Moonspear and time is frozen

Although he was always posturing dominantly among wolves who did not show proper respect or who he doubted — or at the borders — Charon's posture was pretty neutral, especially when she submitted right away. He didn't think that Aria would really be any trouble, considering Flóki had recommended her so heartily. It was evident from everything about her that she was trying to keep up appearances, and Charon was, after her question for helping out, quick to say: "Don't."

He looked at her sharply, something that was off-putting sometimes, but he didn't care. He wasn't gonna sit here and have a polite conversation with someone he didn't know when they were both hurting for the loss of Flóki. "I know you miss them, and miss Flóki, and I miss him too and I'm pissed off so many of them would leave in the middle of winter." His eyebrows darkened to reflect his anger. "And it's okay to be pissed off and angry at the world and sad and whatever the fuck you need to do to get past it, but you don't have to be nicer than you feel. You don't gotta pretend around me." He hoped she could appreciate his harshness, though at this point he felt like being nice or nasty or honest or not wasn't gonna make any difference, anyway. A bunch of them had left regardless of it all and he felt this was fairest for Aria; she could just be however she wanted to be without pretending.