Bramblepoint Nothing on this earth can break your heart

He had come here every few days, searching for signs of Lasher and even calling for his friend. Yet he found no trace of Taltos and no one answered his seeking howls. He stood now in the center of the brambles, surrounded by green regrowth, lips pursed after issuing yet another call. The sun shone down on his back and birdsong filled his ears. But Peregrine felt cold and all he could hear was silence. He swallowed thickly, a knot traveling from his throat to the pit of his stomach.

Something was wrong. He wanted to set off for Donnelaith, track his friend down to his very homeland, but that was out of the question. The last time Peregrine had left, he'd lost a son. He would never stray so far from the caldera again, nor spend that much time away from his family. Going after Lasher simply wasn't an option, though as he let out a sigh and began to plod through the brush, he wondered if perhaps there was someone he could trust to send in his stead.

Ever since the day that Lazarus had taken what was his, pissed all over his happiness, Charon had been feeling extra vengeful. All of the pain he had accumulated and held onto throughout his life was piled on, poured in until there was no more space. And now he was done. He was King of a mountain and still he had made mistakes — he should have taken out Lazarus the first time he had stepped out of line. As a matter of fact, he and Flóki should have simply killed him when he had first disobeyed Flóki, no matter his loyalty to Amekaze. She had been too vain and proud, too happy with the attention she received, to notice that something was off. She had let this happen, in a way, but whether or not he would ever fully forgive his own mate was overshadowed by his desire for revenge and so his feet had been hardly restless ever since the day it had happened. His face and shoulder were riddled with fresh wounds but they were nothing compared to the wounds the event had left in multiple places of his heart and mind.

He had searched the base of the mountain but had turned up empty-handed for the most part, and so he had expanded his search now. It was foolish, really, to think that he might find Lazarus around bramblepoint, but he searched here nevertheless. Yet he was distracted by something — a call — and his ears erected, then fell back. The voice was distantly familiar, but truthfully he sought it out mostly because he thought that maybe this man might have information he needed in regards to Lazarus. Something to occupy his paws and his heart before it bled out entirely in the light of recent events.

Yet when he came round the corner and eventually found the center of the brambles he realised that either this was a mistake or a pleasant coincidence. While his hunger had subsided enough for him not to consider this wolf a snack — though it wasn't like Ness' body had tasted bad — he hadn't forgotten all the damage he had caused that day. Lips peeled back to reveal a snarl that was strengthened by the fresh wounds littered across his snout and face. "Are you hiding him?" Charon asked through gritted teeth, irrationally not putting Dhole's father above hiding his mate's rapist, even if it didn't make sense at all.

He drew in a sharp breath when something scraped against the large scab on his leg, compliments of Ferret. Peregrine paused to inspect it, make sure the wound hadn't reopened. It was fine, though as soon as he began moving again, the dark wolf found himself being pinned by the snarling glare of a scarred stranger. At least, the swarthy wolf didn't recognize him right away. But then it clicked. He had met this wolf before. He had been Wildfire's leader. Unaware that he had also been one of the wolves afflicted by his own crazy behavior a few weeks back, the black wolf regarded him with wary perplexity.

"Hiding who?" he asked simply, stiffening his stance so that he stood up straight and tall, snout lowered slightly to cover his throat, jade gaze never wavering from the other wolf's face even as he wondered to himself, The fuck is this guy's problem? "I'm not hiding anyone," he added after a beat, since it was the facts.

It outraged Charon that he would pose himself to highly, unaware that it was only his own stature that was mirrored. His hackles rose and he bared his teeth in warning as the male spoke with defiance in his tone. He was beyond pissed as all of his pain accumulated, and had little time or patience for reason or rationality at this point. Yet he also recognised that fighting again after all that had happened was a scenario he should only go for if he had odds on his side or if it was ultimately necessary, and so for now all he did was keep his aggressive, dominant stance; tail curled over his back like a flag and head held high and proud.

"Lazarus," he spat, an unpleasant churning in his stomach as he said the name out loud. He had searched and had not found him, so surely someone had to have found him and was hiding him away. And why would that someone not be the same idiot who'd taken away a good meal and had gotten him and his pack injured not long ago? "You know what I'm talking about. There's no use in defending that beast." Lips twisted in disgust and he closely studied Dhole's father's face, hoping to find out the truth. Most wolves were either easy to read or would hide their emotions if they had something to hide, so he would soon find out the truth in this case.

Peregrine's lips lifted in his own warning, though he stifled his own growl for now. This guy was clearly out of his mind or something. He looked like a hot mess. Maybe he'd hit his head whenever he'd sustained all that damage to his face. The black wolf didn't really know and didn't really care. But he stood his ground, well aware that he quite possibly had the advantages of experience and health, though he definitely wasn't looking for a fight. He wasn't the one instigating one for reasons that made no sense.

The name, of course, meant nothing to him. "No, I don't. I've never even heard of the guy. What the hell makes you think I'm hiding him from you?" Peregrine demanded. "We barely even know one another, we literally just ran into each other on the street and trust me when I say I don't give two shits what's going on with you and yours." Now that Wildfire was gone, anyway. "So, again, tell me why you're convinced I'm involved. Other than because you're just an insane fuckstick." Just in case the other wolf reacted poorly to the epithet—he was quite unpredictable, after all—Peregrine steeled himself, eyes boring into his unexpected nemesis.

It seemed as though the guy was being genuine about his lack of knowledge. Now that he had a short moment to think, it made no sense that he would have known about Lazarus; it would have had to be an elaborately staged plot if that were so, or a dumb coincidence for him to have taken in the broken, fallen down man after the scuffle along Moonspear's ledges. He relaxed somewhat for a moment, and even noted that it seemed Dhole's dad didn't realise who he was, but his relaxation was short lived.

Charon visibly stiffened when he was called an insane fuckstick; not just because he was being called a name, but one that insinuated that he had only one purpose. There was a wicked desire in Charon's gut that made him want to show Dhole's dad how much of an insane fuckstick he really was, one that frightened even himself. He trembled angrily as he decided to fight with words rather than actions, retaining himself from wrecking another's life just to get some of his control back. After inhaling sharply he retorted, "If anyone is the 'insane fuckstick' here, it'd be you and your hobby of catapulting yourself into passing prey from stupid-ass heights, dickhole!" His words were laced with derision, a haughty venom dripping off them -- he held no respect for the male after what he had done, even less so after he had only further unlocked something so vile and dark from Charon's depths.

He expected a comeback of some sort, physical or verbal, but he did not anticipate a retort fingering him for his foolhardy behavior that day on Nocturne Summit. Peregrine swallowed, feeling a jolt of shame blister through him. He knew his behavior had been incredibly selfish and stupid, so he could hardly retort Charon's allegations, much as it rubbed him the wrong way to have those words fired at him by some dude off his rocker. It abruptly clicked in his head that the injuries littering the other male's face must be a result of that day, though Peregrine stopped short of feeling properly guilty about it.

"Yeah, okay," he huffed dismissively, the eye roll implied if not actuated. He wanted to walk away, go home, but he didn't want to turn his back on a madman. "I still don't know jack about this Lazarus," he added pointedly, glaring. Despite what he'd said just moments before about not caring, he wondered why Charon was pursuing this Lazarus. What had he done? Was he dangerous? The black Alpha thought of Peter's killer and swallowed thickly again. He might've asked, if he hadn't painted himself into a corner.

There was a tingling sensation in Charon's chest when Dhole's father admitted to being in the wrong. There was no bringing anything up against that argument, and Charon enjoyed having his superiority proven in any way, words or actions. Surprisingly enough Dhole's dad didn't make a dash for it, but the again, since he was still on Charon's hit list, perhaps it was for the best that he did not.

The tension remained between them as he asked about Lazarus, and for a moment Charon considered. He could try to lure Dhole's dad into believing Lazarus was okay, in case he did show up at their doorstep. Perhaps he would do damage in the Caldera, too. However, it seemed too far-fetched a plan and Charon decided to be honest, for now. "If he ever comes to your pack, don't let him in. He's a dangerous traitor. Bring him to me if it does happen, and I'll reward you." He didn't know in what way, but he'd find some way. Finding Lazarus and being able to do with him as he pleased was high on Charon's wish list right now, and he would give near anything to accomplish this goal.

Fortunately for him, he didn't have to ask. Charon provided the information unsolicited. Despite himself, Peregrine listened closely, though he pulled a face when the pale wolf offered him a reward. "Uh, okay," he said in that same dismissive voice as before, "you're gonna have to be more specific. What makes him dangerous? Why should I care if he betrayed your pack? And some details would help, like, you know, what he looks like. Fur color? Eye color? Any unique markings...?"

His hesitation and unwillingness to engage had disappeared, though not because Peregrine had any intention of helping Charon. He didn't need to be rewarded by a freckled yearling. No, his motivations were much more selfish than that. He just didn't want any unsavory characters coming around the caldera. Hell, even if Charon was barking mad about this Lazarus guy and he was a totally decent, reasonable dude, Peregrine still didn't want his sloppy seconds.

It annoyed Charon that Dhole's dad would be such a prick about it. He didn't look like he had any intentions of helping, but what was worse, he asked for more specific details. Anything that reminded Charon of the events that had transpired made him feel sick, frustrated, helpless and out of control. He didn't want to tell the tale to anyone, because he was ashamed of what had happened, and because it reminded him of the hate he felt towards everyone involved — including his own mate.

"Whatever, your loss if you're gonna be a prick about it. See if I care if he does the same to you," Charon retorted haughtily, a glimmer of hurt in his eyes shining through, as he'd always been poor at hiding his bitter pain. Part of him wanted the same to happen to Peregrine as had to him. Two birds in one stone on the vengeance front, and with some luck, they'd both claw each other's eyes out. Then again, vengeance just wasn't as sweet when it wasn't your own teeth rending the flesh apart. And he had done just that to Lazarus, in a way. It's just that it hadn't been enough.

He seemed to have rubbed Charon the wrong way. To be fair, it didn't seem like a difficult thing to do. Peregrine was growing weary of the guy's attitude problem, even though he was the last wolf on earth who could call someone out for having a chip on his shoulder. His jade eyes squinted at the young Alpha's angry retort and he thought to himself, Someone needs to reach up and pull the stick out of your ass. He decided to take the high road and keep the thought to himself. He had been injured or sick so much lately, he really didn't feel like getting into a fight.

"Whatever that means," the Alpha replied in a tone that indicated his exhaustion with trying to get any sort of meaningful information from Charon. "Good luck with that," he added sarcastically. He could have tried to make an exit then, keeping one eye on Charon to avoid having his back attacked (because he wouldn't put it above the trigger-happy yearling) but he only had one eye...

"I'm going to leave now. If you try anything, I will fuck your shit up," Peregrine warned. He would get some too, he knew, but what he wanted was for Charon to decide a petty attack wasn't worth the totally unnecessary risk. "So do us both a favor and don't try anything. Save all that pent-up wrath for your Lazarus."

Charon's lips peeled back to reveal a devious smirk that looked somewhere between a smile and a grimace. It was uncomfortable yet the thought of Dhole's dad being hurt was a pleasant one at the same time. Even though Charon did feel like tearing Dhole's dad a new one for all that had been done to him — by him and his daughter — he wasn't a fool; he was often the one to engage verbally, but not really the one to start the physical fight. Not unless it was necessary. And like Peregrine, he had been through a lot recently, and wasn't looking to pile on more wounds on top of that.

As though he was facing some sort of wild animal that would lunge for him the moment he turned away, Dhole's dad announced that he was going to leave. Charon felt that he must be scared of Charon, or he would've just left anyway; that, at least, gave him some satisfaction, for causing fear at least gave some degree of control back to him. "If you do run into him, I hope he fucks you up real good," he retorted. Nearly did he add something about Dhole — like your daughter, let me know if it hurt as much as it did your daughter, maybe you'll turn into as much of a basket case as your daughter — but none of the retorts were good enough to say aloud. He would keep that to himself, and he felt like the bigger wolf doing just that. Without further warning Charon turned around and started to march off, feeling good about himself for not being a pussy and just turning right around, retribution or not.

He stood there, steely stare fixed on Charon's face, waiting to see how he would react to Peregrine's warning. When he fired one last insult and marched away, it somehow reminded him of that day when Lasher had cursed him. Of course, the yearling's words did not have nearly the same impact on him. He flinched neither inwardly nor outwardly, just squinted and wondered why on earth someone so young had such serious anger problems. How could Wildfire have willingly followed someone like that? And then it dawned on him: this piece of shit must be exactly why she wasn't living at Moonspear anymore.

A final scathing look was given before his mind slowly changed gears, shifting back to Lasher. Yes, the man had cursed him once upon a time, but they had rebuilt the bridge burned between them and it was all water under said bridge now. So where was he? Peregrine dreaded the answer to that question as much as he needed it. Charon slipped from his mind almost entirely as he bit back a sigh and finally exited Bramblepoint in the direction of his home.