Stavanger Bay stomp on it 'til it breaks

Set at the coastline/beach.

Charon had visited the beach once or twice with his parents, but ever since he had not come here. He'd thought about visiting it once or twice, but then he looked at Ragnar and Thistle Cloud and decided against asking either of them. They were often busy and he didn't want to bother them, and besides, going on a trip to the beach just wasn't the same without Liyaní and Kevlyn with him.

His searches for Liyaní within the Bay had lead nowhere. Being young and versatile, Charon had adapted by somewhat moving on; he missed his siblings, but he needed to focus on growing up healthy himself. He focused on trying to keep Levi's spirits up best he could, although it seemed as though Levi was slipping away for a while now. He'd not been himself since Kevlyn had gone missing, but now that Liyaní was gone too, things had only gotten worse. Charon didn't know how to show Levi that he needed to move on, for now, and that sitting in apathetic sadness wasn't going to make things better for any of them.


Today, on a fair-weathered midday, was the first time that Charon went to the beach in a while. He padded through the forest that the den was in until he reached the dunes that lead into the bay. Charon peeked out over the sandy hills and it was the first time that he felt enthusiastic about anything in a good while as he watched the rolling waves crash into bay's sandy shores.

Charon ran towards the water, looking funny as he clumsily galloped to the shoreline. Before he could reach it, however, the ivory pup tripped over a large seashell that was partially lodged in the sand and toppled over. He somersaulted and ended up falling flat on his face in the sand, looking confused.

Hope you don't mind me. :P <3

Levi had been feeling quite out of it these last few weeks, perhaps even since his birth. First, he had been pushed out of the comfort of one world into the coldness of another, only to be confronted by the harsh reality of sight and sound. Then his brother and mother had gone missing, followed closely by his father, and most recently his sister. If not for Charon, Levi would have been alone in the world.

Despite that knowledge, Levi was still very much a depressed child. He did little to nothing every day. He might eat some, when Thistle or Ragnar prodded him to, but otherwise he would sleep or sit outside the den, staring out into the bleakness of the world, wondering what he had done to deserve such a cruel fate.

Today, he decided to follow Charon when he left the den. A change of scenery seemed interesting, even if he still felt rather foolish and depressed. Levi vaguely remembered coming to the beach with his parents when he was younger, but the feel of the sand beneath his toes was a new sensation. He was standing at the edge of the sand, wiggling his toes in the shifting material, when he heard a thump ahead.

The younger Ostrega looked up and saw Charon had tripped over a seashell, and the first traces of laughter erupted from him in the form of a snort.

not at all :D thanks for joining!

For a moment, Charon was dazed as he tripped and fell. He wanted to whine because of the sudden fall and dizziness and because he’d stubbed his toe a little when tripping, but when he heard the snort behind him he held his cries inside.

Charon hadn’t noticed that Levi was following him, because he had been busy with his Adventure (which he took quite seriously). Now he looked around at his brother. His first reaction was to get angry because Levi looked like he thought it was funny that Charon fell, but then he realised that Levi hadn’t laughed in a while. Charon didn’t want to stifle Levi’s laughter right away.

“ ’s not funny,” Charon mumbled grumpily while he turned around to face his brother and shook the sand off his fur. “Wanna come on Adventure?” asked Charon. He didn’t invite just anyone on his adventures, but he supposed that Levi was okay to come on this one.

Besides, it was a lot easier to protect his sibling from stuff that would take him away if he was actually right here beside Charon.

Levi had expected Charon to storm up to him and yell, to make him feel bad for laughing, but instead he just looked a little grumpy and protested that it wasn't funny. Levi simply nodded and gave a little shrug, confirming that it was kind of funny that his brother had tripped. Would Charon have laughed if it was Levi who had tripped? Probably!

Then his speckled brother asked if he wanted to come on an Adventure, and Levi had to think seriously about it for a minute. His tongue stuck out between his teeth and he turned his head slightly sideways as he thought, and then his gaze snapped to his brother, and he nodded briefly. Okay.

Levi moved forward, trying to be more graceful than his brother, though he did stumble once over a seashell. But he kept his feet, at least, and didn't face plant into the sand like Charon had. Finally he arrived near his brother and motioned for him to lead the way. Levi wasn't used to Adventures.

Charon didn't like being made fun of, but he was glad that Levi was smiling, at least, even if he was smiling over the fact he thought his brother to be a clumsy ape. Charon probably would've laughed if it'd been Levi that had fallen, but in his eyes that didn't give anyone else the right to laugh at him. Either way, he was glad that his trip into the sandy shores had given his brother some comic relief, because goodness knew that he needed it. Charon'd been worried about his brother, and he was glad to have Levi left in a world where the rest of their family was all gone.

Levi looked rather comical as he tilted his head to the side and his tongue half-poked out of his mouth, but Charon resisted bursting into giggles over it. It wouldn't exactly make his statement about tripping not being funny worth much, so he decided to savour his brother's silly face on the inside. Levi then agreed to go on an adventure, which made Charon's tail wag a couple of beats in excitement, and he trotted over to Charon as non-clumsily as he could manage.

Charon lead the way across the sandy shore while he kept his eyes open for Cool Stuff. He explained the ground rules of adventuring; "Sometimes Adventures's like, lookin' for stuff. 'n Sometimes 's like, you dunno what you lookin' for, but you just wannum see new things." Charon looked at Levi to make sure that he was following. "D'you wanna just look for new things? Or look for somethin' you like? Uhm, like pretty seashells or or or bears to bite." Charon looked at Levi with mischievously glinting eyes. He knew bears were super dangerous, but he wasn't afraid! He'd punch them in the face every day, especially with his brother by his side (both to protect him and show him how tough Charon was).

Levi followed Charon across the sands, his eyes trained upon the shells that littered the beach beneath his paws. He didn't want to trip over any of those and look like a fool. Unlike his brother, Levi was a very careful child. Unaware of the similarities, Levi was actually growing to be more like Kevlyn even as far apart as they were.

Charon explained what Adventures were and Levi's ears turned toward his spotted brother. Looking for things? Things you didn't even know?! What? Levi looked up at Charon and whined, turning his head questioningly. What did he mean by that? Then Charon suggested two possible Adventures they could go on, and when he mentioned the bear, Levi's eye grew wider than saucers and he shook his head vehemently. Pretty seashells would be better than bears any day!

Charon was pleased that his brother followed him as they made to walk on the beach. Since he had already tripped once, Charon didn't bother looking too carefully where he was going; what were the odds of him falling over twice on the same day, right? And anyway, exuding confidence and leadership to make sure Levi knew that everything was going to be just fine was rather hard when you had your gaze on the floor all the time.

Levi seemed utterly confused at everything Charon told him about adventures, even though Charon thought it was all pretty standard material that any pup should know. Charon rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh, as though he was trying super hard, had already explained this a hundred times, and his brother just didn't get it.

When Charon told about bears, trying to be as excited as possible, Levi vehemently shook his head. Charon showed a confused frown at this, because he thought it'd be kind of cool to fight off bears. They were Super Scary Monsters, and if the pair of pups would bite one in the ass, then surely they'd be like Super Heroes in everyone's eyes! "Oh well," muttered Charon with uncontained disappointment, realising they wouldn't go looking for bears today. "We can look for other cool stuff." Charon looked around the bay, surveying everything in sight, and then abruptly started to run off to the shoreline. "C'MON LEVI!" he shouted loudly as he ran to the water.

As the waves rolled in, Charon pawed at the white foam they carried. He rushed up to the waves and then quickly walked backwards — looking funny as he did — before the water could touch his toes.

Charon seemed annoyed with him, but didn't say anything about it. Levi wasn't used to adventures or going off looking for things. He was a wolf who stayed home, stayed put, who did not have the characteristic Ostrega wanderlust in his veins. Perhaps that came from his mother's side, then, his ability to sit still and listen, to learn and be curious at home, rather than want to wander far and wide, like Charon seemed to always do.

Then his brother exclaimed for him to "come on!" and ran off, leaving Levi in the dust. The greyscale boy watched his brother run off before following at a slower trot, ears swiveling in every direction, caution signs blaring. They were deep in the Bay's territory and would not be harmed by outsiders, but Levi was never too careful. Sometimes he hated that about himself.

Charon was chasing and running from the waves as they rolled in and out, batting at the foam the sea left behind. Levi smiled then, jumping into the thick wet sand at the shoreline, and sank a few inches as the waves rolled over his ankles, splashing up his legs and licking his belly. He giggled, lifting one foot with a wet squelch, and flung the sand at his brother's pristine fur.

want to finish soon? :-) they grow so fast at this age :3 we could have another soon if you'd like ^^

Charon didn’t look back to see if Levi was following him, fully assuming that his brother was right behind him as he darted towards the ocean. When he reached the rolling waves and his brother wasn’t there, he’d already forgotten all about Levi, enjoying his splashing about in the rolling waves and the pointless dancing with the ocean.

When Levi did join him, it was almost as if rediscovering that Levi was there. Charon wagged his tail as he watched his brother slosh into the water. Soon he was being pelted with sand, and his white fur wasn't white for much longer. Charon turned towards his brother and lowered his rump to the ground briefly while batting at the wet sand. Then he got up and let out an excited woof in Levi’s direction while he dashed into the surf and started to splash water in Levi’s direction, challenging him to a water fight.

Yes! Sorry about this delay. I've been sick all week! <3

Levi playfully growled and barked at his brother, using his vocals for the more primal noises of his species. When Charon turned to start splashing at him, Levi giggled and returned the favor with more splashing about in the surf. The salty water felt good in his fur and he enjoyed the feeling of the cool water between his toes and on his legs. They'd have to be bathed tonight before going to sleep, just to make sure they didn't get sick, but Levi didn't care. This was the most fun he'd had in ages!

no problem :) hope you feel better soon <3 i'll archive this :3

Charon was happy when Levi threw himself at the play. He returned the growls and barks that Levi threw his way, and his tail wagged excitedly. Soon the boys were both totally soaked. After playing, Charon shook his fur, then rolled in the sand on the coastline. Eventually, the boys went home, dirty and wet from playing, but having had a day well spent together.