She roused slowly, but surely. It was quiet now.. but earlier not long after she'd bedded down, she'd flickered her half-aware ears to the sound of Tevinter's howl for his family. She'd not humored it with a trip down to see it for herself, but she believed she had a good idea what had gone on. The scarred twin (who was evidently a glutton for punishment by coming back here like that) was not welcome here and she trusted that Charon would make that crystal clear. Although, she still assumed he'd left on his own and that had made his howl unexpected, but not nearly startlingly enough to interrupt her rest.
Now that it was later and presumably after some type of resolution, she began to meander down the mountainside to investigate a bit. Briefly, her heart ached for Thistle but Amekaze knew matters among siblings could and, with the right fuels to the fire, would get viciously ugly. She'd been there herself and the gnarl of scar tissue on her chest was testament to that when her sister had pushed it too far. Further proof of it came with her having no surviving littermates. And while she didn't think the Loðbrok boys would let it get that bad, in the best interest of her pack, she frankly didn't want Tevinter here any longer to stir the shit up between them all and perpetually let himself wallow in unhappiness.
Nevertheless, her paws pulled up alongside a creek and she paused for a quick, refreshing drink. While there, she sniffed at the winds in test, then resumed her steady jog towards the mountain's most pronounced band of forest.
After his encounter with Jorunn, rage pounded in the Alpha's mind. He hadn't been this angry in a while, and though it had not escalated too poorly — Thistle had stopped it before it could — he still had fuel left inside of him. He'd taken a few patrols, letting Flóki cool off on his own time (they were very different, after all, and had different ways of expressing their anger). Luckily for the other wolves, nobody had shown up at Moonspear's borders during his patrol, and now he headed inland again, feeling at least a little better. He couldn't understand how such a rotten boy could be twins to Flóki, and had he not submitted and Thistle not appeared, Charon would've ripped him to shreds for his insolence at such a mighty Jarl's borders.
Amekaze's scent crossed his path and as he looked to his side, he noticed her lapping up water not far from him. The forest looked picturesque, particularly with her in it, and in no way reflected how he felt. Charon approached her, making his presence known with a chuff, and reached out to gingerly nibble the edge of her ear in affectionate greeting. Though he did not wish to sully the moment, he knew he needed to inform her: "If Jorunn comes near Moonspear again, he's dead." The words were spoken low, in attempt not to break the moment, but this only ended up making the words sound creepy. Charon would come to inform his wolves of this, too — Jorunn was a traitor and an insolent one at that. No remorse. And so Charon would have none were he to run into Jorunn again and should the need arise to harm him. The only brother he had now was Flóki.
Ame was not alone for much longer, and fanned her ears with a low growl of greeting for him exclusively when he appeared. There was her own touch of fondness in the note and once he was in close to her, she nipped softly at his pale furs. But, greetings aside, she couldn't help but look him over for signs of a skirmish. It would not have surprised her any to hear that it had come to blows because of Tevinter's attitude towards his brothers, and vice versa.
Between just the two of them, she was not going to mask the little sneer she felt curve at her lips when he confirmed what she had suspected would happen. Ame nodded. She was done with dealing with it all too and if Charon was ready to cut the ties in full that way, she would support it as well. "Did the little reunion go just as poorly as I would imagine?" she asked, fishing for the details while knowing he would understand what she meant -- that Tevinter was the wronged one, that he deserved better, so on and so forth, all interspersed with other various forms of disrespect. All exactly why Charon marked him as unwelcome here, as if being a traitor alone wasn't enough. "Why did he bother coming back at all?" Even with the sentiment of goodbyes in mind, she didn't really see the point in it, especially after him having deserted the pack without a word.
Affectionate greetings were exchanged before they went down to business. Charon didn't even really want to speak about Jorunn — he'd much rather have just cuddled up to Amekaze somewhere or done something light-hearted and fun with her — but he knew that it was better to get the subject out of the way right off the bat. "To feel superior about himself, I guess. He didn't even submit at our borders. If he was so keen to keep his dignity, he should've stayed further away." Charon wasn't sure he'd have showed up to the meeting at all, had Jorunn called from neutral territory. The only thing that drove him to go to these things was, aside from protecting his territory and pack, his curiosity.
Charon shook his head, deciding that Jorunn wasn't even worth their breath. He was gone now, and that was that. His only regret was that he had not punished Jorunn further, but in the grand scheme of things, it was probably better for his relationship to Thistle Cloud... Even if he'd have been in his right had it come to that. "Enough of him," Charon decided — if he ever returned, Charon would gladly rip him to shreds alongside Ame and Flóki. "I've also spoken to Fitz and Mason of Silvertip Mountain. They don't like the pack at Neverwinter Forest. I'm not sure I like it, but it's not so close we need to take action. I've offered, should it be necessary, that Silvertip could move closely alongside our borders if their dispute with the Neverwinter wolves should escalate." Charon paused, figuring Ame had no qualms. She was a reasonable wolf and to chase wolves with pups retreating from their own territory for you was not cool. It was a small gesture, and Charon did not assume it ever to be necessary. He extended, "I am going to meet the Neverwinter wolves myself soon. Flóki brings good word of them, the Silvertip wolves poor news, and so I want to form my own opinion." He'd leave soon, but he had some time to spare in Ame's company before then.
Amekaze scrunched her face, unimpressed by Tevinter's doings just as she knew she would be. He really should have stayed away if that was how he was going to behave here, and a tiny part of her almost wished she had been bothered to go see it all for herself. Then again, her lengthy rest had been fulfilling.. so it was probably the better choice in the long run. She scoffed a soft 'tch' noise and shook her head, otherwise leaving her remarks out of it since the pack would move on just fine without him now that he was free to go be someone else's problem.
When the subject shifted, she listened. Silvertip prompted her to remember Zaria, however fleeting their one and only meeting had been. Anyway, she certainly understood why they wouldn't like the pack in Neverwinter. "Mhm, I am not partial to it being claimed either. It would definitely bother me if I were in Silvertip's place.." she shook her head, and felt her possessiveness towards the areas around the mountain sting at the very thought of someone taking it from her. But, as for a pack using them as temporary grounds to flee with plenty of heads up beforehand.. she was somewhat more understanding so long as they were mindful of her boundaries.
"I see. Does Silvertip seem to expect it to escalate? Or do you think they will move against them regardless?" she wondered, all while trying to feel out the general vibes of the packs better. She did not know Silvertip particularly well although considered them a steadfast presence that probably had their strength about them. Not only were they a mountain pack but they had been there for a while now, so that had to be worth something. Nevertheless, Charon did say that he would go himself to find out more about the Neverwinter bunch. That was where she may really find the answers she wanted. "Good, I am curious too," she squinted at nothing in particular.
Truthfully, it made Charon bristle to think any wolf would be able to settle so close to Moonspear, and he didn't like the thought at all. He didn't have enough empathy to actually want to send in help to violently help Silvertip reclaim the land surrounding them; he wasn't about to start a war about turf that wasn't even near him. It'd probably never happen to him, anyway, and if it did, Charon knew his pack was healthy enough to come at a new pack with teeth parted.
Charon shook his head when Amekaze asked if he thought that Silvertip would move against them, or vice versa. "Silvertip's not going to attack, since their Alpha female is with pups so they decided not to fight." The mention brought a stirring within him, what with spring's fast approach, to have pups of his own. "I doubt that the Neverwinter wolves would attack either." Flóki hadn't painted them as the aggressive type and they had enough work as it were to solidify their claim.
He added, "I doubt it will be necessary for Silvertip to take us up on the offer." That was part of the reason he had accepted the request for help, too. He didn't think that it would be necessary, really, so it was a bonus for them as they'd just get boons from this deal. Silvertip would think of them positively and maybe help them if they ever needed it for an offer of help that never needed to be cashed. Perfect.
More and more, it did seem like Silvertip and their new neighbors would all just have to settle into an uncomfortable neutrality for now. If Silvertip had pups coming, it would be most sensible to not be outright offensive at this time. Even her war-faring homeland backed off and took appropriate measures when pups were involved for the first few months, so on that, she understood. Defense, at this time, would be their greatest asset -- not that she considered it from personal experience of having puppies raised in the packs she headed, though. "Mm, well, it makes sense to play nice for now if they have whelps to be mindful of," she nodded thoughtfully, agreeing.
Still, it was unfortunate for Silvertip that they had puppies coming and new neighbors to worry about all at once. Bad timing for things to get complicated for them and she was far from envious. "Yeah.. you are probably right. I do not know many Silvertip wolves well myself but I get the impression they will be able to take care of it, however that needs to be.." she said almost dismissively. One way or another, whether that meant running them out with force or coexisting peacefully. So long as Neverwinter kept to itself and away from her, she'd try to be as neutral about the pack as possible. Still, she was admittedly awaiting Charon's review and impression of them to make her further judgements, and maybe even meet them firsthand afterward if she still felt inclined to do so by then.
Charon nodded to all that Amekaze said, and with that he was pretty much done with the subject, too. A small silence fell between them to allow the transition of subject before Charon cut into a new one. He reminded himself — and Ame — when he said, "We should go star-watching sometime." He remembered that she was a naturalist too and they had enjoyed watching the night skies at some point, but of late they'd been so engulfed in pack life that it hadn't come to that.
For now, though, he had other plans. Charon let loose a playful woof and bowed his front to the ground in a play bow. He knew that Ame herself was quite the fighter — he'd seen that when they hunted together and when they killed the coyote as well as the bear — and he himself enjoyed polishing his fighting skills, too. What better way to practise than a friendly spar?
Her ears straightened and the subject changed to one far more easy to deal with. We should the shift in her expression was meant to convey. "Say when," she said and waved her tail. Her nights were free, and she would have no issues with spending them beneath the stars, or with him, or both. First clear night and best little meadow, and she'd be content.
The rest of her perked when he sunk into a play bow and the rhythm of her tail picked up considerably too. She whuffed softly and squared her posture before deciding to pounce on him first, even if he may have initiated it. She was always going to be overeager to react to a spar and with light steps, she moved at him to swing for his shoulder, although there wouldn't be much force behind it. She would need to warm up, after all.
Soon he would make time to go starwatcing with Amekaze, he noted to himself. For now, he had little time to think about such plans for his invitation to play was met with full enthusiasm. He hadn't expected her to pounce in so fast and so when she swung for his shoulder, Charon was surprised and bounced backwards to avoid the attack. He was quick to react with one of his own, and tried to pounce high at Amekaze's front, in an attempt to be able to wrap his paws around her neck and nip at the side of her face and neck.
Always, speed was (and would be) one of her finer assets. Even without feeling like she was exerting much yet, her quickness to accept this spar got her in close to him. He did evade but that was taken in stride, because she'd just return with more when the time was right for it.
Charon came for the front of her and instead of evading outright, she steadied her hind-paws to rise to meet him in a mirroring move. His paws were around her neck but she moved to get hers onto his, attempting to push them both upward. While focusing on maintaining her own balance, if he'd give her the opportunity to do so, she aimed to clack her opened jaws against his.
The mirrored move was unexpected, but it proved to Charon once more that Amekaze was a good fit for him. He liked to be surprised and her impulsive, head-on mentality of brazenly going for the challenge intrigued him. Instead of trying to avoid him, she also stood on hind legs. His neck was arched back as paws wrapped around her neck and her teeth clicked against his.
A guttoral playful growl rumbled in his throat as he kept his balance — though leaning partially on Ame now — and tried to wrap his mouth around her entire muzzle from the side.
Balance was her focus, both in keeping her own and shaking him of his, even as her teeth clattered satisfyingly against his. He matched her well, on several accounts, and seemed that he was now going down easy -- even with a low growl announcing it and all. She smirked and snarled back, pressing back with them leaning on each other more now.
When she couldn't quite slip away from his approach on her muzzle from the side, she growled, licked her lips, and tried to jostle him (and maybe the grip on the sides of her neck if she was luckiest) with her forelimbs. Also stepping forward with her rear paws, she tried to unsteady him by leaning against him more.
When he managed to grab Ame's muzzle, Charon chuckled into the side of her face. He wasn't left with much time to be amused, however, because Amekaze was fast as an arrow. He didn't even realise that she was shifting her weight forward and placing more and more weight in his direction while he celebrated his success.
It seemed very sudden when Charon lost his balance and started to topple over. He let go of his grip of Ame's nose, though paws tried to grabble her as best he could, determined not to go down alone.
With every bit she leaned forward onto him, she had to be careful not to let it cost her in the meantime. Her own steadiness banked on a good stance and even that would be difficult to maintain for too long while trying to subtly shove him the best she could. At least he was kept busy with her muzzle, so it was worth it to let him have it, she decided.
That very balance that she had been working so consciously to keep was teetered when began to go down. By leaning on him, a lot of her own weight had angled his way so even with her trying to scramble to stay upright, her efforts fell flat. She tumbled, legs first awkwardly into him, and in the chaos, tried to aim nips at whatever pale fur she could reach.
He was unable to stop himself from going down, but in a last ditch effort, at least Charon managed to pull his Queen along. They fell to the ground in a tumble of black and white, and even while they fell Charon could feel Ame's nips to remind him to always stay on guard when sparring with her.
Charon fell to the ground after a moment of falling that felt though it lasted forever, and, trying to catch up to Ame's speed, as he thudded to the ground he tried to grab hold of one of Ame's legs, which was the first thing within grasp of his mouth, while his front legs batted the air playfully.
While spilling awkwardly to the ground wasn't quite the most ideal for the situation of the spar, she'd try to make it advantageous any way she could. Once he hit the dirt, she wasn't far behind and found his jaws on her leg not long after -- the cost of her being pretty forward with having them all over him, probably. But, snickering, she accepted that springing right to her feet wasn't happening just yet with this going on, so she just pulled her leg in closer to chest. She'd either try to slip him or keep him close enough to make it difficult, Ame figured.
To compliment that, she reached her muzzle towards his and aimed little nips for the bridge his snout.
It was hard to hold onto Ame's leg when she pulled it closer to her chest. Once more Charon was confronted with his tunnel focus on one part of his opponent when Ame nipped at the bridge of his nose. He didn't see the nips coming at all at first and they were a distraction for sure. If she wanted to, Ame could easily slip away now, for his grip on her leg weakened with every nip. His jaw ajar, Charon growled in playfulness and concentration while his face looked rather comical, as though he couldn't quite decide whether to regrasp the leg or try and catch Ame's nose mid-air while she went for another nip to his nose. As a result, he did neither, looking a bit as though he wanted to go for the second option but couldn't find the right moment, and didn't yet want to let go of the leg (though his grip was loose now and easy to get away from).
A big part of why she enjoyed casual spars as much as she did stemmed from the fact that she didn't need to calculate her moves extensively when it was in company like him. Without serious risk looming over her, she could just go with it, and whatever happened, happened. She wasn't afraid of a few little bruises and scrapes even if it got rough enough to be like that, so she always felt light and alive in these settings -- so much so that she wasn't even minding of the racing of her heart or just how close they were, and was only reveling in the sensations. She didn't want this to be temporary.
Some of her nips landing their marks gave her something to focus on until his ridiculous face distracted her. Toothy grins and more snickering laughter followed, even maybe a bit at his apparent indecision too. But, even with nips derailed and then discontinued afterward, she got her leg back somewhere in the process and rolled to upright.
Once she was standing again, Amekaze shook out her coat and squared her paws up before she decided how to proceed. She waved her raised-up tail invitingly, and coaxed him with a playful growl since she wanted the challenge.
When she laughed, Charon growled in play and let go of her leg to snap at her face instead. As he let go, Ame withdrew her leg and got to her feet. Charon himself was quick to collect himself and jump to his feet too, lest he fall behind and get a disadvantage over her in the game that they were playing. Finally he was able to stand again, so his tactics (for as far as he used actual tactics here) had still worked on some level.
Charon's chest rose and fell rapidly, his tongue lolling from his mouth after the exerting spar so far. Amekaze took some time as well, luckily, so that gave him some time to relax. He shook his fur too, and then looked at Amekaze.
There was something about the way that she wagged her tail and the growl stirred something deep inside the young Alpha. He approached her and moved in to nip at her left shoulder, while he tried putting his right paw on her back.
The moment's reprieve did grant her a chance to catch her breath, and although she was itching to get into motion again, reining it back had its benefits as well. She studied him carefully, and even more so once he seemed recollected enough to move for her again in order to prepare her appropriate defense.
But, while she was coiled and ready to evade or retaliate, his opening move's simplicity caught her up instead. With just a nip on the shoulder then a paw on her back (perhaps the more noteworthy of the two), this prickled electricity down her neck and spine. Her hackles shifted accordingly and she shot him a curious look that was lined with a hint of mischief. Without moving the rest of herself very much, Ame arced her neck around towards him to reach for his still-standing leg and where it met the rest of him. If able to reach him, she would aim her little bites there, basically trying to pinch at or near his armpit where it may be a bit more tender.
The look that she shot him did not go unnoticed to Charon. He wasn't given much time to think about it however, for soon Amekaze reached out towards the leg that was on the ground rather than her back. Charon moved his nose in to Ame's neck, inhaling her scent briefly, and nibbled the prickly fur there, in the sensitive area between shoulders and head.
It wasn't long before Ame found one of his own sensitive areas, however, and Charon was caught in a flurry of surprise by the ticklish feeling in his armpit. This caused Charon to nearly fall over and he jumped in place as he lost his balance; probably looking rather comical had they had any onlookers.
His nose was in her nape, dug deep with his warm breath against her skin to a place few were allowed to go -- or that few dared to venture. The shift in this was apparent, but not that she minded so long as she stayed engaged. It was still along the same vein as it had been, just different now, and she was willing to experiment. His forwardness would give her plenty to work with, she believed.
He seemed surprised when she swung at his armpits, and his balance faltered because of it. When he hopped, she stopped the nips for now, and she stepped her hind paws closer to him. Depending on how badly his balance suffered and how committed he was to staying nearest to her, it could either help or hinder him further, she suspected. But, for right now, she'd cut him some slack and not come back after him with her teeth immediately. She only smirked back at him over her shoulder, waiting to taunt him into more.
As Charon jumped up he saw a shift in Ame's body. When he landed, his paw still on Ame's back, Charon's balance shifted and he nearly toppled backwards. To keep his balance, Charon reached out to Ame's nape and grabbed her scruff to pull himself back into balance (or Ame to the ground, but he didn't think she would lose her balance as easily). Inhaling her scent, Charon looked towards her and her grin, one ear towards her.
Then he suddenly let go of her scruff, feeling that now was not the appropriate time for this, and slipped his paw off her back, leaving room for furthering the spar, parting ways or anything else.
He holds himself up with her scruff and it prompts a low growl from her. The pressure smarts on her nape and it is unfamiliar, but not unappealingly so. In response, she shows her teeth in a smirking display and shifts her furs when he soon abruptly lets go. Ame watches in case he comes back with more.
She allowed a little space span between them for a beat, then sweeps forward to close it not long after. She intended for it to look like she may have more planned but she suddenly stops short with the head-on approach to only lick the bridge of his nose. Draw, for now, she'd believe although this would not be the last of it for all times. Her posture changed subtly to one less sharpened and her tail waved slowly, relaxing.
Before she pulled away, she nosed gently against his cheek then neck.. should he have it. Ame exhaled and then moved back.
"Hungry?" she asked, panting, since she'd worked up an appetite of her own. She lingered long enough to hear his answer, then spun on her heels to head for the nearest cache.
seems like fade works out here but i definitely want another (may after his thread with osprey or somethin?)