Moonspear Nice boys don't play rock 'n roll

No rush; whenever you have time! :)

He was looking for @Charon. He knew that it would have been easier to simply call out for his brother, to raise his voice to echo off the mountain, but Floki wanted to stretch his injured leg. It was with gritted teeth that he limped around the foothills, paying no mind to the glorious green foliage all around him. For a few strides, he was able to hide his limp, evenly placing weight on each leg. But he soon began panting with effort and was forced to halt, his young face contorted into a scowl.

Briefly, he toyed with the idea of howling for the Alpha, but quickly disregarded it again. He would never build up his stamina if he didn't work for it. With a growl that was the equivalent of wordless grumbling, Floki hobbled onward, blue eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of Charon.

is it okay to say this is set before the encounter with ame / laz or do you have a specific timeframe in mind? i'm not sure yet what will happen there!

Charon was particularly obsessed with Amekaze in this period of time, so he was never far from her side. As a matter of fact, Charon'd been searching for Ame right that moment, having lost her trail and now tracking to regain it. He barely noticed Flóki at first, headed straight for his brother with his nose to the ground, intoxicated by Ame's scents as he was.

Only when he got close to Flóki and found Ame's scent sullied with Flóki's did he look up to notice that he was headed straight for his brother; yet unaware that he was being looked for.

Sure! ^_^

Naturally, Charon approached from behind, and it took a moment for Floki to notice the presence of another wolf. He spun slowly, moving carefully so as not to twist his foreleg, and his expression brightened considerably at the sight of his brother. "Just the guy I was looking for," he quipped with a wave of his tail as he took in Charon's determined facade and the skimming of his nose just inches above the earth.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked, casting a quick glance around as though the subject of Charon's apparent search would suddenly appear.

Charon smiled at his brother's enthusiastic reply and he bumped his nose against Flóki's shoulder in their characteristic greeting. Charon was easily flattered and so his smile broadened ever so slightly when his brother admitted that he'd been looking for him. "Oh? Need me for anything specific?" he asked curiously. He wondered at times how Flóki was handling Dhole's departure as a whole; Charon himself noticed when he was chasing the Redhawk wolves with bloodlust raging through his veins that he wasn't over her betrayal yet. Imagine how Flóki had to feel. Yet he wouldn't be the one to bring it up in conversation, as he saw no need to freshen the wounds there.

As for Flóki's question, Charon answered quickly, "Just Ame," not because it was 'just' Ame really, but because he figured it made sense that everyone knew he'd be on the lookout for Ame at present time, with hormones raging around all over the place.

His brother bumped his shoulder with his nose, and Floki quickly moved to return the gesture. Charon asked about the specificity of Floki's search and the Beta shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't seen her," he replied, referring to Amekaze, then addressed Charon's question.

"Nothing really -- just haven't hung out with you in a while," he said truthfully. Both boys had been busy with various things lately -- Charon with Amekaze, understandably, as well as his duties as Alpha male; and up until his injury, Floki had been quite transient, taking trips of varying lengths outside of Moonspear. It was his most recent excursion that had revealed some information he wanted to share with Charon.

"But when I was out traveling before the storm at the summit," he started, grimacing as he held up his injured foreleg, "I met somebody who knows Gyda. My -- our sister." He searched Charon's face for recognition.

Soon it became clear that this wasn't just a cheery catch up with his brother; information was revealed about their sister. The name struck a familiar chord, but he did not remember her, really. She'd been around when he was little, before his parents had died, but he only knew so from Thistle's stories.

Floki didn't know her at all, which rose the question why he seemed somehow interested in this. Perhaps it was just that he wanted to inform Charon, though, rather than held a personal interest. "Oh? Is she... well?" The words came out a bit jumbled, because he wasn't really sure how to deal with this. He felt as though he should be interested in her well-being but in truth, he was not. She had left them at a young age, so he barely knew her in anything more than name.

He wasn't quite able to decipher the expression that flickered across Charon's face as he asked about Gyda. Floki faltered momentarily; he had such a strong desire to get to know his half-sister, but Charon's hesitation made him second guess himself. She was just another family member that he had never known -- she had been nothing but a name to him for his entire life. Charon was the one who had always been there for him, so why did he feel the need to seek out a blood relative?

Chewing on his lower lip before answering, Floki said, "Yeah, I think so. She's leading a pack up north -- Sleeping Dragon. I met her co-leader. She said that Gyda's expecting." He shrugged his shoulders, acting more nonchalant than he felt. If Charon didn't care about Gyda, then why should he?

He cast a furtive glance at his brother, then asked, "Did you ever know her?"

It was surprising to hear that his sister was expecting, even though it shouldn't have been -- she was older than he, after all. They had all grown up. Charon thought back to Gunnar and he wondered if he would ever see his brother again. And Levi... Floki had taken the steady rock space in his life after Levi had gone, when Moonspear was created.

Sleeping Dragon. It was a cool name. Somewhere up north. If he had more time, he would have probably visited her. Then again, he didn't even remember her. Would she even give any more than zero fucks about meeting him? "Ah. I think... Sort of. Thistle said she was around when I was little. Before my real, uh, other parents died. But I don't remember spending time with her or nothing. At least it sounds like she's doing well..." Whatever that was worth to them, anyway. He didn't really know her and she'd likely remember him by little more than a white blob in a litter of other wolves in her parents' pack, anyway.

It was still hard to get a read on Charon's feelings towards Gyda. He spoke freely of her, sharing what little he remembered about her, but there was a lack of care behind his words that Floki couldn't necessarily fault him for. The more Charon said, the more Floki realized that perhaps his desire to meet her had been a silly pipe dream -- she was all the way across the wilds, and while she was technically his kin, what did that really mean?

He blinked, slowly realizing that he had all the family he needed right here -- Charon, Amekaze. Even Dash fell into that category in a way. He lifted his shoulders again in a shrug and said, "I was thinking of going to meet her, but it doesn't really seem that important. She never came looking for us." So why bother?

Ready to put the subject to rest, Floki flashed a small smile at his brother. "Want to patrol with me? Or do you need to go find Ame?"

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Charon. If she lived next door, things would be different, but as things were, why should they bother looking for Gyda when she never returned to Stavanger Bay to look for them, whenever she returned (he assumed when they still lived at the Bay)? "Good idea, let's go for a patrol. I'll go find her in a bit."

Charon nudged Flóki's shoulder reassuringly and shot him a confident smile, just in case he would need it. Then he started making his way down to the borders, presumably with Flóki in tow, so they could freshen up the borders. Ame would have to wait, for now, though he would seek her out again soon to make sure she was okay and untouched.

I'll go ahead and archive; let's have a new one soon since all that drama has happened! :P

Charon's agreement only further solidified Floki's change of heart. It wasn't worth it to try to forge a relationship with Gyda -- and besides, it was likely much too far of a journey for him to make in his current state. Maybe in the distant future, if he found himself heading north, he would pay Thuringwethil and Gyda a visit; but for now, he put the idea on the back burner.

He was glad when Charon obliged him; he felt like they hadn't spent all that much time together recently, although he held no ill will against his brother. He strode alongside the Alpha, engaging in easy conversation as they ventured towards the outskirts of their territory.