Stavanger Bay all this time

Charon watched the frown grow on Thistle Cloud's face. He just really didn't understand where she was coming from, lacking both the empathy and the life experience to walk a mile in her shoes. Even as she told him what she thought he'd done wrong Charon did not feel guilty; he just felt misunderstood, and in his mind he placed himself as the victim of the situation, being told off for trying to do what was best for the pack (even if it was also what was best for him — well, maybe not best, but what he wanted).

He didn't share this with Thistle however, just listening as she spoke and trying not to look upset, sad or angry. Thistle was one of few wolves who could make him suck up his most honest and brutal thoughts. Charon wanted her to come with him and Ame, so he wanted to keep her on his good side, even if he felt misunderstood and unrightfully called out by his adoptive mother.

There was a silence after Thistle Cloud finished speaking the second time in which Charon looked thoughtful for a moment. Eventually he spoke. "I'll keep it in mind for the future," he ended up saying, and he smiled uncomfortably, as though he really was sorry (even though he felt that at least part of the blame lay elsewhere). He did genuinely wish Thistle hadn't been hurt, though, as that was never his intent. "I never meant to hurt you. You know that, right..? If I could take it back and do it differently I would take it back and change it, and just talk to you first and ask it differently. But it already happened and now all we can do is go forward." It was a bit of a white lie to say that he'd do things differently if he could, because he wasn't really sure if he would. But if not only for Thistle's sake, maybe he did mean part of that — if he would've known how upsetting this would've been for her, he would definitely have done things differently. If not only to avoid this situation.