Moonspear i shall exist until the last stars fall from the night

A couple of hours after his meet-up with Dhole where he had lashed out at her and effectively chased her out of Moonspear territory when she had told him she wanted to leave, Charon found himself not so broken, hardened in his resolve to make Moonspear and his own legacy greater than life once more. Yet he still had Flóki and Amekaze and he needed to inform them of what happened. Charon could not help but wonder if they, too, would turn their backs upon him some day. It was hard to imagine now, but one day the young Emperor would have laughed at the thought of Dhole turning her back upon him, too.

Lifting his nose, Charon called for @Floki and @Amekaze as he ascended the mountain, not ready, but knowing he needed to anyway, to inform them of Dhole's betrayal. The pain still ran deep, but the self-righteousness ran even deeper inside of him and Charon wore a mask of coldness, much alike the one he had when Jorunn had returned to inform him of his betrayal, for he did not wish for them to see his pain and just how much Dhole had meant to him.

Since their own awkward interaction, Floki hadn't seen Wildfire. The whole "friends" things didn't seem to be working out, but he convinced himself that it would just take time. And they had all the time in the world -- they were still so young and had a lot of growing to do. They had both firmly planted their roots in Moonspear and things would only get better. Wildfire simply needed space to process all that had happened, and Floki -- thinking he was being mature and level-headed -- was willing to give that to her.

His entire world would soon be turned upside down, however. Charon's call did not arouse any feelings of suspicion in the Beta; he requested the presence of Amekaze, as well, which made him think that there was some leadership business that needed to be discussed. He clambered up the slope and was breathless by the time he reached his brother.

"What's up?" he asked, though as soon as his gaze landed on Charon's face he felt his stomach give a twist. Something was wrong.

feel free to pop in at any time, Gerra! :)

As he laid eyes upon his brother, Charon could not help but feel a layer of guilt underneath the mask that he upheld so meticulously. Stone cold, as though it mattered nothing to him, when in fact Dhole had mattered so much to him. She was practically family, she was like his very best friend aside from Flóki, and to top it off, she was — and he thought of her in this way with all the respect in the world — his punching bag, and he hers, of late. It had felt as though they could say anything to one another, until Goober had come along to ruin everything for them. Charon's frustration for Dhole was about as big as his growing hatred for Goober, for ultimately it was all his fault that this was happening.

Charon nosed Flóki's cheek briefly before he cut right to business: "Dhole betrayed us. She came to me and said she would leave, and when I tried to stop her because she obviously can't make any rational decisions right now she snapped at me and ran away." That was all he could say on the matter. The exact happenings of their meetings were perhaps different if seen from another's perspective, but this perspective was his and Charon truly felt that that was what had happened.

Floki carefully kept his eyes trained on his brother's face, though he refrained from meeting his gaze fully. The ominous feeling in his belly only grew as Charon stepped back from giving him a friendly nudge and dropped a bomb on him. "Dhole betrayed us." Beyond those three words, Floki had a hard time focusing; he shook his head, as though there was something in his ears and he hadn't heard Charon right.

But he had. The Alpha continued gravely, speaking of a brief scuffle that had occurred before Wildfire ultimately left Moonspear. She had run away, just like Tevinter, leaving them all behind. Once upon a time, he might have given her the benefit of the doubt -- after all, she had been going through a trying time and her behavior had been erratic on more than on occasion. But to snap at Charon?

He had no reason to doubt his brother. Charon was the only wolf that had been there for him through thick and thin and who would never betray him. Wildfire used to fit into that category, but as his insides turned to ice, Floki continued to compare her to Tevinter. The hardening of his heart that had begun long ago, with Ragnar's death, was nearing completion; he couldn't take much more of this.

"So she's gone?" he asked in a hoarse voice after a long pause. He wasn't sure what else to say; he wanted to cry, but he blinked fiercely. If she could abandon them so easily, then she wasn't worth his tears. He would be strong -- like Charon.

She'd been distracted, and missed Wildfire's howl of earlier then showed up later than planned to this one. Amekaze had no notion of what was going on, although her suspicions were there. Having Floki noted as well was considered, too and soon she found herself following his trail. Her approach was a lurking one, but she covered ground up the mountainside steadily anyway and soon had sight of them both.

Ame crept up right at the tail end of Charon's words, and her brow furrowed immediately in disbelief. She was certain she had heard right, and a glance between both of their expressions (along with Floki's question) was a good indicator. If anyone on the Spear would be shaken most by this sort of news, it would be them. Her worry was quick to follow and even without knowing the whole of it, she traced the blame straight back to her assailant -- who lived on generously borrowed time already as far as she was concerned.

After a soft press of her muzzle against his neck, he settled beside her mate in silence and prepared to hear more of this bad news.

Seeing what the news did to Flóki only hardened Charon's resolve not to show the pain that he felt. Dhole had been in his top three. She'd been such an integral part of his life that it was hard to really realise that she was gone — and he had, more or less, chased her off himself. He'd seen her leave. He'd tried to stop her. Yet even for him it was hard to believe. Imagine how Flóki had to feel, for it was his (ex-)mate. Charon found it hard to sever the ties he felt to Dhole entirely, but he felt he should for the sake of his own sanity, for the sake of his own heart.

And so he replaced all of the hurt with anger. "She's not worth it," Charon murmured. "But we'll make it, Flóks, together." Whatever would happen, they would always have each other, if no one else. They would rue the day that they had turned their backs upon Moonspear's emperor some day, all of them, Dhole included. He was the chosen child of the stars and Flóki and Amekaze would be rewarded for their support where others like Dhole and Jorunn had faltered. Ultimately they were only cutting their own fingers by leaving him, for some day he would rule everything as he was destined to and he would not relent then.

Amekaze joined by their side and wordlessly moved to comfort him. Charon melted briefly into her touch before she settled down by his side. He looked at Ame, not sure what she had caught of their conversation, and shared, "Dhole took off, the ungrateful bitch. I tried to stop her, but I didn't manage. I can't believe—" Charon's voice cracked up, showing the hurt that he was hiding beneath his stony, dark mask of anger. "Can't believe that she would abandon us after all we have done for her." The friendship, the safety and food through winter, and the personal role that each of them had taken upon themselves in her revenge plan against Goober... Everything.

While Goober was ultimately the culprit and Charon would enjoy ripping him apart regardless, the revenge would be a sour one as it had been intended for Dhole. Goober had ruined everything, but Dhole herself had had enough part in this, had hurt his feelings enough, for Charon to think his former friend a traitor all the same, as his heart would not allow him to process his hurt in any other way.

The Alpha female's quiet arrival was hardly noted by Floki; through tears, he spared her a glance before looking away abruptly. He blinked rapidly, willing his vision to clear as he swallowed thickly. He turned his ears -- but not his downcast eyes -- towards Charon, listening as his older brother spoke, his words edged sharply like a blade.

She's not worth it. Ungrateful bitch. Can't believe she would abandon us.

Charon's statements rung loudly in Floki's ears, and despite his overwhelming sadness, he held them close. He had no other option; his anger was nothing but a defense mechanism, but he would cling to it. He had been hurt time and time again, and no longer would he trust so easily. In lieu of a verbal response, Floki simply rumbled a low growl, his ears now swept back against his head and his eyes dry.

To know in full hurt even more, despite her not expecting it to. Hearing of Wildfire acting so out of character barely seemed real. Amekaze had always held her in a precious sort of favor because the yearling had been so sharp and full of brightness. Now, after the attack so very much had changed in an instant and maybe this was just the eventual outcome of all that. All at once, it was not an easy pill to swallow.

Just like that, it was over with and now once again, they were let to move on. Wildfire had gone from their lives and the dark alpha could only hope that better days would await her somewhere down the line.

"Neither can I," she sighed with a soft shake of her head, sorrow heavy on the words. It was difficult to believe and no easier to accept. She felt an eerie chill and glanced between them more. A vague worry for the both of them followed, but, she would not be one to crowd them with it. This would be accepted in their own way but one thing remained plain above all the rest: the pack had lost a beloved, valuable wolf with her. She was not the first, and would not be the last as much as acceptance of it burned.

There was little more that they could say about the situation. There was nothing they could do to feel better in the moment, but to block the hole that Dhole had left in their hearts with anger and scorn for the girl. That was all Charon could do, at least — he had loved Dhole, he had never wanted to lose her and now she was gone. And so all he could do was hate her for leaving him, for leaving Flóki, who loved her more than anyone had ever loved anyone else in Charon's eyes. She wasn't worth it — yet the gaping hole, blood pouring from it more painfully than ever before, that she had left behind in each of their hearts hurt so intensely that it was hard to ignore that she had meant so much to him.

In silent acceptance and grief he awaited, moving closer to nose Flóki on the cheek in silent gesture of support. They had lost so many in their lives and had been left behind by so many, even those very dear to them, but they would always have each other.

Wolves had come and gone throughout Floki's life, some permanently and some only temporarily. He had learned quickly that life was fluid and transient and that it could change in an instant. But somehow, despite this knowledge, the pain of Wildfire's presumed betrayal was much worse. He internalized it, swallowing the emotions that promised to simmer and stew inside him.

The verbal and physical sympathy of both Charon and Amekaze eased him only slightly. To see the devastation and anger on Charon's face was enough to stoke the fire in Floki's heart. Not only had Wildfire let him down, but she had disappointed her Alphas as well. It was hard for Floki to see beyond the end of his own nose and grasp the enormity of the situation; however, Charon was not one to mask his feelings and it was plain to see that he was hurt too.

He sighed softly, returning Charon's touch with a gentle press of his own nose against the older male's cheek. He offered his brother and sister-in-law a sad smile and a small shrug of his shoulders.

The somber moment was underlined with tension, evidently the chosen defense mechanism as they all so plainly suffered. She saw it most of all between the brothers, and that drug her down further as she watched them attempt to comfort what they could. In truth, she did not know what to say. Nothing fit, and nothing would ease this in full.

She exhaled heavily. All there was left to do was move on. She was sad, disappointed, and perplexed most of all. Hopefully Wildfire would do.. whatever the right thing was, even if it was not staying here. It seemed like a great loss to them now but at least they were the ones with a home underfoot at least. She swallowed thickly, attempting to contain her overall worry for the red-coated yearling. "We will do what we must, with or without those that have turned away from us.." she sighed, thinking sourly of Jace suddenly as she felt more and more that his scouting around in search of his greater purpose led him out of her picture.

Her posture drooped heavy with sorrow. She would stay a while longer, so long as she was needed, but her words were bound to be painfully few as she sorted it out herself.

fade, i guess? :3

They remained in silence for a bit longer, silently comforting each other with gesture and touch. It was Amekaze who spoke again for the first time, breaking their sorrowful silence with her words — and they were strong words, as always, and true words, too. They would do what they must, with or without those turned away from them. And that was what Charon would do; he would remain strong and he would be strong once more. He would not let his greatness be diminished by Dhole's traitorous behaviour, no matter how much it hurt in the core of his being.

They would be strong and they would persevere, and at least they had each other.