Northstar Vale are you scared to death to live?

Scholarly and druidic. And who was Mato— oh wait, maybe that guy he mentioned loving, nevermind—
Well, that sounded a lot more sophisticated than anything Alarian could ever pull off— still, it gave him some ideas. Ranks based on skill level, mainly; though, skill level and contribution could be two different things, he knew. It was something to mull, at least. He was overall pleased that Delight had indulged him anyway, offering a warm half-smile.
Too quiet was right, though. Yeah, Alarian agreed carefully. Things can be quiet in Bracken Sanctuary. It's... quieter here, though. He left it there, hoping that wasn't offensive and awful (because really, it was the truth).
In hindsight, he ought to have expected Delight would ask the same thing of him; he hadn't. The Governor paused similarly. He had put thought into what Bracken Sanctuary could be— what it should be. A place for those who had nowhere else, really, because too often he had found himself with nowhere to go.
A sanctuary, Alarian grinned a little sarcastically. We take in anyone who needs us, really. I try to keep things as equal as possible; ranks don't mean a lot on their own, I guess. If you contribute, you gain more respect, and higher ranks just represent that. We're really more like a family; started as a little group of friends. I'm not sure any of us know what we're doing. The last few words were rueful, tinged with self-deprecating humor. It was true, though, and suddenly he was done talking about his pack.
Before he could change the subject, he caught sight of a lilypad-and-lotus dotted spring, tucked beneath swaying weeping willows; immediately enchanted, he gestured for Delight to follow him and raced ahead. Startled by the sudden movement, the forgotten butterfly departed his nose in a flurry of white (thank goodness). He would spend a little more time there, talking to Delight— maybe more time than he should have, but he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty. Soon enough he'd be home again, and as miserable as ever.