Moonspear i met Kanye West, i'm never going to fail

With one crucial conversation behind him, Rannoch looked to the next with the most apprehension that he had felt thus far. Despite their recent distance, Rannoch still respected @Hydra even though her perspective on specific aspects of life diversified from his own. She was a force to be reckoned with, and Rannoch was not prepared for the conversation that would soon follow. 

Twilight twinkled calmy overhead; the sky was an ironic contrast how Rannoch felt. He had collected the meatiest boar leg that he could find, and he placed it at his paws as he settled down along the borders. Although Rannoch had only told Terance the news, he suddenly felt unwelcome within with the heartlands of Moonspear. 

Rannoch called to Hydra suddenly; his voice carrying across the packlands as he gazed up the mountainside. Frankly, he couldn't believe that this conversation was happening, and although he knew it was for the better, Rannoch couldn't help the fact that he held his breath as he waited for Hydra's arrival.

Hydra had been close to the borders, as she often was, when Rannoch called for her. He had been in a direction she passed through already, but that was no issue to her. It was true she had not sought out his company, but that she had done for Liffey. If Rannoch sought her out, well, that was a different story. But she wasn't going to further unsettle Liffey by hogging her own beau. Her sisters and herself had agreed on civility, after all. There were better prospects than Rannoch.

As she approached, she noted that he was terribly handsome, though. It was unfortunate his wife was not good enough aesthetically for him, but mentally they seemed to fit one another. So in the end it worked out. Wouldn't want to dull their own genepool.

Even with their newfound lack of interest in him romantically, Hydra had always appreciated and liked Rannoch well enough independently. She had a sacrifice to make for Liffey's comfort, though. Once Liffey was more at home, maybe that could change. Her isolation didn't really help, but at this second she was healing so here-and-now Hydra couldn't really blame her.

The scent of boar came to her attention, and Hydra saw a haunch. Demurely, she pulled a foreleg toward her and grinned: for me?

As expected Hydra arrived promptly— Rannoch had ventured that she was near due to the strength of her most-recent markings on the border. As she approached, Rannoch's gaze dropped out of respect; although the break in eye contact was brief, Rannoch's stomach twisted uncomfortably as his gaze returned to the acting Beta. 

"It is," he rejoined with a wave of his tail and he glanced down briefly as she moved the hock closer. "It's been a while, and a lot of that has been my fault. Sorry about that, Hydra." This would be the first of many apologies that Rannoch would offer her that conversation. "I hope you've been well," he added, and his smile faded.

Not wanting to pussy-foot around the matter, Rannoch sighed prepared himself for what he had to inform her. "I actually wanted to speak to you personally about something, and it's something I'm not too happy to have to report to you," he admitted, and despite his nervousness, he held her gaze. "Liffey said she doesn't feel at home here, and she wants to leave. I-I can't force her to live somewhere that doesn't feel like home. And I feel bad, because of everything you and the pack did for us— I hope I provided enough for the pack in the months that I was here." he said, and his frown deepened.

Hydra had been about to remove the blame from his shoulders, though as she opened her mouth to speak it seemed he had more to say. It was unusual for him to just dive in like this, and so Hydra suspected something might be on his mind. As he went on, Hydra adopted his solemnity (even before he addressed the issue); she took the word 'report' to heart and fret over the wrongdoing of someone, anyone, but him and (yes, even) his wife. 

Liffey stated she didn't feel like she belonged here. How? Why? She had done everything in her power to prevent that. Even avoided Rannoch for her! Liffey wanted to leave. Hydra guffawed at him, clearly perplexed. Though he did not outright say it, Hydra felt she knew what he was getting at. So that's it? She's unhappy, and your bags are packed—it's that simple for you? Hydra thrust her ears forward, angry and hurt and thus irate. What about Terance? She knew they were tight—what was he going to do about that? What about me? She breathed, I don't understand, she admitted, her brows furrowed, tail lashing. What about the other friends he had earned? What about her mother, her father? What about you? What did he honestly want? Hydra, like it or not, did care about his two cents in this.

An inrush of questions met Rannoch's implied confession. Guilt gnawed at his stomach, and his distress became evident by the look in his eyes by the time that she had fallen silent. For a moment, he remained silent as he contemplated his reply; Hydra deserved to know why he was leaving.

"I love her," he replied meekly. "And I can't force her to stay somewhere that she's not happy." Hydra had made an effort to right her wrongs, and Rannoch knew that he had to give credit where it was due. "And I know that you really have put effort into making things right; I smelled your scent right outside my den a few days ago," he admitted, feeling as though his heart was being split in two. Even though he had made his decision to leave quickly, and felt the gravity of the situation, Rannoch had not anticipated this conversation to be as difficult as it was.

That's not what I asked you, Rannoch, she pressed. How is she unhappy? Why is she unhappy? What about Terance? Nevermind me, she breathed, clearly, clearly he did not give a shit about her. Not with his robotic, automatic responses toward her. But Terance... He and Rannoch were bros. Ah, well, of course, Rannoch would choose Liffey over him, but would he have told Terance? God, she had to talk to Terance. What would he think, if he had been told? As hurt as she felt, he would be hurt a dozen times more. He had been a little quiet as of late... but, well, a cougar had gotten him too.

The strength of Hydra's rebuttal nearly swept Rannoch off of his paws. "She said she doesn't feel like she fits in," he replied, unable to fully disclose his wife's perspective. "She feels like she never will, either." 

The matter of Terance was something that Rannoch was not ready to confront with Hydra, and he did his best to skirt around the subject; this was not his news to give. "Terance... was quiet and hurt... I don't think he understood why Liffey wanted to leave, either." 

Hydra choked out a laugh to his response, but had the decency to wait for him to finish. What? You don't think that's some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy? That she'll never feel that way? Who the hell is making her feel that way to start with? After all, she had done everything in her power to avoid exactly that. Tell me, Rannoch. If my pack is unsafe, if someone is threatening from within to make her feel such a way, before you go, I deserve to know at least that, her blue eyes bore into his. If you are my friend, she breathed, if you were ever my friend, you will tell me. What is there to lose? You will leave anyway. But I'll still be here. Terance, too... So, tell me, she urged. Tell me!

Hydra's refusal to relinquish her inquiries had forced Rannoch into a corner of his mind he was not well-acquainted with; the tension of the day was quickly catching up to him. With every grating demand, Rannoch's innards coiled tighter, and his tolerance for her bullying wore thin. 

"It's you," Rannoch seethed, his hackles spiking as he regarded her with an intensity that he was not accustomed to. "It's you, and your sisters, apparently. I don't know what you all did to her, but she's never felt welcome here." His jaws snapped shut suddenly, and he exhaled heavily in an attempt to calm himself. "And I don't know what happened but, something happened to her to form this opinion— she doesn't distrust others without reason." Rannoch's tail lashed, and he averted his eyes suddenly. "I cannot stand by ignorantly while my wife fears for her life. She is my everything, and I will do everything to make sure she's happy and safe." Rannoch's voice grew quiet and yet, his passion lingered in his eyes as they lifted to gauge Hydra's reaction.

Her, and her sisters. 

Hydra's eyes were wide as he spoke these words to her. 

Her. And her sisters. 

The shock was enough to keep her still for every one of his words, but once his jaws clicked shut together, Hydra, in a deathly quiet voice, said to him: you know me. Us. She doesn't. Not one of us. She never took the time. She never tried. I gave her room and space and time, and— she was truly bewildered, here. Unfounded suspicions of his beau. And yet he knew her, he knew her, and he believed it?

She had to remember she was talking to a spineless jellyfish, whose roar was nothing like his bite. That the buck of his wife's hips punctuated each and every one of his words. That the words he spoke was his clear admittance that he harbored no love for her at all anyhow, that he was a liar, that he could manipulate her so to care and throw it in her face with Bullshit, [excuses]. A loathsome drawl came from her as she shook her head. We would never harm one of our own, Hydra breathed, appalled and disgusted with him. How dare you speak of me, of us, that way? Her tail now lifted over her hindquarters, and she stood tall and proud and snarled. Call her, and get out. You are no friend of mine, and clearly, I was wrong to think you ever had been, She took one step in his direction, her ears pressing assertively forward. She was not fucking around. He was Moonspear no more.

Every word that came from Hydra was like a lash across the heart. Rannoch had never anticipated that their friendship would end this way. He rued the fact he had been so brash to the delivery of his confession. But that was in the past, and there was nothing he could do to fix it now. His bridge with Hydra had already been burned. 

When it was all said and done, Rannoch obliged; this order was the last he would take from Hydra. He pushed forth a hasty message to @Liffey, hoping that @Terance would interpret this call as his opportunity to approach Hydra. 

"You know, you're right..." Rannoch replied once the message was delivered, feeling an unexpected rush of relief from their conversation. "I do know you," Rannoch admitted quietly, his gaze unyielding for a moment as he looked at her for the last time.

With his last mental snapshot of Hydra fresh in his mind, Rannoch turned and pushed into a run.  He was Moonspear no more.

As he spoke to her for the last time, Hydra had to laugh. You know nothing, Rannoch. Nothing at all except for your wife's wept words, which I hope will keep you warm this Winter, for if he was to believe that over what he did know—how fiercely devoted she was to those that she loved and protected—then her own words were not wrong at all. Hydra stiffly followed him, permitting him no entry-way or room to do anything else but travel far from Moonspear. Her own howl sounded: Rannoch and Liffey have departed Moonspear.