The Sunspire the once and future king

@Rannoch @Liffey @Terance

The signs of spring touched the land, ushering out winter's hold, yet still no sign of Zenith. Iovan had never been one to worry, but even he found he couldn't stop the low burn of anxiety that shadowed his thoughts. He should have known this would happen, letting her set off on her own - and what was he even thinking when he'd let her? That he would find her? Of course, but he hadn't. Nor had he managed to catch wind or hide of the pack Illecebra had sent him to find. His journey West roamed sporatically across the vast and unknown domain, and in avoiding the South, perhaps he had missed both his sister and his mission altogether.

Even without the yoke of his failures to press upon him, his fur felt too heavy. His energy dragged a little slower every day that followed, and he found himself missing Zenith more and more. With the two of them together, they could do anything - but alone, well - this was harder than he'd expected.

Iovan had scoped out this mountain for a few days now, a tactic that felt in tune with what he imagined Zenith herself would have done, had she been with him, and had spent the past two mornings trying to hunt down anything he could present to them as a gift, knowing right now, with his gaunt and tired eyes, he hardly looked a wolf worth giving a sniff. But he couldn't let them think that, and finally, this morning, he'd found success. A hare dangled from his jaws, and he set the animal down at his paws so he could loose a howl for the leadership here and shook himself out, triing to look something less than a lost and tired loner at the end of his rope.

In the days following Redshank's unexpected intrusion, the wolves of Sunspire had found peace. Their ranks were steadily growing, and aside from Cassiopeia's mishap with Shadow Mountain, all seemed well. Despite this fortune, Rannoch remained vigilant upon the borders. 

He was marching along the parameters when a call caught his attention.Quickly, he returned the call to indicate that he was on his way, and sprang in the direction from where the call had come from. 

When Rannoch made it to where Iovan stood, Rannoch stopped in front of him and offered a smile. "Hello," he greeted, and stole a glance of the rabbit that laid at the stranger's paws, "I'm Rannoch Frostfur, and these are my lands. What brings you to my borders?" 

terance patrolled in the opposite direction-- not on purpose, of course, just a coincidence. but regardless, it was seem that he and rannoch would've run into each other at one point during their patrol. now, it seemed, was as good of a time as ever.

unlike their encounter with ember, terance was only seconds behind rannoch. he regarded his friend swiftly and then stood idly off to the side, posture stiff but his tail swinging. at the sight of the rabbit-- oof, had he eaten today?-- his black ears pricked, nose twitching, and he watched the stranger and his prey curiously and silently as he waited for a response.

They were quick to meet him, and Iovan bowed low in customary respect. Their size rivalled his, as did their fluff - though he guessed they'd all be showing their truer selves soon, as spring gave way to summer, and summer, to the shedding of the extra fur that hugged them for the winter.

He had perceived these two from a fair distance before, patrolling the borders almost ritualistically, in the days prior when he had debated if, when, and how to approach the pack. But only now did he realize he crouched in the presence of a king, with a name much befitting the title he bore. Now addressed, Iovan did not lift his head to meet Rannoch's, but kept his eyes trained squarely on the ground - an offering of his respect. His voice, however, projected clear, and betrayed the certainty of the wolf behind the submission.

"My name is Iovan Theyn, my lord, and I hope for a place within your ranks. I've trained as a ranger and a scout," - let's not mention the fact he couldn't find his sister, nor Morningside - "and come well-travelled, well-worn, and well-versed with many tales from many lands. If there's a place for anyone like me to stand among your wolves, I would be honoured to earn my place among them."

So caught on keeping his formality, he remembered the rabbit, then, and his eyes widened. "Oh! And I brought a gift - " his stoic form broke and he pushed the prey toward Rannoch and the silent one, looking up now with the offer of a wide smile and gracious sweep of his tail.

The stranger quickly enamored Rannoch. "I believe we have room within our ranks for somebody with your expertise," he remarked and looked at Terance. If he had any objections, this was Terance's time to speak up. With Liffey's eventual pregnancy, Sunspire would be down a scout, and Rannoch knew the importance of having wolves with this skillset within his ranks. Scouts were his eyes and ears on the rest of the Teekon Wilds, and the information they gathered was valuable. 

"I'd also love to hear one of these stories," he added after a moment's pause; Rannoch was interested in what stories Iovan had to share.

there were no complaints on terance's end. at rannoch's look, terance gave a low chuff and a nod of his head-- his own personal approval-- before gazing back to the stranger. terance too was quickly intrigued by the man-- iovan-- and he couldn't think of any reason not to let him in. he'd let rannoch handle the rest of the formalities, but he stood by, shifting where he stood patiently, also curious to hear a few stories later on.

"Really?"  Iovan perked at Rannoch's approval, and his tail slapped the ground as all attempts of formality fell to the prospect of actually having a place here. He caught himself, and straightened, a sheepish glint taking hold of his smile. "I mean, thank you," and he tipped his head in a grateful reception, though his heart still leapt with the excitement of having a home again - even if it would be without his sister.

The monarch couldn't have asked him for anything better to share, and he rifled through the stories he'd heard and experienced, eager to pick something the king would enjoy. Rannoch seemed an amicable man - his dark and silent second hand, Iovan could read less - but he decided anyway he would share a tale that would be bright and uplifting. The last thing he wanted was to drag down the mood. "Hmm... oh! I know!" He grinned, and his eyes glinted with the eagerness to share. "Have you ever heard the story of the Firstwolf and the Raven? That's one of my favourites."

Firstwolf and the Raven? Rannoch couldn't recall ever hearing the tale. He shook his head. "No, I haven't" he replied with evident interest. Although his gaze did not stray from the recruit, Rannoch couldn't help but wonder if Terance knew the story.

I'M SO SORRY PLEASE TAKE THIS CRAPPY POST i AM SO SORRY

terance shook his head, offering the response that no, he hadn't heard the story. but he was excited to, terance rather liked stories. truthfully, he hadn't expected to hear any stories so immediately-- he assumed he'd hear them later on as iovan became more accustomed to sunspire and all that jazz.