Moonspear keep on the sunny side

Weather: 26°F, Overcast. Snow (8-12 in.) throughout the day and windy starting tonight. Winter storm warning!

Try as he might, Dune could not bring himself to keep heading away from where he had encountered that curious, delicious smell. He had spent only a few hours on the edge of the southern peak, looking over that lake and chopped-off mountain before he had turned himself right back around. With more speed than he could ever remember mustering, he arrived on the border of the mountain once again. He stood there, hesitant. Pledging himself to a pack was not something he planned on taking lightly, but he kept coming back to this one.

Standing there just off the southern base of the mountain, Dune let out a long lonely howl. He was ready if they would have him. He had lost some weight, some of it muscle mass, but he had not let himself go too far. If he waited any longer, he knew his chances of survival would continue to dwindle, and Dune wished to live to see another spring.

Charon'd spent much time around Amekaze in the wake of her heat. He wouldn't allow anyone to come near to her, none of the males, anyway — even to @Jarilo he had been distant and cold, and he had warned his son away from his mother. Amekaze could take care of herself but he would take no chances; perhaps because he knew how easy a slip-up was made.

So when a male came to their borders with a call, Charon felt wary at first. Yet even though the pack was strong now it would not hurt to have a few more loyal members to their name, and so Charon set out towards the borders to greet this newcomer when he heard the call. He arrived with body language dominant, clearly demanding submission from the newcomer. Charon knew very well that he had the strong position here, for a loner in winter did not last very long. He chuffed as he approached to let his presence be known and waited for submission and an introduction as he neared.

*thinks of that video where the daughters invade the healthy boyz personal space all frisky like*

 

When the call came, Hydra's head rose upward and her ears pricked. Intrigued by everything that came in a tenor voice, Hydra approached the scene and saw a face she recognized. Though the daughters had each done a grand job of staying out of their mothers path, this year they were affected by the hormones in the air as never before. There was a conflict within her as she spotted her father and this man, but she responded to it firstly by the respectful nosing to her fathers chin, and a prancing approach to this eligible bachelor. 

It was hard for any male to not be on her mind lately. Terance, Rannoch, Dirge, Drogon, Ganondorf, even Bernard occupied some space of her mind. In recent days she had been snappish toward each of them, but, lately, she found herself more receptive and less appalled by the presence of man. And she remembered this hot-to-trot bachelor, gruff and mute and hotter than ever. 

Truth be told, any male that encountered her in the days to come when independent and not her father would be thought of as the Hottest. Fortunately, there would be no heat for her this year... but she was still a victim to instinct and the hormones in the air. She circled Dune loosely, her gait a loose prance, tail swinging left to right in friendlier-than-usual arcs. Her typically more-cautious-than-not judgment was questionable, but the sharp edge in her eye was still present. She trusted her father to determine if he was a worthy candidate to be among their ranks... and if her father thought that their mother would fall victim to the male in her season, then he could rest assured that the possessive trio would not let a single man out of their reach. 

Everyone but Charon they called dibs on, after all.

Dune was approached first by a large white male, not so dissimilar to himself in appearance. Immediately upon the male's arrival, Dune lowered himself to the ground and let out a whine, ears flattening and tail tucking between his thighs. This was, no doubt, the leader of this place, based on the thick scent of him around the entire mountain and his body language. Luckily for him, Dune could understand those two things quite well.

What he did not expect (although he should have), was to be approached by the same female who he had hunted with nearly a week prior. He cast her a glance as she pranced about, though he did not let his attention linger on her for long. Perhaps her presence was a good omen and could potentially help him out. She had, in fact, seen him hunt already.

Hydra was next to appear, close as always, of course; Charon smiled briefly at her as she approached and nosed him respectfully, though was a little puzzled by the almost playful way she regarded the male. He was more used to Hydra taking to conversation first or simply standing, but not.. this. Charon didn't even consider that this may be because of the hormones raging within Ame, that it would somehow affect her daughters too.

Submission was shown right away by the male, much to Charon's pleasure. There was a moment of silence between them as the other said nothing, almost as though he too was waiting for something to happen. Charon disliked having to ask for information, though thought to have gathered from the call that the male was here to join. He didn't smell like part of any pack, so it made sense that that was what he was here for. "Charon, Alpha. And you are?"

Hydra was able to curb her enthusiasm, but only just. She lingered near to Dune, and was disappointed and disgruntled both in his lack of attention on her person. Hydra craved that attention now more than she ever had in her life—and it was difficult to remember the situation at hand was Dune desiring to join them. Her eyes skirted to her father. 

To his benefit, she added, he is a good hunter, and the memory caused something in her stomach to flip and squeeze. She had not caught his name, then. Hydra looked the blue-eyed wolf that was without freckles, licking her chops.

Dune opened his mouth to answer Charon's question, but before he could, the female responded. Much to his surprise (and, let's be honest, delight), she replied that he was a good hunter. "Dune," he added, "Hunt with her." His eyes passed over to the dark wolf, wondering what her relation was to Charon. He was also curious about her name, her place here, and a never-ending list of questions that would be answered in time, should he be allowed to enter their ranks.

For now, he looked expectantly in the direction of the alpha. His future, at least this path, was in the hands (paws?) of Charon, and it would be up to him to decide whether or not Dune would be welcomed or turned away. For now, all Dune could do was hope that permission would be granted.

The loner gave his name, but not before Hydra chipped in to say that the wolf was a good hunter. Apparently they'd hunted together before, which certainly spoke to the guy's advantage. Charon nodded with a short 'hm' and considered what else he should ask.

"You a fighter?" he asked first, a thing he felt important considering the strangled situation with Redhawk Caldera. Then, "Anything we should know about your past? Things that might come back to bite you? Lovers, enemies, children, parents?" This question was driven partly by the heat of Ame, wanting to know if the male could be trusted or if he had left behind a trail of lovers, though it seemed a good question regardless.

Permission to skip Hydra!

The dark female remained silent, watching and waiting. Dune assumed she was here only to see how things played out, perhaps learn something from her leader and greet the newcomer if he was accepted into the fold. To Charon's first question, he nodded. He would and had fought when necessary, though he lacked the ambition to start fights out of nothing. Perhaps his temper could be short with more talkative types who refused to leave him alone, but wasn't that true of everybody?

"None. Come from north," Dune explained, stumbling over the words even as he cobbled them together. "Peaceful leave." Nobody was looking for Dune on friendly or unfriendly terms, as far as he was aware. He was a lone wolf both in title and in social status. Hopefully not in title for too much longer.

His replies were short and to the point, Charon noticed (as anyone who wouldn't notice such a thing would have to be daft). Yes, he was a warrior and no, there weren't any wolves looking for him. It seemed odd to have no wolves who cared for you, but perhaps this man's story was similar to his own, except without the benevolent Alphas to pick him up and raise him as their own; who knew. It would explain a few things.

Charon asked, "Have you had a mate in the past, or children?" And then as an afterthought added: "Why do you talk weirdly?" He didn't mean this poorly per say, but Charon was just being Charon, finding it hard to ask questions in a friendly way and honestly, just not wanting to put any effort into it. He was a busy enough man.

Assuming Hydra is just chillin' still...

Dune shook his head at the first question. Unless said children sprouted from thin air, it would have been impossible for any of them to be running about. Dune had never taken a mate, either. He ran ninety percent on instinct, and coming here was the first time there had been even a hint of that particular one kicking in.

The latter question gave Dune pause, and he took a moment to try and put the words together, struggling with the grammar and vocabulary. "North little talk," he explained, "use body, movement." It might have been a simpler language, but it had been the only thing Dune had known for quite some time. Only when he began traveling did he find so much need for spoken language.

It was pleasing to know that Dune had no experience with having taken a mate or having any children. Charon nodded, glad to hear this. It seemed that they'd have a good new member on their hands, most likely. Times were tense and it made Charon wonder if it would be better to simply cast out Liffey and Rannoch now before they would turn any other pack mates.. what if they'd get to some of these newer ones? Perhaps Ame was right and acting quick would be better.

Banishing the subject from his mind, Charon nodded as Dune said that they did not speak much where he was from. He nodded and answered with a 'hmm-mm' sound. Charon wouldn't know, really; he'd only ever lived here, he didn't know shit about other regions. "Why'd you leave the north to come here?" he asked, though he didn't sound too bothered by the fact that Dune was here, and not there. Wolves left sometimes. Many wolves from many places had come here and many of these wolves had left again, too. His family, those surrounding him seemed the only ones reliable to stay in his experience.

Dune glanced at the dark wolf once more, who continued to linger nearby. She seemed surprisingly invested in the outcome. Dune assumed that was a good thing, and he listened as another question fell forth from Charon's mouth. "Not feed me and young pups." The north, unlike this place, lacked an abundance of food. In the north, Dune would not have been able to survive on his own for more than a week or two. Here, he had more of a chance. He had given the next generation a chance, too.

The only reason he'd left was that there was no food and resources were used for the young pups. Charon felt a little wary knowing this, because what if he'd leave again in a time of need when their next batch of pups was born? What if this situation'd happen again? Yet he eventually decided, "Very well, you can join." His body posture relaxed somewhat to add to this statement. "We expect your loyalty, however — even when young pups come." Charon glanced at Hydra to see if she had anything more to say; maybe she could give Dune a tour of the territories or something.

Last one from me unless y'all wanna keep it going!

Charon's response left Dune somewhat perturbed. Would Charon rather he stay and let pups starve? It did not make much sense to Dune, but he supposed there was little Charon would be able to do about it if he ever decided to leave. Chasing after somebody was such a waste of time and energy, and Dune wondered what sort of consequences the leader supposed he could put upon those who decided to depart from this place. Dune would cross that bridge if he ever got there, but hopefully, it would not come to that.

"Thank," he said to Charon. (Remedy has been waiting this whole time to write that.) He too looked to Hydra but decided it would be better to figure things out on his own. A guide might be helpful if he was looking for something specific, but for now, Dune wanted to roam and see what the mountain had to offer.

Hydra seemed to have nothing more to add and Charon offered, after Dune thanked for being welcomed into the pack: "We'll show you around a little and get you some food, then you'll have some time to rest." Charon set off for a quick showing of the rendezvous site and the forests at Moonspear's base, as well as grabbing something from the cache for him to eat should be wish it.