luck and pluck

While it felt like she had been working steadily on all that needed done for so long now, she couldn't fully mark the real beginning of all this until she reached the shoreline. She'd informed her wolves, searched for her lost, and delved just barely into the wide reaches of scouting territories -- but there were still loose ends here and there, despite her efforts. All in all, productive enough, yet so much weighed on what she would be met with once she reached the beach. It had been weighing on her mind whether or not Charon's wolves had been receptive to his idea or not.. which led her to question if they would accept her, too. Her group, what little of it she had mustered, seemed wary but willing to see it out -- which was the best she could ask for, really. She knew she would have their loyalty, as she had for so long, but there was still much to settle before they were fully one.

Over the powerful scent of the sea, the marks of the borderlands rose to meet her to signal her arrival at her destination. She promptly slowed down then tipped her snout back, howling for @Charon. Beneath the morning light she lingered quietly in wait.

Things had been tense at best between Charon and Thistle. She seemed to agree with the plan, but was upset by the way he'd done things. Well, if he knew she would suddenly come to life and become sassy and opiniated, maybe he would've done things differently. He didn't regret anything though, and he wanted to carry on with the plan, fully expecting his adoptive mother to come round and accept the way things were headed. She was already packing, after all, ready for the journey south.

Charon was getting in a quick patrol before he intended to head out to explore when he caught Amekaze's howl. Ears perked up, and a smile tugged at the corners of the yearling's mouth. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Amekaze again. He knew she'd make it all better, make him realise things were going to be alright even if his relations with some of his pack were rocky at best presently.

Trees flitted by as he galloped towards the borders. As he drew nearer, he saw the morning light outline Amekaze's silhouette and felt cheerful. "Ame! You made it!" the yearling said excitedly, hoping that she would be as excited as he. His wounds were healing and looked better and smaller each day, too, and his gait was much more supple than when they'd last met too. Charon reached out to nuzzle her shoulder in greeting. He couldn't wait to hear how she fared preparing her pack for the news.

Hope you don't mind if I join in too! :)

When he heard the howl, Floki paused. He had been strolling along the beach, enjoying his last days with the sand between his toes. He would miss the roar of the waves and the scent of the salty breeze, but he was excited to move on. In fact, he had even done a bit of exploring himself, roving down towards Moonspear and Nocturne Summit and acquainting himself with the rockier terrain.

Curious as to who was calling, he turned his paws towards the border. He was growing taller each day, so his strides had lengthened accordingly. It didn't take him nearly as long to reach his destination as it would have when he was younger; at nearly six months old, Floki was beginning to resemble his adult stature.

He arrived in time to see Charon approaching a dark-coated wolf and hear him call out. His ears pricked and his pulse accelerated with excitement; this was Ame, the wolf whose pack they would soon be merging with. The lanky youth approached his brother, reaching out to bump his snout against his shoulder, then he turned his blue eyes towards Amekaze. "I'm Charon's brother Floki," he said, unable to keep from grinning.

She loitered, sniffing about here and there to commit a few scents to memory while she could. Since she knew the wolves here best through names and Charon's brief synopsis of each, she was eager to match those descriptions up to more. But, one step at a time. When she heard approaching steps, and saw Charon not long after, her focus turned readily to him.

Her tail swayed, gaining speed slowly as he came in close to greet her. She reached for his shoulder to nip a quick welcome of her own when she could. It was good to see him, and even more so to see him seeming well enough -- his wounds even looked better, too. "Mhm," she replied, smirking, for of course she had come. Even if things were not as whole on her end as she would have liked, it was still time. "How has it gone here?" she asked, but glanced past him just as the words finished. A sterling wolf with vivid eyes appeared, and one look at him made her suspect he was one of the youth Charon had mentioned.

He did well to confirm this and quickly, she realized his mood was evidently a warm one towards her. At least in part, she was finding the answer to her question already. "Greetings. I am Ame," she said, although suspected he might have put this together already.

Feel free to skip me! Atreyu's just all ಠ_ಠ from a distance

The pending of the move weighed heavily on his mind. Just like that, they would soon leave the Bay altogether and start a new life...wherever they decided. Whenever they decided. Atreyu was not the explorer he once was, he found he actually liked having a single place to live now, to call home. The waiting for the call to leave was unsettling and left him restless. Charon would ultimately be the one who decided this, he assumed. While Thistle was still Alpha, he had no doubt that her adopted son would take the reins from her — whether she liked it or not.

When a lone howl rang out, Atreyu froze. It hadn't been the one he had been expecting however. It was a female's voice, one from the borders. He set off at a quick lope, his haphazard limping becoming steadier by the day.

Charon and Floki's scent mix with the stranger's own as he drew closer. He heard faint voices but couldn't pinpoint them. With hesitation, the Gamma followed the scents and paw prints left in the sand before he spotted them. Three wolves up ahead on the edge of the territory. He stopped short a few yards away, visible but too far away to converse without shouting. The dark one earned his attention as he studied her lean physique and commanding posture; was this the Alpha Charon was talking about? Atreyu remained where he was, watching and judging from a distance as the Beta and his brother greeted the stranger.

keeping vague about what happens with thistle in our present thread because it's not very far along yet

Before Charon could respond to Amekaze's question, Flóki appeared behind him. Charon was glad for that, because Flóki was, at the moment, one of his most dedicated wolves. Despite his age Charon saw promise in him, and he smiled at his brother before turning back to Ame. The two exchanged pleasantries, even if Flóki looked like he immediately connected the dots on who this wolf was. Charon wondered if Ame's wolves were still up on the Sunspire and come later. Hopefully she had found her missing wolves.

"Everyone sees it's what we need," Charon said, deciding to step into the news positively. "Thistle was mad that I took the decision before consulting with her, but we had a talk about that. I think she gets that it's what's needed. I guess that I didn't ask her first because I think this is what she needs, too. She's just too proud to admit it herself." Charon frowned briefly as he thought it over, and then forced a smile back to his face as he decided upon lighter subjects. "I've explored the surroundings lots. There's some pretty cool territories, but Moonspear in the south is the most magnificent of them all. I think it will suit us very well. Have you seen it yet?" He wasn't sure if Ame had explored or if she'd only searched for her wolves and had then come straight here.

"We also had a new joiner, Adya. I haven't seen Saskia anywhere, but Atreyu's on board, and as you can see, so is Flóki here." Charon looked like he was about to say something more — he wanted to disclose the bad news that they hadn't seen much of Flóki's siblings since — but then he decided against it, for Flóki's sake. Not mentioning them should suffice news-wise. "And I'm pretty sure my mom will come round. It would be kind of weird without her." It was evident from Charon's voice that he really hoped Thistle would follow, because he did care for her and wanted her there.

"So anyway, how's things been with you? What did your wolves say? Are they gonna follow soon?" Charon was obviously bursting with energy; he wanted to move to Moonspear as soon as possible and start his new and improved life.

"I know," was Floki's eager reply to Amekaze's introduction. His tail waved steadily behind him, expressing his excitement. He liked her already -- there was something mysterious about her appearance and the way she spoke, but at the same time she was regal. He could see why Charon had decided that she would be a good co-Alpha.

He shifted his gaze to his brother as the freckled yearling launched into a long-winded series of explanations and questions. But Floki listened to each and every word, nodding his head in agreement when it seemed to be appropriate. He wanted to show his allegiance not only to Charon but to Amekaze, as well. His tail accelerated in its swinging at the mention of Moonspear, and he glanced at the Sunspire wolf, wondering if she would be accepting of that location.

At some point, he noticed some movement from the corner of his eye, and turned his head to look. Atreyu must have heard the call, as well, for he lingered a few feet behind the pair of brothers. He seemed to be curious, but did not want to engage in the conversation. Floki flashed him an encouraging smile -- although Atreyu's initial response to Charon's idea had made Floki angry, he truly did like the three-legged wolf and wanted him to come on board fully.

On the whole, it was a positive briefing of events and she was pleased to know he had covered a lot of it already. There were ups and downs, of course, but really, she couldn't complain. Knowing Thistle had not taken a liking to it immediately was something she would keep in mind, and she then noticed the nearby presence of a distinct sort -- a wolf with only three entire legs. Amekaze glanced his way mainly out of curiosity, noted it for what it was worth, and focused on Charon's details.

He elaborated a bit on Thistle, and she nodded slowly. She too hoped she would come around in time.. but even if she didn't, she could already see the beginnings of a steady core taking shape. Floki and Charon both were making it clear they were invested in this idea, and she knew the Sunspire's few were steadfast wolves. 

"I made a quick pass by them before coming here, since I looped south of the Spine, and believe it was the Moonspear I looked at closer -- with the dark woods on its lower elevations? But I did not go much further than that," she said. Briefly, she remembered the white wolf there then considered the name, finding it.. satisfying. Nevertheless, she would head back that way soon and cover more ground -- perhaps even going higher up the mountainside.

On the topic of her end of things, she had done decently enough but still didn't find any of her news to be particularly great yet; she had the gloom of Rain's absence still looming over her, even while she was so eager to focus on the forward momentum she could have so easily if she wanted. "I have heard no objections, even if they seemed a little wary at first without knowing where we would go exactly. But, they all realize we need the change I believe. Echo and Jace are scouting too. I managed to find Nishu, but not Rain. He is searching still.. and I do not imagine he will stop until he finds her," she couldn't help but frown subtly. "But, he knows..and I told him where I intended to look next. Hopefully I will meet up with him again soon," she sighed.

"On the whole, I am pleased that things look to be lining up for us. I want to see the mountain again, and perhaps if all looks good, we can really move forward.." her tail swayed and a strange excitement thrummed in her ears as she looked between the two (three, counting the half-glance for the wolf on the edge of this) males. This was coming together well.

Only when Amekaze looked at something in the distance and Charon looked over his shoulder he noticed Atreyu lurking in the distance. Charon felt the urge to call Atreyu over, but he decided against it in the end. He would come round eventually; he just needed some time and space to get used to the decision they made. "I think we shouldn't wait too long," Charon said. "Everyone's sort of waiting, so I think we should make a decision soon." It wasn't just because he wanted to be Alpha fast, but Charon himself grew weary of the exploration and he could only imagine his wolves would feel the same.

Charon frowned when Amekaze mentioned Nishu and Rain. He didn't know either of them, but he hoped that they'd both be there when time came, and that Rain was alright, so that Nishu would not have to search the ends of the earth for her. He just nodded at the information though, having little useful to say about it.

"Moonspear's the one with the forest at its base, yeah," Charon said with a nod. "Me and Flóki explored it the other day. Maybe we should check it out again together so we can decide whether or not it's what we want?" If it was, then they could quickly collect their wolves and get a move on. They'd been waiting for long enough. Again Charon looked over his shoulder, but Atreyu seemed to stay in place, not wanting to introduce himself yet. Well, if he didn't want to meet his future Alpha female yet, that was his thing. It was kind of sad in Charon's opinion that a five-months-old was setting the best example of the pack right now.

Floki listened raptly as Amekaze spoke in more detail, mentioning some of her packmates by name. The boy found himself wondering what they were like -- his curiosity was warranted, as they would be his packmates soon, too. Overall, Amekaze seemed to be on the same page as Charon and informed them that her wolves were in agreement for the most part. That only meant one thing: the move to Moonspear would be sooner rather than later.

She added that she wanted to visit the potential pack land once more and Charon suggested that they go together. "Can I come too?" Floki asked. He didn't see any reason why they would say no; and even if they did, he would just follow them quietly and at a distance. This was the most exciting, positive thing that had had happened so far in Floki's short life, and he didn't want to miss out on any of it.

Overall, matters were falling into place and Charon seemed eager to move this forward. The closer it came and the more that was going smoothly, the more inspired she was to get it done. The sooner they settled on where they would go, the sooner they could establish their claim and begin strengthening the pack for the wintertime. "I agree. We really have no reason not to," she said. If the mountain was free and the situation favorable, it was theirs for the taking. Now that only left the next hurdle of the adjustment period that was sure to follow. Combining two packs could prove to be interesting, in good and bad ways, and the looming presence of the three-legged wolf was a reminder of this himself. But, Amekaze was hopeful and eager to see change come to be.

"Sounds good. I can howl for some of the Sunspire wolves so they can get their paws on the mountain too, if they have not already," she said on the plans regarding exploring it together. Ame was assuming the Sunspire few would be nearby, considering she had told them of her rough plans and given them instructions to scout about. She didn't doubt that she'd struggle to bring them together here. "I do not see why not," she said then to Floki with a growing smirk. Charon probably would not object, either. More wolves on the mountain exploring meant more scents, so when it came time to lay down their claim officially (assuming the Moonspear was to be the place), it would be that much easier. While she had originally had her wariness towards the idea of such young wolves who were near strangers to her (not for much longer anyway), Floki and his eagerness was doing well to erase that. Her tail swayed a slow rhythm then, and she was ready to set out.

Ame seemed to like the idea of settling on Moonspear too, and it excited Charon that the formation of their new pack was coming closer and closer. He hoped that when they'd go there to explore it and go home eventually, that they would not need to return back to their respective packs for anything other than to fetch what wolves might've stayed behind.

Flóki was eager to come along to explore Moonspear, and Ame agreed that he could come — a sentiment Charon shared. He wanted to cultivate Flóki's enthusiasm and loyalty to his and Ame's pack and therefore wanted to include him in anything and everything. "Of course," he said with a fond smile in his little brother's direction.

"That's a good idea," Charon said in regards to Amekaze's suggestion to call for the Sunspire wolves. Charon glanced over his shoulder at Atreyu briefly and then lifted his nose into the air. He informed @Thistle Cloud , @Saskia (if she were still round; he hadn't seen her in some time), @Adya and @Atreyu that he was going to explore Moonspear, the large mountain to their south, with Amekaze and Flóki, and that any were welcome to join them if they wished. He hoped Atreyu would come from the shadows and join them; or at least follow them at his typical broody distance so that he could see Moonspear's might and beauty with his own eyes.

He left some space for Ame to call for her wolves too, though he could barely wait to get his paws into motion and travel south with Ame and Flóki.

Excitement flooded Floki's body as both Amekaze and Charon approved of his accompaniment. He could barely contain himself, but he did his best; he didn't want to appear immature in front of his new leaders. He wanted to prove himself to be as helpful as any adult member of the pack, and would treat their explorations with care and concern.

When Charon called for their packmates, Floki added his own voice to the message. Part of him hoped that the others would come, but he also selfishly wished that they wouldn't so that he could be given a more important role. He glanced at Atreyu, wondering if he would be up for the journey.

Floki was the first one to notice his presence and when the young boy turned to look at him, Atreyu offered him a small nod of his head in reply. His encouraging smile was noted, though the Gamma remained where he was. He was wary of the whole thing — of the move, Charon's snap decision, this strange female from the mountains. While he trusted the Beta (for the most part, at least), he couldn't shake of his cautiousness. The Bay had been their home for so long...it felt almost traitorous to leave it.

When the dark female glanced his way, the fur on his neck prickled, however he still stood in place. At least the conversation, whatever it was about — Atreyu could barely make out a word due to his left ear and the roaring ocean beside them — was going well enough. They exchanged pleasantries it seemed, before delving into a longer conversation. Whenever one of the wolves looked up to glance at him, he only offered a wave of his tail in response, still finding no desire to join them.

Until Charon's call went up. His ears swivelled forward and the boy took a half step out of surprise. He caught the boy's gaze as he turned to look at him before howling and, afterwards, looked to Floki. They were going to Moonspear? Now? It didn't seem like an official announcement, only a note to say they were leaving briefly. He relaxed slightly, worried that they had agreed on the move and were setting it into motion now. A trip to their potential home would be interesting, however. Atreyu rolled his shoulders in indecision before realising he may as well take a look with them, to see if this place would be a worthy home.

He would maintain his distance, though.

She waited. Voices rose, first Charon, then Floki's, and they spread the news to the wolves of the Bay. She waited a moment longer, took a handful of strides away from the borderlands of their packlands, then called towards her own. If you hear, we are heading towards the Moonspear. Join us if you are ready. Keep in touch.. was her rough message. Of course, she'd raise the call again if none showed; she was not even certain of any of them being in earshot right now in the first place.

With that said and done, she began to turn towards the general direction of the Moonspear and headed that way with one last glance to Charon to assure that he was ready too. She didn't doubt he would be, so she began to make her way towards the south.

Flóki's voice joined his own as they called for their pack mates. Charon glanced in Atreyu's direction briefly after the calls had risen. Amekaze's voice soon began after theirs had ended, calling for her own wolves to join them if they so wished; if they were near. Charon hoped they would be, since he longed to meet them; even in his time at the sunspire Charon hadn't personally met any of them.

After all three of them had finished howling, Charon turned south and the small group started to go south. Charon didn't see if Atreyu joined them or not, but he was pretty sure that he'd just kept standing there. Not yet ready to let go of Stavanger Bay, perhaps; but if Charon knew Atreyu, then he knew he'd be joining them soon enough. This was happening, after all, so he may want to check out his new home.

Once the message had been spread for the wolves of Stavanger Bay, Amekaze took her turn. Her call had a slightly different indication, since it seemed that some of her packmates were scattered about the wilds, but once all the important parties had been notified, the three wolves made to depart.

Floki followed Amekaze and Charon, taking note of the way that Atreyu trailed along behind them. He dropped back to walk alongside the three-legged wolf for a short while, but as they drew nearer to Moonspear, he resumed his position near the leaders.