Moonspear no rest for the parents

After talking to Flóki Charon had figured that he would run into @Pyx sooner or later. But as fate would have it, it seemed that later was the case. So far he had not seen her one on one again yet, and while he still held the thought that he needed to do something, he'd even forgotten quite what. His daughters were still increasingly so handfuls and it was often hard to find time for anything beside them and the daily chores such as border patrols and hunting.

That day around midday Charon was laying in the snow at the rendezvous site, finally catching some well-deserved and much-needed sleep. He hoped his daughters would leave him alone for a moment so that he could actually catch some z's.

In her way, Pyx had thrown herself full force into the gathering of herbs for winter. While useful, this also lead to an unintentional withdraw from the pack. Her travels and gathering had taken up much of her attention. She had been sure to leave markers and to greet those she passed, she did not talk to her pack mates as much as she would have liked. With her gathering done, and Winter beginning, she decided to seek out Charon. It had been some time since their last talk, since Judas had left shockingly enough.

He had said he'd teach her the stars once upon a time, and now that the girls were grown...and the plants were gathered she thought he might spare her the time and the knowledge. So she sought him out, heading first to the rendezvous site. It was about midday, and she thought she'd likely have to wait some time to catch him there. Instead, she came upon the site to find him asleep in the snow. She was still a distance from him, perhaps still out of his hearing  range. She smiled softly, amused. The girls must have been running him ragged in this new found toy, the snow. 

Rather than trot over and wake him, she decided to take a seat in the distance and wait for him to wake up. After a moment of this, though, she wondered if it would waste the time they had. The girls might come and wake him any moment. Undecided, she sat under the shelter of a tree and occasionally glanced his way with a hopeful look. She didn't want to wake him, but she also wanted a chance to talk with her friend again.

It wasn't hard to drift to sleep, knowing that his girls might drop by and wake him up violently at any moment now. Charon was asleep before he knew it, unaware of his friend's appearance in the distance. His toes twitched to match his shallow dreams of the children that Potema might be carrying -- unaware that reality was so far from his truth. He frowned as the dream passed onto a replay of the scene where his daughter had nearly been killed by a cougar, and his friend had perished in the crossfire while saving his daughter.

Then he awoke with a start, jumping to his feet with a startled woof -- yet unaware of his friend's presence as he stared around wild-eyed and shaking.

She noted that Charon twitched in his sleep, even from a distance. Perhaps she should offer him something to make him sleep deeper? No, he had the girl's to think of. He likely wouldn't want it if it would dull his senses. She was unaware of his dreams, though she had heard about Dash. She'd never known the male, but felt sadness at his loss all the same. He died protecting one of the girls and he had been a long-time member and good friend of the leaders. That told her enough about his character, it told her that his loss was a great one for the Mountains.

Charon suddenly bolted to his feet and gave Pyx a fright in the process. She looked about for any threats, but saw none. He sat shivering and blinking around, though conveniently not at her. She decided to move forward now and announced herself with a soft and hesitant chuff before approaching.

"Are you okay, Charon?" Her voice was soft, concerned. "I was hoping you might teach me about the stars today, if you have the time...or the energy. I wasn't expecting to find you sleeping, but I couldn't bear to wake you. I know the girls run you ragged." She hoped he wasn't angry at her for sitting by.

"Huh?" he blurted out when he heard Pyx' voice, and he felt embarrassment at being watched. But rather than admit that he was embarrassed, Charon snorted and said, "Yeah, of course I'm okay, just thought I heard something." He rolled his eyes as if her question was a silly one, and then yawned and stretched his legs now that he was fully awake. He vaguely picked up something about teaching Pyx about the stars, and realised as she said it that he had promised her something of the sort, once.

"Uh, the stars — yeah, of course..." He smiled weakly, clearly needing some time to get to himself before being able to do anything constructive. "Did you meet any of the new folks yet? Looks like we're gonna be pretty good through winter if they're as good as Flóki says." Flóki was the one that knew them all, it seemed; apparently he was getting around meeting all these wolves. Or he was just lucky that the wolves he met were the ones looking for homes, now.

She still somewhat managed to surprise him and felt slightly guilty for it. He snorted, insisting he was fine and Pyx easily dropped the issue and allowed him the excuse. "Ah, I'm sorry. No rest for the wicked, right?" She teased gently, grinning at him. He didn't seem as eager to teach her the stars as she'd been expecting, but then again he had just woken up. He began to talk about the new wolves, and she wondered if perhaps she should tell him they could do it another day.

"A few of them. Every time I turn around there seems to be another new wolf." She was interested to hear that Floki had vouched for these wolves. "I've talked with Alastor. He seemed nice, polite. Zoratto, the one with the accent...a little less so. Seemed like he didn't want to talk when I tried to introduce myself." She shrugged. "Does Floki know them all?"

Though this gave the perfect timing to start talking about Floki, Charon was dismayed that Pyx seemed to have met the bunch of wolves that his brother hadn't actually met. His ears twitched and he then said, "Hmm, not sure about those... That Aurelius guy he knew, though, and uh, Aria and her friends..." he trailed off there while he tried to remember the names of said friends, but it didn't come to him.

He yawned again and said, with a grin, So, stars... probably better if we wait till it's actually dark out so you know what I'm showing... By the way, this is kind if embarrassing, but Floki asked me to ask you if you'd like too hang out sometimes. You know, like, hang out," he said with a broad, suggestive grin to get his point across. It was high time his brother settled down.

Pyx shook her head slightly as he named some wolves. "Haven't met any of them yet, so we have even more than I knew. Such a big growth spurt all of the sudden! I suppose it is winter though." She chuckled a little, and nodded as he mentioned it'd be easier to study the stars when they could be seen. She was already working on a playful retort when he started in on something else. Her ears perked in interest, bemused at what exactly he would find embarrassing. He, the wolf who invented a game of choosing between one vulgar thing for another!

Her eyes widened in surprise once he finished though and she felt, as normal, horribly awkward. "Oh." She said, blinking at him. "Hang out like...not-as-friends-hang-out?" She was taken by surprise at the idea but didn't find it unappealing. All the times they'd interacted before Floki had seemed a nice guy. Funny and playful, the swim in the stream had felt more like old friends reuniting rather than new acquaintances. He certainly wasn't hard on the eyes, she would even call him handsome. And he was interested in her?

"Well...I...does Floki know you're asking me this?" She turned a suspicious eye on Charon, wondering if this was some sort of tease. Cautiously, she continued. "I've always had fun when I've met with Floki, he's a really nice guy. I didn't know that he was...thinking of me that way. I...If he's asking, I...I wouldn't mind hanging out. I'd like it, in fact." This was awkward, but Charon still wore a suggestive and pleased smirk about the whole thing, so at least someone was enjoying themselves.

"Yeah, it's nice to have enough wolves to provide through winter," Charon said, hoping they'd stay strong through winter but having no reasons to believe they wouldn't. They had done well last winter, after all, when they had been founded months prior and had been at the force of two packs combined. It was strange to think how their consistency had changed — only he, Ame and Flóki were left of the original founders of the pack. Tragic, really, to think that most wolves eventually moved on and away.

Pyx looked like she might've had a retort in regards to the star-watching, but she was caught off-guard by his question in regards to Flóki. She didn't say no right away, but she had to verify first, and it seemed that it hadn't been crossing her mind at all. Well, luckily Charon the match-maker was around, or nobody would be getting any around here.

"Yeah, he's a pretty solid guy, right?" Charon said. "Anyway, he knows I'm asking, and he'd like to hang out, too. I'll let him know when I see him next. Or you could if you see him before I do, if you trust me to be truthful." Charon grinned at Pyx teasingly, though he wasn't sure if she really did believe what he was telling her. Little did he know he wouldn't get the chance to tell Flóki much of anything before he'd set off on his next scouting trip and wouldn't return.

Pyx nodded to his comment. It was nice to have extra bodies to help provide for the princesses. She hoped the period of growth would continue, that the pack could be stronger and larger to defend itself from any outside threats. So far no other packs had seemed to bother Moonspear, and she hoped it stayed that way. Her time here had been a peaceful thing, excepting the problem with Judas.

Charon seemed enthused by her response. "He seems to be a nice guy, yes." She said, still hesitant. The idea of a male being interested in her, especially one like Floki, made her heart thud a little faster. She didn't know him very well, but they were friendly. There was no reason to believe that a romance couldn't grow between them with little prodding. Her biological clock gave a chime a two, reminding her that she wouldn't mind to have some children as well. 

"I...I'm nervous to." She admitted, glancing from the ground to Charon. It wasn't that she doubted him, but that she wasn't exactly sure how she'd manage to broach the subject on her own. "I'll let you do it, and if he really wants he can find me." She nodded, liking this plan much better. There was an air of sincerity to the conversation, despite the fact that Charon liked to joke. It gave her enough courage to speak further about something she normally wouldn't have mentioned. "Ever since your daughters were born I've been...really aware of my time left, of the want to have children. Not..." She hurried to amend her statement. "Not without your or Amekaze's permission, of course, but I've just...the idea has been there, burning at me. I'd like kids, a mate. Something like you and Amekaze have." She smiled softly, not feeling at all embarssed of admitting that she was politely envious of their love. She was sure Charon would take it as the compliment it was.

As hopeful as she might seem, neither could know that Floki would venture off scouting and not return, thus dashing the hopes of both of them.

Is Floki gone for good? D:

Kim is planning to return Floki when she has a bit more time IRL, so he should be back at some point! :D

Charon hadn't thought Pyx would feel very comfortable asking Flóki herself, though he wasn't quite too sure why. Flóki was a great guy after all, and Pyx was pretty cool too. But it didn't surprise him, because she was also a bit of a puss, and so Charon had set this whole thing up because Flóki could be a bit of a puss about these things too. Someone had to do it. Flóki'd been traumatised by stupid Dhole, of course, but they'd just make sure that Pyx wouldn't get assaulted and then things would be fine and they'd hit it off great.

Charon was considering what future the pair of them might have, but he was distracted back into reality by what Pyx said about wanting to settle down. He grinned, not having thought that she would think in such a way. But maybe it was because he'd always just sorta seen her as a subordinate and he didn't think she'd be so ballsy to tell him, as Alpha, that she wanted to have children. Well, good for her, he supposed.

Not sure how to respond, Charon said, "I dunno how Ame would feel about anyone else's pups to compete with the resources for ours, but if it'd be my brother's, I'd fight her for it." Jokingly, of course, although he wondered how strongly his mate really did think about the subject. Truthfully, a lot of their relationship had been very silently. They were together because somehow it made sense and because of feelings and shit, but when he thought of it, he didn't even talk overly much with her. Which was cool and all, but it made these sort of subjects more difficult to broach. Then realising it might make it seem like he was pushing Pyx to get with Flóki to realise her dreams, he hastily added: "Not that that should be your reasons for wanting to get with Flóki, of course. I mean, it'd be fine if you'd find someone else too, we'd just have to see if there's any opportunity for pups then."

Glad to hear it!

Pyx nodded as Charon replied about Amekaze's feelings about resources. She smiled at his joke, dipping her head a little as she spoke. "I wasn't meaning any time soon, of course. It's not just that, though. I really do like Floki, as a friend. We'd have to talk and see how things go, of course. I'm not trying to tie him to any promises of mating or anything, especially since you just mentioned hanging out. It was only a coincidence that I thought matched up well and I felt like I could share it with you. I..." She was blabbering again and shook her head once quickly, smiling in an embarrassed way. 

"I'm getting ahead of myself." She said with a sigh. "I just thought I'd tell you, about the thing about pups. I would like to hang out with Floki and see how things go, however that may be." That sounded nice enough, she didn't want to sound like she was going to go bounding down the mountain and shack up with Floki right after this conversation. "You know I'm too anxious to go making any stupid decisions I didn't think you and Amekaze would approve of. I do kind of like your friendship, as well, the both of you. I didn't imagine I'd get such great leaders before I came here, but I did and I plan to keep you two." She was being honest, though it would sound an awful lot like flattery. Her grin covered her face and her tail gave a few wags.

"But, away from the embarrassing stuff so I can stop blabbering and annoying you." She said with a laugh, trying to change the subject to something that didn't make her skin heat red enough to match her fur.

Well, there she was again — Pyx the blabbermouth was hidden down there all along. Charon grinned as she went off on a tangent about friendship and fluffy things, clearly amused by her outburst and how she tried to smooth it over with what resulted in just another outburst. Eventually it died down, and Charon couldn't resist saying, "Aw, don't worry, I wubs you too," his voice much in the way one might talk to one's four-weeks-old child.

"But, seriously, we're pretty happy to have you too. Isn't easy finding loyal wolves." He wondered if Pyx would stay on the long haul; so many had left that it was hard to believe she would, but he hoped that she would. She'd become a part of this mountain he'd come to like and cherish in his own ways. "So here's to staying together on this mountain for a long time." He smiled, then, a bit more genuine and a bit less joking.

His amusement was evident, even after she ended her blabbering and attempted to distract away from things. He responded to her sincerity with a teasing reply about his own love and she felt her fur heat again and shook her head laughing. "I'll take it. At least you admit it." She said, though when he continued she was well and truly flattered.

She returned his grin and dipped her head. "Thank you, Charon. Yes, together until I blabber you into oblivion." Her tail gave a friendly wave. As they had talked, the sun had slowly begun to lower. It wasn't quite dusk yet, but a sunset was imminent. She glanced to the sky and smiled a little at the sight. Even in winter the sunsets in Moonspear were gorgeous. The beautiful tints hadn't yet started, but it was clear the grey sky would soon become a kaleidoscope of pinks and oranges.

"Look, there goes the light. So where's the best place for watching the stars, and when exactly is the best time for stargazing?"

He hadn't realised that the light was fading so fast already, and was surprised to see that the first stars were already starting to vaguely poke out when Pyx pointed it out. "Huh, I guess so," he acknowledged when she mentioned it, looking at the fading light almost as though awaiting the beautiful lights that would soon dance across the sky. He loved beautiful scenery and sunsets were included in that.

"There's not really a best time once it's night, but the sky's gotta be clear and dark, of course, so as little clouds and light as possible. As for places... There's a lot of good places on Moonspear. I always like going up the mountain so that you can see the lands below and are closer to the stars, but we can't go all the way up in winter." He'd gone pretty far — though not to the actual top — in the previous summer, but in winter it'd be too slippery to find a safe road.

She followed his gaze to the sky, staring at the first peeking stars. She wondered how it would be to look at the stars and for them to make sense like plants did. It would make the sky seem almost completely different, though the beauty would only be increased by knowledge. A flower was prettier, to Pyx, when it had a use. Stars would be lovlier when they had a story, or even a voice, though she doubted Charon would be able to teach her to hear the star's voices. That surely had to be something you were born with.

"Makes sense." Pyx said with a nod. "Is that where we'll go tonight? Part-way up the mountain?" She was disapointed to hear they couldn't go up all the way, and made a note to make an attempt once the weather was better. She'd climb part way up the Mountains of Moonspear herself, but only in search of herbs or sight-seeing. She'd never thought to go all the way to the top, but suddenly it seemed like a challenge. If she could plan her climb so she could star gaze too, all the better.

Charon came into motion as soon as Pyx asked where they would go tonight. "Yeah, there's still some spots that have remained accessible," he said as he started to trot along a path winding up the mountain. He looked over his shoulder and called out, "Try to keep up, nerd!" while he broke into a gallop and started to run along the path. It wound along the outside of the mountainside and turned more narrow as he came round a corner, but he knew this place like the back of his hand so he didn't much fear falling down as he dashed up there (and didn't consider the possibility that Pyx might if she'd try to keep up too zealously).

The sudden spur into movement had Pyx leaping after him, not wanting to be lost. He tossed confirmation over his shoulder at her, ending of course with a teasing challenge. At first she laughed and jumped into the chase after him, she enjoyed the playful times they had together and was eager to race up beside him to make a statement. She allowed her body to stretch out as they followed the path, pinning her ears back in an effort to catch the white male.

Turning the corner, however, she made an instant observation as to the narrowness of the path, and the slippery coating of the rock. Her head gave a dizzying spin as her stomach dropped, instantly clutched by dread. She tried to slow herself, completely forgetting about the race with Charon and instead fearing for her life. Her fear made her slow too quickly however and her paws skid on the slick surface, propelling her closer to the edge. Her breath stopped and she threw her head back, eyes wide at the sudden openess right before her nose. The plunge down the mountain was not the most impressive here that Moonspear had to offer, but it was nothing to scoff at, and certainly nothing to fall off of.

She turned, scraping with her nails at the ground to slow herself, tucking her tail. She felt her back paws slip off the path and gave a yelp, but finally her momentum slowed and left her half hanging off the edge. She scrabbled at the ground with her hind legs, attempting to pull herself back onto the path. Her nails tore furrows into the rocky soil and she strained forward, willing herself back into saftey. She couldn't find purchase with her back paws, the snow underfoot kept simply falling away, and the wet dirt below that gave easily under her struggles.

Really couldn't resist the opportunity, wanted full out whump but also didn't want to side-track the star watching so here we are.

hehe, i figured you might :D! the mental image of poor Pyx dangling there is hilarious <3

i'm gonna be gone on vacation starting tomorrow 'til feb 1st, just so you know :)

Charon just kept running, but waited after a while to let Pyx catch up. Waiting got kinda long and he was thinking if she was really that slow? So he ended up backtracking to find her. He hadn't expected much of it, actually, and just as he rounded a corner he expected to be (maybe literally) bumping into her any moment now...

What he hadn't expected was to see her dangling there, hind legs still on the ledge as she tried to escape a doomful faith. Charon almost burst into laughter at how funny she looked, if it weren't for the impending doom of her situation. He saw the snow and ice crumble under her feet further and further as he came closer and called out: "Hold on!" as he ran.

When he reached her Charon quickly lunged forward to try and grab her scruff, or anywhere in that direction, so that he had a place where he could find actual purchase and pull her up with, he hoped. His heart pounded his chest and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he tried to save her, hoping he'd manage.

Haha it is, the poor thing. Alrighty, have a fun and safe trip!

Time seemed to stretch eternally as she struggled to pull herself back to solid ground. Her front legs were spread wide, and her mouth was pulled into a tight grimace, her ears still pinned to her head. She was pure panic, from the tip of her tightly curled tail to the end of her nose. Her heart hammered away harder and faster as each swipe of her back feet only managed to take away dirt rather than offer salvation.

She strained forward with her neck and top half, as if wishing for the mountain to somehow allow her to defy gravity and fall forward rather than backward. Her mind had ceased to function on a thinking level, there was only room for white hot fear and the desire to not die. She heard something, but didn't pay it any mind. If the mountain was crumbling under her, she didn't want to hear it. Instead she felt a strong vice-like grip seize hold of her scruff. For one delirious moment she had the insane thought that the mountain was pulling her up after all, and then she noted Charon's form tugging and pulling her upwards.

She felt no relief yet, and strained with the male, pushing with her front feet and pedaling her back feet determined once more. Finally, finally, a backpaw found purchase and she leaped forward ignoring that Charon stood directly in front of her. She might bump him or bowl him over, but they would be away from the edge now.

She collapsed then, sides heaving and heart still hammered. She saw spots for a moment, wondered if she was going to pass out, but found them vanishing. She closed her eyes and attempted to restrain herself from crying. She lay her head on the ground and allowed herself to breath, to feel the sturdiness of the rock underneath her. "Thank you," She croaked, eyes still closed, before opening them to look at Charon. "I thought...I was sure I was going to..." She stared off the edge and suppressed a shiver. "Thank you, Charon."

Thank the stars — he found purchase somewhere, and in a rush of adrenaline and fear of his own he pulled as hard as he could. Had he not been able to pull her up maybe he would've fallen down himself, too, because he didn't even remember the moment that she was actually pulled up and didn't remember how far away from the edge he was at any point in the rescue mission. He just saw the target and pulled as if it was his own life that depended on it.

As a matter of fact, Charon didn't realise that he had succeeded until Pyx came crashing into him and they both fall to the ground. Soon she fell off him and he let out an 'oof' as she rolled off him and fell to the ground. His sides were heaving from the exertion of the pull and as she thanked him, he could not help but burst into laughter, even though there was nothing funny about the situation. It was just the kind of moment where there was no appropriate response but your body had to let go out all the tension and nerves somehow — and so he laughed, just happy to be alive and happy that she was alive, too.

The situation sunk further in to her as she sat there, staring over the edge. She was speaking, thanking him, but felt somehow far away from her own body. As if it wasn't her mouth that moved, or her voice that croaked at the air. She felt herself drawn back into her own body though, as his laughter reached her. She rose to a sitting position and turned to stare at him blankyly for a moment, her mind whirling still. Why was he laughing? Suddenly though, she didn't have the capacity to question his laughter, for she found herself joining in. 

It was a hysterical laugh that siezed her, bringing tears to her eyes and doubling her over as the spasms took her. It was the laughter of release, the braying sound of someone who had succedded and had to release the remaining adreleine in some form. It helped too that she was also suddenly simply pleased to be alive, to have been saved. Moments before she had known true terror, but now the world was right again and the ground was hard under her paws.

She looked at Charon as she laughed, her legs going weak and sinking her back to the ground once more. "Holy shit." Was the only thing she could manage now, in a weak voice, and the absurdity and unfamiliar sound of the profanity on her tongue only made her laugh harder.

For a moment Pyx seemed fazed, but soon her surprise was replaced with the same kind of laughter that had captivated him.

Eventually their laughter died down, and Charon grinned as Pyx 'holy shit'ed. "Never had a near-death experience before?" he said, faux-casually. He had witnessed many things alike, of course, not never quite like this, not when you got away totally unscathed when you could've been dead. 'Holy shit' indeed.

"Shall we take our star gazing to lower reaches today, or you good to go?" he then asked. For anyone who'd known Charon when he was younger, they would've noticed that he had mellowed; but all those wolves were gone, so there was no one here for it. If it'd been Dhole, if it'd been a year and a half ago, he would've called her a wuss if she would refuse to go. Now he asked. Perhaps it was because he had felt the same fear when she'd nearly plumetted down there. He hadn't before realised how much he appreciated Pyx.

The laughter fell away naturally, as the tension slowly eased from her muscles. He grinned at her, and she laughed again at his question, shaking her head. "Well...not like this. Not dangling off the side of a mountain." She'd felt that she had brushes with death a handful of times...but none had seemed so...visceral as this one. There had been a hawk when she was a puppy, but she had been too young to understand. There was the lake she'd nearly run across that was not-so-frozen, but that didn't really count since she'd been stopped before running over it. Those were nothing compared to this, for one reason or another.

She considered his question for a moment, eyes straying to the edge and the open air beyond it. After a moment, she slowly shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'll just let you beat me and go slowly." She smiled at him, then chuckled a little. "And all the way over here, away from the edge." She slowly rose to her feet, taking her time to make sure they weren't shaking anymore. They felt a little awkward, a little stiff, probably from all the remaining adrenaline. But after only a moment she was fine, she nodded to Charon. "I'm ready, take it easy on me, though. I want to see the stars, not meet them in person."

Charon would've been fine to leave the stargazing for another day, but Pyx seemed determined to go on with it. She had determination, at least. "Alright, slowpoke, I'll go easy on you," he said with a grin and he started on his way again, this time in a leisurely trot so that it was easier for Pyx to keep up, as he made his way to one of the Moonspear's lower ledges for some stargazing.