Moonspear i've seen evil reign over perfection

@Rannoch (:

there was suddenly a new male in the territory-- stealing away all of lyra's attention. not that terance and lyra spent all that much time together anyway. despite their similar hobby of stargazing, terance spent most of his time far away from where lyra spent her days-- he spent more time with hydra and alya.

that being said, a small, jealous part of terance almost wished another bear would come tear up his other side-- that would force them to spend a little more  time together. or maybe terance just seriously needed to grow a pair. 

he hadn't met this stranger, but terance didn't appreciate any competition-- rank or otherwise. almost as long as terance had been here, he had basically been the only available male in the territory, and while he hadn't really seen much (if any) action, he still liked to think that one day his time would come. he had to make sure this guy wasn't gonna fuck up his chance with any of the ladies here-- or maybe he'd be good for wraen-- and he hoped he didn't pose a threat to his own rank. still, he didn't care to meet him yet-- he was looking for lyra, and had a large rabbit hanging in his jaws. maybe today he'd make a move... but probably not.

t made his way to the den, assuming that this stranger was passed out-- like he'd been during the beginning stages of his healing process-- and hoping that lyra would be organizing some of those plants she liked to use. but of course, when he chuffed and stuck his face into that den, he saw nothing but a ruggedly-handsome man and a pile of herbs. blindsided, terance merely stared.

You're the best. Thanks for starting! Set for September 13th!

With a more stable consciousness, Rannoch's mind was able to wander freely. Keeping him up for quite some time, the former Alpha mulled over the aspects of his life that he could not control. Unexpectedly, he found himself fretting over the Vale that he had abandoned; an aspect Rannoch had ignored previously for more prioritized concerns. Though he was confident that the pack would thrive on their own, he felt guilt towards the situation as a whole. The wolves that once followed him were like family, and it felt out of character for him to turn his back on them so quickly. But as good as they had been to him, they had not saved him as Charon, and the Cerebus had. It was this fact alone that kept Rannoch attached to the idea of staying beyond his recovery. Rannoch had a debt that he needed to repay to the wolves that had saved his life, and he was keen on returning the favor in full. He just hoped that the wolves of Northstar Vale would understand. 

The musky aroma of Terrance and the alluring perfume of the fresh kill mingled together to make an intriguing concoction-- a mixture which stirred Rannoch from his thoughts. With his attention caught, he focused his attention towards the mouth of the cave. Unlike the wolves that passed by, it was evident that whoever was approaching was headed in the direction of the healing den. 

Met with the unexpected, a handsome yearling with a gift gripped between his jaws, Rannoch dropped his eyes to the other's chest to show his respect to the other wolf. Unsure of the other's intentions, as he was not confident enough to assume that the meal was for him, he offered a hoarse greeting: "Hey." He would leave it to Terrance to explain the reason behind his appearance.

hey, was a rather casual greeting that terance returned with a gentle dip of his head-- he appreciated the respectful lower of the gaze, a good first impression at the least. the rabbit was for lyra, but now that he knew this wolf was fully conscious, terance felt guilty keeping it for himself. he cleared his throat. 

"terance," he offered, dropping the body to the ground and nosing it forward, "if you're hungry." his gaze fell to the others sides, giving him a quick look down. he seemed wounded alright, hydra's description pretty spot on. he was pretty muscular though, of similar build to himself, which terance noted with jealousy. his coat was... pretty-- that was the only word terance could think of. it reminded him of osprey, but darker, and terance had never seen eyes that color before. he kept his own gaze averted from them, not wanting to be weird, and cleared his throat again.

"has lyra been here today?" he asked, deciding that was a good bridge for conversation-- and it gave him some information.

Terrance. He nodded at the introduction, knowing that was only proper that he'd share his name. "Rannoch, Alp— " he began out of habit, only to cut himself off when he realized that title was no longer his right. Embarrassed by his misstep, as the harsh sting of his recognized reality lingered, Rannoch attempted to realign himself with his accurate title: "— Iota." He had no intention to dethrone Charon or Amekaze and to make that clear, he added quickly, "I was the Alpha of my former pack, Northstar Vale. Hydra, Alya and Lyra saved me from a wolf that tried to kill me and brought me here to heal." For good measure and an extra layer of reassurance that he had no intentions to do any harm to the reigning couple, he added with sincerity: "I owe you all my life." Rannoch concluded as he dipped his posture lower and flattened his ears onto his skull to emphasize his point. 

With that awkward misstep out of the way, Rannoch was left with an offer that he couldn't pass up, and he was thankful for the distraction. "I really appreciate it," replied Rannoch as he perked and extended one of his forearms to drag the corpse closer. He made a note then to return the favor at a later date. 

To Terrance's concern, Rannoch recalled, "Pretty sure she went out to get me more dandelion," he paused for a moment as a look of mirth shone in his eyes, "apparently, I'm gobbling up her supply." 

it was a good thing that rannoch explained, because the slip-up earned a raised eyebrow from the stone. he eased up after he informed him of his old pack, and once more shared his gratitude. terance gave a soft smile-- either way, alpha was pretty cool, and rannoch didn't seem that much older than him. food for thought.

"there are good wolves here," he said, shrugging. he was a good wolf too, he liked to think. he had good morals and a steady head on his shoulders--but he wasn't going to say that to this dude, that would've been weird. but, had terance been there, he most certainly would've lended a paw.

he motioned a request to sit down, suddenly deciding he wouldn't mind hanging out for a minute, and his own posture relaxed. lyra needed dandelion... maybe he could find some for her. he didn't know where but, maybe. rannoch's comment brought another smile to his face, this time his lips curved to expose pearly whites. 

"she's used to it," he replied, tail tapping gently. he still wasn't the biggest fan of his own scars, but they were proof of something. he survived something kinda crazy-- thanks to lyra. to show what he meant, terance turned his head to better show off the long scar from the bottom of his jaw, down his neck towards his side-- though from rannoch's angle it probably was lost behind his shoulder. "she's self taught," he added, feeling that was important.

The invitation to sit, coupled with Terrance's eased posture, allowed Rannoch to relax as well. In reaction to the subtle shift in their dynamic, the Iota moved to make himself more comfortable. Though it was growing increasingly apparent that Rannoch had not been the reason for Terrance's visit, he was glad that the Epsilon decided to stick around. 

The raven-haired guardian showed off his battle scars, Rannoch appraised the raised knots of flesh with a newfangled respect. Whatever had happened, it seemed as though Terrance had gotten himself in one hell of a tussle. "They're impressive," replied Rannoch with a toothy grin, finding both a newfound appreciation and connection to his pack mate. But even as grand as they appeared, Rannoch could only imagine the recovery that was involved in getting Terrance to this point. Boldy, as the Iota was feeling comfortable in the Epsilon's company, he asked, "How did you get them?" as he wondered how similar their situations were. 

"Really?" replied Rannoch, apparently impressed by the factoid that the other wolf had shared. Curiously, he queried, "Did she ever tell you how exactly she learned?" Rannoch could only imagine that her quest for medicinal knowledge was a fascinating tale.

"bear," terance tacked on. he beamed, sort of flattered that rannoch thought they were impressive. though, he left out the part about being wildly distracted by the sound of lyra's voice. all things considered, terance realized he wanted rannoch to think he was cool, and that detail sort of made the situation a lot less cool. 

rannoch's question was one that... terance didn't really have an answer to. as much as he liked lyra-- friend or otherwise-- he spent far less time with her than he wanted to. they were always in different places, and as much as terance wished he could just spend all day tracking her down, he had duties to tend to. and all that meant he didn't know all that much about lyra.

"from me," he said, because that was the most he knew, "well-- not from me, but she taught herself while i was injured. so, from practicing on me, more like." terance thought that was pretty impressive. he wasn't aware of all the risk that had accompanied his caretaking-- all the trial and error herbs and the lengthened healing process-- so to him, it was even more impressive.

"you'd be better asking her yourself," he added with a gentle smile-- then regretted it. that was something he should asked her... shoot.

"A bear?!" echoed Rannoch in disbelief, finding himself oddly at ease talking about the breed of creature that had wrecked so much havoc in his young life. Tickled by this, and in an attempt to get a better look and size up Terrance, Rannoch pulled his head until he felt pain flare from his wound. He winced at this, quickly correcting his posture to alleviate his discomfort before continuing. "They're terrible, aren't they?" Rannoch was not shy about his hatred towards the creatures and would not hesitate to voice such thoughts if he were prompted. 

When the Epsilon explained his interpretation of Lyra's informal education, the Iota listened, finding himself all the more impressed. "You're lucky she didn't mess up on you," he teased with a wave of his tail. To Rannoch, he was impressed with both Terrance and Lyra in regards to her training. As remarkable as it had been for her to learn, it had also been gutsy on Terrance's side to be so open to her untrained eye. 

To the last remark made, Rannoch nodded. He was sure it'd be something to help pass the time and allow him to learn more of his caretaker. From what he could perceive, there was nothing to lose by asking this. "I'll have to do that," he agreed. But, it didn't seem right for him to learn before Terrance. After all, he had been her guinea pig. "But, if she comes back while you're here, we'll have to ask her together." Rannoch hoped that she was coming soon, as he was quickly growing fatigued from all the talking that he was doing. Despite his voice growing hoarser, Rannoch attempted to power through for the sake of their conversation, as he was enjoying himself for the first time since his ambush.

terance nodded, they were terrible. he wanted to explain a little more in depth, so he took a few seconds of quiet to think through it-- not wanting to ramble on. "galaxy?" he offered, judging rannoch's knowledge of that name before continuing, "the alpha's kid-- fell off of a cliff. she survived, but a bear stole her, so we all had to go take it down." it was kind of a crazy story in it's entirety, the whole korei julia thing and what not-- but terance lacked the flare for the dramatics that his mother (and wraen) had, so he didn't add any of that in. his vagueness usually left a good sense of mystery and, therefore, a lot of room to use your imagination-- and that usually made up for it. 

had lyra asked, terance would've most likely dropped everything and let lyra practice. he let hydra use him as a punching bag (though he usually fought back), and helping out lyra would've been no different. but terance smiled. "i didn't have a choice," he told him, shrugging, "i probably would've died if it were for lyra. her trial and error was better than the alternative." the alternative was most likely death, that was implied. 

he nodded quickly though, maybe lyra would come back soon-- he could maybe gauge her opinion on rannoch. though he hated to admit it, terance was almost smitten by this guy-- and as much as he valued lyra's opinions, he was usually pretty set in his own thoughts on others. "deal," he said, grinning at the iota.

The name "Galaxy" did not ring a bell to Rannoch, but he did not speak up as he assumed that Terance would elaborate. When this happened, the Iota was presented with a story that seemed to be a work of fiction. Flabberghasted, and finding it somewhat hard to believe, he blinked slowly as he attempted to comprehend it all. "So you're telling me that she fell off the mountain, survived and was abducted by a bear?" Had he heard that correctly? He squinted and sized up the Epsilon for good measure to make sure that he wasn't being played. 

When Terance spoke again, Rannoch nodded as he knew the situation that he had expanded upon on all too well. "I had the same choice," Rannoch reminded his pack mate lightly. He hoped that the dark-pelted Epsilon knew that his comment had been in jest as he was grateful for the care that Lyra had provided him thus far. For good measure, he added, "She's done a really good job with my wounds so far!". 

With an agreement between the two yearlings, Rannoch looked hopefully towards the mouth of the den. Though it was highly doubtful that Lyra would materialize out of thin air, Rannoch still hoped this would happen because he was starting to feel the effects of his medicine wear.

terance snorted. "in't that crazy?" he replied with a shrug, "we thought she was dead-- one of lyra's sisters found her." even though korei failed to do anything right in that moment... she had found the pup. terance gave her credit for that. "but, anyway, we all attacked the bear and i was in a bad position, i guess," he added, kind of tying the story together-- kind of. 

rannoach's comment earned a wide smirk from terance, a bit of white tooth poking through. "we're lucky to have her," he then said definitively. he meant the pack as a whole was lucky to have her but, the both of them were probably lucky to have her as well. otherwise, they'd be dead.

he followed rannoch's gaze over his shoulder to the mouth of the den, realizing that he was probably looking for lyra-- and that he was probably in pain. he glanced back to the wounded wolf and cleared his throat. "i'll leave you to rest, then, if i see lyra i'll send her your way," he then said, rolling his shoulders and moving to stand. "it was nice to meet you-- maybe i'll see you around?" he then added, a sort of question but also sort of a comment. either way, the yearling dipped his head and turned out of the den, deciding to go on a quick lyra hunt... maybe he'd have a little bit of luck.

Thankfully for Rannoch, as he was slowly growing more fatigued, it seemed as though their time together was drawing to an end. "Yeah," Rannoch agreed easily to Terance's offer. "I'll see you around." 

When it was recognized that they would see each other again at another time, and once Terance departed from the den, Rannoch settled down with a smile and soon fell asleep. The interaction had made him feel more rooted in Charon's pack, and he was happy to have made another friend.