Moonspear long in tooth and soul

a silence beat over them, one arcturus did not disturb. it seemed they would stay in that quiet rift forever, but then dirge spoke -- his tone dark indeed.

arcturus had his own opinions (as young wolves were wont to do) of how things could have been handled, how things should have been handled, and how they had actually played out. wonder of it all, was that of course, the way it had truly happened was not the way he preferred - for what son wished the demise of his parents?

a rueful smile spread across his muzzle. fate, he had decided long ago, could suck a fat one.

he was glad that dirge had not whisked hydra away; moonspear would not be what it was, without the two of them. while he was not sure he would have traded his parents' lives freely for that luxury, now that it existed, he was not sure things could go back either. "he would have liked you, in time." arcturus murmured, thinking that maybe, charon would have seen that dirge was good for hydra -- and that, as they say, 'it could be much worse'.

"now you are king of the 'spear, instead of king of none and rogue of the roads. no going back to that lifestyle." his tone was lighter than before, and a simple, easy expression had replaced the tight lines across arcturus' face.