Wolf RPG

@Charon , if you have time. But anyone is welcome! Osprey is near the northern borders. :)

To be true Osprey had never realized that Moonspear - the home of Charon and Wildfire - was actually not that far away from Donnelaith. And the fact that in the evening of the second day of her journey, she stumbled upon a very familiar smell, thick in the area, meaning that there was a pack dwelling there, made her feel both surprised and a little ashamed. Add some awkward to the mix too. "Well... this was unexpected," she said to herself, coming to a halt and gazing at the mountain-range before her, trying to spot any sign of the inhabitants. 

A long time ago she had been invited to visit the place. Twice, in fact, but she was not sure that this was still true to this day. While she did not remember much of what had happened during her heat in great detail, she knew quite well that her relationship with the young wolf had gone awfully wrong. It had been a bad time then to put the broken pieces together and, while Osprey was making her way towards the borders, she was unsure, if this was a good moment to try and fix something either. Torn between the choice of howling for Charon, in order to see, how bad the damage was, and just turn and disappear in the shadows, she eventually slowed down mere feet away from the first scent mark and sat down. 

Just a little time to collect thoughts. That was all she needed.

The Goober thing kept Charon rather occupied. Truthfully, Osprey had not crossed his mind ever since the night he had returned home from seeing her and had sealed the deal with Amekaze. Even this heartbreak had brought him to greatness in the end and so Charon did not weep for what he had lost, instead glad for what he had gained. It seemed so with everything in his life. Somehow Osprey was a big part of what lead his life; fighting Dante over her had brought him Moonspear, and being rejected by her had brought him to mate Amekaze. Yet she herself had faded from his mind (after all, she had made it abundantly clear she did not wish to see him again and so the chapter had been closed), especially in the light of what had happened to Dhole. Goober was his number one priority presently, his friendship with Dhole more precious than he could but describe.

Imagine Charon's surprise when he happened upon her during one of his patrols. He felt hackles prick tensely as he approached her, his posture tall and proud to mirror his rank, his stature, his greatness upon this mountain. He approached in silence, tail curved over his back and its tip twitching tensely, waiting to see what she had to say for herself.

Osprey was not sure, what kind of answers she had expected to get at Moonspear or why had she even cared to stay near this place for so long. Because, when the leader himself came into the sight, carrying himself tall and proud, she felt both awkward and annoyed. The latter more at herself, because a part of her mind still hoped to see the boy she had once known, refusing to believe that she was being childish and things had changed. 

She kept her position neutral - she did not bow or submit, even when knowing that in this area holding onto her pride was a disadvantage. She did not mirror Charon's posture either - she was not here to challenge him, she believed that she was better and stood above this. However, it was harder to keep her growing frustration reined in and, when she finally spoke, the strain to keep her voice polite was perceptible. "Still going cool, I see," she remarked with a tinge of disappointment in her tone.

It frustrated him when the words that poured from Osprey's mouth were once more mocking. Charon frowned, not sure whether he felt more angry or hurt. A spectrum of emotions passed his face in a short amount of time as he looked at her and heard the tone in her voice.

Feeling he had nothing to apologise for, for her was an Alpha on his own turf and he deserved to carry himself as he did, Charon did not change. "What are you here for, if only to mock me some more and rub my face into my losses?" He looked away, frowning, wishing that she would admit that she was wrong and make things right again. His losses had moulded him into the king he now was, but that did not mean that they didn't hurt.

"Mock you - about your losses?" Osprey lifted her brows, wondering, what kind of subtle meaning was behind each of these statements and, whether they truly concerned her or was this sentence meant more for Charon than her. Yes, he had lost his parents, siblings and god only knew, how many more. A more complicated fate than for the most people, but it seemed to her that rather than moving on, he kept holding onto these, taking pride in the past and perhaps thinking that this made him superior to the rest. Maybe she was wrong and this was not the sole reason.  

"No, mocking a king in his kingdom is not a wise thing to do, is it?" she asked, sitting down and tilting her head to the side. "You tell me, you are the king after all - how to treat you?" she added with a crooked grin.

It did not even occur to Charon that she may not understand what he meant by his losses. He meant her, of course, among many who had since turned their backs on him. Yet he could not tell her that, for the reason he spoke in riddles was that he did not want her to know how much she had meant to him and how much it hurt him to see her at all. Even though he had gained a mate that fateful night, he felt like he had also definitively lost a friend. Yet, she was here on his doorstep, and perhaps that meant it was not entirely true?

Her next words were more riddles to his ears, because he could not understand if she meant them as seriously as they were posed or if she intended for him to grab the bait, snap so she could reel him in and pummel him across the face once more with what he had lost — her. "With respect," he said, a hurt shimmer in his eyes as he spoke, his inability to understand anything she said clear in his hoarse voice. That was all he wanted; respect, and love. He waited for her response once more, the ball in her court again.

"Respect you say," Osprey repeated, eyes narrowing, as she scrutinized Charon's face, the shadow of hurt feelings not escaping her gaze. To say that beneath her icey demeanor there was nothing but still waters, was a lie. The loss of a friend hurt her too, yet she could not decide, whether the fault lied entirely with the boy or was it because she refused to accept the change, having him grown up as a different person than she had hoped. After all, if you loved someone as a brother, you accepted their flaws and did not ask them to change? You respected them being unique. Just like he had said. A part of her agreed with this, but the other did not want to believe that this was it. Simple like that. 

"Don't you think that if a person respects you that you should respect them in return?" she asked rethorically. "I would like to be your friend again, but not, if you are the one to demand and judge me and my choices, if you act... as if you own me. And as if  I, therefore, owe you something."

The words she spoke irritated him, for they weren't at all respectful. She did the same as she blamed him for, in Charon's eyes; demanding respect from him without giving any in return. He rather wished she would make her decision instead of loitering about the frays of his life. He wanted all or nothing, as it was with all things in Charon's life, from this friendship.

"I do think that," he said, his voice tainted with a sharp edge. I could say the same for you, he haughtily thought, but he did not say the words because he knew that it would only make her turn around again. Yet, would she walk out of his life for good were he to do this? Would he at least get his closure instead of being confronted by her over and over again?

When she finished speaking he just stared at her, not sure what to say. What did she want from him? Did she want him to say that she was right, beg for her friendship back? She knew that would never happen. What he wanted was a clean slate, but he was not sure how to achieve it at this point... And in his experience, even clean slates were never truly clean.

Osprey had expected an outburst, but received a curt answer instead. However the way it was said, told that Charon did not agree with her that he most likely had not understood anything what she had said. That he believed he was still right. She sighed and pressed her lips together, looking up in the sky and breathing deeply and eavenly, trying to get rid of her own frustration with him and his stubborness. It occurred to her, why was she even trying, when anything she had said or would say bounced off against a concrete wall. But had it not been him, who had told her that you did not abandon those, who you loved?

And she did love him in her own way and this attachment was so strong that she could not easily turn her back on him and walk out of his life, no matter, how much she wanted it or thought that it was the best for both of them. This love refused to give up on Charon just like that and wasteful as it would be, it made her go ahead, collect herself and try again. So she turned to look at him, mustering up a smile that did not reach her eyes and asked: "What do you want it to be then? Do you still want to be my friend - or do we agree and end this friendship now - be strangers to each other from now on?"

He wanted her to apologize, she wanted him to admit his mistakes. At the moment it did not seem likely that either of the parties would give in.

She asked him what he wanted it to be; if he wanted to be friends or if he would want them to each go their separate ways. All the while Charon was very busy with what Osprey wanted, though, because he wanted her to want this friendship. He wanted her to want to be by his side; not ask him if he wanted to. Yet the fact that she asked gave him the splinter of hope he needed to realise that there was still a chance things would be alright between them. If she didn't want to be friends anymore she wouldn't be here and she certainly wouldn't be here asking him if he wanted to be friends.

"Of course I want to be friends," Charon answered eventually, after a small silence lapsed between them in which he considered and held onto the strand of hope she had handed him. Desperately he tried to use the strand to climb back onto the shore of the river they were in, on the same side as Osprey was standing. "I never wanted to be not-friends." He frowned and looked at her, hoping that she understood and hoping that she would allow him to climb to her side, that she would pull him in so that he would not drown in the river of their failed friendship but rather stand by her side once more.

"Me neither," Osprey replied, happy to hear him say that and with these two words all of the ice melted away and for the first time in a long time she smiled sincerely at the fellow standing before her. The fact that they had agreed on staying friends was just the beginning, because she believed that they could not go back to what they had had in past. Some things needed to be shoved away, some burried and left to rot, some fixed and the most had to be rebuilt. The task was not going to be easy, but she was looking forward to seeing, what would become of it.

"Should we start from the beginning?" she asked, sitting down. "Hey, handsome stranger - my name is Ospey and who may be you?" Her tone playful, inviting him to play the game along.

Charon wasn't really sure what to expect from Osprey after his admittance; he felt like it wasn't his fault their friendship had ended to start with, but he also felt that Osprey wanted to pin it on him and that she wouldn't drop the matter until he admitted everything was his fault. And he wasn't willing to do that. Yet a smile fell across his face when Osprey admitted she didn't want to be not-friends either, and suggested starting over.

"I'm Starchaser," he answered with a grin, trying his hand at being playful. "But most call me Charon. I live on this mountain," he'd wanted to give his title, but then again, Osprey already knew it and it seemed to be one of the things that ticked her off, so maybe not. Instead he decided to use this moment to share a bit of other news: "with my mate, Amekaze."

The argument about whose fault was whose's was pointless - neither Osprey, nor Charon would give up on their points, each's statements having a bit of truth in them. Maybe better it was to leave it in the past, where it belonged, and not pick it up ever. Especially now, when they had reached sort of a mutual agreement in order to start things over. 

"Lovely to meet you, Starchaser and best of wishes to the Queen of the mountain too," she dipped her muzzle politely, containing the surprise that Charon being so much younger than her had found a mate already. It made her feel old. "So, is your mountain of the ordinary kind or is  it blessed with a dragon or a creature of equal magic and power?" 

Charon wondered if Osprey knew Amekaze at all, though if she did she sure wasn't showing it. Either she was engulfed in her little theater play or she really didn't know Amekaze. Charon couldn't help but laugh a little when Osprey asked if his mountain was the kind that was blessed. Considering Charon actually believed himself and his mountain to be blessed real-time, it wasn't hard to further their conversation from there on.

"Yes, it is. I am lord of the stars, chosen by the gods for a special fate," Charon said, "So this mountain, chosen as my home, carries many secrets and much magic." He wasn't quite as good at the game of make believe anymore as he used to be, Charon realised because he couldn't think of any prime examples of the magics that wandered this place off the back of his head. But oh well.

Even now, when playing a game, Charon took the opportunity to emphasize his self-importance, claiming himself as the chosen one from the gods. Having never been very religious herself, Osprey, wondered, if her friend's ideas about the deities came from his foster-parents. And if so - what else had they told him? Though rather than feeling annoyed by the fact that the young wolf was showing off again, she let it pass and memorized the exact words just to repeat them to Charon in few years time, when he would be more mature and grown up. 

And Osprey wouldn't be Osprey if she did not tease the fellow just a little bit by asking: "All is great, but no dragon?" 

It was clear that Charon had grown rusty in his play when Osprey asked him about the dragon. He wasn't really sure he wanted to talk about childish dragon stories, and wondered if maybe they had grown apart over time. He'd been so jealous to see her play with someone else rather than visit him to do the same, but maybe he had just grown over it... And even though he cherished the past they shared, if this was all they had going, maybe it was just not the way he was anymore.

Yet Charon refused to let this show, because he didn't want to he a hypocrite. "There used to be a dragon," said Charon, "But it was very violent and dangerous. So after much deliberating, the pack decided that it needed to be taken care of and it was killed so that it could no longer scorch our lands and plunder our caches." He linked this dragon to the bear they had killed — maybe with a little added scorching.

Osprey felt that this was the last time they would play the game of imagination and she felt a little sad that once another kid had grown up and left the childhood behind. There was no turning back now and in a way the dragon that had been slayed at the Moonspear was a symbol of times that had ended and would never come back.

She therefore did not reply and simply nodded and with a deep sigh she let it go. It was a high time she went too, but there was one last thing she wanted Charon to know: "I might be wrong, but once you suggested that you wanted to be an uncle to my children. And - if luck will have it - there will be a chance to fulfill that wish this year. That is - if you still want to."  Maybe the right way to move on was to build new bridges and ties.

Charon didn't realise the metaphore that he had depicted, but neither did he notice Osprey's reaction to it much. Anything he may or may not've noticed paled in comparison to her next news, anyway.

His eyes widened at the news and Charon moved forward to nose Osprey's muzzle before withdrawing. "Wow! Pups? Congratulations! With —" But before he could ask 'who', he realised with who. His joy died down a little at the realisation he would unlikely see them often... Not with Dante around.

"I'm not sure he'll want me to see them, but I'd love to visit anyway." Charon tried not to sound too negative or burning-all-the-bridges-like, but he truly felt that there was no future between him and Dante in any way other than strife.

"Hey, despite your mutual dislike Dante does not mind me being friends with you," Osprey told him, though she hoped that, when Charon did come for a visit, then she would be the first to meet him. Not the second. She could not vouch of what would or wouldn't her mate do, would he meet Charon hanging around the borders on his own. 

"And if you have any doubts about that - you are like a younger brother to me," she added with a fond smile. "Difficult and annoying at times, but great anyway. And I don't take it lightly, if people pick on my family members. Especially younger siblings," she said this with agood natured grin, because by now Charon had outgrown her both in size and muscle. 

ooc: let's wrap this up in the next two posts?

Though not all of Osprey's words were flattering, they were enough so to melt Charon's reservations towards visiting her pack at the Sentinels to visit the pups that she and Dante were going to have. Charon wondered at what point that would be there; once they were a bit older than whiny useless age he would want to visit for sure. It seemed that whatever had been between them was past now and even if Osprey though him annoying at times, Charon still felt honoured to be dubbed her little brother.

With a softened expression and smile, Charon said, "When will they be ready for uncle Charon's visits? Do you guys have any... planning, or any idea when it's gonna happen?" She didn't look pregnant right now, not yet, so either it was in very early stage or the deed hadn't yet been done.

"I am not too sure yet, but you can come see me in three months time - if the little guys are there then they will be big enough to at least gnaw and take their uncle down," Osprey said and winked, happy to see a change in Charon's otherwise serious and proud facade. 

"I have to be on my way now," she said, realizing, how much of a distance was ahead of her and that she had to keep the promise to Dante and return within ten or so days. "It was nice seeing you and... fixing things," she was yet a little unsure of, how this would evolve, but - perhaps... bringing kids in the equation would help to get rid off the last shadows of resentment and residual hurt between them. Time would show. 

She stood there to hear the last words from Charon and then left to continue her journey South.

"I'll be there," said Charon with a fond smile. As Osprey said her departures, Charon nodded in agreement to her words — he preferred not to talk about their fight too much anymore, so didn't bring it up further — and reached out to nuzzle her face gingerly. "It was nice seeing you," he murmured softly before he withdrew once more and watched as Osprey went her own way again.

After Osprey had left, Charon continued to patrol along his borders and verified his claim on the mountain, feeling giddy and eager to see Osprey's babies sometime in the future.