Moonspear Definitely a time gap

@Charon plus anyone else who wishes to tag along

Nishu was done thinking about his failures at the same time he said he was going to try to be like normal wolves. It was kinda impossible to act 'normal' if no one else was around. He had his own ways but those were the ways of the knights which is something he should try to avoid doing. But he knew nothing else which was beginning to be frustrating. To take time off he decided to search for caves along the mountain, in hope of encounter some beast to tackle. He hasn't fought or dueled in a while and was starting to feel rusty even if he trains daily.

Climbing up and down the rough terrain Nishu spotted a cave. He approached it without any hesitation. At the entrance there seemed to be traces of something that either lives or used to live here. There was a very feint scent but it was unrecognizable. Maybe he hasn't encounter a creature of the sort. The unknown was only thrilling for him.

It would be foolish to enter without first checking the surroundings. Caves are one of the best way to trap someone so to be on the safe side he started to climb up again until above the cave enterance. It was easy to see what was below. He was high enough that forest below could not be used as cover. If anyone were to approach from below he would easily see them unless they managed to reach a blind spot. The area did seem clear but he stayed and watched for a while just to make sure.

thanks for starting :D

Charon was out discovering the caves that Moonspear hosted, too. He'd always loved the couple of caves that the Stavanger Bay cliffs had offered, but it was nothing compared to an entire mountain full of undiscovered places. When Charon found this specific cave, he didn't realise that Nishu Inte was on the lookout someplace above him. Tail twitched excitedly as Charon sniffed the air around the cave's entrance, sniffing the presence of some sort of creature. He couldn't quite place the scent, though, although he was pretty sure it wasn't bear.

Then he couldn't help himself, thinking he was completely alone. "Hellooo-oo-oo-oo!" Charon shouted loudly into the cave, his words echoing back to him; he was still oblivious to Nishu's nearness and intent to discover this very same cave too.

All clear, he decided to go back to the cave entrance. At the very first step he took a loud helloooo startled him. Nishu didn't understand how someone managed to get all the way over here without him noticing. The only logical reason would be that the wolf just happen to move along the blind spots. Nishu would rather leave it at that and not think on how he just didn't see that person coming.

Shouting out in the open was always a crazy idea of someone willing to take on a challenge. Naturally this means this someone is a warrior ready for a fight otherwise it was a foolish mistake. Instead of climbing down he jumped and landed heavily behind the one who wanted everyone's attention. Nishu then stood tall as he usually does. After a quick inspection of the wolf before him he determined that a fight wouldn't be challenging. A young adult, clearly without much experience and training.

"Alerting everyone nearby is just asking for fight, I hope you're ready!" He said loudly with confidence as he prepared to lunge. Nishu's intentions were more aimed to teach a lesson than to actually fight. Having the knowledge of the arts of war was the best way to survive in dangerous lands and all Knights were taught that no where is safe so they must always be on guard.

Echoed o's were met with a smiling Charon while he considered other cool things he could shout into the cave to get echoed back to him. Charon hadn't expected anyone to be nearby to hear his echo-game, and so when someone suddenly landed behind him he visibly startled. The hairs in his neck rose and he turned around quickly to face his opponent.

It was even more surprising when the wolf suggested a fight was coming. Charon thought to recognise him in the flash of the moment, either by scent or by appearance, to be one of Ame's wolves and not a trespasser. He didn't recnognise a lack of malice in the attack, however, and so teeth were bared and tail curled over his back. White tail was puffed and carried as a flag, while ears folded against skull and head was risen. "Stand down, subordinate!" Charon snarled with surprising ferocity, for even though the wounds on his shoulders were not entirely healed (though nearly so), he was ready to defend his place if he needed to — and he knew the best way to do so was perhaps to show he meant serious business and to mark his boundaries. Being lunged at was, unless it was clearly playful, not within Charon's desires presently.

Although Nishu was ready to strike he remained in place and just watched the reaction. The hostile reaction to Nishu was a good sign to see. But it started to appear to be going a little too far very quickly. Now it appeared to be a wolf expressing dominance than to actually take a combat stance which was slightly disappointing. The show before him had no effect and as Nishu was just about to back off until the words struck him.

'Subordinate?!' Who does this wolf think he is? Nishu was not the type to easily bow down to others. His loyality had to be earned. Instead Nishu rose his head up high and then just watched the eyes of the wolf before him.

"Hmph, You have no right over me. Also I wasn't going to attack but did you honestly think I'd stand down by YOUR order? You don't even have the appearance of an Alpha nor do you have the skills for it." He said as he highly doubted the male based on looks. There was a bit of anger in his tone. What next? Was he going to call himself the Alpha? That would be a funny joke. An Alpha was a powerful and wise leader which had years of experience.

well, that escalated quickly xD

Charon was taken aback by the other's forwardness and the words that poured from his mouth. If Charon's feathers weren't ruffled by the surprise attack, then they certainly were now. He didn't realise that the initial 'attack' had been playful and only to show him to stay on guard, and felt personally assaulted. He wondered what this dude's deal was; was he challenging him, or what? "The fuck is your problem!" Charon snarled, teeth still bared, tail twitching with anticipation and adrenaline high above his back.

His mind raced which of Ame's wolves this could be, but the only male he had not yet met was Nishu. A noble sort, Ame had said; if this was him, then Charon could not have been more disappointed. "I'm Ame's equal, so you probably want to start treating me that way." Charon held himself back before he said things that could not be erased such as threatening to run him from Moonspear. "Are you challenging me?" he asked, though the way he said it it sounded more like a demand than a question. And then it hit him — of course, he understood what this was all about: "Is it Ame? You doin' this 'cause it's her you want?" he asked incredulously, squinting his eyes as a sudden burst of possessiveness fell over him. He'd never seen Ame in any sort of romantic way, but the thought of this asshat wandering in and taking all he had worked for — his Alpha position and his right to stand beside Ame — suddenly boiled his blood in many new ways.

It sure did :P Nishu has high expectations of alphas since he spent 3 years training to be a Knight worthy to serve these 'high' ranking wolves. Conflict here is unavoidable

Although Nishu wasn't showing any physical hostility there was no chance that he would stand down now. His body wanted to fight but he had the self control to hold back. There was a claim to be Ame's equal and he instantly disagreed with that. Calling himself an Alpha is not the same as being one. Amekaze had proven herself when she was faced with the challenges but this creature before him clearly is lacking Alpha traits.

Nishu kept his high stance and just glared the foolish male in the eyes. "Already Amekaze has more discipline and likely has more years of experience than you. You are clearly NOT her equal, therefore you have not earned my loyality." He said in a strong confident tone.

If a fight did break out Nishu was confident that he would win but fighting wouldn't solve the current problem yet he wasn't against it, it would feel great to battle. Although it felt like there was a misunderstanding in intentions still. Nishu had no interest in Ame but at the very least he respected her."An inexperienced Alpha is a threat to all members including Ame. I doubt you can handle the job without sufficient training and knowledge."

i expected resistance and/or drama in some form at some point though somehow not in this combination. xD i am enjoying this thread though. :D

Tail twitched tensely while Charon continued to lock eye contact. Neither seemed willing to back off, and Charon certainly wasn't — to leave now would be to give in to this wolf. When he so boldly spoke, Charon wondered if there was any chance that this would not lead into a physical confrontation. His muscles tensed, ready for a fight even though he preferred not to have to.

Charon snorted at Nishu's words. Though he had not answered the questions Charon had posed about a rank challenge and Ame, his words did in some manner. They were enough answer to elicit a low growl from the yearling, anyway. "Oh, like anyone would follow you," he spat derisively. "Experience and knowledge can be taught, but that blatant disrespect and idiocy's probably gonna stick to you the rest of your fucking life. It's wolves like you whose egos are too big to take pack hierarchy that are a threat to a pack." All the while Charon kept his eyes locked on Nishu, though he was forgetting who was making eye contact with who now — it was probably a two-way thing. His fur remained puffed up, tail and head high and body ready for a confrontation if it would find him; something that, to Charon, seemed inevitable at this point. He did not initiate it however, preferring to solve rank conflicts by being the bigger wolf some way or another.

Perhaps Charon would've been able to hold back and actually be the bigger wolf if Nishu hadn't traipsed on exactly his sore spots, and he could've just shut up and let things be as they were, accepting that Nishu and he just weren't compatible — And if Charon was not convinced that Nishu intended to take his Alpha spot and Ame. In the spur of the moment he didn't even consider why he felt so irrationally possessive over Ame. The thought of Nishu taking everything he'd worked so hard for infuriated the young Alpha. "Just because Ame's out of your league and she didn't pick you to lead a pack with doesn't give you the right to be a first class asshole, y'know. If you're just going to sit here weakening this pack by being a dick then feel free to find your own food and warmth this winter." Charon's tone was haughty; it was clear that he fancied himself a great deal more mature and better in any sort of way than Nishu. If he considered himself a knight especially Charon wasn't impressed. Perhaps all Charon knew was stuff from stories, but he was pretty sure that this wasn't knightly behaviour in the least.

As time continued on it felt like it wouldn't be a surprise if the two wolves engaged in battle. Keeping cool was becoming harder and harder to the point that Nishu just wanted to end this by taking the young Alpha down. But if he did it would be as if he was taking the job of an Alpha for himself. Just into insure the safety of the wolves here he would have challenge the position. But having failed as a knight meant that being an Alpha was not for him. Still! he was sure he would do way better than this 'pup'!

The moment was extremely frustrating but he managed to hear all of these infuriating words. Nishu was starting to get confused at the end that it was distracting. What did Amekaze have to do with any of this? She was the Alpha yes and a good example of one too but what did he mean by being chosen? Nishu knew no details of the merge beside the fact that it was going to happen. To think that she would merge a pack of strong mountain wolves with a pack of children, unbelievable. He could still respect her choice and now he just figured out what was going on in this young wolf's mind.

After a small pause of thought he spoke. "I understand it now, because Amekaze decided to help a pack of children and that you are the oldest you started thinking that it would make you Alpha along side with her. It would be wise to realize your place before you hurt yourself! And for your information I am capable of leading teams and surviving winters on my own. If you can't handle a winter on your own then how can you lead others through it?" Nishu didn't change anything in his stance and kept watching the eyes.

Charon huffed when Nishu mentioned that he had come from a pack of children. If only he knew. It was obvious that Nishu hadn't considered to read into Stavanger Bay's history much, or he'd know not to mess with the son of vikings. Charon wanted to say that he had surpassed his mother to get into this role, that he had taken control and done what was necessary for the pack, but he didn't get to that bit because Nishu went on a different side, saying that he could not lead a pack to survive a winter if he had not survived one himself first. Charon thought back to his first winter on this world (and his only so far) and the hardships that he had gone through.

For a moment Charon was not sure which route of reaction to go — mention his dead family and how tiny the Bay had been throughout last winter, or go for the 'wolves are pack animals and we need packs to survive' route — and he stared hard into Nishu's eyes, their eye contact battle continuing while the tip of his tail twitched tensely. "You know nothing about me," Charon snarled eventually, surprisingly going neither route. "I thought you were some sort of fucking hero for finding Rain and searching everywhere for her, thought you'd be a great addition to our pack. From what Ame told me sounded like you'd be a knight or something, all noble and shit." Charon's eyes narrowed as he continued to hold eye contact with Nishu. "But now it's clear to me that you're not a real knight at all. Nothing about you is noble and brave. A real knight doesn't judge a wolf by their looks or age, doesn't try to talk their Alpha into believing he's not worthy of the title or assume them to be lying. Hell, a real knight would've just accepted and trusted Ame's judgement to start with." Which made Charon wonder if Ame hadn't informed her wolves at all. Then again, hadn't Nishu and Rain been missing for a while? Maybe that's why he didn't know anything, because he'd returned only recently and Ame hadn't filled him in just yet. There was still the slightest chance that this wasn't Nishu, but Charon figured he was soon to find out since he'd called him out on some personal stuff.

When you think about, it kinda looks like Nishu is trying to protect Charon from the risk of unavoidable failure :P

"I'm no hero, Rain had her leg broken under my watch when that chaotic storm passed by. A real knight would have prevented such injuries. Although I did my best, I still wasn't good enough for the job and failed. So you are right, I am not a real Knight." He finally cut the eye contact and looked away. The only way to have stopped that injury was to be able to see the future, it was as if it was meant to be. But Nishu blames himself for not improving enough. He should have trained more, he should have been more alert, he should have been ready for anything but it wasn't the case.

Having said that he forgot what was the exact problem here, was the Alpha or was it himself? It's possible that Nishu was venting his frustration from his failure. Still he had a hard time imagining the young Alpha doing better than a real knight. Nishu was larger yet was unable to protect one wolf so how could someone smaller be able to protect several wolves?

Nishu was looking at the ground now. "I trained and prepared myself for three years yet I didn't have the power to protect one person. I just find it very difficult to believe that such a young inexperienced Alpha would be capable to  protect not only one wolf but a whole pack." Then he turned around to leave. "If you feel like you can handle it then so be it. But you'll end up as a failure as I did if you are not prepared enough for the job." Nishu then started walking away. It was strange how one misfortune could cause so much damage. It was just hard knowing that now he couldn't be a legendary knight because of that misfortune, it just wouldn't be right.

yeah, too bad he's too stubborn for good advice. :') i just want to scoop nishu up and hug him, poor thing <3

Charon was taken aback when Nishu not only admitted that he was a fake-ass knight, but looked away, letting Charon win the eye contact game too. He wasn't so taken aback that he didn't secretly gloat about his wins, though. How could this dude seriously think he could give anyone else advice if he was failing at his own life? For a moment Charon looked undecided, then a triumphant smile fell across his face as he began to realise that he'd won the stand-off. What was supposed to be a day of fun cave-shouting to break the constant stream of hard leadership work had resulted in this, and while it wasn't exactly how Charon had intended to spend his day, at least he hadn't gotten physically pummeled to the ground or knocked off his throne. He was still Alpha, by Ame's side, where he deserved to be.

And Nishu? Nishu was looking at the ground, as he deserved. His resolute words of Charon's imcompetence were now melted down to 'having a hard time believing's, which meant that he was beginning to doubt himself. Charon didn't mind if his subjects thought for themselves, but in this particular case he enjoyed seeing the havoc of doubt wreaked upon Nishu. He enjoyed seeing him crumble down just because Charon had found the soft spot. All it took was one good poke.

Charon huffed as Nishu said that he would end up a failure if he would not prepare himself well enough. You don't know me, Charon haughtily thought, but he had already said that, and so he didn't repeat himself. "Thanks for the warning," he instead said, and it was hard to tell whether he meant the words or not, for he kept his face straight with a slight smile. His expression hardened a little then as he said: "Don't worry, you'll find I'm plenty prepared." It was hard not to give Nishu a good verbal kick in the butt as he turned around and walked away, but Charon decided to 'be the bigger wolf'. He'd already brought Nishu to his knees, and hopefully that would make him realise not to mess with his new Alpha. Charon as here to stay whether anyone liked it or not.

He watched Nishu walk away, and figured he'd seek him out again some other time, later. It was no use having some depressed wolf hanging around his pack, after all; now that he'd knocked him down a peg, he should build him up again... If Nishu would let him, anyway. One knight to another — for although Charon's knightly title was instated in a game of make-believe, in the light of Osprey's disappearance it still meant much to him.