Stavanger Bay I don't know how I feel anymore

Gunnar was like a wraith lately, he felt as if he had no purpose. He had been fast fighting to earn his trades, but they were not coming as easily as he hoped. It did not stop his determination of course. And any who knew the boy could tell he was driven and ambitious with a little bit of a perfectionist thrown in. The ambition was most likely a learned behavior, one thing he had taken from his upbringing, for his father was an ambitious man.

As he traveled along the borders sniffing and snuffling at the ground, marking his scent to the mixture of his father's and occasionally his mothers. He was also a little adrift in a sea of emotions unsure how to handle the return of his sister. He didn't like to be mean, but frankly he was furious at her and Mercury. They left him, left him all alone neither one had really even bothered to say goodbye. It's okay Gunnar would be here when they got back. Loyal and duty bound Gunnar he wouldn't go anywhere for fear of disappointing mother or father, and he hadn't and he wouldn't. That thought didn't make him feel any better though.

At three months of age, Charon was growing rapidly. His appearance had changed a lot over the past month — from a pudgy pup to a lanky slightly-older-pup — while his mind had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions. He had lost two thirds of his family already in his short life. Other than that, Charon was a fairly normal pup: he loved to ask questions and investigate things he didn't know or understand, and he loved making up stories about the stars in the sky or nonexistant creatures or even adventures he hadn't really been on, but told anyway because they made him sound super cool.

The borders were a fascinating thing to Charon; perhaps because he figured that whatever was out there, it was where his family had been abducted to, considering they weren't in the pack any longer. Charon liked going there, even if it was a little scary too (he was afraid he, too, might get taken by the mighty out-there-place).

When Charon had been lurking around the outskirts of the pack, but not quite at its very edges yet, he noticed Gunnar. Charon approached Ragnar and Thistle's son, his body straightened perhaps a little too proudly for his company (for while Gunnar was older than him, he wasn't super old like Ragnar and Thistle and if there'd be any Others at the borders like the other day, well, Charon would want to make sure they knew he was Super Awesome), and shouted, "Hi!" when he got into earshot, to make sure that Gunnar wouldn't be caught off-guard by his approach.

Gunnar's mind briefly touched upon the youths that were staying with him and his parents. Though truth be known he was thinking of finding his own den to sleep in. Not because he didn't want his family around, but because he was growing larger and his parents would be having a new brood he imagined soon enough. He felt bad for the little ones of Julooke and Verrine. They were so adrift he supposed was the only word for it. At least the two that were left. Two out of four he supposed that wasn't so bad after all nature was a cruel mistress.

He had noticed Charon's scent among the borders, but it was weak and stale. Almost as if he just walked across it to look, but always turned back. Gunnar figured if he had lost all of his family but one member he would be curious too. After all what kept taking them.

Gunnar's overly large ears swiveled towards the sound of someone. He smiled and chuffed back. hello Charon! What are you doing out here my fine fellow?

Gunnar was friendly as usually, and didn't seem very disturbed by Charon's pride. As Gunnar greeted him with 'fine fellow', Charon's tail wagged in excitement. He was sad that he had to miss his own family, but at least he still had Levi and they could stay with Ragnar, Thistle and Gunnar. Ragnar and Thistle had been kind to him, even if they were often busy leading the pack and could not give him the same dedication they could their own children.

Gunnar asked him what he was doing out here, and it was evident that Charon needed to think before he could answer the question; probably because he just didn't know why. The borders intrigued Charon because of his missing family members, but also because he was a curious adventurer at heart. "Patrollin'," he answered at first, even if it was sort-of a lie. It was the word he heard others use when they'd go to the borders, and he knew it was something that added value to his presence here. Then he added, ".. Adventurin'..", a little more bashful, hoping that being out here adventuring rather than patrolling wouldn't make his presence here any less wanted.

Charon looked past the borders curiously and then looked at Gunnar inquisitively as he asked, "Where do the Others come from? They got packs like ours?" He tried to shape his image of the world around Stavanger Bay; perhaps because he wanted to find his lost family members, or perhaps simply because he was an ever-curious child.

Gunnar was not easily disturbed by much of anything unless of course you were speaking to him of his biological father, then perhaps a bit. Gunnar returned the tail wag to the youth. He felt bad too in turn that he didn't spend more time with Charon, and Levi he would have to fix that soon. His parents tried, but they were leaders as well as parents they had a lot ot worry about and they were only a few adults in the ranks so his parents were pulling a lot of extra duty.

Gunnar chuckled and bent to be eye level, he didn't have to bend to far anymore the youth was growing fast. Adventuring is the best kind! Come lets have an adventure. Gunnar would never take him across the borders it was too dangerous right now, perhaps when he was older. But they could have an adventure here could they not, and besides he owed it to both Charon and Julooke to give some of the happeness back to her children that she had given him.

Gunnar frowned and nodded yes some do and some don't. There are some wolves that prefer to be on their own and there are some that have a pack and there are good packs and there are evil packs and some are in between.

Charon was glad that Gunnar seemed excited to go on an adventure with him, and didn't seem too bummed that Charon wasn't actually patrolling. His little tail wagged to show his excitement, and he nodded eagerly, wondering what sort of adventures Gunnar would take him on. It could be anywhere, but that was the best part about adventures. "Where we goin'?" he asked Gunnar excitedly, hoping it would be somewhere good — or better yet, a surprise.

Gunnar told Charon about different packs existing, and he listened inquisitively with his oversized ears cupped forward. He took in the information and after a short silence he asked carefully, "Gunnar, what's an, uhm... an evil?" He knew when things were good, but he wasn't quite sure what 'evil' was. He guessed it was the opposite of good, and wondered if it meant that all the wolves there were naughty and never did as they were told.

Gunnar returned the tail wag. Well it's going to be a surprise, but you have to listen really good okay, it could be dangerous if you don't.Gunnar had immediate plans to go to Shield Maiden's sorrow and look at the waterfall. Gunnar didn't think there would be too much of a problem especially if they stayed away from the waterfall, but they could travel down it on land and perhaps in the shallows the water would be nice ice crystals.

Gunnar frowned in contemplation, well evil is something or someone that's really really bad. Sort of like a monster that scares you at night. Or someone who hurts others just because they want too.

Charon loved surprises, so when Gunnar told him that it was a surprise where they were going, his tail wagged excitedly. "Is it dangerous?" Charon asked immediately, and he sounded like he wanted it to be. Dangerous places meant that you could show how brave you were, Charon thought. "Are we gonna fight bears??" He sounded excited at this thought, and looked at Gunnar with bated breath. While he loved surprises, Charon wasn't very good at waiting for them to be revealed.

As Gunnar explained about 'evil', Charon listened attentively. He wondered why anyone would want to hurt others in the first place, but didn't ask Gunnar about this. It wasn't like he first thought, though, being evil; it was more than just being naughty all the time. "I once fought 'n evil bear," boasted Charon, "Made it run for its life!" Charon looked attentively at Gunnar, hoping that his story would impress the older youth. Gunnar was pretty cool, after all, so his opinion mattered to Charon.

Gunnar thought about it, yes it can be dangerous if you don't pay attention. It could be too, he was a little leery about taking the youth to the waterfall, but he was determined to show the boy an adventure. He just hoped he would listen to him when they were there. His father would never forgive him, if he let something happen to Charon. He chuckled No...no bear fighting.

Gunnar looked at the youth, and knowing that it was good to have an imagination, he didn't say anything against the bear fighting. Did you that's pretty neat. One time I went with my friend Finn and we ate eggs and snuck by the gyrfalcons on the cliff top out on the beach.

Charon only got more excited as Gunnar told him that the activity they were about to engage in, the adventure they were going to go on, was dangerous. Doing dangerous things made Charon feel cool and brave (even though he hadn't actually done anything really dangerous in his short life just yet). He was a little disappointed that they weren't going to fight bears, because it was one of his favourite activities, and it showed on his face that he was disappointed when Gunnar told him they weren't going to do that.

However, he was easily back into a state of excitement as Gunnar responded positively to his story about fighting the evil bear. Gunnar must think him very brave, Charon thought. Gunnar told a story of his own. He didn't know for sure what a gyrfalcon was, but he knew 'falcon', and he knew that birds had eggs and were very protective of them. A gyrfalcon had to be some sort of upgraded falcon, which made it even more dangerous.

Excitedly, Charon wondered if they were going to steal eggs today, too, but he didn't ask Gunnar. Instead, he excitedly said, "That's so cooooool!" If he showed how awesome it must've been, then maybe Gunnar would realise that Charon was brave enough to take egg-hunting, too. "How long's it gonna be 'til we're there?" Charon asked, unable to hide how exhilarated he was about the adventure, and his oversized ears flopped in Gunnar's direction attentively, giving the older boy his full attention.

Sortal like this

Gunnar had done a few dangerous things, the most dangerous being when he had been with the plateau wolf Finn. That had been dangerous indeed, but it had been fun. Finn had been in control and had to make sure he was safe, just as Gunnar was doing now for Charon. Sorry buddy there's no bears to fight their all hibernating. Gunnar didn't want to upset the boy, and he hoped that when spring came he wouldn't really try and hunt and fight a bear that would be awful.

Gunnar chuckled as they walked towards the center of the bay in the heart of the tall forest. As they made it he kept an attentive eye on the world around them. He nosed past some tall plants and motioned down. There beneath them spiraled out the forest and the waterfall ran loud and cold. Some of it was frozen, but the fastest moving spots were super thin. That is Shield Maiden's sorrow my mom and your mom found it together and they named it that in memory of their pack leader Pump.

Charon considered asking what ‘hibernating’ was, but he ended up dropping the subject of bears. Maybe when they weren’t ‘hibernating’ anymore – whenever that was – Charon could ask Gunnar to help him find a bear, or he could just do it on his own. Charon would do anything to prove how tough he was, and he wasn’t aware of any potential dangers; he was pretty darn tough and brave, after all. Charon imagined that any bear would tuck its tail and run at the sight of him, anyway.

Impatient Charon followed Gunnar as they made it through to the center of the pack’s territories, where they found a waterfall. “Ooooh,” Charon breathlessly exclaimed as he looked down from the terrifying height at the crashing waterfall and the surrounding forest.

It was a funny thought to Charon that you’d name a place after someone called ‘Pump’ ‘Shield Maiden’s Sorrow’. He wasn’t entirely sure what a shield maiden was, but he was pretty sure that if you named something after someone else, their name was supposed to be in it. “What are shield maidens?” asked Charon curiously, his ears cupped towards Gunnar while his eyes occasionally darted to the impressive mass of waterfall.

Gunnar would do his best to talk Charon out of hunting bears if he ever told him of it. It was one thing to imagine you were doing so, a whole other ball game to actually go after a fully grown bear. A bear who not only stole the life of Pump their first leader, but also had stolen the mother of Charon. It would not do good to have the boy chasing bears.

Gunnar smiled at Charon's happiness and awe. He himself had been awe struck the first time he saw this place. It was beautiful and deadly, a little bit like some of the females he knew.

Gunnar thought hard how to explain what a shield maiden was. They are female viking warriors. Kind of like my mom. They go into battle with the men and protect the borders from outsiders.

Charon just didn’t know where to look, his eyes darting back and forth across the beautiful display of nature’s galore in front of him. His tail wagged a little as he looked around. ”I bet Levi would love this!” he said, even though he knew that Levi didn’t really seem to love anything. Charon wondered if seeing something as gorgeous as this might cheer his brother up some and remind him that you couldn’t keep living in the past (sure, Charon missed his family too, but he imagined they would wish for him to be happy instead of sit around moping all day), and he definitely reminded himself he should take his brother here some day.

He had heard the word viking before, so he knew what that meant. ‘Like my mom’ was probably the clearest description that anyone could have given Charon, for he instantly nodded. ”Oh, you mean like, Alpha females?” he suggested. ”So what’s the name of viking Alpha males? Shield dudes, maybe?” Charon wasn’t sure why it was ‘shield maidens’, or what the shield part of it stood for, but he thought ‘shield dudes’ sounded pretty neat. Charon grinned and said, ”Maybe we will be shield dudes of a pack some day too, like your mom!” Well, okay, his mom was a shield maiden, but since shield dude was the male equivalent that Charon had just made up, it was sort of the same.

Gunnar listened but didn't say anything just listened. He did chuckle though and shifted his weight. Well if you want maybe you and I can bring Levi next time? Gunnar didn't mind having a tag along, it was pretty cool actually.

Gunnar laughed and shook his head no their female warriors. They fight beside the men. I guess I suppose most viking queens would be shield maidens. So you could say they were shield maidens if they were queens. Their just warriors unless their beserkers...my dad was one of them. I want to be a warrior for sure. I think it would be pretty awesome. You and I should both become warriors. Gunnar smiled at him slate grey eyes lighting up with the possibility of shared camaraderie.

"Yeah, that would be cool," said Charon with a smile as Gunnar suggested bringing Levi next time. Levi really needed to have a good time sometimes, and Charon was determined to make his brother happy again. He often was worried about Levi, so if there was anything he could do to contribute to his happiness, he would do it.

Charon listened to the explanation about shield maidens. At first, Gunnar said 'no', but his explanation, Charon thought anyway, came pretty close to what Charon had suggested. Gunnar then said that male versions were just called 'warriors', which was a bit of a bummer. Charon thought 'shield dude' sounded a lot cooler. "Do you fight a lot?" asked Charon as he looked at Gunnar. "Being a warrior might be cool, but I haven't done much fighting so I dunno if I like it yet. I mean, except wrestling with Liy, Kev 'n Levi when we were smaller, but now they're gone and Levi's been sad since so I don't get to practise it much anymore."

Gunnar nodded Then we'll bring him next time. he wouldnt mind bringing Levi. As long as Charon and Levi minded him, it wouldn't be so bad. Sure it was dangerous here in a way, but if the listened and stayed safe they would be fine.

Gunnar shook his head No I don't but I want to be a warrior. I need to practice. I used to wrestle with Gyda and Mercury too, but my siblings are all gone too. he grew quiet. He and Charon they were a lot alike, except he had both his parents and his siblings weren't carried off they chose to leave. You and I can practice if you want?

if you would like that hunting thread we could fade this one out with them returning to the den & start a new one :-)

Charon hadn't really thought much about how Gunnar didn't have any siblings left in Stavanger Bay. Being young and rash, Charon's mind revolved mostly around himself and his own world. Only when Gunnar mentioned he didn't have siblings left to practise with, Charon realised that Gunnar had to miss Gyda and Mercury (whom Charon hadn't ever really known much). He quietly looked at Gunnar, feeling a little uncomfortable suddenly because Charon wasn't good at all at comforting anyone else.

When Gunnar asked him about practising fighting together, Charon nodded. He wasn't entirely sure yet if he wanted to be a warrior, but he had always liked wrestling with his siblings. "Yeah, we can!" said Charon. "Wanna go back to the den and practise right now?" As he often was, Charon was instantly captivated by enthusiasm when a suggestion was made. Fighting near the roar of a waterfall didn't seem like a very good idea, so the clearing in front of their den would be much more suitable.

*works for me would you like to start that one?*

Gunnar shot him a grin. He actually wasn't all that torn up about his siblings. yea he loved them and yea he missed them. But they had been absent for so much of his life that he was pretty much use to them not being around. So he didn't really need any comfort.

Gunnar chuckled and nodded Lead the way brave Charon. Then he wagged his tail and motioned for the youth to take the lead. If he needed to help he would, but maybe Charon would like to be the leader for a change. Find his way back home, it had always filled Gunnar with a sense of fulfillment so why not.

i'll wrap this up and start the new one. i'll tag you in it :)

Charon was happy that Gunnar wanted to take him up on the offer of practising wrestling. Gunnar was older and thus larger than Charon so it wasn't an entirely even match-up like it was when wrestling with siblings, but it was nice to have a wrestling partner nevertheless. When Gunnar suggested he take the lead, Charon was happy too — he loved leading adventures, even if the adventure took them home — and left the beautiful falls behind him, carefully picking the same path back that they had taken there, so that they wouldn't fall and get hurt at the falls.

Once they were away from the falls, Charon began finding his way home. Occassionally, he needed the help of Gunnar to find his way — he'd never been to the falls, after all — and the boys found their way back to the den alright, where they practised fighting for a while.