Nocturne Summit back down

Charon was out scouting the Summit today, one of the neighbouring territories. Moonspear jutted down on one side from it and so Charon decided to try and find out if he could catch trail of Lazarus over here. His nose followed the lines of the long ledge that stuck out underneath Moonspear, somewhat, but he found nothing. It would seem as though his search today would be for naught once more, but he decided not to give up and pressed forward.

The cool shades of the Summit were nice this summer, but ultimately reminded him why he hadn't followed Dhole's dumb advice to move here rather than the Moonspear. There was little here that served a wolf well in winter. A warm summer breeze greeted him that afternoon as he walked out onto the ledge and looked out onto the lands below, stopping his search to enjoy the view for a moment.

Nicolas was tired. What was it? 6 months? A year? He wasn't sure how long exactly he'd been a loner, wandering around with no particular purpose but to hunt and fight and shag, but well, mainly to survive. He'd never really thought about how utterly boring it really was to wander for so long without purpose, in fact, once, he'd been so close to jumping off a cliff simply because it offered him an adrenaline rush. Obviously, he didn't do it, otherwise he wouldn't be here right now, but he'd been an inch from falling over from boredom — literally. He knew it was time to seek out a pack and offer his service and 'undying' loyalty once more, but he didn't seem to be able to find a pack that gave the right vibes, ya know? It just didn't seem right.

      Maybe he should just live the rest of his days alone and die alone, without a mate or children, his legacy and bloodline finishing with him.

      Nah. That was way too depressing.

      The wind ruffled his fur and he exhaled softly, enjoying the breeze before straightning up, glancing around warily. There was someone nearby, someone unfamiliar, someone from a pack. Nico took a few steps forward before he caught sight of the stranger wolf, pale furred and definitly unfamiliar. To approach, or to not approach? That was the ultimate question. He took a second to think, before shrugging and taking a few slow steps forward, sure that the pale wolf would notice him sooner or later.

The scenery was beautiful, even if he was enjoying it from lower down than the usual steps of Moonspear he would favour, higher up the mountain, to get a better overview of both land and sky. Less detailed rubble, more overview. But still, there was no denying it was a beautiful summer day. If only his mood was one to match. It would be long until the sunset would eventually descend on him and so Charon got up with a sigh, deciding to just move on.

Just as he turned around, another wolf was headed this way. Unaware he'd been standing in doubt for a little while, considering whether or not to approach, Charon figured he had only just arrived. "Oh, hello," he said, not sounding too enthused but neither overly grouchy or unkind. He eyed the male up and down, his body carried proudly but not necessarily dominantly, and waited for what he was doing here.

Sure enough, the other wolf turned around and after a moment, uttered a greeting. Nico tilted his head, observing the pack wolf through apathatic green eyes, the corner of his lips tilted ever so slightly. He noted that the stranger did not seem particularly enthusastic about talking to him, or meeting him, for that matter, but the deWinter had learnt long ago not to take such matters personally; more often than not, they tended to be because of personal problems or problems at home, rather than because they saw his face. Because, let's be real, who would turn upset at the sight of his handsome face? No one, obviously. Well, he could name quite a few, but that's not the point.

      The second thing he noted was how the pack wolf carried himself. Nicolas assumed that he was of some sort of high rank, but he wasn't quite sure which. Didn't really matter, either ways. Wasn't like he was going to go join whatever pack this stranger was in after all. This was simply a random meeting that he would probably never remember. So he shrugged mentally and smiled briefly at the wolf, "'Sup, mate," Nico said. "What'cha doing up here?" Not that he really cared, either ways, or that he particularly wanted to carry on this conversation, but well, he'd been brought up to be a gentleman to all genders so it wasn't like he really had a choice.

The moment they had was a little uncomfortable, as though both of them had other places to be — or at the very least, weren't really looking for company — but Charon reminded himself that he had a task to do. The other guy's greeting was friendly enough and Charon offered a confident smile to his words.

"I'm Charon Ostrega, Moonspear's Alpha. I've been searching for a wolf who harmed my mate," he shared with the male. "He goes by the name of Lazarus, white with some grey along his back. Probably looks pretty beat up since he fell down a mountain." He looked inquisitively at the other, hoping that he might've caught sight of the male he described. Probably not, but it was always worth a shot.

Nico canted his head slightly, green eyes betraying a slight curious glint as the stranger spoke, introducing himself as Charon and the Alpha of a pack called Moonspear. He also divulged the fact that he was searching for a wolf who'd harmed his mate, a guy called Lazarus who fell down a mountain. "Ah," the deWinter said, looking at Charon with a searching gaze. "Sorry, I haven't seen the guy," Nico replied a moment later, smiling almost apologetically. "But I'll keep a look out for him. If he's injured, he's probably not hard to miss." 

      Nicolas looked at Charon again, an indentifiable gleam in his apple green gaze. "You're looking for vengeance of some sort, aren't you?" he cocked his head. "If he hurt your mate, don't let him slip out of your claws easily." He smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes and nodded, almost as if he was reassuring himself that the statement he'd just uttered to himself was the right thing to have said to the Alpha.

Charon was not too disheartened to find out that the guy hadn't seen Lazarus. He was searching for a needle in a hay stack, after all. It wasn't likely anyone'd say, 'oh, yes, I saw him dying three trees in that direction'. Still, the guy offered to keep an eye out and that was more than Charon could've hoped for.

He opened his mouth to thank the male when he offered some words of advice, sort of. Charon didn't intend to let Lazarus slip his claws. There was something weird about the way the guy'd said the words, but at least what he had said held a lot of truth. "Thanks, bro. If you could call for me at Moonspear if you find anything, I'd be real grateful." He smiled at the guy, and there was a short pause between them before he asked; "What's your name?" He wondered where the guy lived, too, but decided it mattered less for now, so long as he was informed the other way around.

      Nicolas nodded absentmindedly and offered the Alpha a brief smile. He knew that any sane wolf who's mate had been injured would no doubt go to the ends of the world to avenge them, but he also knew that many would give up along the way because of bigger responsibilities back home, so he simply hoped that this Alpha wouldn't give up just yet. "Yeah, no problem, dude. I'll come tell ya if I find anything," he promised the pale wolf sincerely. He'd never been one to offer fake oaths and promises.

      Then the Alpha asked for his name, and Nico, after a moment of debating; he wasn't really a big fan of giving away his name to strangers, even those who he related to on a certain degree. But whatever, it didn't really matter now anyways. "Nicolas," he said the Charon with a small smile. "The name's Nicolas. Pleasure to meet you, Charon."

It had been fortunate that he had run into this male who looked very forward to help him, should he happen upon Lazarus. He'd be hard to miss, anyway; it was good to have extra pairs of eyes out there. Charon was sure to reward whoever would bring him Lazarus in whatever way they wanted; food, water, a home, or whatever else. Heck, he'd probably marry off a child if that's what it took for his family to become happy again.

"Nice to meet you, Nicolas," said Charon with a smile. "You from anywhere in the region, or just passing through?" He meant any pack, of course; if any, it wasn't any that he knew, for he found nothing familiar in Nicolas' scent.

      It wasn't that Nicolas would go out of his way to find this Lazarus, or that he particularly liked to find this mate abuser but a part of him felt that he owed it to this wolf to at least try to look for the guy where he went and report back if he did. He didn't really know why he felt that way. Okay, he did, it just wasn't something he liked to bring up. Maybe, if he did this for Charon, he wouldn't feel as shit for what he did. Not that it'll really matter either ways, given the fact that he was completely alone now.

      "Nah," Nicolas shook his head with an almost wistful smile, apple green eyes glancing into the distance. "I'm just passing through. Maybe I'll settle down soon, dunno," he shrugged, a small grin on his face.

There was something about that smile that made Charon feel like Nicolas wouldn’t settle down too soon. Yet he extended the offer nevertheless: ”If you’re a mountain kind of wolf, we could always use capable wolves at Moonspear.” They’d been full much, but they had recently gotten some space, what with all of the traitorous wolves in their midst such as Lazarus himself.

Yet Charon didn’t think he would accept the offer. Still, though, he was glad to have extended it. Who knew, some day. He looked about, knowing it was soon time to continue his search. He’d wasted enough time enjoying the scenery.

      Charon spoke and extended an offer for Nico to join Moonspear. It was surprising for him to hear that after one brief meeting, the Alpha was already telling him that if he wanted to join, there would be space for him. Usually, it took more time, but well, who knew, either the pale boy saw something in the veteran, or Moonspear was short on numbers. Either ways, Nicolas would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little bit honoured by the offer Charon had given him. It was too bad that he would have to refuse it...for now. 

      "I'm honoured, and all, Charon, but..." Nico smiled, and shook his head, politely declining the offer. "I just don't think I'm ready to settle down right now, so quickly and abruptly. I think...I need a bit more time, yeah," he nodded, almost sadly before looking up. "But thanks for offering it, mate, means a lot. And who knows? Maybe I'll drop by one day," he shrugged, and offered the male another grin, "I'll ring you if I find Lazarus or anything," he said softly before turning around and bidding the wolf farewell as he trotted on, his heart just a bit heavier than it'd been before.


- exit nico

"No problem, man," Charon said casually. He knew that it was likely he wouldn't accept such an offer right away; but he had offered it just in case the other wanted it. Nico then made to leave and Charon shot him a quick nod in good bye before he turned towards his own path again, moving on with his search.