Stavanger Bay It's coming at me like a burning flame

Thistle woke in the early morning light and she trotted to her own little get away. The one place she loved, above all else besides her shared den. It was the small little medicinal cache she had made when she and Ragnar had been fighting. It was with renewed vigor that she dug at the den. Having let it become debris filled and yucky. Sooner than she really thought about it, spring would be back and with spring came her second heat season of her life. And this time she planned on making sure she didn't screw it up. The first time was in a way disastrous. She loved her children would not trade them for the world. However, she also knew that she would trade their biological father in if she could.

So tilting her head she began to dig at the ground. Small puffs of air coming from her muzzle in a vapor like mist. Blue eyes trained on the ground in front of her. She would let the makeshift den for Gunnar. After all it had not been a permanent residence. It had been one that she and Ragnar had made quickly in their move. This would be a better one, much better. It was covered by grassy fields on one side, ideal for children to play. Backed by rocks and trees it would be hard to get too on one side and it was in a natural wind break so it was not cooler than most.

And if fate was against them and there would be no upcoming litter. Well then she would use it to hide out away from all with her scent thick upon the air. She had a while to wait, a month or so, but she believed now in being prepared and she wasn't about to get caught off guard again.

Charon did not fully grasp what had happened with the shift of power in the Bay (and mostly, he did not understand why it had happened). It was hard for him to think of Thistle and Ragnar as anything but the Alphas of the Bay. He had not asked either of them about it, however, because he felt like maybe it was something he was supposed to understand and he did not want to appear dumb asking about it. Thistle was often busy, as was Ragnar, and though Thistle had been nothing but good to Charon, he often felt a sort of distance between them.

When Charon caught Thistle Cloud's scent on the wind, he hesitated for a moment before following it. He found her digging, and was confused by this. "Hi," Charon barked softly in greeting as he approached, as not to startle her in her concentration. He held his stance neutral, head low, and watched Thistle digging. "What're you digging?" He didn't really understand what she was doing, as they had a den already; but maybe she was making a cache for more food, since winter was far from over.

Thistle would be more than willing to explain to the child if he had only asked. She had not done as well by him as she could have, and it constantly rubbed. However, it had been hard when he had been born, for soon after both his parents as well as many of the other members of the bay just disappeared or died. So then there was nothing for her to do but step up her game. However, by doing so there was a terrible cost for she had starved the child of a mothering figure, the one she could be. But she hoped to change that or at least try and close the void a little bit.

Thistle turned at the soft Hi and a small smile broke across her maw. Hello Charon. What are you up to today? Having adventures? She hoped he was being safe, it was always good to be safe on adventures. I am making a new den, well more like I am improving on one I already made. Gunnar is getting to big to be sharing with all of us, and I had hoped to have more puppies if we can. So I am making another den. Do not worry though you will still be welcome with us. She did not wish to make the child feel left out or like he was being replaced for he wasn't. She cared for him as if he were one of her own. A mother's love was fierce even if she didn't spend all that much time with him.

When Thistle turned to greet him, Charon's tail wagged a little. She asked him if he was having adventures, and he looked hesitant for a moment. "Always," he said, though he hadn't really been on any special adventures. He'd been off on his own, thinking about things like Ragnar and Thistle and hierarchy, and worrying about Levi, who had been recluse and quiet all his life so far and seemed to really take the loss of their family heavy.

Charon was surprised to hear that Thistle Cloud was making a new den, because he thought the old one was fine, if a bit snug. He didn't really grasp from Thistle Cloud's words if Gunnar was going to not be staying with them anymore, or if this new den was in part to accomodate Gunnar's growth so that they would all have more space.

When Thistle said she might want more pups, Charon tilted his head and looked at her in wonder. "More pups? But you already have Gunnar, right?" He sounded both surprised, as though he genuinely could not grasp why they would have more puppies if they already had Gunnar walking around, as well as a little defensive because he didn't want any new pups to take Gunnar's place.

Thistle smiled at his tail wag and returned it. He was such a sweet boy, she wished she had given him more time. Though she had perfectly valid reasons, it did not make her feel any better about not doing it. Thistle nodded Gunnar likes adventures too. Her middle son was often off and about getting into all sorts of adventures. Thistle had actually not talked to Levi, Ragnar had. But the other child, didn't seem to really want anything to do with anyone other than his brother. Not that she could blame him, they had already had a rough life for their ages.

Thistle heard the defensive tone as well as the surprise and she focused all her attention on the youth. Wondering how she could answer him without sounding nasty and making sure at the same time that she was never going to replace any of her children. Yes I do have Gunnar and I would never replace him. I love him very much. I also have Gyda and Mercury and I will never replace them either. However, they are almost adults and they do not need me anymore. Soon enough they'll be going off and starting their own families. I have you and Levi as well to take care of, but soon you're going to be teenagers. And it is normal and expect for alpha wolves to have families every year and I love pups. I would like a big family. Does that make sense? If not I can try and explain it better. She didn't know what to say, but she did know she wasn't going to screw this up. So she would sit there all day and answer all the questions she needed too, if she needed too.

Charon nodded when Thistle said that Gunnar liked adventures too. He liked hanging out with Gunnar. Levi was always quiet and depressed, but Gunnar was lively and adventurous, like Charon. Since he felt a lot like Levi’s big brother in many ways, always wanting to protect him and watch over him, Charon enjoyed spending time with someone with more mutual interests who didn’t need protecting all the time.

Thistle stopped the digging when he asked why she wanted more pups to take the time to explain. Charon tilted his head as he listened. He hadn’t really given growing up much thought so far, but now that she mentioned it, considered how different things would be when Gunnar would get older and maybe move out of the den, as well as when Charon and Levi would get older. Charon couldn’t really imagine a world where he was an adult and he could especially not imagine a world where Levi would be an adult.

After a moment of silence to take it in, he nodded. “Okay,” he said, though he wasn’t entirely comforted. Then he added, easily skipping to a more light-hearted and, more importantly, Charon-centered subject, “I’m gonna be a Naturalist. D’you know what a Naturalist does?” He already figured out most of it himself, but he wasn’t sure if Thistle was as well-educated as Charon. Since she was the pack’s Alpha, it was important for Charon that the trade he wanted to pick up was an actual trade, acknowledged by his leader.

Thistle knew very well that her son and her adopted son? her adopted pack member? hung out. She wasn't really sure what to call him, she didn't think he considered her his foster son, but she was not adverse to the idea.

Thistle knew it was hard for a child to grasp the thought of growing up. But it happened sometimes in the blink of an eye. One day you were young and the next day you were older and having your own babies. It was insane really, but it was life and it was fleeting, which is why sometimes you had to grasp it tight and just hold on for the ride.

Thistle did indeed know what a naturalist did, but deciding to humor the boy she shook her head no. Not completely why don't you tell me? She settled comfortable, giving him all her attention.

It surprised Charon that Thistle did not know completely what a Naturalist did. He fully expected her to say 'yes', and so he was caught off guard when she mentioned that she didn't know all about it. While he hoped that she would accept it as a complete trade, this also presented Charon with the opportunity to tell her about it, so that he could practise for when he had to explain it to others.

"Well, uhm, a Naturalist reads stars," said Charon, even though he still didn't fully understand how one 'read' stars, "So I'm gonna do that 'cause I love looking at the stars so it's gotta be cool to read 'em too! And Naturalists, they uhm, look at the weather and talk about the weather and they have dreams and study plants 'n huuuge trees 'n naturesy stuff." He looked at Thistle, searching for approval as he told her about being a Naturalist.

Thistle knew sort of what a naturalist was, but she wanted to give Charon the chance to explain it to her. She could use this for his trade if he wanted it. She also wasn't a hundred percent exactly what they did. She had known that Nerian was or had aspired to be one.

Thistle smiled at him That sounds like a great trade for you. I can help you with plants if you like. I know a good bit about them, mostly for healing. But I know some that aren't for healing. What's your favorite thing about nature Charon?

Charon knew very little about plants. The only thing he knew, really, was that thing that that one wolf, Scarlett, had told him about the giant trees that grew in Ravensblood Forest. Other than that, he didn’t get very far past ‘they grow, and some are pretty and some aren’t’. While they did not interest him as much as some of the other Naturalist stuff – Reading stars! Watching weather! Talking fancy-like about aforementioned things like a boss! – he supposed it was a good thing to learn about all of the aspects of being a Naturalist, so that he would become a very well-rounded one.

After Thistle finished speaking, Charon said, ”I would love to learn more ‘bout plants!” His tail wagged lightly as he spoke, though he did not consciously notice this himself. Then, in response to Thistle’s question, Charon answered, ”I like looking at the stars a lot. Someone said they could be read so I’d like to wanna learn more about that. I wonder what they would tell me.” Charon didn’t really understand in which way the stars could be read, exactly, but he figured that if you could read them, it meant that they said something, or at least that you got information out of the reading. Like when someone read your face and they could tell how you felt. Maybe he could tell what the stars were thinking or how they felt too if he studied hard enough.

Thistle chuckled Very well I'll teach you when your ready. There's a lot about plants, for instance did you know bees go from plant to plant and spread them around? That's how they grow and the stuff that the bee's get from them they turn into honey? Honest is a really sweet treat. She grew quiet as she thought of it, she wondered if there was a bee tree somewhere. If she could find one, she could share some of the honey with the boy.

Thistle listened and dipped her muzzle, Someone told me once that star's make pictures and those pictures tell a story. Maybe you can find out those stories. Some people say too that they can learn directions from the stars and that they can also tell the weather? But i don't know about all that,but maybe you'll be the one to find out. She smiled at him hoping he could do it, it would be good for him

Thistle began telling Charon about plants, and Charon looked at her wide-eyed while he listened. He never knew about bees, though he didn't really remember ever seeing any bees. He had heard about them from other wolves once or twice, but imagined them much different than they actually were, probably. The fact that they made something tasty called honey made them a bit more positive in Charon's books, though. "Really? Cool! Can we go look for uhm, honey sometime??" he asked with his previous unbridled enthusiasm, and he looked expectantly at Thistle.

When she told him about stars, he nodded excitedly a couple of times. Saena had told him some of the things she mentioned, about stories in the stars. He didn't think so since she did not begin any of them, but Charon asked Thistle, "Do you know any of the stories?" Although he figured that if he looked hard enough, maybe he would be able to figure out the stories himself, too. He had enough imagination for it, surely, though they might not be the same stories as the ones everyone else was seeing.

Thistle smiled and nodded her head yes we can. She would look forward to it, she wondered if it would be better to look while it was cold. After all most of the bees were dying or unable to stir when it was cold. So wouldn't it make more sense to go in the winter. However, to she thought that if they waited it would be fresher honey. She would have to think on that.

Thistle nodded There are many stories for many different cultures, but I can tell you the story of The Eyes of Thjazi. Thistle frowned as she tried to form the correct words, after all it was only a bit she knew of norse and viking culture, but it she remembered this story. The goddess Iðunn had been captured by the giant Thjazi with the connivance of Loki. Without the youth-giving golden apples of Iðunn, the gods withered and grew old. They gathered to discuss the matter, and deduced that Loki had been involved. Under threat of death, Loki was sent to get the goddess back. Loki flew off to accomplish this task, wearing the magical falcon-cloak belonging to the goddess Freyja. Loki rescues Iðunn, but in the escape Thjazi is killed, and the gods are forced to make amends to the giant's surviving daughter, Skaði. The gods in compensation offered Skaði the right to choose a husband from among their number, but with the condition that she could choose only by viewing the feet of the gods. Skaði selected the most beautiful feet, thinking that she had chosen the bright god Baldr, but instead found she would marry Njôrð of Nóatún, a god of the sea-coasts. Another part of the compensation was that the gods had to make Skaði laugh, which was accomplished by Loki, who tethered a goat to his body, presenting such a bizarre spectacle that Skaði laughed despite herself. Last of all, a final compensation for the slaying of Thjazi was offered:We are told that Óðin compensated her by taking Thjazi's eyes and throwing them up into the sky, making of them two stars.

Thistle said they could look for honey sometime, but she didn't suggest they went right now. Charon was silent for a short while before he hesitantly said, ".. Are we gonna look for honey now?" Charon really wanted to try finding the honey, and, being young, he wanted his desires satisfied right away, not 'at some point in the future'.

Then Charon listened to the story about the stars. 'Eyes of Thjazi' was a bit of a difficult name to pronounce, Charon imagined, and he listened as Thistle pronounced it so that he could remember how to do so and pronounce it right himself, too. There were quite a lot of hard names in there, and not just the names were hard; Charon didn't recognise some of the other words either, such as 'connivance' and 'withered' and 'spectacle' and so many others that he didn't quite understand. However, despite that, Charon was able to make a good indication of what the story was about globally. His eyes widened at the part of the goat being tethered (Charon didn't know what 'tethered' meant, but he imagined a goat biting someone's genitals which was funny enough) to Loki's testicles.

The gist of the story was that to compensate for killing the goddess-kidnapping giant, Odin made his eyes stars so that his daughter could always look at them. "That's a cool story!" said Charon, who looked genuinely interested in what he had just been told. "Can we look for honey now?" he then asked, tail wagging lightly in quiet anticipation of the answer while he held his breath. He reaaaally wanted to go look for honey, so he hoped the answer would be yes.

Thistle thought about the question, We might be able to try. I don't know if we will find very much being that most bees are locked up tight in their homes. She thought about the best places it would be, in a rotten log, so they would have to head towards the forest probably.

She saw his eyes wide and then chuckled as she realized what she had said. She perhaps should have edited that out for the youth. However, he didn't seem incredibly bothered by it. And she supposed he would have to learn about that stuff soon enough, being almost fully grown. Just a few more months and he'd be an adult. Just like her children in a month's time. Her babies all grown up.

Thistle chuckled and nodded her head, Yes we can come along. We are going to want to look for an old tree, mostly with a hole in the center. Sometimes they will hang their hives on the outside too, but mostly it is a hollowed out tree. She flicked her tail and nose down began to head towards the forest. Stopping momentarily to look back at him.

"Why are they locked up in their homes?" asked Charon as Thistle explained about the bees. He didn't know a lot about seasons yet, although the basics had been explained to him, and hadn't heard a whole lot about bees yet. He'd never even seen one, even though others had told him what they looked like.

Looking for a hollowed out tree he could do, though. Charon nodded enthusiastically at Thistle and bolted off through the forest, starting to look for the described hollowed out tree. "Does it gotta be a standing one or do they use fallen dead ones?" asked Charon as he dashed off, then looking back to make sure that Thistle was following.

Thistle spoke softly, It's because they are spring and summer bugs. Winter they hibernate. They all curl up in their hive and wait out winter. They feed on their honey and help keep each other alive. Thistle continued on sniffing at the ground and surrounding area.

I believe they can use both. Thistle was following behind him at a slow trot, happy to be out enjoying the day. She hoped with all she had that they found a honey bee tree. It would just be wonderful for the child to see that. It would also prove that she wasn't so terrible at this foster mom thing.

Charon listened to the explanation that Thistle gave about the bees. He'd heard things about spring and summer, though it was hard for him to imagine what it was like because he had never seen it himself. "I wonder what spring and summer is like," said Charon with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Thistle followed him as he came into motion and trotted off, looking for a hollowed out tree. It could be either a standing or fallen down one, Charon mentally noted, and he looked left and right as he walked, looking for the described tree. "What does a 'hive' look like?" Charon asked while they walked. He found a hollowed out tree with a hole in it that was laying in the forest, and Charon put his paws against the side and carefully put his nose into the hole in the tree. "Aw, it's empty..." Charon disappointedly said. It was the right type of tree, but sadly no bees had decided to build their homes in this one.

Thistle smiled at the next question, though it wasn't exactly to her. well spring is cool in the morning and at night, but warm during the day. It is also when many of the baby animals of all kinds are born and plants grow and bloom. Summer is usually hotter in both daytime and nighttime and it is one of the best times to hunt as everyone is fat from spring.

The next question caused her a quandary, she wasn't entirely sure what the ones inside the logs looked like the ones that hung outside were grey and oblong. Strange looking to say the least. Well they are gray and strangely shaped. And they usually have a small hole in the top, bottom or middle for the bees to get in and out of. That was the best she could do and it was no great explanation but it was the best she could do and it worked.

Charon wondered a few things when Thistle told him about spring and summer. He had already heard things like that about the seasons. The biggest question for him was, "If baby animals are born in spring, why wasn't I and Levi?" They were born far away from spring, for as far as he knew, since he had never seen spring nor summer. Gunnar probably was born in spring, since Thistle said that most baby animals were born then, so why hadn't he and his siblings been born in the same season?

The hunt for 'grey and strangely shaped' hives continued after Charon hadn't found anything that resembled a hive in the fallen log he had found. The freckled youth continued to search, until he found a standing, dead, hollowed out tree with a hole in it. It looked sad, drooped down to the side. "Look, there's one!" called Charon, and he ran over to the tree to check if there was a beehive inside, filled with excitement.

Thistle thought about that question and wasn't entirely sure how to explain it. She would try her best though. Well wolves are made a little differently, depending on when your mother was born is when she is able to have children. Wolves can't have babies until their 2 years old...so if your mother was born in march she would have her children in may..its hard to explain.

Thistle heard him call out and she trotted over towards him. She smiled at him, and looked over his shoulder a little bit. She hoped to see, but she would allow him to determine if there was a hive in the hollow log.

The whole thing about when baby animals were born was kind of confusing to Charon, but he decided not to dwell on it too much longer. He just nodded, said "Oh," and decided that hunting for honey was way more thrilling than chatting on about silly things like when he was born. Apparently it was just a normal thing, though Charon didn't really understand why Thistle said that most baby animals were born in spring, if they were really born all year round. Well, there was more important business to attend to beside pondering about the miracle of birth right now: honey-hunting.

It looked like Thistle was going to let him have the first peek into the tree, so Charon carefully poked his nose into the tree to see if he could find anything. There he saw a weird lumpy grey thing. "Is this a 'hive'?" the youth whispered to Thistle, as though afraid the bees would wake up from his voice, and he briefly looked back at her. "Now what do we do?" he whispered, not sure if it was safe to disturb the beehive. He was only a beginning Naturalist, so he had yet to learn what was the best next step and decided to let the adult do it — or at least tell him what to do.

Thistle chuckled at his obvious change of subject. She supposed that kind of stuff was boring to a child, in a way it was even boring to her. She didn't like to think about all the different reasons this female had a child then and this one didn't. Sometimes even nature got in the way some women's heat holding off until the pack was stable. It was so weird.

Thistle looked it over and nodded It looks that way. Well we can open it up and possibly get stung if there's bees in there. Or we can remember where it is and come back in spring when they will probably move to a new home. What would you like to do? She knew they could cake theirselves in mud and wouldn't get stung, but it was far too cold to wash it all off.

Thistle confirmed that the object was indeed a hive and offered Charon the choice whether or not to go for it now. He wasn't sure what to choose, because while he was excited to check it out, he also was getting a little tired from all the running around and besides, getting stung sounded kind of scary (not that he'd ever admit it, of course) so Charon definitely didn't want that.

"Hmmmm," Charon considered for a moment. "What's it like to get stung?" He didn't really know what it implicated, so it was hard for him to make a proper decision about it. "Is the honey the same in the winter or spring? Do they leave it behind when they move? Why don't they take it with them? Do you think it's important as a Naturalist to know 'bout how the honey tastes like and what the bees look like?" The last question was more important than one would think for a last question, because if it was really important for his job, which Charon took very seriously (and he wasn't always sure what it did and didn't envelop, but bees and honey sounded very naturey to him), then he would probably risk getting stung for it anyway.

Thistle smiled gently at the youth. She imagined he was beginning to lose his fervor, only because he was still young. They could always revisit another day. She had no problem with that.

Thistle frowned in thought, and nodded, Like a thorn prick and it lasts for a little bit. If you coat mud on it, it feels better and it gets the stinger out. She listened to him fire his questions at her and she smiled. He was a curious fellow, she was so very glad for that. They take it, it just takes them a long time to move it. Their tiny things after all. It is the same yes, some of it is older of course and the newer honey tastes a little bit fresher. She licked her lips at the memory of the sweet stuff that resided in the hives. Yes I think it is good for both a naturalist and young boys to know what bees look like, and especially what honey tastes like. We can come back though, I don't mind. I don't really want to get stung, so how about since I'm a little scared, we come back later? Thistle wasn't really scared, but she imagined the youth had some misgivings and why not boost his confidence.