Honeyed Pasture windsong

Moonspear people 100% welcome to kidnap recruit Jura. Otherwise/also all welcome!

As the sun rose over the western reaches, Jura was busying himself with tracking down some grub. The grumbling discomfort had been enough to rouse him from his coveted slumber. He blinked sleepy blue eyes up at the mid-morning sky with a huff. Then, a mouth gaping yawn struck him, and the breath escaping his lungs manifested in a loud, drawn-out groan of satisfaction. He stretched his legs waaay out and splayed his toes before rising fully to stand on all four paws. Jura quickly shook the dirt and grass from his pelt before heading out of the shade and onto the plains.

In the distance, above the dew-laden grasses, he could see the steam rising off the backs of a few bedded down does; standing watch, deadly tines rising tall above their heads, were the stags. Certainly not. Jura wets his lips and looks elsewhere for a meal. A cacaphony of honking calls reach his ears and they twitch, swiveling to follow the sound while his eyes catch up. Geese, heading south for warmer wintering grounds, pass noisily by against a backdrop of blue and white.

Jura frowns as his stomach gurgles. He pivots on his front paw, turns left, and puts his nose to the ground in search of a scent trail.

One of the last times Charon took the trip down from Stavanger Bay, intent to live upon Moonspear from this moment on. His body ached from the many miles he'd travelled as of late, particularly considering the healing scabs still on his right shoulder and back. The scabs and wounds across the rest of his body had healed, leaving behind no scars, but his shoulder and back were still healing. Beside that, Charon presently felt stiff from the many miles he'd walked between the Bay and Moonspear. Hopefully this would be one of the last times.

While he trotted through Honeyed pasture, Charon found himself longing for a snack. Food from the Bay's caches had either been moved or finished, and so he now found his stomach grumbling. If he didn't find anything quick, Charon could always just head on down to Moonspear and hunt there, but it was worth a shot.

Geese flew on overhead just as he picked up their scent, making that chance moot. Charon put his nose to the ground to try and find a new scent trail. He soon picked up the scent of rabbits, and figured a warren was nearby; he followed the scent, nose to the ground, hoping that he'd end up at the warren soon and hoping he'd be able to catch one of them.

It wasn't a trail he caught wind of, but another wolf. 

Jura stopped and brought both front and back paws together as he lifted his head and regarded the rolling plains with innocent curiosity. There was someone else nearby, and it didn't take him long to spot a faint bit of white fur against the sea of gold. He took another moment to shake out his pelt; maybe shaking the anxieties off this time more than dirt or leafy refuse, before adjusting his course to intercept the other wolf. 

As he neared the vicinity of the stranger, a stupid fool of a grouse suddenly sprang up from the grasses with a piercing alarm cry. The wolf could wait! Jura immediately sprang high off the ground in pursuit of the fowl. His agile jaws found their mark, and he landed with a thump with his prize. It flapped and screeched, only to be silenced with few violent shakes of his head. Feathers flew and some even stuck to his face.

He stood there, as quiet as he was before, with a bloody bird in his mouth and his tail waving amiably.

The sound of a crying grouse drew Charon from the scent of the rabbit. It was incredibly nearby, and so he dashed in its direction, knowing he had a good chance at catching it. As he ran, the scent of grouse mingled with the scent of another wolf, and soon he was faced with that wolf holding the grouse between his teeth. No dinner for him, then. Ears perked forward as Charon watched the male, who looked friendly — not at all defensive about his meal, anyway, which was always something to be cautious for.

"Looks like you beat me to it," Charon admitted, a wry grin on his face as he looked at the stranger. The rabbit warren was forgotten, and Charon decided he would go for a bite later, even though his churning stomach didn't entirely agree.

Sorry for the delay. Work was crazy.

As the other wolf approached, he made a comment about being a bit too slow to the draw. Jura smiled through a mouthful of feathers while his tail wagged in slightly wider arcs. He looked around at the surrounding hills almost as if to question whether this stranger has friends, but he didn't tense up at the thought. Instead, he looks back at Charon with wide ultramarine eyes and takes a few slow steps forward; not close enough to invade his personal bubble, but enough to make a point. He deposits the bird on the ground between them and backs up to a seated position, the same kind smile on his face.

The message is clear: here, eat!

no problem :)

This wolf seemed the friendly sort, Charon was quick to identify as he didn't even seem to be afraid of a threat. The thought Charon might try to take his food from him didn't seem present upon his mind. A bit naive, perhaps. And did he even speak, or was it only because he had a bird in his mouth that he didn't speak now? However, Charon's somewhat negative entendre towards the wolf changed quick when the bird was put down in front of him, almost as though he was given a gift. Charon had never experienced something like this before, so he looked upon it a little suspiciously at first. He soon found nothing wrong with it, though, and since he was hungry he quickly dug in to rip a piece from the prey.

Still no words had been spoken by the other male, and Charon looked at him while he ate, and between bites said: "Thanks. Do you speak at all or are you, like, mute or something?" He took another bite, enjoying the savoury taste of the meat and feeling thankful that he didn't have to continue his hunting trip on an empty stomach.

Jura merely sat, patient as a saint, and waited for the other male to take what was his. He'd taken the prey right out from Charon's nose, and it was only fair to offer it in good faith. He could find another meal elsewhere; he wasn't hopeless. Still, he wasn't blind to the suspicious look the stranger gave the fowl, but relief washed over Jura when he found it suitable to his liking and tore into it with sharp teeth. Again, he swept his bottle-brush tail over the grass in an indication of his geniality. 

After swallowing down a few bites, a question was asked that caused Jura chuckle and shake his head. "No." He says, voice a bit rough (presumably from disuse). "I just don't have much to say." He answers with remarkable honesty. "I'm Jura, though." He continued to smile, even as he spoke, glad the other wolf found the kill to his liking. His stomach did gurgle a bit but he ignored it with a flick of his ear.

The wolf was a little weird, being charitable as he was, and though he remained short of words, at least some words came out. Charon didn't have the patience to deal with another idiot who didn't speak properly (whether because they were mute, didn't speak the common language or had just never learned to properly speak) so he was glad that was not the case. Even a name was offered, and Charon nodded while he took another bite from his gift. Perhaps if he were a bit more empathical the yearling would've realised it better to share, but as things were he was hungry and wanted all of it to himself. It did not even occur to him to share, even though he had gotten the food from Jura in the first place.

" 'm Charon, Alpha of Moonspear," he said between bites. Licking the blood off his lips, Charon looked at Jura before continuing: "Glad you're not a mute, Jura. It's one thing if someone just doesn't talk much, but it gets pretty annoying if they refuse to talk altogether." Not that Charon knew a lot about mutes, which was illustrated by his words. "Anyway, what brings you here? You from 'round here?" Charon sniffed the air to try and determine if Jura was any pack's, but all it brought him was the scent of blood and he found himself dig into the fowl again for another couple of bites while he awaited an answer.

Charon was... opinionated. But the masked yearling wasn't entirely put off. Really, he was just happy to have some company even if this meeting only ended up being a fleeting conversation. Eamon was missed, but his chatter-mouth left a bit to be desired. At least he had a new family to rattle off to. "Or talks too much..." He comments with a noncommittal shrug. Jura had grown up sandwiched between Eamon and his siblings, all of them lacking a verbal filter, so he simply had taken up listening rather than speaking as his main go-to, but he didn't feel as it was relevant to the here and now. 

But he was in the presence of an, admittedly young, Alpha. He hadn't caught wind of a strong border marking nearby, but that didn't really matter. Charon seemed tolerant enough of him so far. He did, however, flatten his ears to indicate his submission towards the self-proclaimed Alpha. No taking any chances here. "Not really. I dispersed from my pack with my best friend to find someplace new to settle down, but he ended up meeting a girl. So, now it's just me." That's the problem with being a teenage wolf; sometimes a pretty lady (or guy!) is much more important than your best buddy.

"Exactly!" Charon agreed exasperatedly when Jura mentioned wolves that talked too much. He didn't realise that this might apply to himself in any way, hooking into the subject with a roll of his eyes. "It's like some wolves just don't know when to shut up." With which Charon himself never had any issues, of course.

Jura's story was kind of tragic; to have your friend leave you for a girl when you were supposed to be travelling together. "That's gotta suck. Sorry to hear your friend was a douchebag and left you." Charon himself hadn't caught the love virus yet, perhaps because his life had been ruled by grief and tragedy from a young age, and he couldn't get into the mindset of anyone leaving their friends for love.

Jura's slight submission was noted and appreciated, and Charon found himself saying: "If you're looking for a place to stay, Moonspear could use couple of strong adults more to get through winter." They were getting pretty full as things were, but there should be space for Jura. He looked healthy enough and Charon figured that he would be able to pull his weight. Besides, he'd given up his meal for Charon. Speaking of which... Charon took another bite and nudged the remainder of the fowl, about a third of it, towards Jura. "Thank you. I gotta go now, but I won't forget this. Look us up if you're ever round Moonspear and I'll repay you in some way." Whether it was by allowing Jura to join the pack or by giving him back food (depending on his preferences), Charon would somehow repay him.

Jura snickers softly at Charon's passionate response, and flashes him a wild grin. He isn't wrong, that's for sure! But he didn't linger long on this one point, and quickly moved on to the reason Jura was here in the first place. He blinked at the strong use of the word 'douchebag'; really, if he was being honest with himself, it was a bit of a dick move. As if being uprooted from their home wasn't quite enough to bond them together. 

He shifts his weight from his left foot to his right and shrugs. "Yeah, well, maybe things will change and I'll see him again." He replies lamely. He didn't expect it to happen because that just wasn't Eamon's way, but it was difficult not to hold out just a little touch of hope. He did miss him, after all.

Anyway! Charon soon offered to repay him for his efforts, and even extended an offer for him to join up with his pack, Moonspear. The young alpha even nudged the remaining fowl towards him and Jura leaned down to gingerly pull it back towards him. "I, wow, okay. I'll do that, or, uh, keep it in mind, too." He flicks an ear back to indicate his feelings on that, admittedly, very awkward response. Clearly he hadn't expected to be offered a place in a stranger's ranks so quickly. 

"Thanks, Charon. Earth keep you." He says with another sweep of his tail and a genuine smile.

Jura was clearly taken aback by Charon's generous offer, which elicited a grin from the yearling. He didn't want to waste time thinking of trials and tests; he just wanted a strong pack for winter. Jura seemed just right for the pack: didn't blab too much, could hunt and even shared, and didn't seem like a total weirdo. That was good enough for Charon, and he had more important things to go than let Jura run an obstacle course before deciding he deserved a chance.

"Same to you," Charon said, though he wasn't entirely sure what 'earth keep you' meant. Charon turned away from Jura and departed. As he turned away and started to trot on home to Moonspear, he wondered if he'd see Jura again.