Moonspear I'm lightening on my feet

Midday was her favorite part of the day because it was usually the warmest. The nights were the worst; they were frigid and trapped her within her den. She was certainly not looking forward to what the rest of the winter had in store for her, but she figured she would to get used to the cold at some point--right?

Today was still fairly cold but much more bearable under the sun that occasionally peeked through the clouds, and the empath padded through the snow, moving along the borders and leaving little Speedy paw prints trailing behind her. She didn't patrol too much, usually preferring to busy herself with herb gathering or socializing, but she had started to form a bond with with her new pack and their territory and felt like she wanted to do more. She wouldn't exactly be much help in a fight, but she would certainly try, and leaving her scent along the borders was just as helpful in deterring strangers. So, she patrolled, searching for as many sunny spots as she could while leaving her scent on any trees or rocks that needed it.

Charon had taken up patrolling the borders again since he was recovering from his injuries. Most of the scabs had come off, leaving the skin underneath sensitive and painful. Even the cold outside was painful to the cuts on his leg, shoulder and face. What was worse, he still couldn't see anything through his injured eye. Charon'd figured at first that it was just because of the scabs, but now that they had come off it was becoming painfully clear he may be handicapped forever.

As he walked slowly along the borderline while occasionally leaving his mark Charon saw another approach. He knew that she was part of the pack and Ame and Hydra had filled him in on some of the new faces but Charon honestly didn't remember her name. Maybe it was the fight, maybe he just found it difficult to give a damn after a life long history of seeing wolves come and go.

But he mustered a smile onto his face and chuffed to greet her as she approached. "Shall I join you?" he suggested then, for his side of this patrol could use a do-over, truthfully, as he hadn't marked all that much.

The white form of the alpha appeared in the distance ahead and she quickened her pace to meet him just as his chuff reached her ears. She had not officially met him yet, and so she was glad to have found him out here today. As she neared, she smiled brightly at his question. Of course, she answered with a polite dip of her head. Upon further inspection, she noticed the large amount of scars on his body, but her attention was soon pulled to the newer wounds--the ones the gave off a certain scent she knew well. There didn't appear to be any obvious infection, and the injuries appeared to be healing okay, at least from what she could tell with her quick glance over them. She didn't look for too long, not wanting to offend the leader, and the empath assumed the wounds had already been tended to by his daughter, the other healer here that she had yet to meet; he didn't need to be fussed over by someone who was basically a stranger to him. I'm Speedy, by the way, she offered next before motioning for him to lead the way.

His request to join was quickly granted -- not that it would've mattered whether he'd gotten a yes or no to him -- and Charon wordlessly joined by her side. He wished he could remember the names of the new wolves but it slipped his mind, yet also seemed awkward to ask. He should know these things, after all. Charon was grateful when Speedy introduced herself, though he didn't show. Instead, he snorted and said with a grin that was more mocking than he had intended: "Speedy. What the hell kind of name is that?" Honestly, what were anyone's parents thinking when they gave their child a name like that?

"I'm Charon," he introduced, though he figured Speedy probably knew his name already.

She supposed some might he offended by a comment like that, but she had experienced just about every kind of reaction to her name, and he wasn't the first to have something not so nice to say about it. She grinned, clearly not put out by his words. It's kind of a long story, she replied with a small shrug.

He offered his name in return. It's nice to officially meet you, Charon, she answered amiably. I know I haven't been here long, but you won't have to worry about me pulling my weight. Now that she was here, she wanted to prove she belonged. It hadn't escaped her notice that the majority of her new packmates were all family, and she had a feeling it would take some time to earn their trust; she was willing to put forth the effort to show them she was worth it.

Doubtlessly, Speedy was used to comments on her name. Charon liked to poke and find out what wolves were all about, where their buttons were and how easy it was to get to them. He supposed Speedy must've built up a thick skin from being named, well, Speedy. "I got time," he said with a smirk. He thought Speedy's mention of pulling her weight was a little weird, because if you were so sure you could pull your weight, then why'd you have to mention it? Still, he glossed over that, figuring she was trying to be teacher's pet or something, prove her worth. Charon merely nodded, then suggested as they walked on along the borders: "I'd like to hear about your name."

He had no response to her proclamation, but that wasn't why she had said it, so she didn't worry much about it. Maybe he was just one of those types that preferred actions. He pressed her again on her name, and she smiled. She wondered why he was so interested if he thought it so weird, but whatever, she didn't mind telling the story. Alright, she said with a nod, continuing to walk next to the alpha as she spoke. Well, my parents had two litters before the one I was born into, so by the time my mom was pregnant with my brothers and me, they pretty much had the whole having babies thing down, she started. They thought so, anyway. My dad had left on a pack hunt the day I was born thinking they still had a day or so based on passed experience, but my mom went into labor while they were gone. She sent my older sister to go get him but by the time he arrived I was already there. He jokingly said 'that was speedy,' and they decided to make that my name. She smiled as she said the last part like she always did, remembering her parents telling her the story. She always felt a little sad when she talked about her family because she missed them a lot, but she loved the story so much, so she never minded telling it. It turned out to be kind of fitting as I got older because if anyone took their eyes off me, I would disappear off somewhere exploring something or following a scent. So yeah, that's how I got my name. She smiled at the alpha again when she had finished her story, waiting to see what he thought about it.

Charon listened to Speedy's story. Luckily she didn't blabber on for too long and stuck fairly to the point, even though Charon could figure out that she was born quickly or early or something of the sorts pretty much from about a third through the story. Still, he courteously listened to the rest of the story and nodded a few times for good measure. "Huh, that's fitting, then," Charon ended up saying, as he wasn't really sure how else to respond. Then, because jokes were always a good way to avoid an awkward silence after a story like this: "Guess I should keep an eye on you in case you run off then, huh." He meant the joke not just for this situation now, them patrolling, but also in general, pertaining her membership on this mountain. Many wolves left. Time would tell if this one'd be one of the stayers, at least for a little while.

Yeah, pretty much, she answered with another smile. Her disappearing acts got less frequent as she got older, but the need to explore only got stronger, eventually making her want to leave her natal pack and find her own way in life. It was a hard choice to leave her family, and she missed them very much, but she was glad to be forging her own path. 

The empath grinned at his teasing comment before replying, Probably a good idea. She was, of course, also joking. Speedy had no intentions of leaving anytime soon; she liked here, and she was looking forward to getting to know all of her packmates even better.  

She briefly glanced at the alpha's wounds once more, wanting to ask about them. She just as quickly looked away, unsure if he had noticed and finally stated, Your injuries seemed to have healed okay. They looked to be well on their way to healing, although she wasn't sure what they had looked like to begin with. Do they still cause you any discomfort? she asked next. She had no doubts that his daughter was a more than capable healer, but she couldn't help but ask; the urge to help was hard for her to ignore.

Speedy played along in the game that he played and Charon smiled, feeling oddly at ease around her. It happened only rarely that he felt at ease around anyone from the start that wasn't his family -- Dhole was one of the few examples, along with Pyx. Maybe a handful here and there at most beside from them and family. Speedy looked like she might fit into that row, but Charon found himself growing protective of his heart lately, and reluctant to give a piece of it to anyone that might just run off with it.

The game came to an end that was a bit premature to him when she asked about his wounds. They seemed to be healing alright, the scabs having come off, though he still couldn't see through his right eye and the scars around it, so he imagined, must look ugly. Not that Charon minded much -- he always reminded himself of young Charon, who'd think his current self pretty bad ass. Young Charon, who'd told Potema she looked cool and tough because of her eye injuries.

"I still can't see through the right eye," said Charon. "Doubt it'll get better." If it hadn't so far, he didn't think it would still. "Still a bit stiff in the leg. Wounds're doing alright, it seems to me, though I hope they'll heal a bit further. Y'know, get some more hair back on there. Gotta stay handsome." Charon grinned jokingly with his last comment, even though part of him meant it.

Speedy had to agree. The chances that he would regain vision in his injured eye were slim, but he clearly didn't need her to tell him that. She studied each wound as he described it to her, giving him an empathetic look when he stated his leg was still stiff. Sometimes swimming helped things like that, but the waters around here would probably be too cold at this point and could possibly make things worse. She laughed a little at his handsome comment. Staying handsome is most important, she teased. I don't think I have any herbs to help with that, though. Still smiling she continued, I do have something that might help with the stiffness if you want. Willow bark--I've seen help in a few different cases. She had found some a while before coming here when she was exploring the other mountains. There was a place full of willow trees and seeing it for the gold mine it was, she had gathered as much as she could and made sure to keep up with it. She still had a pretty good amount left and had transferred it to her den with all of her other herbs once she became a member of Moonspear.

As Speedy went along in the game and said she had no herbs for staying handsome, Charon snorted. With a grin he said: "Lucky me that I've got the handsome thing pretty deeply ingrained naturally, then. Don't need any herbs for that." The conversation was vaguely starting to remind him of sassy conversations he'd had with Pyx; except it had taken Pyx a lot longer to crawl out of her shell than Speedy.

On the note of the stiffness help, Charon nodded. "That'd be good." He had no idea what stuff Lyra had given him, but whatever, some more unlikely hurt. "Did you meet Lyra yet? One of my daughters, a damn fine herbalist as well. I bet you'd get along." He really only said that because they both were into herbs and knew their way around healing wounds and tending to the sick and all that jazz, but, still -- it was a useful skill to have and Lyra was often wrapped up in the herb thing. She could use some more friends.

She laughed again. Very lucky. We definitely can't have an unattractive alpha, she answered, continuing to go along with the joke. He agreed to try her willow bark suggestion and she smiled and dipped her head a little. Good. I'll bring you some then, she replied. She had plenty and was glad to find a good use for it. He began to talk about his daughter Lyra, and she shook her head. I have not officially met her, but I'd like to. She loved meeting other caregivers; she always found that each one had their own way of doing things and always taught her something she didn't know before. She looked forward to when she could have a conversation with the moonspear healer. Speedy figured if she was anything like the rest of Charon's children, she'd probably get along with her as well, especially since they were already starting off with a common interest.

It wasn't hard to decide that he liked Speedy. She had a natural charm and she laughed at his jokes, so what was not to like? He'd not get too attached, afraid that she would leave him just like Dhole and Pyx had in the past, but whatever, it was fun to have some more friends on the mountain that weren't also family, for now. Charon'd had willow bark before, as it wasn't the first time that he'd gotten into a scuffle, and he nodded as she said she would bring him some.

When Speedy said she'd like to meet Lyra, Charon described: "Lyra's all black with blue eyes, like mine." He didn't really realise that he was describing all three of his daughters then. "She's a sweetheart, I'm sure she'd love to meet you, too." Lyra was definitely the more caring of his children, shown in trade as well as her kindness to all who needed it and didn't give her reasons not to be kind. Sometimes he worried she was too kind, even, but considering she was surrounded by smart and defensive wolves she'd be fine.

She committed the description to memory, leaving out that it was a similar to Hydra, the one daughter she had already met a couple times. She was glad to hear his healer daughter seemed nice, although that never mattered much to Speedy; she was nice to everyone just the same. Well, I'll make sure to meet her, she replied with a smile. 

She was glad that there was another healer here that she could trade tips with and learn new things from. The possibilities drifted in and out of her mind as she kept pace with her new alpha, patrolling the borders of the place she had a feeling she would call home for a long time. 

Fade here? <3

yes! :D i'll archive.

Charon nodded and he continued the patrol with Speedy, feeling comfortable in her company. There was a bit of smalltalk but otherwise nothing notable happened as they finished their patrol.