to say. To tell Easy he said hello? right. Then there was the bombshell of having children and his jaw dropped, eyes widening "My kids? I...I wasn't aware of having any. I think I was in an accident" he stammered weakly eyes lifting to see the approach of the male, reading the posture and lowering himself promptly. He cleared his throat and began to back away slowly, keeping his gaze to the side "Um...I appreciate the information, at least I have a name now but I'll just get going" he was tempted to tell her that yeah, he was hungry and his ears pressed back as his stomach protested at being taunted with the idea of food.

for a moment, bhediya had been able to forget about pygmalion. it was just her and sunny until it wasn't. he arrived in the middle of their conversation, as was to be expected. the next few hours would be spent wondering which part of it had been the final straw.

when she noticed his posturing and sunny's retreat, bhe stepped in front of him. stop it, she whispered, looking up at him with a pleading gaze, this is my son. in a way, she supposed that this was her child. he had no one, not even himself; having been a part of grayday, sunny was an extension of herself. until he was able to tell her otherwise, bhediya would be his mother and she would take care of him, even if from a distance.

seeing him back away pained the scout who stepped forward to meet him. i don't want you to leave, she begged, not like this. at least let me, or let us take you to your home. easthollow was where he'd come from; she doubted valette would turn him away like this.

there was a tension beginning to build. bhediya feared that sunny might flee, so she continued with a whispered joke, meant only for him to hear. don't worry about my mate, either. he's all bark. a smile teased at the corner of her maw, being dropped as she turned back to pygmalion.

Her words took him completely aback. Your son? he exclaimed softly, slack-jawed. He stared at the gray male, then back to Bhediya. Gray male, Bhediya—oh. This must be one of Grayday's, right? Pygmalion smartly shut up, but he remained a stalwart presence in the backdrop, giving the sick man a jaundiced look.

He didn't like this one bit. Wolves could do awful things when they were sick and not in their right minds. Good thing he had arrived before anything dire had occurred; he'd never forgive himself if something would have happened.

It was the defense that stopped him from just turning and running off. Sunny turned back to face the two of them warily, head beginning to throb as the situation grew more overwhelming by the second. He looked back and forth between them, holding his tongue but letting the surprise show on his face. He belonged somewhere that people were missing him, something he wasn't sure how he should feel about. It was terrifying to learn that he had a sister and children that were just gone from his mind. Did he even know how old he was? He didn't move when the woman followed after him, begging him to let her help and saying she could bring him home. He looked at her unsure how to voice his thoughts, eyes big and sad as he nodded silently. A small laugh was given in response to the joke as he gave a quick glance toward Pygmalion to see if the joke was heard and if he would be mad about it. "If I'm not a bother then I'd appreciate any help I can get. I don't have any memories of...well of anything"

let me know if y'all wanna continue or just pick up another one at the border. i'm good either way. :)

bhediya glared at pygmalion but quickly softened her gaze. i can explain later, okay? he just... he needs some help right now. although still overwhelmed, sunny seemed to be willing to work with them. she felt relieved, as having to force him to go would have made the situation much more difficult.

motioning for him to follow, bhe moved to brush her cheek against pyg's shoulder and began walking toward easthollow. i'm probably not the best one to be reminding you, then. she smiled back at him, actually taking note of his apparent age. not a boy anymore, she thought. i've been away for a while, so i might not be the most credible source.

Continuing at the border is fine!

Aye, that's apparent, Pyg replied, a little sourly. Still, if he was her son. . . He shrugged it off for now, shaking his head in dismayed acceptance. All right, then, we'll go. The strange trio set off, Bhediya and Pyg side-by-side and Sunny just behind.

He remained in mostly stony silence throughout, thoroughly disapproving of Bhediya so involved with an obviously addled mind. Who knows what the young man could do at any second? Pygmalion kept an eye on him; he did so until they reached Easthollow, and would even after that.

After that, he'd need to speak to Bhediya.

He wondered how long he had been gone for. So many questions now broke the blankness that was his mind, piercing through the silence and stirring up anxieties and fears. He had family which was good but he couldn't remember them and he knew that would make any reunion sad.  Even so, now he had something to go off of and that was better than the nothing he had previously. As the two set off he kept a respectful distance behind them awkwardly avoiding the glances that Pygmalion shot him by staring at the ground in front of him and just letting his mind drift as he forced himself to make the journey to Easthollow. 

last post from me!