Moonspear making the rounds

Ever since things had settled down somewhat Charon had been busy preparing the whelping den; digging out a den at the edges of the forest on the mountain's side, close to water. He'd brought in some plants at first for bedding, but then figured what with how hot it'd been that it would be more comfortable for Ame to lay on the bare, cool ground. Bedding seemed like a bird-like thing to do, anyway, and they weren't birds.

After he finished his daily fussing over the den Charon set out for a quick patrol around the borders, because he had not been able to as much of late; he'd been busy out looking for Lazarus and creating Amekaze's den. The afternoon sun guided his steps, creating patches of light on the floor as he walked through the frays of the forest at Moonspear's base, occasionally stopping for a roll on the ground, a rub on a tree or peeing someplace or the other.

anyone at all, don't be shy~! :D

She'd found some raspberry bushes within the territory, if only just. There was a small stream nearby, likely the reason they favored the place. If they could grow here, she was sure they grew elsewhere within the territory. It seemed she'd been using these for everything lately but she knew it was better than nothing. There were other things to help with pain, poppy was a rather potent one. Though she'd noticed some poppy seeds within the cache, she hadn't yet seen any of the flower itself.

Besides, poppy was addictive. Raspberry leaves were a calmer but still effective choice. With Amekaze now pregnant, having a good supply of the leaves was necessary. They wouldn't harm the pups or put Amekaze too out of it, and should she request them during labor they were also safe for that. She had just finished a trip for placing leaves in the cache and was on her way for round two when she spotted Charon. She let the leaves alone for a moment and offered a short bark to announce herself to him. She walked closer to him, but kept a polite distance in case he wanted to be alone. She knew that something had happened within the pack, something dramatic, but hadn't been able to ask anyone what. She didn't want to pry, and it certainly hadn't seemed to be anything anyone wanted to talk about. Whatever had happened hung over them like a dark cloud.

She knew that at least three wolves had left the pack, though she didn't know the circumstances behind any of them. Though one of the three, she had a guess, had done something to offend Amekaze and Charon. She'd heard they'd gone hunting for him in the loner lands. Her voice and eyes were soft, concerned. "How are you?"

Charon just rolled along the ground to spread his scent along Moonspear’s borders when he noticed someone approached. He got to his feet and shook his fur before turning his head in the direction of the approaching wolf, finding it to be Pyx. He smiled appreciatively at her, despite her dumb-ass question, because he was glad for wolves like Pyx, who, so far, seemed loyal and useful. So she asked him how he was, a question she probably knew the answer to; but luckily, she did many good things too.

After thoroughly shaking his fur he gruffly answered, ”I’ve had better days.” A tuned down answer, yet at the same time not so. He was frustrated that Lazarus still hadn’t been brought to justice, but at the same time he was relieved Althaia was still alive and that he’d gotten away with that whole mess. Yet this also had made him realise how weak he was to nature’s temptation. He hoped that it would not be necessary to resist it again in the future. So all in all, things were rather mixed.

Pyx had probably noted some of these things, undoubtedly, but he wondered how much she really knew. Shit, for all he knew she’d been looking on, just like Harley. Not like he had noticed anything. But he was pretty sure that if anyone had, they’d had already told Amekaze. And since nobody had told Amekaze, it was easy enough to pretend like Harley’d made up his accusations to cover up his own ass. He considered asking her how she was, but somehow didn’t.

Had Charon known of Pyx's level of cluelessness about what exactly had all happened, she'd likely have been his favorite person. She was utterly clueless, only knowing that three wolves had left under less than favorable circumstances. She nodded at his response, but was cheered to find that it was without a sharp bite of scorn. She, of course, knew nothing of his internal thoughts of her dumbass question. She nodded, glancing away from him for a moment. Without missing a beat, though, and with a straight face she replied to him. "Worse than having a snake living up your ass?" She fought to keep the smile from her face, but her eyes lit up. She was hoping to provide at least a small chuckle.

"I'll be honest, Charon." She said, more seriously this time. "I don't really know what all happened within the past few days. Everyone's been relatively tight lipped and uncomfortable...I just know that three wolves left us. Two, I imagine left together from the little bit I have heard. The third..." She looked to her alpha. "Well, from what I hear he'd probably want the snake up his ass instead of what he got." The other, Lazarus, had been hunted. Was still being hunted if she was right. "I understand he's not welcome back, I'd assume none of them are." She glanced towards the borders as if expecting to see them listening in. "Is there anything I should know, specifically, about what happened?" She didn't want to put her paw in her mouth, or be uninformed. He very well could say no and she should mind her business, but she wanted to ask him first.

The words were unexpected, but perhaps that made them all the better. The twitching smile at the end and brightly shining eyes only made it better; even at keeping an entirely straight face she was rubbish. He thought of this in a more loving way than anyone could think of. It reminded him of the careful retorts Dhole’d given him before she had gone. Though he didn’t actually laugh, his eyes lit up, a smile spreading across his previously broody face. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Pyx’d be a good match for Flóki, though had to admit this was based mostly, if not entirely, on knowing their personalities’d match.

Yet the subject turned more serious and he looked at her with an inquisitive tilt to his head, the smile fading off his face. He didn’t mind talking about what had happened, truthfully, even if he wouldn’t provide all of the details. He shared, ”Lazarus — the third, but really, the first to go — he was trouble from the beginning. He ended up hurting Amekaze and we got into a struggle. I want to make sure he is dead now, for what he has done.” He did not divulge any more information, somehow suddenly understand why Flóki would always lose his voice when Charon’d inform others of Dhole’s rape. There was some sort of helplessness for a man to admit such things happening to his wife, especially under his own roof, in his own home.

”The other two were unrelated. It was a couple. The female was in heat when she should not have been in Amekaze’s home,” for it was well-known this could be offensive and at the very least, she should’ve gone to Ame to apologise and ask her to hide or whatever rather than wave her perfume about. ”The other one mated with her and then spun round telling lies of how I had mated with her instead. As if I would favour a lowly Omega over my own Queen.” His lips pursed in disgust at the thought. It was not hard to protect his lie, because the facts pointed in his favour and because in hindsight, it really was a ridiculous thought that he’d do what he had done.

She was pleased to see his face light up and a smile spread and she waved her tail at him. She had, in part, achieved what she wanted to with the joke. Her next words, she knew would draw his mind back to more serious things, but it was needed so she could know what exactly had happened. Her eyes widened when he mentioned that Lazarus had hurt Amekaze. She wasn't sure what that "hurting" entailed, but all the same it was worrying. Why attack the alpha female? She understood now why he'd been hunted so much, and so intently. The protectiveness Charon showed warmed her though. He wanted to kill the male that had hurt his mate, and that made sense to Pyx. She didn't know all the intricate details of course, but she was finding the more she learned about Charon the more she liked him. Even if he did come off rather rough at first.

Pyx nodded as he went on to explain the other wolves. In her old pack, females without permission to mate were expected to section themselves off from the rest of the pack. Typically there had been a small group of three other females to protect the ones in heat from the males, moving them between a couple different hideaway dens to keep them out of trouble. This was not an issue that Pyx had yet to encounter here in Moonspear, but she made a note to see Amekaze out as soon as she thought it might be a even a slight possibility.

Her jaw dropped a little as he told her of the other male trying to say that Charon himself had mounted the female. Her brow furrowed and she shook her head, this pack was certainly more eventful than her last. She shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Amekaze's already with child, how did he ever think a lie like that would work? It doesn't make sense. Anything to try and save his own face, I guess. Better that they're both gone, though, if he's willing to lie about such boneheaded things no telling what else he'd do." She believed the lie, easily, and didn't question Charon for a minute. Amekaze was a lovely female, she was intelligent and kind. Pyx, naive thing that she was, saw no reason Charon should ever desire the other over her. Especially not with their history.

"I'm sorry you've had such a headache lately, Charon. Sounds like one thing after the other." She paused for a moment, a frown on her face. "Is Amekaze alright?" She realized he'd said that Lazarus had hurt her, and that she hadn't seen Amekaze recently. She was obviously still alive, but how badly had the male hurt her? She seemed to be laying low for now, keeping herself away from the pack for the most part. Understandable if she'd been injured by a pack member she thought she could trust.

Charon was glad, though not necessarily relieved (as he arrogantly believed in the perfection of his lies) when Pyx agreed that it would be foolish for him to do so. He wasn't even sure why he had, anyway; it was probably just to do with the hormones, and perhaps missing the closeness that he had once had with Amekaze. He nodded at Pyx' words, glad that she was agreeing with him. "Yeah, it's for the best," he agreed easily. Even if Althaia would be with his children, he didn't care; they were bastards and he wouldn't really give a shit about them as much as he did about Ame's. They were his true children, and he could only hope and pray they didn't have Lazarus' face.

As Pyx asked about Amekaze, Charon frowned and he said: "She's healing. I guess she's also been more withdrawn because she's pregnant, so, y'know, she's kind of busy being chubby and grumpy — not that she doesn't deserve to be, or anything, but it's just a thing that happens when wolves are pregnant, so she just needs some more private time." Though Thistle had always remained docile and friendly, but she'd been a big teddy bear anyway, so she had probably just been hiding her grumps.

Tacking on to the subject of pups, he asked: "Do you have any experience raising pups?" It would be good to know if she had any experience so that she could help teach things to their pups; so long as she didn't teach them her klutziness, because however amusing laughing at others was, he didn't want anyone to laugh at his kids.

It was strange to think so much had happened that she was, more or less, unaware of. It was likely due to her being new to the pack, for while she'd been accepted as a member she probably hadn't really earned her spot yet. She thought she was doing a decent job of integrating herself so far though, making friends with Judas and seemingly Charon. She and Amekaze had only had pleasant interactions as well. She hoped it wouldn't be long before they saw her as family, or at the very least a trusted friend. She nodded as Charon spoke on Amekaze, though her brow rose a little as he commented on her pregnant status as being "chubby and grumpy". She chuckled a little at that, smiling softly.

"Just don't let her hear you say either of those words in concern to herself." Pyx said with a smile. "I'm glad she's healing though, and it makes sense she'd want to keep herself apart from everyone a little. Probably feels protective of the young already, and maybe a bit out of sorts from the hormones." It was then that Charon addressed her about pups and she adopted a thoughtful face. "Well, not...exactly. I did pupsit once or twice, in my old pack. That was more...'hey you get back here', 'stop hitting your sister' kind of stuff though. I've never had a litter myself. I'm here if you need me, though. Happy to help." She smiled again at him, meaning it sincerely. She could, at least, teach them herbs when they were older.

She felt she would be more helpful with the pregnancy and the birthing than anything though, should anything go awry. She knew the plants to help with things, what to eat if Amekaze's milk dried up (though she didn't know why it would with the land recovered as it was). She was willing to try to help them with the pups though, in whatever way they wanted her to.

Charon nodded as Pyx spoke, ignoring the bit about how he shouldn't call her this to her face because he already knew — he was bluntly honest, but he wasn't suicidal — and nodded as she mentioned she was happy Ame was healing. It was mostly mental wounds he guessed that needed closing for now. As she mentioned hormones, he wondered, "What's hormones anyway? I know they make pregnant females crazy, but what are they?" His knowledge was limited and he was eager to better understand his crazy pregnant mate, because it might make things a bit better between them right now.

Pyx said that she wasn't much of a pupsitter, but she had experience, somewhat. Of all the wolves in the pack, Charon guessed she'd be a good pupsitter because she was soft and gentle and he trusted her in some weird sort of way. "When they're born and get a bit older, I'm sure we'll make use of your skills then." It'd be nice for Ame to be able to walk around a bit more again, and to be able to do things together without the pups at some point (though at this point, he wasn't thinking much of that faraway scenario yet, just eagerly waiting until the pups were there in the first place).

His question surprised her and she thought on it a moment, brow furrowing. "Hormones are....well, I'm not sure what they look like. They work in your body to make sure everything is how it should be. They help males and females to sire young. I know that male and female hormones are different, and certain things can throw them out of order. Like heat, or pregnancy. That's why females act different in heat and pregnancy, and...I think males hormones respond to females in heat and that's why males can act so different when that happens. They affect your brain, I guess. Usually for good, sometimes bad. With pups I know the hormones increase and it makes you crazy, I suppose it helps with the pup's development." Of course she had no knowledge of chemical reactions, or how to properly describe what hormones were. 

"That's really more of what they do than what they are, but...does that help any?" She couldn't think of a better way to describe them. They a thing in your body, natural like rain.  He spoke of her skills and pup sitting and she only hoped that what little she knew would be enough to impress or at least satisfy her leaders. "I'd be happy to help." She smiled at him, then glanced into the distance for a moment. "Have you thought of what you'd like to have? Boys or girls, I mean. Hopefully a little of both?" She herself would like to have at least one of each, beyond that she didn't mind. She simply wanted the chance to experience raising both genders at least once.

He knew he probably shouldn't have asked, because before he knew it a giant story about hormones appeared. Typically Pyx, he thought to himself while she talked. Does she even realise that she's rambling on and on? I wonder what she'd do if I'd pretend to fall asleep. Does she know how boring she's being? How long will this go on. At the end of her story he nodded, though he'd barely caught any of the conversation's contents at all.

The subject of pups was easier, because it was more centered around him and it wouldn't as quickly turn into a monologue of Pyx telling someone about a subject she knew a lot about. Anyway — he snickered when she asked if he'd want boys or girls, because he had never really thought about it. "I haven't thought about it. It's not like I have much choice, anyway. A bit of both's probably good."

Had she been more attentive she might have noticed the glazed and bored look in Charon's eyes, but she didn't. He'd asked, after all, so surely the information would be as interesting to him as it was to her? Being boring by explaining hormones never crossed her mind, she thought such things fun and would happily have rambled on for ages longer. He nodded to her words and she beamed, pleased to have helped him understand a little better.

His snicker drew a curious smile, but she nodded at his words. "That's what I'd like one day, I think. A bit of both. It's better to not wish for what you can't have, though, I guess. To simply be surprised by what you get." She cast a sly grin Charon's way. "Though of course you'll want at least one who looks like you?" She had thought to tell him that their were myths about certain foods or plants causing the genders of the pups to be one thing or another, but she knew Charon didn't care for herbology like she did. Not to mention those stories were almost certainly myths. "Just think, before long you'll have a bunch of knee-high little ones filling the air with would you rather questions." Her eyes sparkled as she thought of Charon chasing after a mischievous pup or two. It would be interesting to see him interact with his children, he was so blunt.

Charon hadn't thought about their appearances yet, either. Well, not in the strictest sense. He'd seen so many children that looked only a bit like their parents. Or had their parents' faces, but not their fur colours. Or only their eyes. So many different things were possible that he hadn't thought one might look exactly like him. He thought of Ness then, wondering if, if they'd ever have (it was a weird thought, for she looked so much like him that she might've been family somehow), if they would've had more odds at Charon-look-a-likes.

He shrugged in reply, saying, "I don't know if any'll be like my. I had two grey brothers, like Flóki, and a sister that was black with white toes." He barely remembered Kevlyn or Liyaní or what they'd been like, but he vaguely remembered their appearances. He was pretty sure he was the only in the fam with the freckles, too (or so he thought). "Yeah, it's a weird thought, but I can't wait to meet them..." He would answer all of their questions and teach them all the things — they'd be raised the best a pup could be raised, Charon had already since long decided, like the special princesses they were.

Her question seemed to catch him by surprise, and she could nearly hear the wheels in his head turning as he began to think. She nodded to his words, thinking of her own family. Her maternal grandmother had been the red wolf, her mother had been a timber brown and her father a black phase. It was hard to tell where pups would take their coloring from, though her brothers had favored dark colors. 

She smiled and nodded. "I think you'll be a good father, Charon. I can't wait to meet them either, nor to see you with them." It was a sweet thought, to picture how he'd interact with his children. She did think he would be a good dad. He was very playful, and bluntness suited pups more often than not. "Amekaze, of course, also seems like she'll be a wonderful mother. I'd not like to be the wolf who crosses either of you about your young when they come. I'll happily stay on your good sides." She smiled, teasing, but also truthful. Both of wolves would likely be a terrible force to be reckoned with should someone ever dare cross them over their children.

Giving compliments like Pyx did now was the right way to go about winning over Charon; he'd always reacted well to these sort of things. He snorted out a laugh when she said that she'd happily stay on their good sides. He wasn't sure what was funniest about that — her admitted cowardice in the light of her awesome Alphas or how it seemed like she was trying to suck up.

"Have you ever been in love?" he wondered quite suddenly about her, and he looked inquisitively in her direction.

He laughed as she mentioned not wanting to cross her or Amekaze, but she knew he agreed with her statement. It was one thing to bother a wolf, or a mated pair. It was an entirely different beast to bother someone's young. And two wolves like Amekaze and Charon, she'd easily pass. His question that came next caught her entirely off guard, however.

"Love?" She replied, laughing and shocked. "Er...No. Not yet. Crushes, of course, on handsome wolves or...wolves that struck my fancy in some way." It was odd to discuss this, awkward even. How did Charon have such a way with finding such strange and uncomfortable questions. "One day, I hope, of course..." She trailed away, unsure of what else to say. Judas came to mind as one of her crushes, but she wasn't stupid enough to tell Charon that. He'd likely tease her until she was bald. "Is Amekaze your first love?" 

It amused him that he somehow had managed to find herself bumbling about awkwardly again. He wasn't even trying to make her uncomfortable, just curious for her experiences (and maybe wondering if he could set her up with someone) — he'd thought it a perfectly normal subject.

Her question caught him a bit off-guard, though he didn't show it. He hadn't really thought of love all that much, to be truthful; heck, Flóki had found love before his brother, even if it'd ended destructively. Amekaze was a logical step for him; it'd just grown that way because they were Alphas together, which logically lead to mateship. Now that it was so he liked it and he liked her, but it'd not been love at first sight (that he knew of, anyway). "Uh, I suppose," he said after a moment of thought. "I think so. I don't remember any other time, and I'd probably remember if it were love." He grinned at that. Feelings hadn't concerned him all that much throughout his life so he'd never stopped to think whether it was a form of 'love' with anyone else he liked.

Perhaps he was more open about matters of the heart, but Pyx was shy. She kept her feelings close and quiet, or at least she tried to. She stuttered and stumbled, but would have been pleased to know her reply also caught him off-gaurd. Sadly, he hid the emotion well as he formulated his answer. His reply was a little lukewarm from what she expected, but perhaps that made sense for Charon. Perhaps he wasn't a romantic like she was.

"I'd think you would, if it were love. Doesn't seem right, otherwise." He grinned at the joke and she offered a small smile in response. "I've heard your affection deepens even more after you have children together. You'll have to tell me if that proves to be true for you, I've only heard females say it. Might be a woman thing." For a moment she fell silent, then after thinking, a more serious expression crossed her face.

"This is...off topic, but on more personal note for me, I'd like to ask something. I know that the issue of that female running around in heat caused a lot of bad feelings. The one who was kicked out? When my heat comes, what should I do? Should I go to Amekaze? Or is there a place I should hide out? I don't want to make those same mistakes." She was awkward here too, speaking of her heat with Charon. What was she not awkward about?

Seeing miniature versions of yourselves walk around that you created together was a pretty lovely thought, even Charon had to admit, so how could you not love each other for that? He had little clue about the potential hardships of parenthood of yet and saw only this rose tinted world so far. He nodded, smiling at the thought of the soon to be pups.

Then came another question, one that reminded him of Althaia again. Pokerfaced, he answered the question (it wasn't hard to imagine himself resisting Pyx even after what'd happened to Althaia, for he was still an arrogant being), "Probably for the best to go to Ame, and stay away from any males in the packs. Hormones do crazy things to heads." He might not really know the definition of hormones still, but he had experienced their craziness a couple times now.

It was sweet that talk of his children brought a smile to his face, Pyx thought. She knew not all males were so interested in their young, nor so prepared to be loving. It was a handsome trait on any wolf. Her question though, made Charon grow more serious and for good reason. She still suspected nothing of the truth of Althaia, and listened intently when he answered.

She didn't truly think that the males in the pack would bother her, even as he warned her. Floki and Judas were kind wolves, if she resisted she doubted either of them would persue her. Then again, heat got in the head of females' too. What if she was just as crazed? Charon was right. It was best to avoid everyone except Amekaze until she knew what the course of action should be. "I'll do that." She said, dipping her head. "If only there were a herb to keep heat at bay until you wanted it to come around. I suppose we can't have everything, though, can we?"

Not just for the males it'd be a dangerous thing, but also for herself, Charon knew. Althaia probably hadn't liked him much, and still she had been so receptive to him. It was a tough lesson, but one he had got away with luckily. He wouldn't make the same mistake on someone else, so they should all just... Go to Ame, and she'd figure what do.

Again with the herbs, and he couldn't help but grin. "Are you in love with herbs or something?" he said, the broad grin still on his face as he teased her and nipped at her shoulder in jest.

His nip surprised a laugh out of her and grinning she snapped jokingly in his direction. "Perhaps I am!" She cried defensively. "They're the same no matter where you go, they don't change except for names or they're not there at all. Plus, they never lie. They are what they are and that's all there is to it." She did take great comfort in herbs, in knowing that a poppy seed would always behave as a poppy seed. That a raspberry leaf could not lie about it's intentions and trick you.

"Is there a profession you favor like I favor herbs?" She cracked at smile at him and poked his shoulder with her muzzle. "Or perhaps a profession you like on a slightly more normal level thanI love herbs?" She was poking fun at her own self now, but perhaps her obsession with herbs was a little stronger than most people's obsessions with their own studies. It didn't bother her to jest though, not now that she knew Charon better.

Charon choked out a laugh when Pyx actually admitted to being in love with herbs. "You're such a weirdo!" he said, bluntly honest as per usual, a broad grin on his face. He liked Pyx, though it was unclear whether it was because she was so likeable, honest and naive or because she was so weird and made him feel good about himself. These weren't really questions Charon busied himself with, anyway; to him, just liking her was enough motivation to chill with her and enjoy having her in his pack.

She then asked him for his own passions. It was an easy one, of course; "I loooove the stars," Charon said with a teasing grin, "They're just so fucking shiny and bright and they never judge anyone, they're just always the same good ole' stars. I can't even begin to explain how much I just lurve them!" Again he nipped at her shoulder and let out a rubunctious 'woof' as he galopped a few paces away from her in invitation to play.

She chuckled at his reply, shaking her head. "At least I'm honest about it!" She cried defensively. "And hey, it makes me useful!" He couldn't deny her that. If she was going to love something at least she'd picked something that could potentially help the entire pack. She scoffed as he described his love for the stars. "And you make fun of me!" She said, teasing him back and rolling her eyes.

His nip caught her mid-eye roll, earning a sudden laugh as she looked back to him. His deep woof was answered, her reply a higher pitched bark. She dashed after him, grinning and aiming to roughly bump her body into his, and despite her being petite, perhaps making him stumble. After her attempt at plowing into him she barked again and slapped her front paws to the ground, tail waving through the air as she play-bowed. "Herbs are more interesting than stars, anyway." She said, voice teasing and playful. She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke, a clear joking challenge.

His invitation was met, after further spluttering of words, and soon she joined by his side. When she bumped her body into his it was unexpected and he nearly tripped, but just managed to keep afoot, making him look goofy as he tried to hold his footing.

He gasped in mock-indignation (though truthfully, he was pretty touchy about his passions) and pounced at Pyx to try and pin her.