Moonspear as my dreams are falling apart

Tevinter explained that leadership had been something he had always aspired to earn. It made sense, and the simple statement earned nothing more than a shrug from Floki. There would still be opportunities for Tevinter to achieve his coveted goal, but the way their lives had played out thus far had dictated Floki's promotion. It wasn't his fault that they had been attacked by a bear and that Tevinter had been swept away by the ocean; nor was it his fault that Charon had been essentially the only family member that Floki could rely on during his childhood. They had no more control over the events that had occurred than, say, the weather, and Floki couldn't help but resent the underlying message behind Tevinter's words -- that he didn't deserve to be Moonspear's Beta.

But it was what Tevinter said next that made Floki's blood boil. He went on to criticize Charon and his actions over the last few months. From Floki's point of view, Tevinter had no leg to stand on -- he hadn't been there in Stavanger Bay as winter bore down on them and their numbers dwindled, wolves disappearing like melting snow. He stood up for Thistle Cloud now, but he hadn't been there when she spent hours upon hours in her den, not tending to her one remaining biological son. Floki held no ill will towards Thistle, but it was simply the truth; she hadn't been fit to care for him after Ragnar's death and the subsequent loss of Jorunn, Ragna, and Kaylan. It had been too much for her. And Charon had been there for him.

"It was Charon that saved this pack," he spat vehemently. "If it wasn't for him, where would we be? A pack of three trying to survive on the coast. The winter would have done us in," he said. He stood by his brother's decision to merge the pack with the Sunspire; it was true that the decision had seemed rash without Thistle's blessing, but in the end, she, too, had supported her adopted son. She had been the one to instate him as her Beta, hadn't she? That meant that she trusted his judgment.

Narrowing his eyes, he considered Tevinter's words. He could be great like Ragnar -- a wolf who had blindly followed a faith that had ultimately led to the loss of his eye and his death? Perhaps, had Ragnar lived past the first few weeks of Floki's life, he would have learned to appreciate the Viking gods and traditions. But it wasn't something that had been instilled in him, and it had not come to him naturally. He had no dreams of Odinn; why believe in something that he couldn't see?

Lowly, he replied, "What if I don't want to be like Ragnar?"