Bramblepoint cranky curmudgeon

Relief was the understatement for how Rannoch felt in the moment of Cypress' admittance. Though Rannoch would never admit it outright, he had felt jealous when Rian had been referred to as "brother." Cypress was his brother, and, frankly, Rannoch didn't want to share him. With time, allowing said feelings to stew, came eventual acceptance to the point in which Rannoch referred to their cousin like a brother, too. But with Cypress' perspective, Rannoch suddenly felt differently about the situation. Something inside of his wide-set chest exhaled, and Rannoch felt suddenly lighter than he had in months. "Cy..." he trailed, his eyes wide with affection as he looked to his raven-haired sibling. "That means the world to me." This statement came from the depth of his tender heart as he felt a sense of togetherness with his sibling that had not been felt in many months. 

What followed next brought a splash of tears to his turquoise eyes, and he fell silent, unsure of what to say to followed that up. "D-Do you really mean that?" Came his soft-spoken rhetoric, unable to come up with anything more than that. Pulling his face to his brother's nape, Rannoch rested there for a moment as he embraced the moment. He could have stayed there forever if he could have, but, Rannoch knew that he needed to pull away and continue their conversation. "I love you, Cy." Rannoch knew he would never grow tired to expressing this. 

Nodding to everything that came next, Rannoch smiled at all of the possibilities that tumbled so easily out of his sibling's mouth. There was one point that struck out to him, and he replied to that eagerly: "We should learn better!" He was tempted to bring up Tryp, but, he kept it silence for keeping the subject matter to just them. "If I could go anywhere?" He pondered this briefly, unsure just what he would be looking for. "I like your idea of a place we can easily defend," he began thoughtfully. "I'd go to an open field so we can see everything!" After all, the forest was good at hiding both pack member and stranger alike. "And I think that I want some kind of water, too-- maybe a lake or something!" He blinked, turning the focus back to Cypress. "What about you? What do you want to look for?" After all, their expedition wasn't just about Rannoch-- it was about everybody in the pack.