Moonspear the fire within
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All Welcome 
training / puppy talking thread :D sorry for the double tag, the other one was a saved draft so it squished it all wrong in the threadlog.

Charon had gathered @Vela and @Jarilo that day to show them some moves and do some training. He knew Vela wanted to become a tough warrior and surely Jarilo wanted to do something of the sort to follow in mom & dad's footsteps. Charon'd started the day off with a climb around the mountain, though they couldn't go very high because of the frozen state of things. "Be careful not to slip," he instructed the pups and stayed on the broader pathways so that they didn't need to walk too close to the edge. He'd lost enough of last year's pups. "Climbing builds muscles and running builds stamina, both things that come in handy in a fight." Especially with the cowards that'd run away as soon as they murdered someone, he thought sourly. But this year they would do better, he felt, with Vela and Jarilo to help keep Moonspear safe in addition to the cerberus — he felt more confident than ever that his next batch of children were going to grow up fine.

As Charon climbed up a path into the heart of the mountain with mountainy walls on both sides he looked back at the pups and said, "Are you looking forward to being the older brother and sister?" Surely they had noticed Amekaze's growing stomach by now and if not.. well, then, surpriiiise!
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In a way that he should expect by now, a whole lot had happened all at once. He had been quite content to stay busy trying to figure himself out, work on his patrols, train, stay away from mama's teeth, and all that good stuff but no, everyone had to go around and constantly make things complicated. He wasn't even all that involved in any of it, not directly, but he was overwhelmed! First his adult status was so fresh, now a big chunk of the wolves he looked up to besides his family had left, leaving a whole mess of doubts and confusion.

And if that wasn't enough he had recently connected a really unnerving sort of dot that he didn't know what to do with. His father had been sure to remind him of this after they had been mountaineering along like all was well for a while. Jarilo had been zoned into minding his scenery, and his place upon it. Such a question turned to him made his ears tuck in tight.

His concept of puppies who were not his littermates was incredibly poor. His concept of soon being the older sibling--the Hydra, Alya, and Lyra to his Jarilo--was even hazier and downright terrifying because how??? He stared nervously at his father's hocks, watching as he expertly navigated these terrains. He would heed his warnings in the meantime, aim to emulate him, and hopefully, one day, be so surefooted too.

He was uncharacteristically quiet for a really, really long time about this as they climbed on. Maybe Vela would interject. He left plenty of room for her to. He was still overwhelmed at the thought of more puppies, more siblings.. ones that were maybe even going to look up to him like he loved his sisters.

"I think so." he eventually decided to say about the sibling chat. He had way too many mysteries and questions to know what to think now.
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Vela was super excited when she could do something with her father again. Though when they met Jarilo was there as well. Luckily he was usually quiet and not taking too much attention away from her. So she was okay with Jarilo being there. He had proven to be a good brother so far by helping her with their play fights. Plus, her ever wanting attention of her father was diminishing a bit. She was feeling that more towards Drogon lately even feeling a bit jealous when the male would hang out with others.

Though, Vela's jealousy for her father's attention started to grow again when she heard that her mother was expecting pups again. That would mean her father would probably be too busy for her. That sucked. She climbed the slopes silently. It was almost a bit uncharacteristic of her as she was usually more outgoing when being with her father. She put all her effort into climbing the mountain and making sure her paws were not slipping. Then her father asked if she was excited. She glanced at him for a moment with a slight frown. "No," she said honestly and continued to climb.
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If anyone'd asked Charon beforehand what his pups would say, he would've given these exact answers to each of them. Jarilo a tentative 'I think so', for he was rarely sure and seemed like the kind of wolf who needed to experience things to know for sure what he thought of it. Still trying to find his place in the world. Whereas Vela knew exactly where her place in the world was. Charon himself had been excited for younger siblings, but this was in an entirely different world — it was a world where he was needed to raise them, not where there were plenty of pack wolves around to do so. Maybe he would have reacted the same had he grown up in a world with most of his family alive and well by his side. Being able to empathise with a lot of how Vela was as a wolf (and perhaps projecting himself more than was the case at times because she looked so alike to him) Charon was not surprised that she wasn't excited. She wanted all the attention to herself; that was why she and Galaxy hadn't gotten along well. Charon loved giving Vela all the attention in the world but he didn't think pups meant he would no longer be able to do this for Vela. That, however, was something she'd need to figure out herself along the way. Just like that pack took care of the pups -- not just parents -- which meant Vela herself was needed as much as any of the other wolves in the pack too.

As Vela gave her answer, however expected it was, Charon asked casually, as if it wasn't really a big-deal sort of subject, "Why not?" He already knew why not, of course, but it was probably better to hear it from her mouth. He added as he stood and looked at Vela proudly a moment: "I'm sure they'll adore you and look up to you very much. Who wouldn't want such a cool older sister?" Before continuing the climb.
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Vela vetoed the notion entirely, of course. She would, because he knew she liked all the attention for herself. He just gave her a quick side-eyed glance and tried not to roll his eyes too badly. Jarilo didn't find he agreed quite like that. Mostly he was overwhelmed at the whole thought of suddenly having new family. Little ones that needed a lot, or so they said, and already mama wasn't being very generous towards him most days so he feared this was about to get worse. Actually, there were other things he was worried about. He had a lot to find out.

"How soon?" he asked at his father, suddenly beginning there before this could move much beyond Vela's firm no—mostly since that was whatever to him and he had a bunch on his mind. "Will it be weird to meet them? Do you think there will be other brothers..??" he whispered in a rush. What a thought: other brothers! Maybe he was a little excited about that (even if less mama for him still hurt a bit). Not that more sisters were bad either. He had plenty.. and had lost a few lately.. His optimism about this hadn't quite wavered yet.
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Vela glanced at her father when she asked why not. Well, it was pretty clear why she wasn't looking forward to it. Her father would be busy with them and not with her. Vela wondered if her father just asked because he didn't know or because he wanted to hear it from her. "You will be busy all the time and they will want to hang out with you as well," she pointed out and then shook her head.

"They better," she pointed out. She was their older sister so she was far more knowledgeable than them. But then again, maybe she liked her new siblings. But now she wasn't looking too forward to their arrival. "I will just spend more time with Drogon then," she decided with a shrug. At least he was fun company compared to her dad.
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It was hard not to find Vela's princess-like behaviour adorable and laugh about it, but Charon knew from experience that this was the moment he should take them seriously. It wasn't a situation he had faced before, since his previous children'd been over the moon to welcome Vela, Jarilo and Galaxy into the world, but of course they had had their own quirks and things they didn't like, or thought they didn't like. "Of course not. Raising pups is a pack affair, so we'll spend time together making sure the young pups are safe. We especially need our family members." Now more than ever, in light of the recent betrayals. "You're a strong warrior, aren't you? We could patrol the area around the birth den together once they get here, and teach them how they can be strong too, together." Charon adored (well, almost) all of his children, but Vela would always have a special spot in his heart considering she looked exactly like him.

Jarilo asked if there'd be other brothers and how soon the pups would get here. "Another moon or so," Charon answered, though he wasn't entirely sure as he had not been counting too well. He usually just told how long it'd be til they got here judging by how big Amekaze's stomach was getting. "There might be other brothers. I hope so." He grinned at Jarilo, who'd been his only son so far (that he knew of, anyway; he thought fleetingly of Althaia then).

Vela went on to say that she would just spend more time with Drogon, a sentiment that Charon didn't like a whole lot. He paused briefly, but then continued the climb up the mountain. He didn't like the Vela he saw now, for felt too easily dismissed. She'd been jealous of her younger siblings just moments ago and now it seemed she discarded his love and attention so easily for a wolf like Drogon. The fur along his spine bristled to show his frustration with this, though he said nothing on the subject for some time, because there were no words he could find. The betrayal of Rannoch and Liffey as well as Osprey and Dante's children lay fresh on his mind now and it made him more sensitive to such thoughts. He climbed on in silence for some time while thoughts swirled through his mind until he eventually found words to say. "There will still be plenty of time for us to spend together." When he eventually spoke his voice was gruff, finding his mood souring at the thought of his fatherly love being discarded so easily in favour of spending time with just some straggler nobody Hydra picked up from Blackfeather Woods.
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He was used to it being like this, with Vela being herself and their father attending her whims first and foremost. He poked along and listened anyway even if it was tailored mainly for Vela, he was still gleaning his share of information from the sidelines here. It was still a lot to take in, but something about his father's presentation of it being a pack matter, did manage to cool some of his concerns. 

"Hm," he said, nodding. Another moon then, and, although not a for sure confirmation.. Charon seemed hopeful about brothers, so he would accept. "Okay good. Me too." he spoke on even in the presence of a sister then who already seemed disinterested in the puppies no matter their chromosomes. "Who decides that?" Since Charon didn't know, and well, as far as he knew, that pointed to the other involved party. "Is it mama?" he squinted... suddenly sensed an oncoming clarity as to why there were so many other girls if she was in charge of deciding these things if so.......  But that wasn't the only oddball notion that occurred and he spoke it up even if no one needed his philosophy on it: "Or did I just decide to be a brother?" He already didn't like how weird that was of a thought to think about suddenly, to just basically decide that hey, I pee this way instead. The youngest Moonspearian Ostrega, although not for much longer, certainly didn't remember making his mind up about something like that ever before.

Speaking of boys (but less about how they got here), when he could, he stuck his nose up at his sister's casual mention of Drogon and definitely didn't miss Charon's rebuttal to that, which the son said nothing about and simply trusted that it would all be alright if his father said so. But he didn't really want to talk about big burly silvery-maned Drogon either. He already got to hang out with Hydra a lot, now Vela? Jarilo wondered what he was missing here.
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Vela thought about it. She didn't know how she felt about helping with these pups. She would if it was expected from her though. She probably would like the attention she would get from her younger siblings. "If you say so," she returned to her dad. She wasn't convinced yet but it was better than her previous 'no'.

Vela lightly frowned when her father didn't seem to like that she was hanging out with Drogon. He took far too long to answer for her liking and when he completely ignored the topic. Vela wanted to ask what was wrong with her hanging out with Drogon but she didn't feel like having much of a discussion today.

When Jarilo asked about the fact who decided that gender the babies had Vela almost rolled her eyes at such a stupid question but she found that she didn't know the answer herself. So the female didn't. She glanced curiously at her father. She didn't mind brothers. Perhaps they wouldn't steal all her father's attention away.

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It was frightening to see how little reaction he elicited from Vela. Charon was afraid, more than anything else, to lose his daughter like he'd lost Julia. Though it was different -- he loved Vela a great deal more than he had ever loved Julia; but he'd still loved her, as she was his daughter too -- he could not help but wonder if this would drive her away. All he wanted was for them to be a family and Vela fit into that picture, as the perfect copy of himself. He wouldn't be able to bear losing her.

Jarilo's questions distracted him from his thoughts as he did not know what he could do or say about the Vela-problem at hand. He felt saying anything about her current attitude would only drive her further away. So instead he focussed on Jarilo's questions about gender while continuing the climb. He chuckled as Jarilo asked if mama decided what gender the babies'd be, or if they decided this themselves. "Neither. Nature decides these things for us. We have little say in it ourselves. So better be real nice to nature so she'll give you brothers, then." Charon winked at Jarilo -- of course it wasn't really how that worked -- as he continued the climb. Once they'd reached a plateau-like ledge Charon said: "Let's take a small break and look at the surroundings from up here." He'd missed climbing through winter and though it wasn't safe to go all the way up the mountain yet he was looking forward to taking those trips with Jarilo and Vela when the ice and snow melted away.
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Quite frankly, he didn't want to touch the Vela and Drogon matter very much. Not any more than he had to already, at least, and despite a still-lurking curiosity of his very own. He wasn't entirely blind to his father's pause on the matter, and all subtle like that he couldn't entirely know what it meant exactly--so the boy just erred on the side of caution and preferred to stay away from that, easy enough, and wondered if either of them would pursue the topic any further. A piece of him hoped that no, not right now..

And, somehow, Charon's answer shut him up with plenty to think about suddenly before he turned their attentions to the scenery spread before their little plateau. He lapsed into silence, looking and sniffing around to see what he could find next--and suddenly very contemplative over what he should be doing to be nice to nature, should there be brothers. The horizon, like the possibilities, always seemed so very vast to him.
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Vela curiously listened to her father. He explained to Jarilo that nature would decide the gender and not the parents. Interesting. So their parents couldn't decide their genders? She always thought her parents favored girls but maybe that wasn't the case. Vela glanced from Jarilo to her father when he called for a break.

"I'm not really that tired yet," she admitted but did stop when her father called for the break. She would still obey her father. The conversation had fallen quiet now Jarilo and Vela didn't have any further questions about their new brother and sister. Vela would see what she thought of them once they were born. Maybe they wouldn't be so bad.
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The questions seemed to have dried up when it came to their younger siblings. Charon hoped that they would do well with them; he worried the most about Vela, who seemed to have little interest in her baby siblings so far. Neither of them had been particularly beat back by Galaxy's death, but Charon thought it might be because they were young at the time. It was different for parents and older siblings, he supposed. It was a good thing when it came to Ran, but a sad thing when it came to Galaxy.

Vela wasn't tired but Charon had called the break and he stuck with it, anyway. Glancing out at the territories below he said: "It's beautiful, isn't it?" and glanced at his children to see if they shared his sentiments for the scenery. "When your mother can miss my help on the new pups, I'll take you to the ocean, to my old home." He didn't realise that that was currently a difficult promise to keep, that another pack had settled in Stavanger Bay once more. He had also already made this promise to Vela before, but he was not sure if Jarilo'd want to join too. Or maybe he would just take them one at a time. He felt he could use a good one-on-one, especially with Vela who'd never liked sharing her attentions.
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He was readily distracted by the view, at least, and peered off to the distant horizon, then traced a wandering path back towards home. His eyes could search forever and still feel like he had not seen it all yet. This thought brought a little frown to his lips, so he repeated, this time elsewhere, skimming along through the sensation of trying to grasp all when he couldn't ever dream to.

Jarilo blinked back to his father at his offer, and caught himself reeling as he refocused on just one thing in particular. A great thing, a massive powerful one if what everyone said was true: the ocean. His ears stood tall about that, and twitched thoughtfully over it being to his father's old home. "Yeah? What was it like? I'd like to see," he agreed with a grinning flash of teeth, trying barely to keep contained about the very notion at all, to finally get to go see the sea up close for himself.
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Vela frowned lightly when her father suggested that he would take them to the sea. Charon had promised her that before and they would find seashells as well. She didn't feel much for Jarilo joining them as well. She kept a slight scowl on her face before looking out over the scenery. Perhaps she would just fo herself one day. Maybe she wouldn't need her father to show it to her. She never really left Moonspear.

She turned to look at her father when Jarilo asked to tell them more about it. Vela was curious as well. Perhaps she could learn something from it after all if she wanted to visit herself. She sat down and kept her scowl a bit hidden. She didn't want to look too jealous but perhaps her family already knew of her jealous nature.
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Judging by the look on her face, Charon figured it was better to take Vela separately; she didn't look like she wanted to go with Jarilo there. Or maybe she was just upset that it hadn't gotten to a visit before. They had been so busy with preparing for the newest generation of Ostrega's...

Jarilo, meanwhile, was just curious and asked more about the sea and his old home. "It's called Stavanger Bay. A place surrounded by rocks, with forest and a beautiful coastline that borders the sea. You can't really see all the way there from up here, but almost." He glanced at the ocean; in the distance he could vaguely tell apart some territories near his old home but it was hard to see, in the mess of trees and coastline, where exactly the Bay was located.
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He knew the mountain and a bit into the valleys at their foot, but what his father pointed out to him on a distant horizon was well beyond his reaches so only barely did he have any idea of what he was even looking at. Jarilo just squinted quizzically into the direction of this Stavanger Bay--his father's birthplace--so the boy would try to commit this to memory, especially if he ever wanted to see it for himself. "What's a Stavanger? Is a bay a kind of coastline?" he asked, eyes darting to his father, then to his sister to see how she was dealing with his long wandering lists of questions that he did not even entirely know how to phrase only knowing about so many different types of landscape features--not necessarily coastal ones, though.

When Vela didn't look like this was the worst thing she could be doing, he pressed on with another question that did come to mind when he saw the distance between here and presumably there. "Does it take long to get there?"
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Vela could recognize herself a bit in her bother. The endless questions. She herself felt that she could ask those endless questions. The speckled female was curious as well why it was called that way. She looked expectantly at her father to tell the answer to them. She noticed how longingly her father spoke about his place. Vela squinted her eyes briefly. "Do you miss that place?," Vela asked, sounding a bit demanding. What if he liked that place better and wanted to move there. She would move with him but still, maybe her father wasn't happy here on the mountain.
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Charon didn't know what Stavanger meant so he only answered his son's second question: "Yes, a bay is part of the coastline." Jarilo then asked if it was far and Charon answered: "It's not overly far, but it is a good walk away." Looking at Vela, he said: "There isn't much time before your siblings get here, but when your mother's a bit stronger again after the birth I can take you there."

Then Vela asked if he missed his old home. Charon shook his head. The place held much grief; his parents had died there, Ragnar had died there, many had left him there, and by the time they moved it was definitely too small a band of wolves left for them to sustain. "It was a nice place to grow up in, but I don't miss it. This mountain is more fitting to the legacy we have built here." He smiled proudly, for Moonspear had held a dear place in his heart from the very beginning. The largest mountain in the area, their mountain. He at times missed the ocean's scent in his nostrils or the ability to go to the water and gaze out into the ocean, but there was so much more that he had here than there... besides, he could watch the ocean from a bit further away, too, and enjoy its aesthetics just fine from over here.
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Even without knowing what a Stavanger was, he soaked up the answers, noting it as part of the coastline simply so and that it was a good walk, but not out of reach. Without much travel underneath his own paws, these concepts of greater distances than their immediate valleys were painfully abstract. He still would gladly hear about it, and nodded along to stow these facts for later--for when they did get to go there with him, after the pups.

To also find out that his father did not miss his birthplace was.. interesting, but another little piece of information he couldn't tell what to do with yet.  "I would miss here I bet.." he murmured, not that he intended to let that happen. A wandering sort of thought made him consider growing up on the coast instead. Without knowing what it was like, the image was very incomplete, and all he knew was that anything not-mountain just sounded weird to imagine for their family. So, he decided his father was definitely right about that one and nodded heartily as he peered off into the distance thoughtfully some more.


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Vela was tempted to go now, however, she wouldn't want to leave the mountain forever. The girl loved the mountain and knew nothing else. She never really left Moonspearnand on the borders she was attacked. It didn't give her much trust that others out there were going to be nice to her. She wouldn't go conflict out the way, for that would be a shame.

"I never want to leave here. It is my home." She agreed with that like Jarilo, she would miss it here terribly if she would have to leave. She might even protest.
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Charon smiled as Jarilo and Vela both agreed that they'd rather stay here at Moonspear. "Me too," Charon said. He had loved Stavanger Bay, but he certainly loved Moonspear too. The only thing it lacked was ocean but the views were good and he could always visit the ocean. "Come on, let's climb a bit more," Charon said with a smile and he nuzzled Vela's cheek briefly before continuing the mountain trek with his children, feeling content just to be in this moment.

my last post! feel free to tack on another or archive it here :)