swallow my heart whole and leave me to the wolves

Charon felt prickly towards the boy when he was being defiant, but when he told him that his father had died twice, he softened somewhat, remembering that he had lost his father too — twice. He grimaced and said: "That sucks. I lost both my fathers." He didn't elaborate, not caring much for it. He wasn't sure he could really do anything for the boy, anyway, since he seemed not to want any help. Charon remembered himself at that age; probably wasn't much he could do for this boy.

When the boy said he was a curse, Charon let out a snort of a laugh, defiant, because he knew whether the boy was cursed or not, he couldn't harm Charon even if he wanted. He said: "I turned out fine, and I'm not going to die just because someone else is near me. I am chosen for greatness." The words were spoken without missing a beat, a serious expression on his face that expressed how he meant his words. "You should probably find someone else who cares about you, though, if you want to survive winter. Running away doesn't work forever." There was no intent behind his gruffly spoken words, except for the truth within them — that the boy should find family or friends someplace so that he wouldn't die. He was one of the Redhawk pups and for that Charon wouldn't tell him twice; but being a new father, Charon felt oddly mellow and so he decided to give him this warning.