Moonspear teekon by night

Once again, the focus of the fight moved away from Floki and he was left to observe. He watched with interest as the two grown males wrestled, then suddenly an idea popped into his head. He waited until just the right moment, then he darted close to Charon and Dash, reaching out to nip at whoever was closest -- it ended up being Charon's shoulder.

As soon as his teeth made a connection, he dug his paws into the ground and pivoted, pushing himself away. He bounded down the ledge, onto the broad, rocky path with his tail fanning behind him as he invited his packmates to a game of chase. One ear tilted back as he ran, listening for the telltale sounds of paws on stone that would indicate that they were following him.

As he predicted, and tried to avoid, Charon's growl told him even an accidental dominant move was not going to be accepted. Dash turned his body quickly, rolling to the ground and onto his side, his stomach partially exposed in submission. While he didn't think Charon would turn on him, he wanted to make sure his leader knew Dash was submissive, even in play.

In the next moment, he seen the flash of Floki as the younger male nipped at Charon and then ran, taking a trail on the mountain. Dash waited to see if Charon would run first, and then followed after Floki at a run. Dash was mostly confident on the mountain now, but a misstep had him rethinking that. His back end came out from under him as the rocks slid beneath his paws, sending him sliding backwards. He tried to grab at anything, to create some friction to keep himself from falling any further, but the rocks were too slippery. A ledge about ten feet down was his savior, catching him. Not realizing it was there, he didn't brace his fall, and ended up on his side. He got up quickly, realizing he was fine except a little out of breath and now stuck on this ledge. He looked up to see if his pack mates were above him.

Charon was appreciative when Dash immediately back off and showed his submission upon his growl. This was shown in little more than a brief smile, before he was distracted by Flóki's nip, which invited him to play once more. Charon turned around only to see Flóki running off along the broad rocky path that lead down the mountain.

He quickly followed suit after letting out a playful growl. Soon the sound of sliding rocks distracted him, however, and Charon halted in his tracks, chuffing to alert Flóki in case he hadn't heard the rocks. He turned around to see no Dash, and quickly ran to the edge of the cliffs. Relief washed over him when he saw Dash on a lower ledge; he was one lucky son of a bitch to land safely after that fall.

"You okay?" Charon shouted down the mountainside. "Can you get back up from over there?" Charon looked to see if he could see any connecting paths that would lead Dash back to them (or at least back to safety).

Soon enough, Floki was rewarded with the sound of Charon and Dash following him. He navigated the uneven terrain carefully, not going as fast as he would have on flat ground. Just as he followed a curve in the trail, he heard a clatter from behind and slammed on the brakes, pivoting to look back in time to see Dash lose his footing and go tumbling over the side of the mountain.

The boy gasped and raced back towards Charon, who had also stopped and was looking down. He peered over the edge and was relieved to see that Dash appeared to be unharmed, though he looked a little rattled. "I'm so sorry!" he said breathlessly, his ears fanning to the sides; he hadn't directly caused Dash to fall, but he still felt accountable since he had started the chase. In hindsight, it wasn't the best idea, he realized.

He had been lucky in his fall- it was short and he didn't have any injuries. Unfortunately, his luck stopped there. Dash whined as he looked up to his packmates, pushing his body against the rock wall, scared he might fall again. Charon's question had him looking around for an escape route, but he couldn't find one. I don't see one! he said, worried.

Floki's apology confused Dash, and his expression showed it for just a moment, but his mind went back to his current predicament. He had to get off this ledge. What should I do?! It was too far to go up, and he didn't dare look down.

"Shit," Charon muttered when Dash shouted up that there was no path away from his ledge. Flóki's apology had confused Charon too, but he brushed it aside in favour of looking for a solution to Dash' predicament.

Charon tried to see if there was anything below the ledge that Dash was on, because up was very steep and so was unlikely an option right now. Not the most favourable option, anyway. Charon couldn't see what was below the ledge though, since it was too far down. "There anything below your ledge? Maybe you can slide down," Charon shouted down, and he hoped that the answer would be positive.

It seemed that there would be no easy way for Dash to get off of the ledge, and Floki frowned worriedly. Charon tried to offer a suggestion as Floki's gaze roved over the landscape, searching for any solution for Dash. Sliding down gradually seemed to be the only option, but that could quickly take a turn for the worst if Dash gained too much speed or lost his footing.

"Be careful," was his only contribution as he watched nervously, shifting his weight.

He heard Charon curse, knowing it meant nothing good. Dash couldn't go up, no where to go on either side of him, and he refused to even look down. His body was pushed against the rock wall, as if he could push it back and make a bigger ledge. As if Charon had read his mind, he asked if there was a way below him. His look in response said it all: He just didn't want to find out.

After a few moments, though, he knew he would have to get up the courage to look if he wanted to get off this ledge. Keeping Floki's advice in mind, he slowly made his way, inch by inch, to the edge of the rock, his body getting lower and lower as he got closer, until he was on his belly. Then, he peaked over the edge to see if there was a way out.

It didn't look so bad down below. After about another ten feet of rock, it turned into underbrush, and it wasn't a straight fall, it was inclined. He'd have to slide again, but if he aimed it right, the landing wouldn't be so hard. He looked back up to his pack mates. I-I'm going to try and slide down. Meet me down there, he said, his voice a little shaky. If he got hurt, at least he knew they weren't far away and might be able to help him.

Dash made his way to the side of the ledge, testing out a leg on the incline. It stayed in place, and he added his other front leg. He knew once he put all his weight on the incline, he would begin to slide. With a deep breath, he did just that, sliding head first down the embankment. He gained more momentum than he thought he would, and wasn't able to slow himself down. He hit the undergrowth of the forest and began to tumble head over paws. He went several yards before he stopped and sat up. He knew he was going to be sore after that, and there were leaves and debris in his fur, but he didn't think he was injured. He looked around for Charon and Floki.

Dash looked like he would decide to just stay on that ledge for the rest of his life for a moment, giving Flóki and Charon a look that said it all. Just as Charon opened his mouth to call out a (probably rude) encouragement towards Dash, he looked down on his own accord and said he would try to slide down. Without answering the question, but if he was going to try, there had to be something below him, right?

As soon as Dash asked Charon and Flóki to meet him down, Charon got into motion. Assuming Flóki would follow, he followed the path they'd been following further down and took a turn in Dash' ledge's direction as soon as it presented itself. It was a bit of a detour from Dash' straight-on sliding down, so he wasn't there as soon as Dash landed. It actually took a bit of tracking to find the exact place, because they couldn't follow a straight path down.

Charon sniffed through the underbrush and called: "Dash! You out there?" while he looked up to try and find the ledge Dash had slid down from.

After further investigation, Dash decided to take Charon's advice and try to slide down the side of the mountain. He crept to the edge and then asked Charon and Floki to try to meet him at the bottom. Floki nodded and immediately followed Charon, carefully keeping an eye on where he was stepping but also glancing frequently back at Dash.

By the time they reached level ground and began to make their way back towards where Dash should have landed, there was a bit of commotion. Floki gasped and sped up, though he stayed near Charon. They wove through the trees, searching the shadows for any signs of their companion. It sounded as though he had lost his balance and perhaps rolled into the undergrowth.

He heard Charon call out not too far away. Over here! he shouted back. He stood, shaking out his fur, hoping to loosen the leaves and twigs that were in it. Most of them flew off, but a few stubborn ones stayed. He picked them out with this his teeth, spitting them onto the ground. The leaves were tough to spit, though, and he had to rub his tongue against his top teeth, and then shake his head to get them off.

He looked upward, towards where the path had been that he had fallen off of. He couldn't really see it from here, but he could see the ledge he had landed on. It further up now that he was underneath it. He turned his gaze to the area around him, waiting for Charon and Floki to find him.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually mere seconds, Dash piped up and Charon and Floki followed his voice. Other than twigfilled Dash looked okay, and relief washed over Charon.

You alright, mate? he asked when he arrived, looking over Dash to see if he was in one piece.

When Dash called out, Floki and Charon honed in on the sound. They were quickly able to locate their packmate, and when Floki's gaze fell on him, he was relieved to see that Dash seemed to be uninjured. He would be sore, for sure, but at least there were no broken bones or blood to be seen.

"That was pretty brave," he said, following Dash's line of vision back up to the ledge. It seemed to be much higher, now that they were looking at it from below.

After a few moments, Charon and Floki showed up. Yeah. I'll be sore, but I think otherwise okay, he said. Floki seemed to think he was brave, but Dash felt anything but. Then why do I feel so stupid? he asked sheepishly. He felt like a fool, first falling down that ledge, then having to awkwardly slide down the rocky face.

Sitting there, he began to feel a little of the soreness that he knew would be so much worse tomorrow. I think I'm going to head off and rest up a bit, he said, standing. I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? With that, he went to find a spot he could rest for the night.

Charon decided to hold his tongue when Flóki called Dash brave, silently disagreeing. Clumsy, more like. The young Alpha was just glad that Dash was alright again. He smiled and nodded when Dash said he'd go sleep off his shame. "See you 'round, Dash," he said, hoping that Dash wouldn't feel all too sore in the morning. The pack needed him, after all.

"C'mon Flóks, let's go explore some more," he then suggested and, assuming his brother would follow suit, he started to further explore the mountainside.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances that had led to Dash's fall in the first place, he had remained calm and managed to find a way out of the predicament. Therefore, in Floki's eyes, he was brave, even if he didn't feel like it. The silver-and-sandy boy nodded his head when Dash excused himself; he couldn't imagine how physically and mentally exhausted he must have been.

"Bye," he called after his packmate's receding figure. He was game for more exploring, so he readily followed Charon.