the borders are one of the places where drogon can often be found. sometimes, he trains with hydra and vela and other times he takes part-day impromptu trips outside of moonspear to stretch his legs and investigate what's happening outside the spear. it's been a while since he's made those trips though and he knows the underlying reason for it, regardless of what he tells himself. in part, ever since vela's attack he's hesitant to leave the spear ( though he knows she's well protected ) but also because the second he steps over that borderline without a mission he'd be making his way to blackfeather woods to seek out iliksis and have a real fight for trying to kidnap his girl. regardless, the borders are a favorite haunt of the ansbjørn.

drogon lingers upon a sparse section of the border, brushing a broad shoulder against a tall spruce tree, wincing slightly as the rough bark rips out a small tuft of blue-black pelage mixed with few tendrils of the blueish-silver of his mane. he's about to lift his leg to add urine to it for good measure when the sound of approaching footfalls distracts him and he turns inquisitively to see who's approaching. charon's familiar form — vela truly does look like him — comes into view and drogon adjusts his posture into a submissive one. "sir." he greets charon in a quieted, respectful rasp.

drogon falls in line behind charon as the alpha makes the suggestion of drogon joining him on his patrol. whether it was an actual suggestion or not didn't much matter; drogon wasn't going to refuse ( besides charon was going to same way he was ). drogon'd made a promise to vela that he'd work on getting to know her dad better and accordingly, let charon know him. there was a part of drogon that thought maybe it was a bad idea. he'd always been rebellious by nature and had an inherent dislike of authority that wasn't his own. he could only hope that the thought of vela and his genuine desire to get to know her family ( the family he doesn't know ) better was enough to hold strong. vela could be his future if he didn't mess it up and she ...they were the one thing he wanted to get right in his life.

"that's fair." drogon comments despite that the ansbjørn suspects his comment wasn't necessary. this was what he wanted and it strikes him as a good thing that charon, too, is taking an interest in getting to know one another better. it's a good starting ground. "what do you want to know?" drogon inquires, ears cupping forth atop his skull as he glimpses away from the neutral territory just outside moonspear's borders to charon's back. drogon's good at eluding questions about himself but he's done things he isn't overly proud of; he's done things that he's proud of and it occurs to him that perhaps he shouldn't be proud of. drogon's past is busy and complex despite that he's not even a yearling yet. it's not exactly anything that one shares unless it's deemed utterly relevant; but charon already knew that he's both once ran with and is a (proud) traitor to blackfeather woods and that's half of his "secrets" right there.

drogon spares the light colored male — dune, he thinks his name is ( for the two had yet to formally meet ) — a glimpse of acknowledgement but ultimately turns his attention back to charon. impressing him ...or at the very least getting in his good graces is drogon's highest priority, especially considering he and the man's youngest daughter are together. it puts a whole lot of pressure on drogon and he bears the uncomfortable weight as best he can. he has broad shoulders and it's not anything he can't withstand. or so he tells himself, anyway. "no," drogon replies to charon's first question. while it can never be forgotten that he was once a blackfeather wolf drogon wishes that he could sweep it under the rug nevertheless. "i was born in a place called enok tundra. when i was about two or three months old i snuck out and got lost in a neighboring territory. a stranger found me and told me he was going to take me home. he lied and i ended up being abandoned in a territory on blackfeather's doorstep. a woman from blackfeather woods, nyx, found me and took me in." he offers the whole story as he remembers it. in vague details that blurs the line between fiction and reality. though most of it is based in the reality of what happened drogon has long since been unable to discern what is true and what is a lie in regards to his past.

"i don't remember their names but i know i look like my mother." it was probably unhelpful information but he retained that much at least ...that, her last name, and that she used to sing to him. the rest of the details long since been erased by the trauma of being kidnapped and left to die.

"no." drogon replies to charon's first question. looking for his family wasn't anything he'd considered doing; and as far as drogon was aware they hadn't tried to find him. he was doing fine on his own and at this point valued his independence more than he valued a family he hasn't seen in a few months shy of a year. charon didn't seem overly interested and drogon couldn't help the slight rise of annoyance in his chest. he tempers it quickly. if this already wasn't going well allowing himself to show his annoyance certanly wasn't going to help. "ansbjørn." drogon offers it nonchantly, assuming that it, like much of what he's said thus far, wouldn't interest charon in the slightest.

drogon licks his lips, deliberating on the fence between if he should say what he feels bubbling up on his throat, the words burning his tongue or if he should temper it and just accept this for what it was. disapproval.

drogon's never been one to just accept defeat.

"look, sir, I know I'm probably the furthest thing from what you think is the perfect guy for vela. and yeah i'm not perfect," drogon narrowly avoids letting out a snort at the truth of those particular words. "but i care for your daughter. a lot and i'm going to do whatever it takes to prove it to you." because he promised her ...and because, at the end of the day, drogon would like charon's approval too.

the ansbjørn gives a slight, unnoticeable start as the alpha's voice breaks the silence that had stretched between them after drogon finished his monologue. part of drogon wants to mention that it's not in his best interests to attempt to force vela to do anything and that beyond that it sounds incredibly controlling. vela was an adult that was more than capable of making her own decisions and drogon wasn't going to boss her around — not that he thinks she'll listen anyway given how headstrong she is. "it's not my intention to steal her away from you, i promise." drogon responds, addressing charon's request without actually promising that he'll make vela do anything. if charon was truly worried about vela playing favourites then that was something he needed to address with his daughter and not his daughter's boyfriend ( but that was just drogon's opinion on the matter ).

charon's warning ...which flirted with the line of a threat that had the hairs at drogon's nape prickling with the urge to bristle. sure, moonspear had taken him in despite his past with blackfeather but it wasn't as if he'd begged. hydra had recruited him and drogon would be fine on his own; and beyond that he'd never gotten to take his stab of revenge at vaati ...so he isn't exactly sure what charon means by 'what moonspear's done for you' but ( thankfully ) he bites his tongue and takes the warning/threat because there is little else he could do without earning himself a swift boot in the ass. and he doesn't particularly wish to be parted from vela all because he's ...well the way he is.

"i don't know what else there is to say," drogon admits with a roll of his shoulders in a lofty shrug. "i'm a fighter. i'm a survivor. and there isn't anything i wouldn't do for those i care about and those who have my loyalty." drogon really wasn't all that complicated. he lived by his own law and wasn't afraid to do what was necessary even if it was a necessary evil.