First, Charon had washed his face. It looked much less gruesome now, though some pink stains remained where his blood had flown. His left ear was torn a little and the side of his face and muzzle had some wounds, but they had mostly scabbed over and in some places along his muzzle the fur was missing. He'd washed the taste of blood from his mouth and then returned to the corpse, where he spent some time staring at his pack mate's body, which grew colder and colder. He'd considered all the possible options about what he would tell Amekaze and the pack.
Tipping his nose upward, Charon called for
@Amekaze and
@Floki first and foremost, for he wanted to give them the opportunity to see what had transpired before he would inform the rest of the pack. There was a lingering sadness to his call, and as he stayed by Nishu's side, Charon started to dig a hole where they could bury the body — as he remembered they'd done with Ragnar's body, and so Nishu's would lay forever on Moonspear. Nishu's broken leg and throat lay in a pool of his own blood, the damages of what Charon had done showing plain and open, but Charon did not look the least bit guilty.
He had done what he needed to, done what was the best for everyone.
The howl's hint of sorrow slicked back her ears but she still dutifully answered by trotting towards the call. In a way, she had been anticipating what had happened. When rest didn't mend him as he believed it would, combined with his reluctance to have a healer tend to him, she wondered often if that was all just meant to signal his end.. but he had staved it off for as long as he had, enough to make her feel uncertain about how this should have panned out.
Maybe the bear was meant to finish him off and maybe if he did survive, it would not be a life worth living. He suffered. She saw it, and keeping it at arm's length while offering what little she could didn't seem to have any worth either. But..there had still been a struggle in him, and he had his awareness last she had known. Yet something deep down behind it all just made her uneasy no matter how she looked at it. A life of useless suffering was not one to lead for a valiant wolf like Nishu. It had been a long time since then, way back to when she'd been but a yearling, but she'd seen the warriors waste away slowly and miserably when the finishing blow didn't just.. finish them -- and that was something she was honestly fearful of when it came to it happening to her. Ame never wanted to know that ugliness personally for herself.
Even while life still beat in his veins, she had begun to preemptively mourn for him. If life didn't leave him soon, he may not have one to lead at all.
She arrived on the scene in silence and surveyed it quietly with a heavy, heavy heart. A clearly cut sadness settled not long after as everything she suspected was confirmed. Charon was digging and Nishu rested cold on the ground. Blood pooled around his neck and leg and no longer did the silver knight's body thrum with characteristic life. She approached the now-corpse with a tiny whine hitching her throat, and flared her nostrils over him as a better understanding rose to meet her. But, stoically, she swept her stare to the new grave and Charon, before she moved to join him in digging to quicken the process.
Floki hadn't known Nishu well, and had even felt a little resentful towards the knight after the bear attack. He had provoked the beast from its slumber, and while most of their packmates escaped unscathed, there could have been serious damage done to the wolves of Moonspear. Ironically enough, Nishu was the only one to suffer substantial injuries, and to Floki's knowledge he had been resting and healing since the incident.
He wasn't sure what to expect when Charon called for him and Amekaze to meet him at Nishu's den. Upon his arrival, he found that Amekaze was already there and had positioned herself alongside Charon. Both were dutifully digging. Floki slowly shifted his gaze to Nishu, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of the deceased knight. The blood pooled around his body was fresh, as were the wounds upon his neck. With a question in his eyes, Floki looked to Charon, wondering just what had transpired.
When Amekaze came, Charon's heart raced in his chest. He didn't show it, not wanting to seem as though he thought that he had made a mistake. He said nothing, staring at Amekaze to see her response, stopping the digging. She assessed the situation, staring at Nishu, nosing him to confirm that he was dead, but when she looked back at Charon, he saw no blame in her expression. He wanted to say so many things, but he ended up saying nothing at all. Hearing her sorrowful whine thrummed his heartstrings and Charon moved in to nose her neck gently in compassion. He knew that Nishu had meant much to her, but his death was inevitable ever since the bear attack.
They continued to dig, side by side in silence, until Flóki arrived. Charon once more stopped digging to look at his brother and assess his reaction. There was no guilt in his expression as he watched Flóki's expression assume one of question. Charon said hoarsely, "It was his time." His voice was confident and unshaken, though his heart did not mirror the sentiment. For now he was unsure of how to feel, empowered or guilty, but there was no guilt in his voice nor his step. "He will be missed." Not by Charon, perhaps, but surely by some. By Ame. No matter how much Charon had detested Nishu, he had still been a part of Moonspear's legacy and for that alone he would be remembered. "His last moments weren't flattering. I think he was delirious, hallucinating. He thought I was another bear." A lie, perhaps, but Charon felt that it would make it easier for Flóki to understand why he had done what he had. Charon looked at Nishu for a moment before he continued to dig again. He suggested while digging, "We should inform the rest of the pack together." Mostly it was Amekaze who deserved to be one of the wolves to say good bye to Nishu, to declare him dead. Charon didn't need for all the wolves in his pack to see the corpse; perhaps out of guilt, perhaps out of misplaced feeling of superiority, for he didn't think they'd understand the decisions he as Alpha had to make.
It was probably for the best that he had nothing to say, she realized. She didn't need or want to hear anything, and the silence suited her sorrow better anyway. Even if her bonds with Nishu had always been kind of abstract, it still stung to know what fate had eventually brought him and to know that it was all finished just like that.
She wished that it hadn't come to this. That he, alongside Rain (another pinprick of guilt in her sides, no less), could still be happily among them.. or hell, knowing them, out scouting on their pack's behalf. That the bears had never surfaced and settled here, that Nishu's wounds had not been so serious, that Charon had never needed to make the choice he'd had.. But, such was life, and the cruel fate's it dealt. Amekaze had no choice but to accept and trudge on, all while hoping she'd greet the other side of it better than before.
She focused on the numb monotony of digging so that she could let the ache grip her yet, and when Floki arrived, she paused for a beat to glance his way. Already she felt a new fatigue beginning to catch up on her, so she kept her break short and didn't say anything with her attention divided between the task at hand and the brothers.
While she listened to Charon, she dug slowly just to keep progress moving forward but all the while, her ears were on him. It came as no surprise to know his last moments were not spent well. She'd only passed a quick glance over the corpse, but between it and the nicks and stains on Charon, she innately understood that something had definitely transpired. Eventually she nodded somewhere after he spoke of informing the pack. "We can howl.. as soon as this is done," she said quietly, although announcing death was hardly anything she wanted to do today. But, for Nishu, it would happen once he was laid away to rest, so she just kept digging.
Despite Floki's confusion, he would never doubt Charon's intentions. Whether that was a flaw would depend on one's perspective -- Tevinter, of course, had been of the opinion that Floki followed their adoptive brother blindly, like a sheep led to slaughter. But Floki simply trusted Charon implicitly, as the older boy had proved time and time again to be a strong leader and the support system that he needed. Floki's gaze slid slowly back to Nishu as Charon stopped his digging and gave a brief, hoarse explanation. The Beta's only response was a nod.
It didn't surprise him that Nishu had acted irrationally in his last hours. Even with full consciousness, he had made questionable decisions. Floki glanced at Amekaze, who seemed to also have accepted their former packmate's fate without any resistance. Her only input was to agree that they would share the news with the rest of the group via howl once they had laid the knight to rest.
Although the Alphas had already made substantial progress on the building of the grave, Floki wordlessly moved alongside them and began to pull at the dirt with his paws, refraining from the looking at the broken and bloody body any longer.
As easy as that, his story had been accepted. Charon told himself that he had only lied about Nishu's last moments to protect them, that it was simply easier that way for everyone to accept what he had done. The rest of the pack did not need to know if they did not come here to see the body. It was easier that way, as it would only be hard to explain to them.
Charon swallowed dryly and then continued to dig alongside Flóki and Amekaze. With the partially frozen ground it felt like forever until the grave was deep enough, but eventually Charon stood back, satisfied with the work. He moved over to Nishu's body to start dragging him to the grave by his scruff.
It was not the time or the place for questions. What was done was done, and nothing would change the ultimate outcome. Even she, a wolf of vast curiosity, had nothing to ask right here and now. The story was told, the deed was done. Now, the grave was almost done too.
She stepped aside to watch quietly as the body was moved. When it was there, she stole a moment to look him over one last time -- wounds and otherwise, both bear and Charon-inflicted. It suddenly becoming difficult to think of that cold, stiff, defeated corpse as Nishu as she had always known him. But, here was that reality and that was all he left behind as far as physical matters went. She then stepped up to help move the earth over him, trying to find comfort in the fact that he suffered no longer.
What followed was tiresome work, but necessary. Her paws felt heavy well before the finishing point was in sight. At least with the three of them, the duty could be spread between them. It didn't make it any easier, though, and she mentally prepared for the howl that would follow when it looked to be almost done.
Only once the last bit of soil was packed back down did she tip back her head for the sorrowful note. Simple, concise, and in memory of Nishu, she sang.
The work was taxing, both physically and emotionally. In silence, the three leaders completed their duty. Once the hole was large enough, Charon moved to shift Nishu's body into the makeshift grave. Floki assisted, maneuvering to push Nishu from behind while Charon pulled. With their combined efforts, the former knight slipped unceremoniously into his resting spot under Amekaze's watchful gaze.
Floki stepped back, dirt smeared across his forelegs and snout. He looked to the Alphas for guidance, and when they threw back their heads and howled sorrowfully for the loss of Nishu, he did the same. This death would not have much of an effect on Floki -- both because he was not well acquainted with Nishu, but also because he knew death all too well. It was just part of life.
The task was done and after putting the body in its grave, they put dirt over the hole again. Charon allowed Amekaze to lead the howl, but once she tipped her nose upwards he joined in, too, informing the pack about the sad news of Nishu's death. In his mind he was still unsure whether to feel like a great ruler or a terrible monster, barely able to believe that he had killed another wolf — and better yet, gotten away with it.
These feelings were overshadowed for the moment, though, with the sadness for the loss of a pack mate, for even though he had never liked Nishu, they had still lost a wolf of Moonspear today.
By her nature, she is not a wolf to raise her voice without due cause. While her reedy tones may not be necessarily suited to a harmony as this one, emotion seems to pour freely regardless and none of that mattered in this moment once the news was delivered. Soon enough, she was accompanied and this encouraged her to find a new strength in her melody until her breath simply ran out. Even then and with all that said, a weighty knot had gathered in her throat that she couldn't seem to swallow. There was a dull ache in the back of her head as she looked over the fresh grave, too.
Moonspear had lost a wolf, and her life had lost a longtime presence. In the end, she wished she could have done better by him (and by extension, even Rain).. but such was life. It never seemed quite good enough once it was said and done. Yet, despite all the trials and the untimely end he'd met, she was happy to have known him while she could. Death was inevitable, however, and from here on out, the world simply spun onward without those lost.
Ame lingered a little while, but ultimately decides to consider this matter at length (Charon included) later and to make herself scarce for now. She ghosts away after a silent farewell to take her muddy paws somewhere to rinse them.
Once the announcement had been made, the leaders' howls tapered off. Floki glanced between Charon and Amekaze, but neither seemed eager to converse further about what had happened. In fact, within a few moments, Amekaze departed and Floki took her lead.
He moved towards Charon, slipping his snout respectfully beneath his brother's chin. He then stepped back with a sympathetic whine. Although Charon and Nishu hadn't been close, he understood that it must have been difficult for Charon to end the knight's life in such an unceremonious way. Floki then turned and looked at Nishu's grave for a long few seconds before bowing his head and slipping away.
As the howls faded, Charon looked at Amekaze, lingering in silence for a while longer until she departed. He let her go, deciding it was better to see about the matter later, if at all. It was done now. There was a mixture of sadness and power growing inside of Charon and he nosed Flóki in response to his respectful gesture.
Then he allowed Flóki time alone with Nishu and without paying the grave another second of honour Charon trotted off along the mountainside to further wash his wounds and find some rest.