delight has not paid too much attention to the elk, though he does not particularly like seeing the king elk and his cows flaunting about - he does not need everyone's coupling rubbed in like that.
he's being a little dramatic.
still, it is important to the pack and all that. their numbers are small ( lately: delight is a touch anxious but - but.) the forest is not large enough, though, that the dispersion of the rest of the elk's harem goes unheeded. interesting.
the androgyne is not a hunter any more than any other wolf is but if the elk are free game now, that seems.. useful, for winter. of course he cannot take them on alone and where is everyone, anyway, and - oh he's stumbled by the king elk himself. so it goes.
delight is small in frame compared to other wolves but against the massive god-creature he feels tiny. his expression twists slightly into something akin to apology and he mumbles to the elk, "we good?" his silvery gaze tracking towards the movements of the rest of the herd. might as well get permission directly from the creature itself while he's here. assuming everyone hasn't up and abandoned him to the woods alone.
the elk snorts dismissively, maybe-kinda-sorta in his direction so delight takes that as a - oh god mato. "gahk," he says, strangled, "oh, hi, mato." he has not been avoiding morwinyon, that would be absurd. he's perfectly capable of acting as if nothing is wrong.
his fur settles back along his spine. the elk, unimpressed, hasn't moved away at least. "maybe?" the androgyne answers, looking at the elk and determinedly not at the silvery prince. "sort of? i think so." less answers perhaps than 'snorts at' or occasionally 'looks at', which delight interprets. at the least he doesn't seem to mind his occasional speaking. "do you talk to him?" he asks, finally looking at the other boy (he is being so totally normal he should win an award for it).
thank the elk delight is so smooth, mato does not seem to pick up on any awkwardness. he does, then, take the opportunity to study the silvery prince's face closely - not staring, mind, just a quiet contemplativeness. does morwinyon mind delight's slight transgressions? perhaps that's part of the ainima, that he's meant to be regarded in reverent silence and not in the singing-sunlight's own flip tones.
the elk-god itself doesn't seem particularly bothered by it, though.
the vailë make's a thoughtful sound when mato answers him, his own gaze moving to follow the lines of the regal beast. "i could be reading into it," he admits, rolling his shoulder in a brief shrug, "but if nothing else, he seems to notice." which is, really, all the assurance the storyteller needs to weave the tale.
delight falls silent for a minute, wondering if he should make an exit, because every minute spend lingering in mato's presence is another opportunity to slip up and make a fool of himself. but actually, he does have something to mention, doesn't he? "oh, i met a girl up in the sweep," the androgyne starts casually, "she seemed curious about the forest, so i said she could come by if she called for me when she got here." he still doesn't think mato will mind - and it's all in the name of recruitment - but probably better to let him know before strangers come calling, just in case.
to his relief, morwinyon does not seem perturbed by his decision - he lets go of a small breath he'd been holding. like the silvery prince delight has been aware of the dearth of those seeking to join them, though he's met strangers passing through the sweep just north on a few occasions. it does not make him as uneasy as the disppearance of the soldier and the pest do, but - perhaps that is what tindömé is meant to be, a small, tight-knit thing; perhaps their growth will be internal in the litters bri will surely bear... but! but. he doesn't want to think about that now.
thankfully mato's question pulls his thoughts back to the present, and he looks toward the trees, thoughtful. "i do," he says, voice slow, "though i don't know if she will stay with us." visiting and commiting loyalty are not the same action. moon-sharp eyes move back to mato's form (he can look at him, he can manage that much). "should we work on recruitment?" the vailë asks, echoing a return of his earlier thoughts - wondering what mato's take on it is.
the conversation has tilted wildly out of control in delight's eyes - he could barely think of looking at mato, and now the morwinyon lobs him such a heavy question - though he supposes it is not without merit. for a moment he feels sheepish, silly for letting his little crush weigh so heavy on him when there's more important matters (and another part thrilled that mato values his opinion enough to ask him--). moon-sharp eyes linger on the god-creature nearby as he thinks, quiet.
"i have been in the sweep a lot lately," he admits, "it seems more traveled - but how far east are you thinking?" delight is not a scout: he doesn't know what other packs lay claim and where, and he sort of enjoys their seclusion, as mato does. "we'd be leaving the king elk... though i suppose he won't care either way."
the vailë pauses, letting his gaze slowly fall back on the silvery prince, contemplative. "i don't know either way," he says, hesitantly, "but winter's nearly here and - we probably shouldn't move with burke during the winter months, at least. and - i think you should talk to him about it, too." arthendal's old location is close-by, according to the elder - and he seems healthy enough but delight would be nervous to try and move far once the snow starts, with their numbers so small to begin with. and, hell, what does he know, anyway? burke's got way more pack experience - delight, at least, would trust his counsel on the matter. either way: "i'll be by your side, no matter what," the androgyne confesses, and ducks his head slightly, hopeful his dark pelage hides the blush spreading fast across his face.
there are plenty of things about the silvery prince that, if manifested in another, the vailë would find a little bit annoying. at is it mato could burn the forest down around them and delight would be in the ashes as starry-eyed as the day he saw him. "ah," he says, eyes widening a little, "if - when you visit the vale - i'd like to come." surprised by his own boldness, the androgyne pauses, then adds: "i've been wanting to see it for myself - to meet rannoch, since he seems important to - tindómë's founding, in a way."
he knows it is unlikely the morwinyon will allow him to come given the fragility of their claim, but then again - their alpha leaving would put them in an unstable position anyway. either way he'll do what mato tells him.
the affection in the silvery prince's voice throws him for a beat, his heart stammering erratically in his chest. "a-anytime," the singing-sunlight manages weakly, unable to stop the slightly-dopey way the edges of his mouth curl up (for elk's sake!).