Lazy winter days, that’s what he called them. Those first few weeks when winter was finally beginning to overtake autumn’s grasp on the lands, Ehno always seemed to feel drained of energy. Much of the vigor that filled his every day seemed to disappear around this time of year. It was as if he needed time to adjust to the arrival of the colder season, and he simply drifted along until he felt attuned to the snowy season. That wasn’t to say the Marino man did nothing those dawning winter days, this winter especially.
In addition to his usual tasks around the pack, travelling had become part of his routine. Ehno had always been a fan of travelling, but those past adventures were always solely for fun—a way to occupy his never-ending curiousity. These days, travel became more of necessary thing for him. His life was split between two packs, two families. Crimson Dreams remained his permanent home, where his sisters and their children lived, but Phoenix Valley held quite a bit of sway over him as well. He spent much time there with his children and Naniko, and those lands were feeling less and less strange to him. It certainly felt more like a second home, the more time he spent there.
He still had yet to find a way to adequately balance his time between the two packs. At times, it seemed that he only departed on a whim for the Valley pack as soon as he felt a strong need to be with his children. Ehno missed those four little ones often when he was home in Crimson Dreams. After spending so much time with them when they were young and vulnerable during their first two months of life, it felt strange to be away from them. At times he felt particularly alone when he thought of them, despite being surrounded by his family here in Haven Manor. These thoughts kept him up some nights, especially during these winter days. He knew that Naniko and Geneva took wonderful care of the pups while he was away, but he still found himself often wondering how those little ones were adjusting to the change of the seasons. It was their first winter, after all.
Tonight thoughts of those four little pups danced through his head, keeping sleep at bay. He felt foolish for letting the thoughts keep him from his rest, but the Major was a family-oriented man, and it could not be helped. With a sigh, he pushed himself up from his bed and headed out into the hallway. He would take a quick walk outside in the cool night and maybe it would allow him to clear his head. He tried to shake the weariness from his shoulders as he reached the front door of the mansion and opened it up. The sight of Brooklyn sitting on the porch greeted him as he stepped outside. Ehno was so surprised to see someone else out there that he simply stopped in his tracks and stared for a moment. “Oh, uh… Hello, Brooklyn,” he greeted.