Moonspear Life is like a ticking time bomb

b-day thread for Charon's mvp @Floki :D

Today was a very important day for Floki. Charon was thrilled for all of his siblings, of course, and he would congratulate them later. The young Alpha sought out his most loyal brother in particular, however, on this day -- he decided to check the ledge that overlooked the valleys because it looked beautiful with the snow covering it, but he also picked it because maybe Floki would be there.

Finding no Floki yet, Charon stood and overlooked the valleys, finding himself mesmerised by the landscape. He would call his brother in a bit, but not before taking a moment to appreciate what he had.

Woo hoo!

It was Floki's first winter, and he was greatly enjoying the snow that had blanketed Moonspear over the last few weeks. There was something peaceful and serene about the sparkling powder. It reminded him of the sands of his youth in the way it shifted and allowed the wind to tease it. But, although this was his only experience with snow, he knew that it didn't have the permanence of sand. Come spring, it would melt under the sun's warm rays, so he planned to enjoy it while it lasted.

He was weaving along one of the trails near the lower reaches of the mountain, slowly making his way upward. He came across a set of pawprints, and a quick brush with his nose revealed that they belonged to Charon. His older brother and Alpha had passed through not long before. Knowing that it was about time to ascend into the adult ranks -- especially since he physically looked the part of a grown up -- he followed Charon's tracks.

The impressions in the snow led him to an overlook, and there he found Charon. With his chin tucked respectfully and the tip of his tail wavering between his hocks, he approached, his gaze wandering out over the snow-covered landscape. "Hey, bro," he said as he delivered a bump to Charon's shoulder.

Charon smiled broadly at Flóki as his brother came into view, glad that he had been correct to guess the right spot to find his brother at. Little did Charon know that it was actually Flóki that had found him. "Hey lil' bro," Charon said with a broad grin, feeling excited and clearly hiding some surprise or the other. He nuzzled Flóki's cheek fondly before he withdrew, tearing his gaze away from the scenery to look upon Flóki. He looked so grown up; it seemed like only yesterday that Charon'd ran into him at the Sentinels on his way home from the Sunspire. Before that, Flóki'd been his little bro and he'd loved Flóki to bits, but from that day forth, he'd become like, his right hand man or something. His loyalty was unconditional and knew no boundaries, it seemed, and Charon couldn't be happier that Flóki was here today (and was probably part of the reason that the whole family was still tied together today).

"So I wanted to give you something for your ascension into the adult ranks, and I thought, what sort of things would Flóks like..." There was a mischievous twinkle in Charon's eyes as he looked at his brother. Charon wasn't very good at hiding surprises; especially not good ones like these. "And then I thought I'd give you what mom gave me the day I turned nine months old, 'cause you deserve it, and you're already sort of it in my mind, anyway." Charon's face became more serious then as he looked at Flóki's face to try and see if he caught the hint or not, before adding: "I want you to be Moonspear's Beta, Flóki." It was clear from the way Charon said it that he did not intend to take no for an answer; Flóki was pretty much Charon's Beta, anyway, as he was his loyal right-hand dude, and he deserved everything that came with making the title official.

GAWD i was like 'oh wifi has a thread set after this, should i ask this oc first? NAH how much can he say about rank in like a few posts in?' and then Flóki is like 'HELLO I AM AN ETA' in his first post in the wifi thread lolol!

Haha, WHOOPS! <333

When Charon greeted him, he called him "lil' bro," but Floki didn't find it condescending in the least despite his age. No matter how old or mature he got, he would probably always look up to Charon. The freckled Alpha had been essentially the only consistent presence in his life from the start, and he was thankful for their friendship and mutual respect.

He settled next to Charon, glancing down at the snowcapped trees. One ear turned towards his brother, who immediately began to address Floki's coming-of-age. That particular topic required his full attention so it wasn't long before he was looking Charon in the face, his lips turning up into a smile before parting in surprise. Had he heard Charon correctly? "I want you to be Moonspear's Beta."

"Wait, what? Really?" he asked incredulously, his eyes wide. "But -- are you sure? Is Ame okay with it?" he continued. This was the last thing he had expected; he was simply content to be considered an adult subordinate.

The surprise on Flóki's face was priceless. Charon couldn't see how Flóki hadn't seen it coming all along, because to Charon, he was the most deserving wolf of this task. Flóki stammered out if Ame was on board with this too, and Charon quickly nodded.

"Yeah, we discussed it and she agreed with me that you'd do great." Flóki was young, but so had Charon been, and he saw in Flóki the same potential that he had (even if less necessity; Charon's ambition had been fueled, at the time, by Thistle being the only leader). Now all he needed to do was say yes.

It came as even more of a surprise that Amekaze agreed with naming Floki the pack's Beta. Although she had been his leader for a few months now, he didn't know her well at all. He still thought of her as a mysterious wolf, but she was evidently acquainted enough with him to think that Charon was making the right choice.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, even though there wasn't a shred of doubt on Charon's face. "I don't really know anything about leadership," he added. Even as he spoke the words, he knew that wouldn't be a viable argument, especially to Charon; after all, his eldest brother had risen to the Beta position when he was nine months old as well, and he surely hadn't been a wealth of knowledge when he started. It would be easy to train beneath Charon and Amekaze, and as Floki digested the information, he realized that he kind of liked the idea.

"You can help train me some, right?" he questioned, making the first step towards officially accepting Charon's offer.

Flóki seemed surprised to hear that Ame had agreed to make Flóki Beta. Charon could imagine that; Amekaze was a mysterious being, after all, and it took a refined eye to see that she actually paid good attention to what went on around her. Anyone that paid any sort of attention could see how well Flóki would do as Beta and how much already did for the pack now to deserve it.

Everyone has to start somewhere. It'll be fine! Charon smiled broadly, hoping that his enthusiasm would be infectious enough for Flóki to realise he needed to say yes already. of course we would train you! Not that Charon thought his brother needed it; but if it would make him say yes, he would gladly train him.

Although Floki was still doubting himself, it was hard to be too worried when Charon was so confident. He approached the subject in a breezy, nonchalant manner, as though it was no big deal. It was because of his brother's self-assured demeanor that Floki nodded and drew himself up, as though physically stepping into the role.

"Okay," he agreed, unable to hide the excitement from his voice. He grinned. He couldn't have imagined a better "birthday" present; beyond the jump in rank, he was thrilled that Charon thought of him as his right hand man and believed that he was capable of following in his footsteps.

He didn't think about how this change could affect his relationship with Tevinter, or with the newly-returned Kaylan and Ragna. Instead, he couldn't wait to break the news to Wildfire. "I want to tell Wildfire before you announce it to the rest of the pack -- is that okay?" he asked.

Finally Floki agreed to take the position, and Charon felt proud to see the physical manifestation of that acceptance in this brother's body language. Yup, he'd made the right decision alright. Great! There was a broad smile on Charon's face, glad to have his brother by his side in the ranks now, too.

As for his request, Charon answered, Alright. We'll officially announce it tomorrow! Charon didn't even consider anyone in the pack might feel poorly towards this choice; Floki was a lovable fellow, after all. Surely everyone would be as happy for this deserved position as Charon himself.

"Thanks," Floki replied breathlessly, stepping forward to nudge the underside of Charon's chin with his snout. It all seemed so surreal; although he very much considered himself to be an important part of Moonspear -- after all, he had helped to discover and claim the mountain -- he had never imagined that he would become a leader.

His paws were itching to carry him to Wildfire, but he thought that it would be rude to run out on his brother so quickly. "What's my first duty as Beta?" he asked, wondering if Charon and Amekaze had plans for him or if they were content to simply share their responsibilities with him.

The fact that Floki did not consider himself to be a leader right now was, to Charon, perhaps the most proof that he was totally the best guy for the position. Itd not even occur to Charon that others might be envious, others that might be considered to contain more leadership material; but Charon knew that none of them were as loyal as Floki. And after losing almost every wolf he has ever cared for, loyalty was the quality that Charon valued most.

As Floki asked for his first Beta duty, Charon didn't even have any tasks yet. However, it was easy enough to come up with something. "Enjoy the special birthday scenery with your brother." Which, of course, was hardly a task, but Charon liked to take some time to remeniss about the past and Floki's youth. "It's hard to believe that you were so tiny once. Look at you now, all grown up. " Charon smiled proudly at Floki. He thought back to the day that he had grabbed Floki from the jaws of a bear (well, practically), a grim reminder of the looming threat he still needed to deal with.

"Easy enough," Floki replied with a grin as Charon tasked him with his first "official" job. He was always happy to spend time with his brother, but this moment was special. He was thankful that Charon was a part of his life, especially since he wasn't related by blood. Floki didn't often think of the Viking gods that his father had worshipped, but he did believe -- somewhere, in the back of his mind -- that those gods had kept them together when the rest of their family had fallen apart.

He nodded as Charon spoke of his age. "I don't feel much different -- not yet, anyway," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. Much had changed in Floki's life, so the simple act of earning another month of existence paled in comparison to the rest. However, this day would always be marked with the knowledge that Charon had trusted him to take up the mantel as Moonspear's Beta.

With a more solemn expression, he suddenly turned to face Charon. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me, I mean -- you basically raised me," he said. He loved his mother and always would, but it was Charon that had been by his side throughout childhood and now as he stood on the cusp of adulthood.

Charon looked at the scenery, glad to be able to spend some time with his brother one on one. They didn't do that nearly enough, really. Charon remembered that he had felt a world of difference when he turned nine months — but then again, he had known about the upcoming promotion, because he had already talked it through with his adoptive mother and Alpha before the big day. He was giving Flóki what he himself had asked for specifically. Perhaps because he wanted to reward good behaviour, or because he wanted to show Flóki just how special he was to Charon and how much Charon thought of him to give him such great responsibility and power. He wasn't just his little brother; Flóki was practically his best friend.

When Levi had fallen away and their other young siblings, Flóki had somewhat filled the gap. In some ways, Flóki was a bit like Levi, too. Soft. Charon liked him for that, too. Soft wolves reminded him when to loosen the chains and when to drop the whip whenever his temper got the better of him. He wanted to lead, and he wanted others to respect him, but Flóki made sure that he stayed in line (even if he didn't do so consciously), just as Ame did. They were the two wolves in his life right now that made Charon want to be a better wolf (a thing that he had never before in his life aspired; because, let's face it, Charon was pretty cool as things were).

When Flóki thanked him for all he had done, Charon smiled broadly in a silent returning of the sentiment. "I'm glad you stayed," he said. Everyone else had left, or gotten lost. Levi was probably dead in a ditch somewhere, because he'd been such a homebody and so attached to the pups. He would never have just up and abandoned them. And Thistle Cloud, while she had been there, hadn't been very emotionally available at the time. The rest... They must've just gone away, or, like Kaylan (and Atreyu with his leg that time) gotten scared and ran. But not Flóki, and that proved that he deserved to stand here, beside him. "I don't want to get all soppy and emotional now, but you're like my best friend, Flóks. I'm glad to have you." Charon glanced sideways at Flóki while he spoke, an appreciative smile on his face all the while.

He knew full well that Charon wasn't an overly emotional wolf, so he didn't expect a big affectionate display from his brother. But the simple words that Charon spoke were enough for Floki; he smiled broadly, feeling warm from the inside out despite the cold winter air that surrounded them. He had stayed due to necessity -- in order to survive, he knew that he needed Charon and Thistle Cloud. He could have gone looking for Jorunn, Kaylan, and Ragna, but that had been too daunting a task for the young Lodbrok. In the end, staying had been the best decision he had made in his short life.

"You're my best friend, too," he admitted without any shame. In the back of his mind, he thought of Tevinter -- when they were pups, his twin had been his closest confidante. And while they were still identical in appearance, they had grown into two very different adolescents. He wasn't sure if they would ever fully repair their relationship; and the cracks in the mirror would only be exacerbated after this promotion, as he would learn in just a few days' time.

this seems like a good place to end before it gets too soppy. but if you wanted to continue / flóki has more to say/ask/do, we can continue. :3

Charon smiled, contently and proudly, when Flóki returned his ultimate admission of love. Even though Levi's disappearance (and probably death) had showed Charon that life was always unpredictable, and that even the hardest and sturdiest rocks in your life could wash away somehow, he was glad to have Flóki. He couldn't help but hope that Flóki and he would be together for a long time, and that life wouldn't take away his brother like it had the rest of his -- and their -- family.

In silence the young Alpha enjoyed his brother's company, glad to just see the sights. There was little more to add, anyway, as anything he'd say would be less good than the you're-my-best-friend statement they had both shared. Perhaps eventually they'd talk about this and that, or maybe start talking a bit more seriously about leadership; for now, though, he was glad just to be together.