Razorback Ridge the song of our lives

Set at Granite Gate (doesn't have a prefix). Maybe @Wildfire ? :D

I added the GG prefix, so I edited to select it. <3 — Kat

Charon hated just resting and not being able to make his way home just yet. He wished that the Sunspire was a larger pack, so that there could be a messenger to let his family know he was alright, at least. As things were though, the Sunspire was about as small as Stavanger Bay. Charon found himself warming up to the company, though: particularly the company of Amekaze, as he hadn't seen the other wolves round much. Both packs would have trouble come winter if things stayed as they were -- wasn't there something they could do?

While he considered this, Charon had made his way down the rocky slopes of Granite Gate. It hurt and it was a dangerous game he was playing: the large gashes on his shoulder and back were scabbed over, but extremely sensitive still. A fall could prove fatal, and what if he'd run into Dante or some other dipshit again? Still, he needed to get out.

To avoid running into stupid-ass wolves, Charon had decided to move out at night, accompanied by the stars. Halfway down the gates -- he could see the valleys down below, and for a moment he considered going home; but he realised he was not strong enough for that yet -- he halted and stared up at the starry skies. Maybe it was because he hoped someone would hear him and report to Stavanger Bay, or maybe it was because he was just feeling melancholic as he stared at the many wolves that had passed from this life and into the skies, when the young Stavanger Bay Beta raised his nose into the air and howled a sad yet strong song.

Many times now she had gazed upon the lake in daylight, yet never before had Wildfire seen its glassy black surface beneath the light of the moon. It was a restful sort of view, especially after another long and busy day of traveling. The young she-wolf reposed beside the water, licking absently at her aching paws. She then slumped to the ground with a sigh, deciding she might spend the night here. She was just getting comfortable when the howl rose into the air. Her ears pricked. She recognized that voice.

Wildfire jumped to her feet, then began trotting around the lake, toward its northernmost corner. From there, she began to gallop toward the mountains. She paused in Panther Park, her red fur prickling, then hastened toward the nearby foothills. Without stopping or even slowing, she raised her smudged muzzle into the air to call, Charon? No sooner had she issued the call than she caught his scent and began to trace it toward the natural rock gateway just ahead.

Charon enjoyed being among the stars and reminiscing the wolves that he had lost. It hadn't even occurred to him that someone might hear his song, for it was something that he howled for himself and for all that he had lost; not because he was in need of company. When he stopped, Charon looked at the stars, feeling nostalgic. His solitude was soon interrupted when he heard someone call for him. Ears perked up as he listened. He recognised the voice, he thought, but it took him a minute to figure out that it was Dhole from Redhawk Caldera.

When Charon looked down from where he was perched, he saw Dhole approach the rocky gateway into the mountains. He got to his feet, though his body felt stiff and achy from the road he'd already travelled to get here, and started to go down slowly. "Dhole! Over here!" he called out to her while he carefully picked his path down the rocky slopes, hoping she'd hear him so that he didn't need to travel quite as far down himself.

If he doesn't have visible injuries at this point, just let me know and I'll edit. :)

She reached the mount's rocky base and paused there, deliberating. That's when a voice called down to her. Wildfire's head jerked upward and she squinted. It wasn't too difficult to make out Charon's glowing white pelt against the dark gray backdrop. She waved her tail and barked up at him. She could see that he was picking his way down toward her, so the young Outrider began to climb, hoping to meet him in the middle. There was an outcropping in between that would work perfectly.

She arrived there, a little out of breath, and waited for Charon to reach her. When he did, she saw that he wore more than just his sprinkling of silver freckles. Several contusions had joined the mix, though it was hard to see them in the dark. More noticeable was the sort of stiff way he moved, as if there were many more cuts and scrapes hidden from view that made physical activity painful.

"Did you fall?" she guessed, partially joking. Wildfire herself was incredibly clumsy, though these injuries looked like they were already on the mend, so it was doubtful he had just taken a tumble down the mountain. "What happened?" she asked more seriously, taking a seat.

His shoulder and back have large scabby wounds atm and he's got some smaller patches of missing fur / scabs in various other places. Sorry for being unclear -- this reminds me that I need to fix his profile.

It was a good thing darkness partially hid the sad expression on his face, because he didn't like anyone thinking him weak (despite often pointing out his tragic past to garner sympathy). It was good to see Dhole, though, and seeing her made Charon realise how badly he needed to get back to his pack. She joked about him falling -- at least he thought she was joking; Charon couldn't tell for sure -- and asked what had happened. Charon wasn't quite sure what he thought of the fight himself, but he wouldn't allow himself to be overly sad about it. He didn't regret anything, despite his currently aching body.

"Got into a fight with some asshat." There was a joking tone in Charon's voice, even though nothing he'd just said was really funny. "You should've seen the other guy, though," he continued in the same joking manner. Charon wasn't even sure why he was joking so much; it wasn't like he was Mr. Comedian usually. His expression fell a little again when he continued, more seriously this time: "I'm briefly staying at the Sunspire with Ame to recover. Gonna go home soon, though."

She blinked, wondering at the identity of said asshat, though before she could ask, Charon made a few other comments that sidetracked her. Wildfire wasn't familiar with either the Sunspire nor anybody named Ame, though she figured out they were a pack and individual, respectively, based on contextual clues. The fact that another pack had taken in the injured Charon surprised her—it was certainly not something her own family would do—but she was glad for her friend.

"Are you okay?" she had to ask, even though he looked all right, all things considered. "I don't know an Ame, or anything about that pack. Is it close by?" She didn't think she was trespassing, based on scents alone, though it wasn't like Charon would attack her if she was, considering it wasn't his territory. Wildfire wondered how that all worked, though she didn't ask. Instead, she waited to hear his answer.

Charon smiled when Dhole asked him if he was okay. "All things considered, yeah. I think I'm fit enough to travel home soon. They must be worried." He considered telling Dhole how he thought he was going to die for a good while before Amekaze had found him, but that didn't really sound like a cool nor heroic story, so he decided against it. "The Sunspire is that big mountain in the center of all the mountains," Charon said as he glanced over his shoulder. They couldn't exactly see the entirety of the Sunspire from so closely underneath it -- though well outside of its borders -- but Charon was sure that Dhole had to have seen it when out and about, or even from her own home, sometime.

"It's a small pack though. We're considering merging it with the Bay and relocating to somewhere good so we'll be strong for winter." This last bit was kind of a lie, because there was a giant lack of "we" as Charon hadn't discussed anything with Amekaze yet. But she was smart and her pack small, so Charon was certain that she would choose to roll with his ideas in the interest of her pack. He pretty much made up the idea on the spot because surely it would impress Dhole that a wolf barely a yearling would be hashing out such grand plans and would soon be claiming his own territory. Charon felt a pang of guilt as he thought of Thistle; but ultimately, he thought it would be in her best interest, too. She had been so depressed from the many losses she had faced, so he thought taking a step back would do her good too.

When Charon pointed out the location of the Sunspire, something clicked in Wildfire's head. "Oh, I've met a few wolves from there," she said. "The one named Kroc almost ate me. And, actually, I might have met Ame after all..." she thought out loud, recollecting her recent encounter in Sleepy Fox Hollow. They had never exchanged introductions (nor even a single word) but Wildfire had left with some pretty clear-cut impressions about the she-wolf's status.

But, wait... that didn't make much sense. Would the same wolf who had wordlessly escorted her away from the hollow—over which she was clearly possessive—give refuge to an injured outsider? That didn't really add up at all. She had no idea she was confusing the Sunspire with Sawtooth Spire, though maybe Charon would set her straight.

His next statement sidetracked her entirely. "Oh, wow," was Wildfire's initial reaction to such radical news. Packs could merge? How did that work? Well, she supposed she could make sense of it logically. It still struck her as quite a revolutionary move. "Is the bay small too?" she guessed, then queried, "Where will you go?"

Charon hadn't met any wolves called Kroc. He had no idea about the confusion between packs since he had not met wolves from the pack Dhole mentioned, but he said: "I don't think anyone named Kroc lives there. Ame's black and she's got these sort of oceany green eyes." Charon wasn't sure why he even knew her eye colour, something he only realised when he said it. Whatever.

Dhole seemed to find the idea pretty out there, but Charon thought it was a stroke of genius. It would make him Alpha, and it would safely sail their packs through winter. "Yeah, we're fairly small too. And half of the Bay's territory got destroyed in that giant storm. If it were spring, I'd just wait and see if more wolves would join the Bay, but we gotta prepare for winter." He said it as though he'd seen many winters and knew exactly how trying they could be, when in fact last had been his first, and he'd been a tiny doodle at the time, provided for by the pack.

"We haven't decided where to settle yet," Charon said. He hadn't actually spoken to Ame about it yet, but since he'd started with this lie, he couldn't just put a stop on it. "I kind of liked the overview that the Sunspire gives, y'know. Maybe another mountain. Or maybe something central, or if we find something along the coast. We're still pretty much looking into it, we have to explore to find where we want to live." The thought excited Charon wildly, not only because he was going to be an Alpha, but also because he could explore the lands and pretty much pick wherever he wanted to live of, well, everywhere. His upcoming Alphaship did not impress Dhole as much as he had hoped, as she mostly seemed to be wrapping her mind about how it worked that two packs merged into one, but he hoped that the being-impressed would come later.

I didn't realize I would get to make this suggestion IC as well as OOC, heheh.

Charon's description of Ame cleared the air a bit. Although Wildfire had done her best to avoid the woman's gaze, the big black Alpha female's eyes had definitely been dark, brown or possibly even black. It sounded a bit like they were talking about two entirely different packs. Well, there were quite a few mountains, so it was possible there was more than one pack that went by spire. It was confusing, for sure, but certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

Her companion went on to explain the logistics of his decision, as well as it how it would all work. He named a few possible landmarks and Wildfire's eyes brightened. Maybe she could be of some assistance in that department? She had seen quite a few territories recently, several of which might make good pack lands. She thumbed through the pages of her mental guidebook for a moment, trying to think if any were a good match with the features Charon had named.

"If you like mountains, you should check out Nocturne Summit," Wildfire told him, waving her black tail. She had already begun to think of it as a home away from home, though she wouldn't mind sharing it... or giving it away, rather. "I've been spending some time there lately. I like it because it's cool and shady. Heck, if you decide to settle there, I might have to join you!" she joked. "There's also Moonspear, which is right next door," Wildfire added, wondering if he'd ever seen either mountain for himself.

:D

Not only did Dhole seem excited by his ideas, giving Charon the feeling that he had accomplished impressing her with his genius, but she entered some suggestions on where to live, too. Charon had never heard of Nocturne Summit. He wasn't sure if 'cool and shady' would be an important feature for his pack's territory to have since this was all about surviving winter (and that was like, half a lifetime to Charon so far, so he wasn't really looking too far ahead, at this point not really realising that there'd be a summer again next year and their pack would probably still be about then). However, he nodded and listened intently to all she had to say. The Moonspear sounded cool too. He liked the names of the territories because he'd always been particularly fond of the night himself, and they both referred to the nighttime.

When Dhole mentioned in a joking manner that she'd have to join them if they moved to Nocturne Summit, Charon said off-handedly with a smile on his face: "That'd be pretty cool." He wasn't actually sure if she was serious, which is why he sounded as nonchalant as he could. If he'd get too excited she might think he was weird, or something. In reality, he thought it would be super awesome if she moved to his pack, because he thought Dhole was a pretty cool and super smart wolf that would make a great addition to his new pack.

Maybe she would even want to explore these territories with him. However, for now Charon decided not to be over-eager. She seemed excited enough as things were, and he hoped he'd just see her 'round Nocturne Summit whenever he got around to explore that bit. "Where are Nocturne Summit and the Moonspear? I haven't heard of them yet, so I've probably not seen them either," said Charon. "They both sound pretty cool -- I'd love to explore them. Maybe I'll see you there when I do, Dhole?" He smiled to subtly let on that he hoped that Dhole'd be there, for sure. Exploring stuff was always better with friends, and if Dhole's places were as amazing as she said and they'd move there, then Charon really hoped she hadn't been joking about moving to his pack.

When he asked about the location of the mountains in question, Wildfire pivoted slightly and squinted off into the distance. "I'm pretty sure they're almost due southwest from here," she said slowly, though it was both too dark and too distant to tell for sure. "You know the Heartwood, where we met? If you head west from there, you can't miss Moonspear. Oh, did I mention that Nocturne Summit overlooks a cool water feature?" She was definitely partial to it and secretly hoped Charon would strongly consider her cool, shadowy getaway.

She smiled and nodded to show that she would look forward to bumping into him during his explorations. Wildfire then glanced up at the night sky and said, "Remember when you mentioned learning about the stars? Since we're both here and it's night... wanna give me a lesson?" she asked, amber eyes bright in the gloom.

"Oh, over there," Charon said, the enthusiasm in his voice growing. "That's not that far from the Bay, I think. I've never been there, but I've seen the mountains in passing." He was pretty sure he had a clear idea of which mountains Dhole was talking about now. They weren't even all that far from the ocean, either, which was a bonus. Though Charon really wanted to live by the ocean, he realised that there probably wouldn't be a mountain that actually bordered the ocean. That would've been perfect, but maybe it was time to leave the ocean behind; at least as a home.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Charon said with a bright smile as he looked at Dhole. He glanced up at the sky and the stars. "I always like to think that wolves we lost are all up there, y'know, looking down at us and sort of guiding us." Maybe that was why he was becoming an Alpha soon: he had a lot of dead relatives up there, and if they were all nudging him in the right directions he'd get really far in life. Charon looked back at Dhole as he said: "What do you already know? What I've learned is that the stars form pictures in the sky, and there's stories behind those pictures. I also think that some wolves can use the pictures to see other things, like what time of the year it is or something, but I'm not sure about that. I mostly like looking at them and wondering about, y'know, what's all out there." Dhole seemed very factual about all the things she liked and learned so far, but maybe she'd enjoy this slightly less scientific approach to Naturalism too.

Having come from a mostly irreligious family, Wildfire had never even considered the idea Charon described now: that the stars were lost loved ones looking down on them. She blinked slowly. It was a pretty idea but she just couldn't get on-board with it. With that said, she wasn't about to shoot down his beliefs. Besides, they reminded her of the stories Fox had told her as a younger pup. She had believed them then but she had come a long way since then, growing into a very pragmatic young woman who didn't believe much in magic, fantasy or any form of spiritualism. She was pretty sure she believed life ended at death.

"Not much," she admitted. "Just some of the basics, mostly about the moon more than anything." Wildfire listened to him, then asked, "What do you mean by what's out there?" She had always imagined the moon and stars were lonely balls of light in a great expanse of empty air. What on earth (or heavens, rather) could be up there with them? "Will you point out some of the pictures? And tell me the stories behind them?" she added with genuine interest.

When Dhole asked about 'what was out there', Charon explained: "Well, y'know, how far away the stars really are, how big everything up there is, that sort of stuff. I've never been there myself, like none of us. Guess I'll only really know for sure when I die if I'm gonna watch over everyone I love, too. Or maybe there's a Valhalla after all, who knows." He made the comment off-handedly, particularly because not that long ago he had thought he was dying himself, and had thought that Amekaze was a Valkyrie there to bring him to Valhalla. He knew better now, of course, but still he wondered what really happened after you died.

He was getting side-tracked though, so he decided to get back on point. "My guardian Thistle used to tell me this story about the Eyes of Thjazi. They're..." Charon searched the skies until he found two bright stars. He wasn't entirely sure they were the exact same ones that Thistle had pointed out to him, but it didn't really matter. "Over there, do you see them? There's one that's like super bright, and then next to it is another one that's brighter than the other stars around them." He looked at Dhole to see if she was seeing them. It could be pretty hard to point out stars to others, because you could only really point out a general direction and give some clues what they looked like.

Although this probably wasn't the stargazing session he'd had in mind when initially inviting her, Charon indulged her request. Even as she pondered whether Valhalla was the same thing as heaven (it sounded like it, based purely on contextual clues), he tried to point out two stars called the Eyes of Thjazi. That was a tongue twister if she'd ever heard one. She tried quietly mouthing it.

"I see it... I think," she said after a long moment of squinting at the sky and trying to discern the two stars he described. "So what's the story? It reminds me of when my mom told me the moon was looking at me, when I was littler. It kinda freaked me out," Wildfire admitted with a quiet laugh.

Charon looked at Dhole as she was trying to find the Eyes of Thjazi in the sky. It was a pretty difficult one because you needed to find only two stars, but at least they shone pretty brightly so in a sense, it was also an easier one since you didn't need to look for shapes described by someone else. When Dhole had found them, she asked for the story and said that her mother used to tell her the moon looked at her. Charon couldn't help but grin at Dhole's explanation. She was such a pragmatist. He wondered if she'd ever played with anything she had made up.

"Thjazi was a giant, and he worked together with Loki to capture Iðunn, a goddess who made sure the gods all stayed youthful. Loki was sent to retrieve Iðunn because the gods were pissed off and found out he had something to do with it. So Loki went to rescue Iðunn, but Thjazi refused to give back Iðunn. Loki managed to save Iðunn, but in the process he killed Thjazi. Thjazi's daughter Skaði demanded to be compensated for the loss of her father. She got to pick a husband from among the gods, and Loki's balls got bitten off by a goat or something like that." Charon looked a little confused for a moment while he tried to remember the exact story, but then he continued on. "Anyway, the last compensation was that Odinn, the Alpha of all the gods, took Thjazi's eyes and he threw them into the sky so that he'd always be remembered."

Charon realised then that he should practise telling -- and collecting -- stories better, since it had been a while since he'd last retold this particular story. He wondered what Dhole thought of it, although from his experience so far Charon imagined that she wasn't as impressed as most wolves were when he told stories. She probably would've liked a story about scientific stuff like how nature worked better, if he pegged her right.

Although Wildfire listened, she became lost within the first dozen words. Nonetheless, she paid attention, trying to make sense out of all these foreign names. Something she understood quite well was the part about a goat biting off Loki's testicles. Her eyes flew wide and she tittered. Charon's inexplicable look of confusion tickled her funny bone further and it took all of her energy to keep her mouth clamped shut against the laughter that quietly shook her throughout the rest of the tale.

"That's quite a story," Wildfire said once she trusted herself to speak. "That, er, plot twist really threw me. Where did you learn about all this stuff? Is it supposed to be true or are they just stories?" she wondered. Although she hadn't been able to keep up with that one quite well, she couldn't help but query, "Got any others?"

Dhole seemed amused by the story, judging by the look on her face, and Charon supposed that it was kind of funny that a goat bit off the dude's testicles. Maybe it was funnier when you didn't actually have testicles yourself, though. When he was younger Charon thought this very funny too, but now that he recounted the story he felt replacement pain in the balls area for Loki. Poor dude, you didn't wish that on anyone.

"My guardian Thistle taught me this one," Charon said. "It's a viking story. I don't know if it's true... I guess that wolves who believe in the viking gods think they're true. To be honest though, I don't really know if I believe in them. It seems kind of a weird idea that a bunch of all powerful wolves are up there making things work the way they do, don't you think?" He figured that Dhole would agree with him; after all, she was a very pragmatic wolf, and while the story had made her laugh, he couldn't imagine someone as smart as Dhole believe the gods existed.

When she asked for another story, Charon looked thoughtful a moment while he tried to think of a good one. "There's more god-stories, but this one was by far the most amusing one I know. I'm hoping to learn some non-god-stories sometime too, but I haven't found anyone who knows of any." Charon looked up at the starry skies and got an excited look on his face as he thought of an idea. "Hey, how about we find a new constellation? Then we can make up our own story with it." He looked at Dhole to see if she liked this idea. Maybe she wasn't much of a storyteller, and maybe she just wanted to gather information rather than make it up herself, but he thought it was a pretty cool idea.

Charon explained a bit about the story's viking origins, though he didn't seem to necessarily believe himself. Although she agreed with him, Wildfire said, "There are lots of different kinds of beliefs. My dad told me something once that kind of stuck with me: live and let live. It means that even if you don't believe in someone else's beliefs, you respect them. Does that make sense? So, yeah, I don't believe there's wolves up in the sky or anything but I still think it's a neat idea and I'd never hold it against someone if they did believe, or try to convince them otherwise." Was she babbling in circles? It felt like it a bit.

Instead of telling her another story, Charon proposed they find a new constellation and make one up themselves. "Is that what they're called? Constellations? That's a cool word." Then, "Um... I'm not necessarily very good at making up stories. I'm not the most imaginative. That'd be my sister, Raven. But I can try."

"That's a nice sentiment," Charon said about what Dhole's father mentioned. Charon wasn't really one to take others' feelings into account, really, so it wasn't necessarily a sentiment that he shared himself, but it was nice if others thought that way. Made the world a lot easier place to live in.

Charon nodded when Dhole asked for confirmation if the star figures were called constellations. He looked up to the sky and instantly found some figures that could mean a variety of things. However, since Dhole had said that she would give it a try -- despite the fact her sister Raven was apparently better at finding constellations than she -- Charon decided not to point out any of the constellations he had found so far. "Go ahead and try, I'm sure you can find some," Charon said with a confident smile, encouraging his friend to take a look and see if she could find some first.

Charon encouraged her and Wildfire turned her eyes to the sky. For a long time, she just gazed without trying to find any particular patterns. Then she squinted and attempted to connect some of the dots. She found herself staring at the brightest star in the sky. She couldn't remember who had told her about the North Star but she was pretty sure that was it. If she stared at it directly for a few seconds, then moved her eyes, it made the surrounding stars fade completely.

"See the North Star?" she said after a long silence. "There's two stars sort of below it but off to either side, forming a sort of triangle. Then there's one, two, three, four... four stars almost in a straight line beneath that. It's like an arrow pointing at something." Now this was the part where she was supposed to make up a story for it, right? Well, they were supposed to collaborate. "Any ideas what it's pointing at?" she asked, still staring upward.

Charon nodded when Dhole asked if he could see the north star. He followed the line she was tracing, and soon he saw the arrow. Charon wasn't sure if there was an official constellation connected to this, but it did amuse him that Dhole found a constellation by looking at it and physically pointing it out, rather than trying to find shapes for the sake of finding shapes that would aide her in her story.

It seemed that she needed some help with the story, and Charon was great at stories, so he easily obliged. "I think it's pointing at that dragon over there," Charon said, and he followed the arrow further along the stars, where he find a snake-like trail of stars that, with some imagination, could become a dragon. "Maybe someone's shooting the arrow at the dragon?" Charon looked at Dhole, waiting for her to confirm this and think of the next part of the story.

Charon obliged her, though his response caused her to laugh at the sheer absurdity. "A dragon? Really? How many dots do you have to connect to find a dragon?" Her amber eyes danced as she shot him a teasing look. "But okay, I'll go with that," she added, still laughing under her breath.

"You're right, someone's shooting an arrow at the dragon. Because... the dragon's name is Calamity and he stands for everything that goes wrong in life. And there's this young she-wolf, um... Raven. She's shooting an arrow at him in the hope to save her family from, well, calamity." Her voice fell flat at the end and now Wildfire was chuckling at herself rather than Charon.

Charon didn't like feeling ridiculed, but he decided to just roll with the punches and pick his battles. She obviously didn't mean poorly, so he kept his irritation to himself. Charon just grinned and said: "That's the great thing, I guess — you can make lots and lots of combinations. I bet there's all sorts of animals out there!" Then Dhole started on the story, and Charon listened with piqued interest, curious what pragmatic knowledge-wolf would come up with.

It tugged at Charon's heartstrings that she would pick her sister, Raven, as the heroine of the story. Charon thought of Levi and hoped that he'd returned home during Charon's absence; he'd been gone for a few days when Charon left Stavanger Bay. He never usually left. Charon looked thoughtful for a moment as he thought of Levi and of his new siblings, vowing to himself that he'd always be there for them, before he looked at Dhole and smiled. Raven had to mean as much to Dhole as Levi meant to Charon. "That's a nice story." It was evident that Charon meant the words. The story, however brief, had touched him. It also made him realise he needed to talk to Amekaze and then return home to Stavanger Bay. The yearling longed to see his brother and his younger siblings — and the rest of his family and pack — and he suddenly found himself itching to go.

"I should head back up to rest before the journey home." Charon smiled genuinely as he added: "Thanks Dhole, this was nice." He touched his nose to her cheek briefly and waited to see if she had anything more on her mind. If she had no objections, he'd head up to the Sunspire where he would soon ask Amekaze about a potential future together, however crazy the idea sounded.