Northstar Vale i'm not falling behind or running late

@Rannoch

Spurred by his responsibilty as the Vale's Beta, Rian cut through the territory in search of Rannoch. It had been some time since the two of them had officially conferred (aside from frequent casual conversations with Cypress), and he felt it was high time to level with the Alpha on current events. Their pack was settled and, as far as he knew, they were doing well. The caches were less full than he would have liked considering the season, but they had plenty of time to shore up the reserves before winter. More time meant more practice—he reckoned by the cold season, they'd be taking down elk with ease.

Still, he worried. He always worried. What if they lost numbers?  What if Titmouse wandered off? What if Redshank and Airi's feud intensified to a dangerous level? What if he wasn't good enough to lead and the pack caught wind of his weakness? It wasn't that he didn't trust Rannoch's judgement; that was over the second the larger male shoved his face into the dirt. But he didn't trust himself. Going from a reclusive, introverted lurker to a figurehead was... a difficult transition, and he still wasn't sure how to handle it when the others, especially Cypress, lowered their heads when he passed. All in all, Rian felt as if he was piloting a shell that walked, talked, and acted like a Beta, but lacked the heart and mind of one.

He stopped near to where Rannoch's scent was strongest and offered up a wuff. If he was with Liffey or, well, anyone, he didn't want to just invite himself into the middle of it. As he waited for a response, he stooped to sniff idly at one of the Alpha Male's recent marks.