Moonspear now it's hard to breathe

no obligations to join based on tags, just tagged some folk i figured he should see (again) sometime -- all welcome! :D

It seemed like moons ago that @Ganondorf had been accepted into the pack, but Charon had seen little of him since. He hadn't minded this at all during the period in which Amekaze had her heat but now that it was over and he did not feel quite as protective of the other males in the pack Charon was eager to go and find the boy, hoping to spend some time with him. He realised he should also take some time to further get to know @Drogon as obviously his daughters seemed to like him and thought he had potential of some sort; maybe he should give the boy another chance and take him patrolling sometime.

@Wraen was another he hadn't seen much of lately, though felt worried that they had been attacked by (and eventually killed) a cougar. It added onto the feeling of incompetence after Galaxy'd been killed and Vela'd been harmed. It seemed that lately, he was always behind on everything, and it was a great source of frustration for him. He wandered the territory still looking for Ganondorf though welcoming another sort of company too, glad that Ame's heat was over and having some time on his hands until the snows and frozen bits melted so that he could get to working on the whelping den.

Dune noted that the sweet flowery smell had dissipated somewhat, and he could only presume that the alpha pair would be a bit more available now. This was a good thing for Dune, considering he was anxious to prove his worth to the pack. He had spent his time so far making sure to hunt and fill the caches, patrol for intruders, and get to know his pack mates. "Eager to please" was probably the best phrase to describe how Dune felt about his new home. He wanted everybody to like him, and he wanted to like everybody right back!

Now that he had settled in a bit more, he had relaxed around the rest of the pack, finding it easy to slip back into old friendly habits that had been put on the back burner while he was alone. Pack was what he cared for most of all now, so when he saw Charon rounding a bend, Dune wagged his tail, delighted to see his new leader. He gave a soft woof just in case the freckled wolf hadn't seen him already.

more are still welcome!

Dune seemed to be settling right in and Charon was pleased to see it. Just as he rounded a corner Charon noticed Dune up ahead and he smiled. The Alpha hadn't been looking for the newcomer but wasn't averse to the company either; perhaps he would wish to help look for Ganondorf, though, considering he had unlikely met him yet, he might not be of much help other than company.

"Dune," said Charon in return to Dune's woof while he approached, body neutral because he did not think it'd be necessary to exert his dominance now. "Settling in well?"

Yay self-conscious Dune.

Dune nodded enthusiastically, and his tail whirred behind him. He sensed that there was something else on Charon's mind, but Dune was not about to inquire as to what it was. Charon had already seemed not quite at ease with the way he spoke, so Dune thought it best to speak as little as possible. He did intend on becoming better at spoken word, but it had never been encouraged in the north. They spoke with their bodies and movements there. Here, however, Dune knew he would need to immerse himself if he ever wanted to communicate effectively with the rest of the pack.

For now, though, Dune would have to make do with what he had. Earlier that day, he had spotted a single goat lingering on a ledge of the mountain, and he wondered if he could further prove himself a good hunter if he convinced Charon to come help him with the horned beast. With this in mind, he formed his words as carefully as possible, mindful of how he spoke. "Goat on mountain," he said, hoping that would get the point across. "Hunt together?"

Dune's body language told Charon enough of how he was settling in. Things were going well, it seemed. He nodded, subconsciously taking over Dune's non-verbal mannerisms a bit there. Before Charon had to think of other things he could ask Dune, or decide to simply pass him along, Dune mentioned a goat he had seen that they could hunt. Charon remembered when he and Ame had hunted a mountain goat not long after they'd come to Moonspear. It had been quite a ride...

He nodded at Dune to signify that he would join — another non-verbal confirmation — and then waited for him to lead the way there.

Charon wordlessly agreed, taking a queue from Dune to use fewer words rather than many. This, of course, was much easier on Dune, and he was glad that his leader seemed to be picking up on it. Perhaps both of them had some work to do in order to truly understand one another. Dune knew this would take time and patience, but he was a patient wolf... at least when it came to understanding others who wished to understand him in turn. Thoughts of comprehension aside, Dune began to make his way up the mountain trail, occasionally glancing back to make sure his leader (now the follower) was still behind him.

When the goat came into view, Dune slowed his pace, glancing back at Charon to signal that he'd located their prey. The goat was digging through the snow, right down to the grass and dirt below. It was also on a rather precarious ledge. Dune knew from recent experience that those ledges were downright terrifying, and he also had a feeling the goat had much better footing than the two wolves hunting it. He paused, wondering if his hunting partner would have any insight or if he would expect Dune to do all the thinking.

Dune started to lead the way and Charon followed silently along. Ears perked forward when the goat came into view and Dune slowed down his pace. It hadn't noticed them yet, seemed to simply be doing goat-like things such as looking for grass to nibble on. The ledge was instantly noticed by Charon, too; not only had he lived on this mountain for over two years by now, he also remembered the last time they'd hunted on such dangerous footing and he didn't think it would be smart to get too close to it.

Charon stared at the situation in thought. The only thing he could see them doing logically would be to try and chase it away from the ledge. Once it was elsewhere it'd be easier to grab it. Mountain goat were difficult enough to face with just the two of them even without the ledge, so Charon didn't exactly welcome the extra difficulty.. He looked questioningly at Dune, hoping he had a plan.

It seemed as though both of them expected the other to decide what they were going to do. Dune was puzzled by this, considering Charon was the de facto leader, but maybe this was a test. Then again, Dune seemed to think everything was a test these days. He was not sure if he would ever stop being tested (or at least feeling as though he were being tested). Dune weighed the options that he saw before him.

They definitely couldn't try to catch it where it was right now. The risks were too high. Where they currently stood below it, if they moved up to try and chase it to level ground, they would likely only chase it upward, making their prospects even slimmer. In fact, Dune could not seem to form a single plan that didn't end with the wolves falling to their death. That was frustrating, to say the least.

"Too dangerous," he concluded, turning to Charon with a disappointed look on his face.

haha, Dune is great. "this is weird... it must be a test!"

Charon hadn't become a leader just so he could make all the decisions himself. Just the ones he cared about. Besides, he needed to know if Dune had any thoughts of his own on the matter. Meanwhile Charon tried to think of how best to approach it, but he remembered how scratched and torn Ame and he'd get out of picking a fight with mountain goats when it was just the two of them. Now he was with someone whose hunting skills were unlikely a match to Amekaze's and the situation was in their disadvantage.

Dune seemed to agree and Charon agreed once more with a nod and a frown. "Shame," he said, feeling a little miffed that he'd come up this way only for them to conclude that it would be too dangerous to take it. "Maybe we can return later with others. See if it's moved, or chase it off that dangerous ledge." Well, if nothing else, at least today had proved that Dune had a sensible head on his shoulders by agreeing to it being too dangerous (TEST SUCCEEDED?!).

maybe we can fade this? i'd love a newer, collary thread with Dune :D

Sure thing, boss! This is also my 5th hunting thread, woo!

Charon agreed, and it seemed as though Dune had passed the (quite possibly only-to-him) test. He released some tension he'd been holding between his shoulders, feeling a bit more at-ease with the situation. Charon also suggested they come back later, and Dune nodded in response. "Return later," he verbalized, still attempting to learn spoken word a bit more fluently. He knew that, in order to really immerse himself in the language, he was going to have to speak it, too.

For now, Dune put the notion of hunting to rest, instead deciding it would be better to let Charon get back to... whatever he was doing. As for Dune, he planned to go check on the caches he had made additions to a couple of days before to ensure that they were untouched. With a smile and a wag of his tail, Dune said a quick, "See soon!" and bounded off further down the mountain.