Grayday

DOB
January 17, 2013

Played by
mixedhearts

Forum profile

Status
Unknown

Overview

Full Name: Grayday Corten, née Morningside; Sameth
Subspecies: Eastern Timber Wolf
Sex: Male
Age: 5.5 at death (01/17/2013 - 06/05/2018)
Birthplace: Southern Alaska

History

Born into a close-knit pack of family members, Grayday rose quickly through the ranks, though he never got quite so high as alpha or beta. Those positions always belonged to his father and uncle, respectively. He coudl've waited for one of them to die - he would surely become alpha over his softer, sweeter brother - but both males were in their prime, and good to all the pack. Not only that, but he was closely related to all members of the pack - females included. If he ever wanted a mate and pups of his own, he'd have to go and find them.

So, naturally, he set off on his own. His spirit for adventure took him far and wide for more than a year, until he found himself in the Teekon Wilds with a few more miles on him than he really needed. It was definitely time for him to settle down - he just had to find the right place; the right people.

Upon entering the famine-wracked wilds, Grayday wandered around for several weeks before finally stumbling upon Silvertip Mountain, a small, tightly-knit pack recently struck by several tragedies. This, combined with Grayday's naturally gloomy disposition, led to several months of aimless drudgery among the Silvertip wolves. Things began to change when he met Adeline, the spunky young niece of Silvertiop's current alpha.

Over the next several months, Grayday developed a friendship with the girl. His poor disposition began to improve, and he rose in Silvertip's ranks, becoming friends with several other of Silvertip's inhabitants, including Steady and Chaska. Other members came and went, largely ignored by Grayday until Eden showed up on the borders, fresh from Broken Antler Fen and with a slightly suspicious backstory. Grayday offered to travel to the Fen and verify her story, not knowing the history between the two packs.

On the journey there, he ran into a fertile shewolf called Amber. Ignoring his better sense, Grayday mated with her, and after giving promises to find her again, carried on with his quest. When he arrived at the Fen, he was met by Sebastian, who happily informed him that Eden had indeed left on good terms. Things might've ended there if Sebastian's young ward, Odette, had not arrived on the scene. Having become increasingly enamored with Adeline over the past several months, and having heard some vague whispers about her long-lost sister, it was not difficult to recognize the girl for who she was. Odette, too, seemed to recognize the scent of Silvertip on his pelt - he was quickly ejected from the lands.

He returned to Silvertip with a heavy heart, confused by his interactions with the Fen wolves and knowing, in the back of his mind, that he'd have to tell Steady about his tryst with Amber, and the possible litter that might result from it. Luckily, the alpha was fairly understanding about the latter - it was the former where the trouble came. Steady wasted no time in declaring the Fen wolves enemies, and plans were quickly made to leave the area where the Silvertip wolves had experienced so much heartache.

They soon moved to the Stone Circle and began to call themselves Easthollow - the new beginning seemed to do everyone good. Bad times were still had - they'd lost Steady's mate along the way, as well as Ezekiel, the pack's trusted beta. But there were good times, as well. Grayday grew closer with his packmates and found a good friend in Valette. Steady gave him permission to bring Amber to the pack, and to raise his budding family among them. Things seemed to be looking up - until Grayday prepared to leave to get his eyes checked out by a witch by the sea. Adeline overheard his plans and wanted him to stay, worrying that he'd disappear like Ezekiel. They parted on poor terms, and Grayday began to realize that his feelings for Adeline might be inappropriate.

Soon enough, he returned to Easthollow with Amber in tow; their relationship was tumultuous, but steady enough. With Amber present in the territory, Grayday had little time to spend with Adeline. Worse still, the girl seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. Eventually, Adeline left in the night without saying goodbye to her pack. Grayday felt personally slighted and began a long downward spiral, just as his first litter was born.

Sunny and Dawn were the names that Amber chose for his son and daughter. Grayday loved them at once, but this was soon overshadowed by his anger at Amber and Adeline both, as the mother of his children left soon after they were born. While his children grew (mostly under the care of Valette and Krypton), Grayday stalked the territory, growing increasingly short-tempered as the days drew on. He withdrew himself from pack life and existed on the fringes of the pack for several weeks, throwing himself into any task that would keep him from his packmates and, regrettably, his children. Though he was a lackluster father, Steady seemed to think well enough of him to name him Beta. Grayday accepted the role, and attempted to re-assimilate himself to pack life. He tried to spend more time with his children, but found his increased responsibility within the pack an easy distraction from that goal. His anger continued to be a problem, culminating in an altercation on the borders where he helped Steady to kill an intruder.

Then, during a terrible winter storm, Adeline returned. Though it had been a whole season since he'd last seen her, Grayday's feelings were as strong as ever. And, with Amber no longer between them, they quickly grew closer. Adeline began to share Grayday's den, sleeping among him and his children, whom he had finally begun to pay more attention to. Adeline became a fixture in all their lives, and Grayday's feelings for her grew more and more confused. She was an adult, but Grayday had watched her grow. He'd never seen her as just a child before, but with her newfound anxiety over leaving the territory and being alone, she seemed younger than ever.

One of the newcomers, Akuti, provided an unwelcome distraction from these feelings. Though they never became close, Grayday had several flirtatious encounters with her. This ended when one of the encounters went a bit further than usual, and Grayday - feeling a bit overwhelmed - rebuffed the affection. Akuti, feeling hurt and embarrassed by the encounter, decided to leave the pack.

And still, Grayday grappled with his anger, and with the negative memories that had followed him from Silvertip and the new ones that'd been made at Easthollow. The rest of the pack seemed to be moving on and growing stronger while Grayday stagnated in the past. Eventually, he decided that a break was needed. He and his children would go on a long trip to solidify their bonds and to allow some of the wounds that had been dealt to them at Easthollow to heal. He hoped that being away from the territory would dull the ache in his heart and the vividness of his bad memories there, and secretly, thought that some time away from Adeline would help clear his head and help him understand his feelings for her.

When it came time to leave, however, he couldn't bear to part from Adeline, and instead begged her to come with on the journey. Reluctantly, she agreed. The four set off soon after and began a long and sullen journey into the wilds. Though his relationship with Adeline was stilted, Grayday found himself enjoying the time with his family, away from Easthollow and its memories. They ran into several new faces along the way, as well as on familiar one - Akuti. Several of them decided to stick around, and when the group came to the Morningside Cuesta, they began to consider settling down. They called themselves Morningside, and soon decided to remain at the Cuesta until the winter, as the territory did not seem fit to inhabit during the coldest months.

Though Grayday still had misgivings about this decision, he was sufficiently distracted by increasing animosity between his children. Though Sunny and Dawn had been close in their infancy, there was a rift growing between them that Grayday couldn't seem to patch. Dawn was growing more independent, while Sunny sought after familiarity and comfort from his family. When Dawn began to rebuff his attempts to keep her safe, Sunny decided to return to Easthollow against his father's wishes. Grayday's attempts to stop him were thwarted when he was bitten by a snake. Still, he travelled to Easthollow as soon as he was well to seek reconciliation with his son. It was then that he - and Adeline - learned of Steady's untimely death.

Stuck between his sorrow and guilt over Steady's demise and a growing tension between himself and the two woman featured most prominently in his life - Adeline and Akuti, Grayday continued to flounder. While one seemed to be a part of his very self, the other drew him in with the simplicity of their interactions. Akuti was important to him, but not in the life-altering way of Adeline. Besides - he reasoned that Adeline was almost like his niece. If Akuti would have him, wouldn't that be better - and more natural - than his continued pining for a girl he could never have?

Unfortunately, he misjudged the depth of Adeline's feelings. When Akuti's heat came, Adeline happened upon the consummation of their relationship and fled the territory in her heartbreak. Grayday followed soon after, only to watch her walk away after a short and heart-wrenching argument.

Grayday returned to Morningside, and to Akuti, who had renamed herself Khoe for reasons he never fully understood. He continued to regularly visit his son, and began to gain a deeper relationship with his daughter. Morningside flourished with several new faces being added to their midst, including Sunspot, Grayday's estranged sister. At the beginning of July, Khoe's litter was born, bringing three new children into Grayday's life: Dauntless Mirza, his second son, as well as two new daughters, Lavender Arushi and Easy Ishara.

He was getting over the loss of Adeline, though he never seemed to get over Adeline herself, and his children all seemed happy and healthy. On the outside, all seemed to be going well - but Grayday was beginning to grow concerned over Khoe's suddenly very poor temperament, which was only worsened when Heartha, an older and slightly senile member of the pack, mated with an outsider during her heat. The pack decided to move to warmer climes for the winter in order to support all their pups, but Khoe slipped away from the pack along the way, and Heartha died along with her litter when they reached the plateau.

Not all went poorly upon the plateau. The three youngest children found a mother substitute in young Pema, a shewolf that came to Morningside as an aspiring medic. Grayday's brother, Shale, found them as well, and the pack began to feel whole again. They lost a few more along the way, but the pack remained largely stable, and the youngest three grew strong and able. Grayday found love again in Catori, a woman somewhat outside of his usual "type". She was free-spirited and strong willed, but also compassionate and self-possessed; Grayday was smittened at once. The pair mated in late winter/early spring, and then the pack moved again.

Upon arrival on Dawnlark Plains, the pack set about digging dens and making themselves at home, not knowing that this would be their last move with Grayday as their leader. There was some unrest about the state of their new territory, but Grayday's eyes were getting worse, and the pack grew scattered as most sought the comfort of the nearby Phoenix Maplewood. Dawn and her mate, Aditya, were chief among the Maplewood's admirers. The pack began formulating a plan to split in two, with some wolves remaining in the plains and the rest following Dawn and Aditya into the woods.

That spring, Grayday and Catori welcomed three more pups into the family: Kasatka, Eventide, and Winterbourne. Grayday changed his name to Corten to honor his latest and most beloved life, recognizing her as the true mate to his spirit, and the pair threw themselves into parenthood with love and gusto. It was a peaceful time; the pack bore more pups from Pema and Shale, and from Aviana and an unknown male: Padma, Meadow, Radcliffe, and Timberlake - and a beautiful baby girl called Faye. Grayday loved them all, and considered each one a niece or nephew regardless of their parentage.

Early in the summer of 2018, he grew ill and died of lyme disease.

Relationships

Blood

Grayday was born to Mud and Lark of Sameth-by-the-Mountain. He has many full-blooded siblings from them, most of which he has not met, and many nieces and nephews through them. Only relations that have been played in the Teekon Wilds will be listed below. A more extensive Family Tree can be found here.

Offspring

• Dawn Grayday's relationship with his firstborn daughter, Dawn, is one of his most cherished. He felt most understood by her and saw much of himself in her.
• SunnyGrayday's firstborn son. He was always very proud of Sunny, even though they butted heads at times.
• Easy A daughter from Grayday's second litter. He favored her for her large size and extroverted nature and did his best to groom her into a good ambassador.
• Lavender A daughter from Grayday's second litter. He worried constantly for her thinner pelt and small stature.
• Dauntless The only son from Grayday's second litter. Grayson hoped he would become a formidable hunter.
• Kasatka Grayday's youngest daughter.
• Winterbourne A son from Grayday's third litter. He did not get to spend much time with them before he died.
• Eventide A son from Grayday's third litter. He did not get to spend much time with them before he died.

Other

• Sunspot
• Murdock
• Shale
• Timberlake
• Radcliffe
• Padma
• Meadow
• Brook
• Stone
• Valiant
• Aeyrn (Philip)
• Minnow

Romantic

• Amber Ciel
• Bhediya (Khoe, Akuti)
• Catori "The Spiritwalker" Corten

Friendships

• Aditya
• Pema
• Adeline
• Chaska
• Valette
• Steady
• Aviana
• Heartha
• Howl