The first day that the remaining Ostrega children had been with the Alpha pair as their new wards, it had been Charon that had thrown the most tantrums, even trying to escape a few times. The young Ostrega child had wailed like a banshee giving neither Ragnar or Thistle who had taken shifts watching their newest wards so that one of them could attend to their leadership duties while the other played babysitter to their foster children, having Mercury and Gunnar take shifts with them as well, one boy patrolling the borders or hunting while the other aided in trying to keep the clearly upset children calm. It wasn't very effective but it was all that Ragnar knew to do for them, assuming that they had to tantrum themselves out. Presumably, Charon eventually did tantrum himself out and slept through the night. Ragnar couldn't say the same, and was groggy when he did finally awaken, giving a soft order to Mercury to bring the children something to play with. Ragnar no longer had the bones he had worried in for his Gods, each having been placed on the appropriate alters deep in the heart of the forest that dominated most of the Bay, but Ragnar had kept the antlers of some of the deer that they had taken down and hoped that Mercury would know where to find them.
Assuming that the other Ostrega children: Liyani and Levi were still asleep Ragnar turned his eyes of carribean blue eyes to the uniquely marked child: Charon, whom had seemed to shrink in on himself. Ragnar understood a simple truth: he could not replace the absence of Verrine, no more than Thistle could replace the absence of Julooke — no more than either of them wanted to replace them. They weren't their true parents but they were their foster parents and as far as Ragnar could see the best chance the small children had at surviving this harsh winter to come. The scarred Scandinavian stared at the only woken child, feeling piteous but knowing that he couldn't sympathize with him. He'd never lost his parents, at least not while he was much too young to understand; but Ragnar did understand the pain of loss, despite that he'd been an adult when Bjorn had brutally ended Eitri's life for the crown of Odinn's Cove.
It was doubtful that Charon understood what he was saying, and even if he did that he would listen but Ragnar was going to try to get Charon to open up to him, regardless.