Northstar Vale two ghosts

@Airi!

The fog had lifted by the time that Rannoch stepped into the river that cut through his territory. With much on his mind occupied, and a majority of those thoughts targeted towards @Airi, Rannoch attempted to work through his emotions while fishing. The interaction with Ixchel was still fresh in the Alpha's mind, even though days had passed since, and still, he had not sought out the raven-haired child. There was so much that he wanted to say to her, yet, he had not found a way to put these ambitions into coherent thoughts efficiently. So instead of thinking, the young leader turned to hunting as he prepared himself for their meeting. He had always been taught that it was better to discuss important matters on a full stomach and as such, he drove himself to provide for the conversation that would be had soon. 

A good thirty minutes of the Alpha's time was spent jutting his head below the water's surface in an attempt to catch whatever fish had caught his attention from below the surface. With loss after loss endured, the Alpha eventually gave up in his attempts, seeking the shore as he abandoned water. Once on land, as he thought about what would be done next, the plush-pelted male shook himself until he was mostly dry, sending droplets of water every which way. When all was said and done, Rannoch knew what had to come next. He had spent far too long ignoring the white elephant in the room, and it was time to address it so that they could move on. Once seated with his back to the river, the Alpha tipped his head back and called for the pack's Pi.

She awoke from her perch on the mountains towering above the Vale to the sound of Rannoch's voice. She glowered; she knew what this was about. Her actions with the intruder had not gone very well, apparently, though she thought she had done rather well. They wanted to keep this valley, right? How were they to do so without asserting their claim?

But she rose, quickly scaling down the mountain to heed the call placed for her. It took her a while of targeting and triangulating to find the alpha, but she saw the great gray wolf soon enough, by the waters, dripping wet. She said nothing as she approached, her head bent down slightly, looking up expectantly at the Frostfur.

Rannoch observed silently as the raven-haired woman advanced, his face uncharacteristically expressionless as he watched. Once she had settled, with both a lowered posture and lifted eyes, the Alpha sat a little taller as he looked to his subordinate. He did not hesitate in starting their conversation, and as he began to speak, he bore his eyes into hers and growled; a silent warning to tell her to stand down.

"I don't think I need to waste time with discussing why we are here," he began once his growling subsided, cutting straight to the point, "And before I speak to it, I want you to explain the situation from your perspective." He fell silent then, giving the child the floor in an attempt to better understand the situation from her point of view.

Her eyes widened at the growl, not in fear, but in surprise. They quickly narrowed again as Airi suppressed the urge to snarl in response, lowering her body further. She was glad that he did not spend time beating around the bush and got straight to the point of their meeting.

Her voice was low as she spoke, containing as best she could the annoyance she felt. I was protecting our land, She began. Just recently I was attacked by another such trespasser near Porcupine Ridge. Her paw raised to gesture to the bite marks on her muzzle. The bruises and cuts on her side from the fall were hidden by her thick fur. If we want to secure ourselves, we have to defend our borders, yes? She asked him, a hint of disbelief from his anger creeping into her tone once again. Even if it means making some enemies. The pack comes first.

Even with the way that Airi had greeted the stranger at their borders, Rannoch could not fault for her reasoning for acting as she had. On top of that, the Alpha now felt concern for the Vale's Theta and towards the rest of the pack, as he had been unaware of what had happened to her on Porcupine Ridge. Pushing aside the topic that they had come together for, Rannoch honed in on her injury, his brows falling heavily above his bright, aquamarine eyes. 

"Did you get that checked out by Rose?" asked Rannoch, his voice soft as his eyes lifted to meet the hard eyes of the Dracanoid. He could not see himself debating their disagreement when she had been injured, especially since she had been attacked so close to their home. "Did you tell Rian?" He pressed after a beat, knowing that this was something that his Beta, and the rest of the Vale, would need to know about.

The scars had itched, and their healing was uncomfortable, as most healing was. But she washed the wounds out and rested, and they healed quickly. I healed well on my own; but I do not know Rose, Granted, she knew few of the pack by name, or even by face. She kept to herself, away from the others, practically a loner amidst their ranks. 

...No... She said, realizing her mistake in not reporting it soon enough. It made her look even more like a fool, a reckless child, or perhaps even a lying child. Embarrasment flared into self-hate within her, though Zennyo tried to cool the fires stoked within her.

As Airi answered his question, Rannoch found himself growing even unhappier with the situation. Even though Airi was solitary in nature, that did not mean that she had to depend on herself for everything. Even with their differences, she was a member of his pack and, in future situations, he hoped that she realized this. "Rose is our resident medic. She can often be found tending to her herbs in her den near the big lake," he said, communicating the information that she should have known long ago. He felt guilty that it had taken her so long to learn this. "When we're done discussing, I'd like you to come with me and meet her," he said, his voice stern despite the soft undertones that his words carried. 

The next sequence of her reply, a single word that delivered a weight straight to the pit of his stomach, made him pause for a second. In this moment of contemplation, Rannoch considered the situation from both perspectives. "I think I see our problem here," he concluded after his consideration, his expression softening slightly. "I believe that we've both had a problem with communicating and I think it caught up with us." Their initial reasoning for coming together could have even been avoided with a simple conversation in regards to the borders. Pausing, even though he wished to get to the gist of it, he wanted to make sure that she understood what he was attempting to explain. "Do you follow so far?" Rannoch asked with a tilt of his head, pausing his words before he dove too deep into the subject matter.

The young man's face did not bother her. It was not his disappointment that she was truly worried about. Embarrassment was one thing, but the disappointment of another was nothing compared to it in her mind. She was disappointed in herself instead, in her childish isolation. She didn't think it pompous though. Just foolish.

She felt a certain disgust when Rannoch questioned her. Her teeth wanted to bare, yet again in their conversation, but she kept herself civil. As civil as she could be. I follow, She intoned, regretting that she didn't just snap at him. But she knew the consequences for such a thing.

With Airi's agreement, Rannoch nodded slowly and observed as he attempted to gauge just where she was and how she was feeling in all of this. Despite his need to know, the Alpha came up short in figuring out how she was. Her stoic facade reviled nothing, and Rannoch found himself scrambling to interpret what she was actually thinking. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, despite his apparent skepticism, Rannoch continued his thought: "So, with this, I believe that you and I need to be more open to communicating with one another," he began, his eyes bearing into hers as he spoke. This was the only way that Rannoch could stand having her in his ranks. 

"I see potential in you, and I want you to be able to flaunt your natural capabilities," he added then, reflecting on the interaction that they had. Airi had the drive to keep their community safe, but, it appeared that she still needed some guidance in recognizing that there were a right and wrong time to act in such a way. The situation with Ixchel, in Rannoch's opinion, had not been a good display of her judgment. "But, I need you to realize when it is good to do so. That stranger had kept her distance from our border and was being respectful to our claim." His eyes hardened at this moment as the twinge of embarrassment sparked in his wide-set breast. "I think you were wrong in verbally assaulting that stranger as you did, as she showed no threat to us." A growl mingled in the depths of his baritone, threatening to break loose if she aggravated him further. "I want you to only speak that way to strangers if they are directly on out border or within our lands. But, if they are respecting our boundaries, you will treat them with courtesy." There was no room for arguments here; Rannoch would not accept anything less from the Dracanoid.

Keeping himself somewhat levelheaded, despite the passion he felt, he stared down the child and awaited her reaction. Having built himself up verbally, the Alpha's position had changed; his broad chest and chin lifted as he looked down to his subordinate, his posture emulating his claim and his authority over her. In this conversation, it was apparent that Rannoch Tiberous Frostfur was not open to anything but an agreement. Should he have been met with anything else, he would resort to force as he had to establish his law on the land.

She could see the doubt in his eyes and hid another smile, revelling in her small defiance. She cared very little for what he had to say, except when the praise began. She smirked, but it quickly burnt away like fog, her judgements still demonized by the elder male. Apparently she was wrong. But she knew it wasn't true. Would that invader come back? Likely not. Problem solved. But she said nothing, clamping up despite Rannoch's calls for opening communications.

Got it. She eventually said, her voice clipped. She would have responded more cheerfully had it not been for the man's sudden, and in Airi's mind, unnecessary shift in body posture towards the more dominant. Her lip, again, wanted to curl, but she shifted the physical energy towards her eyes, hardening them in defiance.

As much as Rannoch wanted to wanted to give Airi the benefit of the doubt, he simply couldn't. The combination of her varying behaviors, each of which illuminated her in an unfavorable light, had taken a toll on his opinion on her. Given the response that he had been given, the Alpha was left to wonder whether or not she would do as he said or whether she'd continue her ill-mannered tendencies. 

It was at that moment that the idea of her fate blossomed within in his mind. "You have one more chance," he said after a brief pause, considering his words carefully before he spoke them. "If I hear from anybody of this behavior again, or if I witness it myself, you'll be out on your own again." He did not fancy giving second chances to those who took advantage; he only saw it as a waste of both of their time. "Got it?" he asked with a bite in his voice. By this point, his characteristic friendliness was long gone as he gave into the irratation that Airi had ignited with her attitude.

the tension between them that rannoch sought to quell in this conversation remained. airi gained no respect for the young man, instead maintaining her internal smirk and her external chill. she awaited his next words, eyes imploring him to get on with it. he gave her an ultimatum, which was nice, she supposed. finally some kind of strictness from her leader. one more chance. she could take that. she was disappointed that she wouldn't have more, just to see his calm facade disappear into the irritation she saw on him now and heard in his biting words. Got it, she repeated, her words calmer now, sprinkled with a bit of self-satisifaction at seeming the calmer of the two. Anything else?

Thanks for the thread! <3 

Rannoch's biting response had helped in extinguishing the anger that bubbled in the pit of his belly. Even though it had made him feel better, the Alpha keep his facade firm as he watched the raven-pelted woman. To Rannoch's interpretation, she seemed to have taken the news relatively well. After all, there was no indication of any discourteous undertones to her voice, and this fact alone felt like a small victory.

"No, you are dismissed, Airi," he replied, his words much calmer than they had been when he had spoken previously. Though it took time, she accepted this and went back to wherever she had come from leaving Rannoch alone with his thoughts. He would linger in place for quite some time, replaying the events of their conversation and he mulled over the nitty gritty details of it all.