The Sunspire hesitations outside the door

@Rannoch ! and anyone else :) assuming some things here, lmk if i need to change anything

the unexpected run-in with brienne shakes something loose inside him, a stone in his throat he's finally able to swallow. the circumstances leading to her depature had been rough -- he still carries a measure of guilt; but if the trio of deaths at the king elk forest had been an omen for tindómë to leave, finding brienne well and discovering there's still a friendship there feels like the universe telling him he made the right decision.

delight's still bowled over at the coincidence of rannoch being here too -- rannoch! mato's always spoken so highly of him, the historian's always wanted to meet him and pick his brain about the prince and their history. despite the butterflies in his belly at all the ways this could go wrong (maybe they're too close in territory, maybe rannoch just won't like him) as he makes his way to the sunspire border he feels a quiet, tentative hope slowly replacing the anxiety that's been lingering over him like a dedicated rain cloud. 

he hopes he's given brienne enough time to tell rannoch about their presence and the meeting like she said she would. ah, well -- he's here, he's committed, and he tips his head back and calls for an audience with the spire's alpha.

the call had been for rannoch-- he heard it, but terance was nearby and he felt he was qualified to intercept it as well. it was his job, after all. so terance strode up very quickly to the borders, viewing the man standing across it curiously. his nose twitched, taking in the man's scent-- it seemed this was a pack wolf, first of all, though terance didn't recognize the pack. interesting. 

he arrived with tall posture and a raised tail, his ears perked just to better hear the stranger. "rannoch will come soon, i'm sure... can i help you?" he asked, green eyes studying the man opposite him.

his call is swiftly met; delight casts his cut-moon gaze curiously over the larger black wolf that approaches, the anticipation he feels mounting. is this rannoch? 

no. not rannoch, but rannoch will come soon. fair enough. it is only in this moment that it occurs to delight he has never interacted with another pack at all, let alone in terms of diplomacy -- the closest being his conversation with zenith when she was scouting out the tuktus. the wolves of tindómë seem to have more or less copped to his particular lack of grace and formality as morwinyon, but what's expected of him here? what would mato do?

respectfully he dips his head, opting for a deferrential politeness for now. "yes," he begins, "my name is delight singing-sunlight, the morwinyon of tindómë. we've just traveled from our original home to settle in the vale -- our, er, scout didn't report any packs in the area so we didn't realise we'd end up so close to you." his explanation comes in one big breath, picking up speed until the syllables trip over each other in an anxious rush to escape his brain. realising he's just going to have to re-explain all of this rannoch, delight nearly stops there, but thinks to add, "a former pack-mate of mine -- brienne -- is amongst your ranks here. we ran into each other briefly and she said she'd inform, uh, you about us meeting." there. that sounds nice and proper and hopefully will get them started on the right foot.

yay, diplomacy.

terance tried to keep up-- but he got stuck on that first word... he didn't even know what it was, it sounded like the guy was trying to say morning but had some weird kind of lisp. he tried to ignore it and pretend he knew what that meant, nodding along quietly and stoicly-- though a thousand thoughts ran through the beta's mind. one word stood out though. tindome. that was seabreeze's old pack-- which begged another question. 

"delight-- it's a pleasure... my name is terance redleaf-disarrino, this is sunspire. i am the pack's beta," he replied, much more level-headed and clearly than the other guy. he only said his last name because the other guy did-- he tended not to use it so much anymore. terance, somehow, wasn't nervous at all, maybe because this felt like any other border interaction-- and terance was feeling rather confident in his ability to stand guard and intercept strangers. hm. 

"but we don't have a brienne in our ranks, are you sure she said she resided here?" he then said, brow furrowing, "our delta, seabreeze, said she came from tindome, she did mention to rannoch that you'd be coming though..." he thought about what he'd said for a moment-- perhaps they were talking about the same wolf? "pale wolf, dark tipped ears, ocean blue eyes? maybe we're talking about the same girl," he said with a small smile, lightening the mood a little. this didn't need to be so formal-- not until rannoch got there, at least, since that was who he'd intended on meeting.

@Seabreeze had put Rannoch's anxiety at ease. She had vouched for Delight and his wolves, and the Alpha felt comfortable with the idea of Susnpire's next door neighbors. 

"Delight?" Rannoch presumed as he pulled up alongside Terance, his posture tall. Delight's first impression on Rannoch was favorable; the man held himself with respect, and from Rannoch had gandered, Terance didn't seem to be put off by anything that Delight had done. Despite his optimism, Rannoch remained cautious, as their discussion had only just begun. 

"I'm Rannoch Frostfur, Alpha of Sunspire," he introduced, his voice kind, "Seabreeze tells me that you've settled in my former claim." There is nothing unkind about Rannoch's remark— only fondness could be detected in the man's timbre.

terance, as he introduces himself, seems chill -- although delight feels a spasm of anxiety as he says they don't know brienne. oh. a confused sort of alarm temporarily takes his features hostage, wondering how he could have possibly fucked this up already when terance says seabreeze and it becomes clear. she'd gone seabreeze when he first met her and switched to brienne - she must be back to seabreeze now. he nods, his relief overwhelmingly apparantly. 

before he can say 'yea, that's the one', rannoch arrives. or who he assumes is rannoch. rannoch is large and oddly soft looking, to the point that looking at him at once makes delight feel significantly more comfortable. "yessir," delight says immediately, realising with a degree of sheepishness how that might look from the outside. but if rannoch is bothered by their acquisition, he doesn't show it outwardly at all and so the morwinyon allows himself to relax degree by degree. "mato and i had spoken of traveling this way some time ago -- he always spoke so highly of the vale -- and when my scout reported it was unoccupied, i thought it would make the most sense for us." returning to the place where mato began his journey. symbolic and beautiful. and maybe a little bit gauche. 

he takes a deep breath, hoping to be a little less.. everything at rannoch. "mato stepped down as our leader some time ago to focus on caring for his dying grandfather," delight explains, hoping the absence of the silvery prince isn't too much of an issue. "our scout must have missed your pack somehow -- but i hope we can, umbuild a strong relationship between tindómë and sunspire. mato's always spoken very highly of you," he adds, ducking his head slightly in embarrassment and hoping rannoch is as kindly as he looks.

Rannoch nodded occasionally as he grasped the information he was given. "I think we might have just missed your scout," Rannoch assured Delight, "We've only just claimed in Sunspire." He smiled, hoping that this would comfort the Morwinyon. 

As the story progressed, Rannoch found himself frowning at the news of Mato and his grandfather; it explained why Mato wasn't present.  "How awful," he sympathized. "Would you mind sending him my condolences?" Although he was unaware of whether or not Mato's grandfather had passed, Rannoch could only imagine the pain he was feeling. 

"I would like that very much," he admitted to the proposal. He saw nothing wrong in having neighbors so close when they appeared to be as curious as Delight. "Perhaps we can help each other out if the other needs help?" Rannoch suggested, and glanced at Terance to gauge his reaction.

oh, okay, he understands immediately why both brienne seabreeze and mato have been so fond of rannoch all this time. the alpha is a big, soft soul, a warm energy, very different from mato's princely statemanships or delight's informal, anxiety-stricken leadership style. he'd not really been upset with jomyo for not knowing about their presence on the sunspire, but the news that they'd literally just missed each other reassures him all the same (what a funny, small world it is). 

the morwinyon releases a breath he hadn't realised he was holding and nods. "i will, i'm sure he'll appreciate it," delight says, the tension in his face and back slowly easing. as strange an adjustment as it is to go from no neighbors in a wide radius to neighbors directly next to them, the vale is large enough he suspects space won't be an issue for either pack, and rannoch's openness to their presence fills him with confidence. "i'd like that too," he agrees readily, picking himself up a little more, "i'd be more than happy to lend help if you ever need it." and having a strong alliance can only help them out in the long run -- tindómë is at peace and well stocked but there is  no accounting for what tribulations the future will bring for either of them.

Although Rannoch had not anticipated any other outcome, he was also relieved that Delight had so readily agreed to an alliance. "I'm happy we're on the same page." Rannoch didn't see any reason to doubt Tindómë's ability to provide when needed.

"So, how are all of you settling into the Vale?" he asked with evident fondness. Although they did not decide to settle within Northstar Vale, Rannoch does not hold any grudge towards the territory— it was home to some of his favorite memories. "Do you have any questions about the area?" 

a smile curves his mouth, brightening his features. in a way, he'd built rannoch up to be a mythic figure in tindómë's history (a fact that he would probably keep to himself) -- the king before mato's prince, the figure who encouraged the silver-spun druid to begin his own journey. he does not disappoint the idea that delight came up with -- of course, delight's tendency to idealize the figures in his life is not exactly a positive quality of his, but it is also one he is not aware of.

either way, he likes rannoch is the thing. "well, thank you," he replies, nodding briefly. "it's much bigger than our previous home -- part of why we moved was due to how isolated we were -- and it's beautiful. i can see why you chose it before." delight does have questions, but they're not exactly of the nature rannoch means: he clears his throat and tilts his head slightly. "i'm also tindómë's historian," he says - admits, really, "actually - i'd always sort of hoped to talk to you about the vale - how you met mato, what it was like, that sort of thing. maybe we can another time, if it's not too much trouble?"

Rannoch couldn't help but agree with Delight's sentiments.; the Vale was as spacious as it was beautiful. "It's very well protected, too," he added. The Vale's protection was what had initially driven the Brat Pack to settle there. 

Rannoch was intrigued by Delight's request. "I don't mind it at all," he replied. "I have a request for you, too," he returned then, "Could we also arrange a meeting between you, Terance, myself, my wife and co-leader, Liffey, and any of your co-leaders?" Although the two leaders had expressed their shared interest in an alliance, Rannoch didn't feel that it was fair that Liffey hadn't gotten a say in the partnership. "I'd like for us to meet and discuss our alliance in detail." He smiled. "And make sure we are all on the same page. Plus, I'd like for you to know Liffey." 

rannoch's request is met with a nod - and a slightly hesitant pause as he considers if there's anyone else he should bring with him. jomyo and gracious have been with him the longest, and he has a special fondness for them, but he doesn't know if that translates to leadership -- there's queenie as well, who's been dedicated to her position (and who's personality is closest to his, making them fairly good work partners). it's not that he hasn't thought about promoting anyone, it's just. weird. 

but to answer rannochs question: "of course," he agrees, nodding seriously. "that's a good idea." he doesn't verbalize his inner "???" at the co-leadership thing, but he can probably ask jomyo and queenie to tag along as unofficial representatives or something.

Rannoch was oblivious to the confusion he had caused. "It's a plan," he confirmed with a wave of his tail. "I can send a scout your way when we're ready to meet?" he suggested. 

"Is there anything else I can help with for now?" Rannoch asked after a pause; it seemed as though their conversation was coming to an end.

terance hovered in the background, letting rannoch do all the talking and really just remaining for safety's sake. though, to be fair, delight didn't seem like the type that would cause problems. truthfully, terance had decided early on in the conversation that he quite liked the male-- and even though he heavily disliked the idea of living directly next door to a pack (resource competition, just for one), if delight was leading it... well, an alliance didn't seem so bad. he nodded here and there when rannoch looked to him but he had nothing of importance to add. he just listened and absorbed.

when rannoch had basically ended the conversation, terance gave a soft chuff, a dip of his head (along with a smile towards delight), and peaced himself out of the situation. on with the rest of his patrol, it seemed.

"sounds good," delight agrees, realising he's made it through the conversation intact. no, more than intact -- diplomatically sound. tindómë and sunspire are poised for an alliance, rannoch and terance seem to support their presence, and he's happy to be here, too. he watches terance make his leave, mulling over the conversation for a beat before answering rannoch. "i think we're okay for now," the androgyne says honestly, "just focused on settling down. it was nice to meet you -- i'll keep my ears peeled for your scout." 

he dips his head in a brief goodbye, and begins to make his way back to tindómë, a new bounce in his step.

Rannoch nodded; their plan was confirmed. "We're only a howl away if you need anything," Rannoch offered as his parting words. Having lived in the vale for quite some time, he knew every nook and cranny of interest. 

With an agreement between him, Rannoch watched as Delight returned home. When Delight was out of sight, Rannoch turned from their meeting spot and returned to the heart of the territory where he would seek Liffey to tell her what had transpired.