The Sunspire mr. brightside

Weather: 30°, foggy.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect.

 
The scent of groundhog had drawn Rannoch towards Eldershade Grove; he had been chipping in and hunting whenever he could to make sure that there was enough food to go around. Ever since Wraen had warned him of the likely dangers that came with the birth of three litters, he had done everything in his power to prevent his pack starving.

With the smell of the rodent filling his nostrils, Rannoch carefully navigated through the fog— thankfully, the conditions were only an inconvenience to the hunt; it was not impossible to wade or track smells through the mist.

Just when spring seemed well on its way, the weather shifted to send a bitter chill through the lay of the land. Iovan shook his winter coat against the bite, and hoped his fur wouldn't shed for summer until the cold snap passed for good. Though he felt stronger now than when he'd first found Sunspire, he was still scrawny as ever beneath the plush of his fur, and the longer he could delay the revealing of that fact, the better.

He had no real agenda today as he roamed the mountainside. The fog shrouded all visibility, save for a few feet in front of him, and the sparse trees twisted in and out of the mist as sharp and spindled wraiths. A shiver passed through his spine in a strange and eager way. He'd heard stories about ghosts before - sad spirits who had died where the stars couldn't reach them - and his mind was there when Rannoch appeared more suddenly than Iovan had expected. A flash of heat scored the length of the boy and he skittered to a stop, with the suck of too loud a breath, only to release the clutch in the puff of a laugh once his mind unfuzzied the silhouette of his king from the haziness of the fog. "Rannoch!" he tried to keep his voice low, but everything sounded amplified through the uncanny silence wrought by the mist. His mouth curled in a nervous grin. "Thank the stars, I thought you were a ghost!"

It was as though Iovan had materialized in the proximity of where Rannoch stalked. Thankfully, he was quick to recognize his packmate's voice, and his shock was shortlived. 

"Iovan," the leader breathed as he turned in the direction of Sunspire's newest recruit, "I didn't have the time to consider what you were!" The plush-hairs along his mane still stood askew as his heart calmed, and he managed to smile through his fading pang of alarm. "What are you up to?" Rannoch asked, mimicking the other wolf's whisper; his hunt was momentarily neglected.

It sounded like they'd both startled each other, and Iovan felt his nervous grin subside to a smile, and his tail to a wag of good humour. He had quickly discovered Rannoch was not the typical sort of king, at least, not like the kinds he heard of in stories, who demanded allegiance and lorded over their subjects. Rannoch was more of a friend - a leader who deserved his respect, of course, but one he didn't have fear. Well, not in the shaking-in-your-britches-off-with-your-head sort of way.

"Nothing much important," he confessed, but his smile remained and his eyes sparked with an edge of curiousity. He clipped closer to his friend and kept his voice low, "I was mostly just seeing what everyone else was making of this weird weather front. Feels more like a herald of winter than a promise of warmth, doesn't it?"

Rannoch couldn't help but agree with Iovan's sentiment; the weather-front reminded the Alpha of winter, not spring. "Yeah, I thought we were done with winter," he commented lightly and observed the mist that surrounded them. "Hopefully it'll pass quickly." 

Rannoch returned his attention to Iovan, and his head tilted in interest. "How have you been doing? Settling in well?" Now that Rannoch's initial alarm had subsided, his concern for the recruit's well-being resumed; Rannoch had meant to check in with Iovan.

Iovan hoped so, too. Though he appreciated the beauty that winter could bring, the novelty wore off quick. Survival came first, and the cold weather lent very little when tasked with that department.

But the Sunspire had proven a stable abode, and he nodded when Rannoch voiced his query - a step of reassurance before words even formed or fell from his mouth. "Oh, it's been great! I think I'm really getting the hang of the land. I haven't actually met a lot of the pack yet, but now that my energy and spirits are up, bombarding the social scene is the next thing up on my list." He didn't think he had to hide his lack of integration from Rannoch, and he made no attempt of being covert with the information. After all, he had every intention to meet the others, and now that he felt comfortable on his own four paws, he would do just that.

"It takes a while to get used to," Rannoch agreed with a fondness in his voice; he remembered when he learned how to navigate Moonspear's mountainside. "But, it seems like you're doing well with that," he added. 

Iovan then explained on his next goal, and Rannoch smiled with evident esteem. "I can introduce you to some of our members if you'd like." He was not against helping any of his packmates acclimate to their lives at Sunspire.