Moonspear before the night

Now that the warmest part of the day had passed and evening loomed, afternoon sleet had turned to chilly mixed precipitation. On the tale end of her patrol, it was now shifting more towards a soggy snow. A small dusting was already accumulating, and beginning to harden the slush beneath it with the continually dipping temperatures. She grumbled something indecipherable and shook the excess dampness out of her coat before she scoped on ahead.

She knew that Wildfire had gone out on an extending scout trip (something that worried her a little considering the season, but she trusted the outrider), and that Floki had left a trail to the northwest, probably on a similar venture on a smaller scale. Jace was probably around if she looked in the right places, with Dash and Thistle about the same. Amekaze didn't know Kaylan or Alaska well enough to make a good guess on their whereabouts yet, but that would hopefully change soon. With all of this in mind, she decided to lower her nose and seek out @Charon's trail, just to see if she could find him before dusk could deepen the chill, or increase the snowfall.

Charon wandered through the snow, enjoying the flakes as they drifted down. The weather had been changing today, and it was getting colder now, the snow intensifying. After exploring the coastal area a little, Charon had returned home. He was glad to be here, with the wolves that appreciated him, and had been just in time to see Dhole leave on one of her scouting trips. Hopefully she would bring something useful home. Flóki was gone too at the moment, though he hadn't gone anywhere far, Charon imagined.

While Charon was going down the mountain to find warmer places for the night, he saw Ame right ahead. He looked at her, and a smile traced along his face. "Hey Ame," he called out towards his co-Alpha, unaware that she had actually been looking for him.

While her search was not an overly focused one, it paid off before too much longer. The shape of Charon could be made out ahead and her arced tail waved slowly. She erased the distance between them. "Hey," she chuffed back in return once much closer. She followed her greeting with a well-aimed nip to his shoulder. It was maybe a little harsh, but done so in fondness. He had already established to her that he was okay with a connection so she'd intend to make sure he was alright with it in the way she'd mean it.

Amekaze stayed in close to him and considered the chilly wind with increasing dismay. It would be bitter tonight. After shaking the sprinkles of wet snow off her head, she sighed. "Quiet today," she remarked. Especially after the bear incident, and even more so with Wildfire and Floki gone. She hoped that whatever information they brought back would help her quell her own interests in roaming further than just a few territories away -- especially with the urge to visit the Sunspire sitting in the back of her mind. Jace had reported nothing of note out in the wilds and that had helped make it easier to postpone it, but she still felt like she could head out herself at some point.

But, now isn't the time for that as she looks Charon over. She had held fast to the hope that winter would break soon and then, her opportunity would be the best.

As Ame nipped his shoulder, Charon moved his nose to touch her cheek, touch gentler than her own. It sure felt quiet, and they no longer needed to worry as much about the bears. Only one was left, and once hibernation would end they would get it, surely. Charon himself had taken a few small trips lately, but right now he was happy staying in Moonspear's and Ame's vicinity for a while during Dhole and Flóki's trips.

He agreed to her statement regarding the quietness with a "hmm," and looked skyward at the intensifying snow. "Best to get somewhere warm inside before the night, before we get frozen in our tracks out here, " Charon said with a grin. It wasn't as cold as he was making it out to be, but it was convenient enough if it meant spending the night cuddled up to Ame. And anyway, it was likely going to get colder when the night really started, and the snow would be getting pretty cold on their furs then. He looked at Ame, waiting to see her reaction, by guessing it was a positive response.

Amekaze peered skyward, too, squinting into the snowfall. Beautiful as it was, she could appreciate it to an extent but at this point, winter's novelty had mostly worn off. She just wanted balmy summer evenings back and for all the waterways to be thawed fully. "You think it will get that bad?" she smirked, imagining how much snow it may take to freeze them here. She didn't really want to think about it with such an anticipation of spring on her mind, though "It is picking up quite a bit," she reasoned, which was true -- it was, but not that terribly so, and the temperature would only drop by the hour. She had a sly look on though as snow was already beginning to accumulate on her furs again.

She hadn't missed the implication, so tilting her head, she spoke on. Her plans involved holing up a little bit later but if the opportunity stood to improve it for her, she wasn't opposed to that.  "I had whatever little cave I come across first in mind for myself -- before I knew you were out here too, anyway," she offered with a shrug and attempted to gauge what he had planned, if anything for the we he mentioned. If he was not opposed, she was sure they could come up with somewhere decent to go. The mountain had a pretty good share of nooks and crannies for that, even if most of her favorites were on small spots. She was used to accommodating one wolf and having to rely on her own heat, after all.

Charon's plans hadn't formed very far yet, really, since he had just said the first thing that had come up in his mind. Amekaze's words implied that she didn't know a lot of places that would accomodate two, and they would have to find something or other. Charon knew some bigger caves along the mountainside, though not many of them were two-wolves-sized; most of them were bigger. Since Ame clearly left it up to him to find a place for the pair of them, however, he confidently said: "Follow me, I know of something." Charon shook the snow off his fur and got ready to leave. Assuming that she would follow, he nipped at her nose before taking off along the lower regions of the mountain.

There were some places further up that were really beautiful, but he wouldn't risk it in the present weather. The weather wasn't too bad, really, but bad enough that he wouldn't risk going high up the mountain. Instead, he trotted through the snow, trying to find the cave that he had in mind. Finally he found it, and he gestured at Ame that they were there. The entrance was small, but beyond the wolf-sized entrance was a cave that was partially frozen, with drippy rocks in summer, he imagined, but had a dry nook where they could lay and have a good view of the frozen cave's beauty. Chicks loved beautiful stuff, after all.

She he fell into step behind him and was curious to see this through -- namely, how and where he would take this lead of his. She'd wanted company between them, and only the two of them, to feel it out and see what was there exactly. Since she'd gleaned from other pack mates that there were others who were aware of it too, so she wanted to find out exactly what it was.. if she could. She'd gotten the sense that it was one of those things that only time would have to tell, and since she had nothing else to busy herself with, it was nice that it was falling into place like this already, even without a lot of effort on her behalf.

Ame had nothing better to contribute as to a good place to go and highly doubted she would object to anywhere he'd lead them to, so was content to follow in this moment. She moved lightly, and squinted to attempt to keep some of the snowfall out of her eyes until her attention zeroed in on the cave's entrance when they neared. "Nice find," she remarked quietly before slipping past the cave's entrance to investigate the inside more, since she assumed he'd not be far behind. Conditions improved immediately with snow no longer accumulating on her.

Once there, she turned around and ran her eyes over the cave's walls in a contentedly thoughtful silence. She still stood by what she said, especially upon seeing the inside of it, and it was a far better spot than where she would have gone alone. It did make her realize that she was not a frequent cave-dwelling wolf, especially for as mountain-oriented as she was. She may have overlooked this little hidden cove entirely if not for these circumstances here, but nevertheless, once satisfied by her look-over, she settled into a spot of her very own to dry a bit.

Amekaze was first to slip into the cave and Charon went in after her. A smile marked his face when she called it a 'nice find', and he answered: "I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?" While he mentioned the word 'beautiful', Charon nosed Ame's cheek gingerly and briefly, before he pulled back and watched the cave's interior alongside her. After she had sought a place and settled -- the dry spot that he'd had in mind, too, which made sense since it was the obvious choice -- Charon moved on over and picked a spot by Ame's side.

As he lay down he felt a little awkward, for he'd never really laid down by anyone's side like that, but on the outside Charon was his usual, confident self. He lay down just behind Ame, so that their bodies touched and he lay his head on her back / shoulder, assuming that she would appreciate the warmth after the snow they'd come out of.

"Beautiful indeed," she replied with her smirk on her voice when he nudged her cheek. She was beginning to almost anticipate him keeping a closeness between them, even to the point of touch. He'd already established that he was fine with it, and so was she, so she wondered if the foundations of a routine were being set up right here and now.

What she did know was that she was quick to relax. With a soft sigh, she got more comfortable in her selected spot, after hardly needing to adjust as he settled as well. Warmth came with it, and she leaned against him first with her back and then with her neck best she could with him across her shoulders. "Much better than out there snow in my eyes," she murmured with an appreciative chuff to go with it.

After a silent beat, she snaked her muzzle back to nip at the side of his snout. Since it was a strange angle to bend at from right here (and she was in no rush to change it right now), she didn't linger long, but her point was made all the same as she soaked up the quiet moment contentedly.

The view of the icy cave was perfect as they settled beside each other in the dry spot. The young King's arrogance had grown, but he felt content exactly with what he had as he leaned his head across Ame's back and she leaned softly into him. It was why he had picked her as his Queen — because she grounded him, made him feel content and at peace. For the moment, his normal never-good-enough attitude melted away, and he had exactly what he wanted without wishing for more.

The nip to his muzzle was unexpected, but not unwelcome. An appreciative growl rumbled in Charon's throat in response. "Much better..." he murmured appreciatively, mirroring her statement. He craned his neck slightly and pressed his nose against Ame's neck, enjoying the warmth of her body against his face.

She adjusted in stride to this sort of company because it was just so very easy. But, she'd known in her heart for a little while that it just was that way between them. Something just was.

Such has always been her inner conundrum with him and as to why she simply felt it in her gut that a yearling like him was just supposed to be involved in her story. Their interests aligned well enough and she knew that she balanced him out, but even that never seemed to explain it in full to her. He was perhaps at his best for her, so she suspected, and she was always curious to see what it would inspire.

Anyway, she grunted something meant to say she agreed with everything happening here at present, nose on her neck included, and then rested her head on her forelimbs. Not many were privy to her this way, so subdued and still with half-lidded eyes, but somehow he was. She still took care to lean her weight back into him and his warmth, happy to relax this way for a while.

At this point, Charon didn't expect anything but full compelling. He'd always been particularly possessive of Amekaze, since the day they shared a rank, but he had never deciphered the reason why (nor tried to). Now it became clear to even him why, as he nestled his nose against her neck and enjoyed her warmth. It also became clear to him that he did not need to do a grand gesture to win her over, as he had asked Thistle Cloud about, because she already knew. And he had already won her over.

There was no need for him to solidify his claim on her heart, because as far as he knew there were no other contenders (and he felt arrogant enough to think they'd keep their mitts off Ame if not only because she was rightfully his) and she was not in heat. Normally Charon preferred to be in control, but once more in a case where Amekaze was concerned -- very personally, this time -- he didn't need confirmation or control. He was happy just being with her, and somehow he knew that things would be alright. This, to him, was enough confirmation for him that it was he who would father Amekaze's children come spring. And perhaps by that time, he would decide for his grans gesture to make things official, after all.

It was hard not to drift off to a content sleep what with how rosy and warm he was beginning to feel in Ame's presence. His butterfly-filled, happily churning gut however kept him very much awake and in the moment, just as he liked it, for he wished it would last forever.

Maybe before entering the threshold of this icy cave, it had seemed a bit too early. Too early to turn in for the evening (for someone prone to late nights as she) and too early to know for sure what exactly she wanted to take away from this.. but now, with her eyelids feeling heavy and the rest of her strangely absent of concerns about whens and wheres and whys, she just wanted to stay here. None of it seemed worth her efforts and instead she happily focused on the warmth.

And maybe she had meant to do more with this.. somehow, but instead, she found that her silence spoke well enough on its own. In her way, she liked it simple, and certainly sensed there would be more times between them for more. So she had no qualms. Her ears stayed tipped his way, listening to the rhythm of his breathing for a while until she was able to doze lightly.

Their bodies pressed together, Charon could feel the rhythmic breathing of the body against his slow steadily. He sighed contently and remained in place, knowing that this was the start of something great. Or perhaps it started half a year ago, when they'd both agreed to lead this pack together.

He closed his eyes, but could not quite drift off to sleep, and so he stayed awake through most of the night, simply watching over and feeling good.