Somewhere in the darkness shines a little light on a blue horizon

ooc: @Charon

It probably hadn't been the best idea to be on the move again, after she had returned from her visit to the caldera, but for unknown reason Osprey had begun to feel restless being among the pack wolves. When it came to the point that she decided to flee by the sight of one, she understood that she needed her time alone. And probably something pleasant to look forward to.

It didn't go unnoticed to her that this journey to the bay seemed longer and harder to her than it had been the previous times. Either because of the sickness weeks earlier, the miles she had walked or the increased appetite had something to do with it, but her step lacked the ease and natural rythm it usually did. She felt heavy and had to stop frequently to regain her breath.

At one point she considered, whether it was worth the effort and whether she should give up on this and go home, which would be the most reasonable thing to do. But at the very thought of it, her rebellious self fought, telling her that the difficulties she was experiencing, were not a good reason enough to postpone visitting Charon. It was quite some time, since they had met and he probably had grown up a great deal.

So by the time the sun was setting, she arrived at the bay's borders, happy and relieved for the valid excuse to sit down again. After regaining her breath, she lifted her muzzle and called for her friend.

Since his return home, Charon hadn't been sleeping very well. He was plagued by nightmares about the monstrous dog that had attacked him. Even though the wounds in his neck were healing fine on the outside now that they'd been treated by Thistle Cloud, the ones on the inside proved a lot harder to fix. Charon wanted nothing more than to march over to wherever Blythe lived and give her what was coming to him, but two things stopped him: the first being the fact he had no clue where she lived, and the second that his mortality had been proven by the assault at Dawnlark Plains.

When the call sounded, Charon had been laying near the den, feeling sombre. He got to his feet, filled with sudden energy and excitement, as he heard the call; Charon loved spending time with Osprey, and he was glad she had returned after their last adventure. Hopefully — but if she was here, then probably — her injuries from their previous adventure had healed properly.

The adolescent, now nearly six months of age and thus adult in size — though not in stature, balance and strength — dashed to the borders as fast as he could. He greeted Osprey with an excited wag of his tail and nipped the underside of her chin in a respectful greeting. "Osprey!!" he excitedly said. "Did Dante tell you to come?" He'd met Dante nog long ago and wondered if the leader of Blacktail Deer Plateau had told Osprey to drop by for a visit.

While sitting and waiting for Charon or - hopefully not - anyone else to come and greet her at the borders, Osprey enjoyed her rest. She looked around at the surrounding area with curious eyes - it had not changed much since her last visit and with a little effort she could also remember some of the paths that she had frequently taken during her walks, while she had stayed at the bay. However a sudden tug somewhere in her belly, made her cast a surprized gaze down at her sides, which - despite her very active lifestyle - seemed a little more round than usual. But since after the first tug, nothing followed, she didn't think much about it at that moment.

It was a little later, when she saw a familiar form running in her direction and she - despite her aching feet - got up to greet her friend properly. When Charon had come close enough for her to have a good look at him, she was surprised to find out that the little pup she had met the last time had grown into a fine young man that was at the same height she was. "No, I came, because I wanted to see you," she replied, wondering, how did the kid know Dante and why should the leader of the plateau need to tell her to do anything. "So, how have you been?" she asked, sitting down again, since it seemed to be a more comfortable way to carry her weight.

Apparently Dante hadn't mentioned Charon, he concluded, because Osprey said she'd come on her own, to see Charon. He didn't press the subject further, because he was totally fine with Osprey's reasons for coming. "I'm glad you're here," said Charon. "I have sooo much to tell you about!" He wasn't exactly proud of his journey to Duskfire Glacier. The naked details of his trip there, what he did there, and his journey back were awful and dishonouring... But wrap a prettier, rainbow-coloured wrapping around the story, and it got a whole lot better.

"Do you wanna go to a cool waterfall we've got? I dunno if you saw it when you were here. We can talk while we go there!" Charon pointed his nose towards Stavanger Bay territory. He figured it was fine to invite Osprey in, since she'd stayed here for a while when she was wounded, so it was almost like she lived here anyway. "I went on a super long journey all the way to Duskfire Glacier," said Charon. He wasn't sure if Osprey had noticed the healing scabs on his neck, since they were surrounded by fur and were healing nicely, but it didn't matter much; his story could include a few wounds — nay, battle scars! — and sound equally cool.

"Do you? Well, then I am just in time. Smart me," Osprey praised herself, lifting one of her forepaws and pressing it briefly against her chest. This was something Peregrine used to do, but it seemed very appropriate for the moment. However, when he suggested them going somewhere, she looked a little unwilling in the beginning. The "Do we have to?" expression flashed only briefly, because the next she had got to her feet, shook her coat and was ready to follow her brave knight.

"Cool waterfall? Sounds cool..." she chuckled at her own silliness, but felt very at ease in Charon's company. He would not judge her about that yet. Although he had grown up considerably, he was still a kid. And so was she - deep in her heart. "So, Sir Knight Starchaser - what have you been up to, while I was doing quests down South?" she had not forgotten their game and chosen nicknames from the last time. And she would not mind continuing it, if her friend would be willing to do that.

Though Charon didn't understand why Osprey didn't want to visit the cool waterfall, he didn't press it. She was soon ready to follow him, anyway, so it didn't matter; whatever objection she had was probably not very important. The gesture of the forepaw-to-the-chest was unknown to Charon, but probably had something to do with Osprey being smart. The silliness or double use of the word 'cool' wasn't even noted by Charon — but then, there could never be too much use of the word 'cool' in his books — and he eagerly began leading the way to the waterfall, crossing Stavanger Bay's borders.

Charon had never been down south, and he wondered what it was like. However, it was time for his story first. "Well, I heard that my brother Kevlyn was stolen by Duskf— uhm, someone, and Duskfire Glacier wolves might know more." He corrected himself, just in time (he hoped) because obviously Duskfire hadn't stolen his brother and he'd look stupid if he told Osprey that he thought they had just because someone told him. "So anyway, I travelled allll the way there! It was super far though, so I got really hungry and tired from all the travels. And then I got there and there were some really angry wolves who were angry for no reason." As always, Charon's stories were a little drawn out and stunted in their wording; this one moreso because he had to twist and make up details on the spot. "So then I found out some mean evil wolf called Blythe probably stole my brother, and I decided to go home so we could search for this wolf together, 'cause I'd forgotten to tell everyone that I was gone so I was thinking, like, 'they must be so worried by now'! And they were!

And then on my way back when I was pretty tired, there was a monster that attacked me! It looked sort of like a wolf but the fur was really short, and it was hunchbacked and didn't have much of a tail and it had lots of scars and its eyes were red like blood! It was pretty scary, but I wasn't scared at all." Charon boasted proudly, even though he'd been scared shitless, pissed himself and ran off. But nobody needed to know that; least of all Osprey, probably the wolf he liked most in the world. "When we fought, the monster hurt me in my neck, but then I attacked it and scared it off." Yup, exactly how that story had played out. "And on my way home I nearly got attacked by a huge wolf, but then Ragnar found me and we went home and Thistle took care of my wounds."

Charon paused their journey towards the waterfall for a moment and turned the scabs in his neck towards Osprey. "See? That's where the monster got me."

It was a little hard for Osprey to match Charon's quick pace - her aching feet and the heavy feeling that made her constantly think about, how very nice it would be to stop walking and lie down. But a promise was a promise, she had to keep up and not show weakness. Therefore she tried to divert her mind from the exhaustion and focus more on, what her young friend was telling her.

The tale of Charon's adventures was long and had many curves and loops. If you compared it to the road, then it was not the easy and straight line, no, it had bumps and holes, trees fallen over it and some places were even washed away by the stream. In order to understand and remember everything he told her, she had to make effort of following through.

When the boy had got to the point, where a monster had hurt him in the neck, Osprey felt a sudden, stabbing pain in her belly, she let out a little yelp and fell down to her haunches. "Sorry, Charon. I have to take a rest," she told him. Probably this was not the response he had expected from her, when he showed his battle scars.

It was disappointing that Osprey didn't seem to pay super much attention to his epic story of awesomeness. He had no idea that she was having a difficult time keeping up with his pace, and it just seemed as if she was not that interested in his story to Charon. He wasn't used to not receiving all the attention in the world from Osprey.

When she yelped he looked back immediately and saw that she had sat down (he hadn't seen her fall because he was showing off his battle scars). She said that she had to take a rest, and Charon was annoyed that she seemed so disinterested in her. "Oh," he said as he looked at Osprey, trying to find something off with her. He didn't see any wounds, even though it was evident by the way she behaved that something was off.

"What's wrong?" Charon asked, hiding his disappointment in case something was actually wrong with Osprey. She had yelped out, after all, so maybe she was hurt and he just couldn't see it, or she had a tummy ache.

Osprey felt bad for spoiling the fun for Charon and she sensed his disappointment too, even though he didn't say anything and showed polite concern for her well-being. The pain came and went in waves, it was dull and unpleasant, she had to clench her teeth to keep herself from whining and showing any more weakness than she already had. Eventually it lessened, but, when she tried to get up, it striked again. Bloody hell... she thought, lying down.

Then she looked up at Charon and gave an apologetic smile: "I am so sorry. I haven't been... "on top of things" lately so to say." It was true - these past few weeks had been an endless row of unexplained and seemingly unrelated symptoms showing up. "Would you mind staying a while - I promise I will be on my feet in a moment or two," she said, not wanting to disappoint him any more than she already had. "You have had quite a lot of adventures - did you find your brother in the end? And what... do you think the monster really was?" she asked, attempting to steer the conversation back to, where it had stopped.

"Should I call for Thistle?" asked Charon, though he still couldn't find anything wrong with Osprey by looking at her. She did seem to be in pain though, so if there was anything wrong with her, maybe a healer should look at her. Thistle Cloud was always great at making Charon's booboos go away, so surely he could make Osprey all better if there was really something wrong. When she lay down, Charon realised they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, and maybe they wouldn't even get to Shield Maiden's Falls today at all.

Osprey explained that she hadn't been on top of things, which made Charon figure she must have had this pain for a while now. He had little choice but to stay by Osprey's side, so he nodded quietly. He couldn't just leave a wolf not from Stavanger Bay laying in the territory and the reason he wanted to go to the waterfalls was to show them to Osprey, so going alone was rather pointless.

Osprey continued to ask him about his adventure, though Charon was more interested in fixing Osprey; he'd swallowed his disappointment previously when he had told her the story. When she asked, however, he sadly said, "No, we didn't. Ragnar says that Kev is probably just dead anyway." Maybe some day Charon would run into Blythe again and then he could interrogate her for Kevlyn's whereabouts... But he had no idea where she was from, other than somewhere along the coastel area, so he didn't even know where to start looking. "Blythe was a wolf with a white body and a black face, like I'd never seen before. Do you know where any such a wolf lives?" He didn't think it likely since Osprey was not from the coastal area, but since Blythe had quite a unique appearance Charon figured he could always ask. He glossed over the monster question, because sometimes, 'monster' was as much of a description as you could give something.

"Oh, no, I will be fine. Just tired - that's all," Osprey declined Charon's offer to call for Thistle. To come all this way and end up in the hands of the pack's healer? When she probably had so many things to do? No. Even if she didn't feel that well at the moment, she knew that it wasn't that bad with her either. A moment of rest, alright, maybe two and she would be back to her feet, ready to follow her friend and see the waterfall, which she believed to be a great and beautiful place.

"I am so sorry, Charon," she told, making the effort to stand up and nuzzling the fur on his neck in a reassuring manner. Osprey could feel sympathy for the poor fellow, because she had lost two of her close and dearly beloved siblings too. They had disappeared one day and she also had no knowing of, whether they were alive or not. Most likely the latter. She then sat down carefully.

When he inquired about a wolf that had a black face and white fur, she had to think long, because this description did ring a bell, even though the name and gender (she assumed that Blythe was a male) did not go together. It was a memory, seemingly unremarkable, but still stuck in her memory, because it had not been pleasant. "I think I have met a person similar to this. It happened few months ago, while I was staying here. I was... walking along the coast and I had an encounter with a very eery wolf," even now she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"She was creepy and didn't talk much, but looked almost like you described it."

Charon smiled sadly when Osprey nuzzled his fur to reassure him, feeling sad. He was glad that Osprey reassured him, so that he wouldn't need to feel too sad and alone. At least he had great wolves around him, and he remembered what Ragnar had said about living in the present and being grateful for what Odinn or whoever watched over him gave, instead of mourning over what had been taken from him, even if it was unfair. He nudged Osprey's cheek in return to her nuzzles as a silent thank-you for her sympathy.

When Osprey mentioned having an encounter with an eerie wolf who looked like Blythe, Charon was sure it was the same wolf. How many wolves with white bodies and black heads could exist in one place, after all; it had to be. "It's gotta be her," he quickly said. "She smelled a lot like the ocean, so she lied and said she was a new member of Stavanger Bay. But I don't know about any other packs along the coast. Maybe she's like a creepy hermit who lives along the -- Oh! Oh! Maybe she lives on that island not far from here. That seems like a place a creepy hermit would live." She had smelled like wolf, but if she spent a lot of her time roaming the coastal area creeping wolves out and spreading lies, it made sense that she did. It was clear from Charon's face that he intended to check out the island, if he could get there safely through the ocean's current, and might've run off to do so if he wasn't stuck with Osprey not feeling too well at the moment.

Osprey would have gladly volunteered to help Charon look for this wolf, who had lied about it's origins and possibly misled him in his search for the lost sibling, exposing him to danger that could possibly have killed him too. But, even with all her willpower, she couldn't force the exhaustion and pain away, therefore this idea - sadly - had to be put aside for now. She was also interested in this island he had mentioned - maybe not solely because the offending wolf might live there, but because - well - possibly uninhabited islands sounded like fun thing to be on and explore. Again - another idea to set aside for later use.


"Just promise me that you won't go there alone, ok?" she asked him, knowing well that he would do things, whatever and whichever way he would wish, that she was in no place to tell him, what to do. But she wanted him to be safe and not get hurt. To see him in one piece, when she came to visit him the next time. "I think," she got to her feet and stretched each limb to test, whether they would be able to carry her to the intended goal, "that I can walk again. Just slowly, please?" Who would have ever thought that the quick and agile Osprey would ask for someone to go slow. Yet here she was. "Lead the way, Sir Knight!" she said, giving him a fond smile."By the way - does Drake still hang around here or he is visiting his troll family?"

Osprey made Charon promise he wouldn't go there alone. Charon wasn't sure who he could bring -- if it was dangerous, he didn't want to bring Levi, especially if Blythe really was there because she would fill his head with more lies. Who else could he bring? Maybe grumpy socially awkward dude Aesop, or Spectra, who seemed pretty cool and liked adventures too. "Sure," he mumbled in a sort-of promise while he considered what wolf to bring, as Osprey clearly was not up to the adventure right now.

Osprey got up again and said she could walk again, albeit slowly. "Okay!" Charon said enthusiastically, and he started to lead the way again. Occasionally he'd forget to keep Osprey in mind and trot ahead, and then he would run back to her side and slow to a walk by her side again. When Osprey asked about Drake, Charon looked thoughtful. "I dunno, I guess he still hangs out sometimes. But I was thinking maybe I was getting kinda old to hang out with an im-- uhm, a troll." He didn't like calling Drake 'imaginary' because that made him look like a loony, and he wasn't sure why he suddenly felt awkward having an imaginary friend; maybe it had something to do with the encounter of the monster in Dawnlark Plains and having his face rubbed into adversity as well as the painful face of reality.

Osprey's progress was slow, therefore it was no wonder that the young fellow got ahead of her many times and she watched his ease of movement with slight envy, for she could not force herself to match his pace. Every now and then she would feel a twitch or a prickling feeling in her belly, but the pang of pain that had surprised her moments ago didn't return. Therefore it was easier to ignore these minor signs. All the more, while Charon kept talking and distracting her from focusing too much on her problems.

So... her friend had outgrown a phase, where you needed an imaginary buddy. It was a natural process, of course, but it didn't render Osprey from feeling regret that this chapter in Charon's life had ended and that there was no turning back. She also - quite irrationally - felt sorry for Drake, who was left just because the once little boy had grown up. "That happens. Well, he must have a lot of duties among his troll family too. Especially now, when the new batch of baby-trolls need to be looked after," she thought that she should somehow write a proper and reasonable ending for this story. "But - don't forget him entirely... You never know, when you will need a friend like him," she said with a hope that, even though Charon would very soon be a young and strong wolf, he would retain just a bit of the childish creativity and playfulness in him.

Charon wondered if Drake would really take care of baby trolls. Somehow, that just didn't seem like his style, since he was cool and liked to do dangerous things and be heroic, like Charon. Well, maybe he would help if they were related to him... Charon would probably help with Ragnar and Thistle's pups; if they didn't take up too much of his attention, anyway.

While he considered this, Osprey said he shouldn't forget about Drake altogether. "Yeah, I guess he's always been a good friend," Charon said, and he almost felt a little guilty for thinking he was too grown up to have Drake as his friend anymore. But Drake wasn't real, and he needed to get growing up. "I was thinking maybe I should become a Chronicler, now that I'm pretty awesome at being a Naturalist and all. I like telling stories, so it suits me. What do you think?" Charon looked expectantly at Osprey while they walked at their slowpoke-pace, though he was pretty certain she thought it a great idea too. He just needed a bit more practise in story-telling, but he would get there.

"So, you have mastered everything there is for a Naturalist to know?" Osprey side glanced at him with a crooked grin playing in her lips. Had Charon been a bit older, she would have teased him about this over-confidence a bit. Since he was young and rather than getting the punchline of the joke would feel either offended or looked down at, she refrained herself from doing that. Instead she easily mustered up an expression of mild admiration and said: "Impressing." Even though the statement itself - I am awesome and everything - told, how very much there was still for Charon to learn. She was not going to point out that to him, he would find this out over time.

"Now you flatter me," she chuckled in a lighthearted manner. It was so - indeed. There weren't many that would choose this part or have courage enough to take it. Then again she realized that Charon's interest in this trade could also be impulsive and he might decide to do something else in a week, month or a year. Therefore - again - there was no reason for her to explain, how very hard and demanding this job was, that talent was important, but practice, practice and practice again was that mattered. If there was one thing she had learned fro Saena - kids didn't like preaching. Therefore being the fool, who learned from her own mistakes, she decided not to give any advice and simply play along.

"Well, you can try out now. Tell me a story!" she challenged him.

i remember once having a conversation when i was about 8 with an adult, where i said i knew everything there was to know about myself. he laughed, and the older i grew, the more i realised why because... the more you know, the less you feel you know ;-)

When Osprey asked if he had mastered everything there was to know about being a Naturalist, he nodded, accepting her compliment of 'impressive' gracefully. "Yeah! I mean, y'know, I could always sharpen some skills and all, but I'm pretty much awesome at it already." All sharpening those skills would do would make the 'a' in awesome a capital A.

Charon did not entirely understand why he flattered Osprey; maybe because she was a Chronicler and he wanted to be one, partially because of how awesome Osprey was at it? He hadn't actually said that part out loud, though, so he wasn't too sure. Osprey then asked for a story, which Charon certainly didn't mind telling.

"Well, I already sort of told you one about the monster, but I suppose I could give you another one." Charon smiled at Osprey and as they continued to walk in the direction of the waterfall, Charon began his story, "Once upon a time, there was a really great wolf called, uhm... Shiv!" It was silly, but because 'osprey' was a bird, Charon instantly thought of a bird's name for the name -- he didn't want to use Osprey's direct name, but since the story was about her, it needed to have some reference. "So anyway, Shiv was a really cool wolf. She always went on lots and lots of adventures and she liked to go hunting and play-fighting with her friends. Sometimes they went dragon-chasing and danced with the crafting bears."

Charon looked at Osprey to see how she was liking the story so far. "Anyway, then this one time Shiv wasn't feeling well, because her tummy hurt, so she wasn't able to join her one friend on a crazy wicked cool adventure. So the friend said, 'Well, I'm not gonna wait around for you!' and he left. Ospr-- uhm, Shiv," Charon looked briefly to see if Osprey hadn't caught the mistake, "was sad and she was left all alone while her friends all went to have adventures together. Then the nerd wolf of the pack Leyno showed up. Shiv said 'what do you want, are you going to tease me because I teased you before?' and then Leyno smiled and he said 'no, i'm here to keep you company because i heard you had a tummy ache'. So then they spent the whole day together. And later when Shiv's tummy ache was better she didn't want to spend time with her old friends anymore and instead became best friends with Leyno because he was there for her when her other friends ditched her because they were lame. The end!"

Charon looked at Osprey, waiting for her judgement on the story. The story had derailed a bit at the end, for it wasn't really about an actual situation Osprey had ever been in; Charon was already a cool friend who was there for her, after all.

Osprey was amused and kept smiling all the way through the story. Shiv reminded her of a magpie she had met in the plateau once and, which had surprised her with the ability to talk and even have a touch of intelligence too. She chuckled at "very cool wolf", "dancing with the crafting bears", "tummy ache" and "the nerd of the pack". The story itself might be lacking in a distinct plot-line, well-shaped out character depth and a lot of other things, but there was something that eve the most elaborate story-tellers sometimes didn't possess. A touch of personality, making this simple tale original. It was so Charon through and through - the expressions, the adventures that both he and his heroine enjoyed and she didn't find it that hard to believe that there was a "nerd of the pack" somewhere among the Bay's ranks too. There was also a moral about true friendship to learn from.

In the end - even though there was a lot of room for improvement in the future, Charon's story had been nice, kept her focused and making her forget the aching paws. That said quite a lot about one tale. She even wanted to tell, if he knew that he was adorable, but decided against it. You could tell this to a little kid or a grown-up, but not for a boy his age. It would offend him now. "So, do you know another tale about Shiv's and Leyno's adventures together?" she asked him curiously. "Because you did well and I want to know more."

Osprey listened to the story, making listening noises as he went along and clearly some parts of the story were better than others. At the end of the story, Osprey asked if Shiv and Leyno went on any other adventures, because she wanted to know more. "We should keep some stories left for next time you visit," Charon said with a grin. "And anyway, who wants to hear lots of stories about some nerd?" Even though his story had had high moral values, it didn't mean that Charon actually followed his own morals or life lessons...

"How about... I tell you a story about a real viking? I dunno a lot about vikings but Ragnar and Thistle and Gunnar have told me stuff!" Charon looked at Osprey, waiting to hear back from her. Like a lot of young wolves, his attention span was all over the place and he had already lost interest in his previous storyline, instead already thinking of thousands of other stories he could tell Osprey about while they made their way to Shield Maiden's Falls.

And anyway, who wants to hear lots of stories about some nerd? Osprey laughed, feeling a bit guilty for having fun at Charon's expense, wondering, whether she had been the same way (little regard to the moral of stories told and real life) during her youth. She knew that it was a common mistake to think that you as a kid were better than the kids nowadays, overlooking all the trouble your parents had gone through to raise you into a decent person you were now. Sadly there was no one left to ask - her parents deceased, her older siblings living far away. She doubted that Peregrine would be a reliable source of information either.

"Well... I have not seen many un-real vikings..." Osprey appeared to consider her young friend's proposal long and hard - brow furrowed, expression serious and all - just to give him a bit of tension too. When it felt that it was enough "thinking" she nodded and said: "Fire away! Or whatever is that vikings say, when they want things to happen, move on..."

Charon had expected Osprey to excitedly agree to the story, so it was an unexpected surprise to him that she instead seemed to doubt whether or not she would listen to another story. He tilted his head in question as she considered, but his confidence soon returned when Osprey said 'fire away'. He wasn't sure what vikings said instead of 'fire away', so he refrained from coming up with a better, more vikingy catchphrase.

"Okay! Well, there was once this wolf called Ragnar Lothbrock," Charon said, butchering Ragnar's family name in the progress. "He fell in love with a wolf called Thistle Cloud and they once lived somewhere else," Charon refrained from mentioning where, for he only knew that they had relocated at some point so he had to make due with the details he knew. "Then one day the leader of their pack died, and Ragnar and Thistle Cloud Lothbrock decided to move to a new home where they raised their family. They had a couple of really cool pups who became warriors like their parents." Charon sort of ran out of things to say -- he could explain about how he, Levi and Liyaní had been adopted, but then the viking theme would be dwindling -- and fell silent for a short while. "And Thistle Cloud had a friend called Julooke, and together they were shield maidens, which means they were really cool viking female wolves who could defend themselves and stuff like that."

Finally Charon started to hear the roar of the waterfall in the distance, and he quickened his pace, before halting and realising that Osprey still couldn't go very fast. "And the waterfall we're visiting is named after the old pack leader of the pack who died, because Julooke and Thistle Cloud the viking wolves were the pack leader's shield maidens, so the waterfall is called Shield Maiden's Falls." Charon looked back at Osprey and excitedly waited for her to catch up so that he could show Shield Maiden's Falls to her.

ooc: Do you know, how odd it is to read about your former character? I played Pump the former leader of Horizon Ridge.

The next story seemed a bit disjointed and chaotic to Osprey, who was used to all her tales following a certain pattern - a plot, well developed characters and linear narrative. Even though Charon had all of the neccessary elements, she didn't have a heart to tell him that he would leave his audience disappointed. She was in a jeopardy of what to do now - either say the truth and give tips, how to improve in the future - or cheer and tell, how cool this story had been. She could, of course, take the second path, but she had a feeling that at some point someone would tell Charon the truth. Then - wouldn't he feel betrayed by his friend?

A good thing though was that they had finally reached the waterfall and her friend's rushing away, making the decision making easier for Osprey. "So, the waterfall is named - after the old leader or Thistle cloud adn Julooke?" she wanted Charon to clear things, when she had reached the place to have a good look at the place.

i'd read that somewhere, i was just thinking about that when i wrote my previous post :)

Charon, young as he was, wasn't very good yet at telling stories, hopping from detail to detail due to his childish attention span. Maybe it would improve in time, for while he lacked technique he had the limitless fantasy of a good story teller and he was serious about becoming a proper Chronicler, even if he wasn't yet very good at keeping his audience's attention captivated. He was as of yet unaware of this, and if someone would tell him, it was likely that Charon wouldn't even accept it as such -- he might just get upset about it and arrogantly think he was still best.

As they reached the waterfall, Osprey asked if the falls were named after the pack's previous leader, and he nodded. "Yup, I think maybe 'falls' is like a symbol for the tears they cried when the leader died?" Charon wasn't sure, but he remembered that Gunnar had said that the falls were named after the pack's previous leader and that Julooke and Thistle had been the shield maidens.

"We're here!" Charon said cheerily and he started to gallop up the path that lead up the falls to the best view, the one that Gunnar had showed him, occassionally waiting, impatiently, for Osprey along the way.

"Could be," Osprey agreed, thinking that any waterfall could be a very fitting symbol of tears and sorrow. Gallons of it. She recalled some older legends about young maidens that had waited for their loved significant other to return from a quest all their lives, until they had turned into rocks themselves. Odd and a bit sappy fate, if you asked her. Would she have the story her way, the girls would have cried a bit and then moved on, living and achieving a lot of great things. Dying from sadness was a way of cowardice and admitting a defeat without fighting.

As it turned out - this was not all there was to see about the waterfall. Charon showed a path that led up to the falls, offering a prospect of a magnificent scenery. Curious Osprey followed him obediently at her own pace. When she had reached the place, she regarded the place with a look of admiration. Smiling she turned to face Charon: "I have to admit - plateau has many wonderful spots, but this is something amazing." After observing the passage of the water from the highest point to the lowest, she sighed: "Makes me wish I was able to pick this up and bring home."