Moonspear your protector

@Alya!

 
Since his conversation with Hydra, Rannoch had frequented the borders more often. There was a multitude of things to keep an eye out for-- namely, his brothers return, and he knew that he couldn't just stand aside and let the others do the work. The Teekons were growing wilder by the day, and Rannoch knew he had to pull his weight and help protect the pack that had saved his life. 

Despite the shining sun overhead, Rannoch found that it was unusually chilly today. His thick coat often prevented any chilliness from affecting him, but, today, he felt it. Perhaps, he ventured after realizing how cold he was, it was his exposure on his neck that was allowing the temperature to affect him. 

Not dwelling too much on the matter, as there were more important matters at hand, Rannoch roved the borders slowly. Every so often, he'd pause to sample the air with a twitching nose, and when he was satisfied by the absence of any new scents, he'd lift a leg so that he could fortify their claim.

Alya paused her patrolling when she caught sight of the grey-wreathed form up ahead. His scent was strong along the borders, so she hadn't realized that he was physically present until she lifted her head and saw him there, looking for all the world like a close relative of her father, if not for the grey of his back. He was so strong and brave and perfect... except that he was not.

As ever, a terrible feeling of hurt and betrayal twisted in her stomach at the sight of him. Alya lowered her head and continued to sniff along, resigned to their inevitable crossing of paths. She couldn't avoid him forever, obviously, and as she'd reminded Lyra - he was blood.

Like Alya, Rannoch had been preoccupied in his patrolling. With his attention steered towards the vacant span of their neighboring land and with thoughts arresting his awareness of her nearby scent, Rannoch patrolled for some time without noticing his packmate. It was only when his mind freed itself of the current events of the Teekons that Rannoch realized he wasn't alone. 

When this happened, Rannoch stopped and looked over his shoulder in the direction where Ayla was positioned, and he smiled at this packmate. "Hey!" he called, uncertain of who he was talking to. Given the fact that they were along the borders, Rannoch ruled out the possibility of it being Lyra. With his introduction looming in the air, Rannoch kept his eyes on the other wolf and waited to see if Alya would join him.

Alya's eyes narrowed as the other wolf hailed her. Resigned as she claimed to be, she still found the idea of conversing with the male somewhat repugnant. Still, she gathered herself in a prim, important motion - rather like some large, black bird mantling its wings - and continued toward Rannoch, carrying herself with slightly more pom and cirumstance than she might normally.

"Hello," she simpered, pausing purposefully to urinate right over the spot he'd just marked. "Out patrolling, hm?"

She gave him a long look and then turned her head, as though she'd just read a book about his life and had found it severly lacking.

Ayla moved forward to join him, and as this occurred, Rannoch's smile grew. He was happy to have company and hoped that she'd hang around for a while. 

Her greeting was coupled with a bold proclamation, but, Rannoch lacked any reaction in regards to where she had urinated. After all, she was ranked higher, and Rannoch figured that she wanted to scent to be more prominent. Looking from the woman to where she had peed and then back to her again, Rannoch nodded once his eyes stilled. "Yeah, I've been out for a while now," he replied with a wave of his tail. "You?" 

His lack of reaction frustrated her, as did his continued friendliness. Anxiety over the valley's current state of affairs had her running high on frustration, and truthfully, Alya was spoiling for a fight. But it seemed like she wouldn't get one from Rannoch, and besides - he was blood.

With a sigh, the girl seemed to deflate somewhat. "I'm always out," she replied, beginning to sound as tired as she felt. Lately, her days consisted of short hours of sleep and long hours of patrol, always with a sense of dread hanging over her head. When would this end? Would they always live under threat?

(Even though she would never dream of it... well... she'd begun to have dreams of running off and finding Nikai, and living in safety with him and his mother, and his sister Keoni, and his 'baby sibs'. But even if she dreamed of it, she would still never dream of it. Not even if the thought of cooled the heat of frustration that had taken up root in the back of her mind.)

"I just wish we could stop worrying," she admitted, looking out toward a land that she'd never seen, but had grown to fear either way.

Blackfeather Woods. The name alone sent a shiver rippling down her spine.

Rannoch frowned at her discouraged statement, unable to avoid himself from relating to what she had said. Despite his general disinterest in patrolling, it had been increasingly vital to the safety of the pack. He knew that he had to do his part in protecting and, for as long as it was needed, he would do just that. 

He nodded to her wish, agreeing wholeheartedly with what she wanted. "It's been exhausting," he admitted, his gaze softening as he briefly looked at his paws. Kicking his forepaw absently, he elaborated in a manner that was brash in comparison his normal character, "I wish we could just kill them and go back to things being normal." The constant threat, coupled with the first inklings of his sexual maturity, had caused Rannoch to feel more aggressive and impatient as of late.

"Me too," said Alya with feeling. Her own impending sexual maturity had little to do with her aggressive nature; the Cerberus's girlhood had been something of a bloodbath. "Like - why are we just sitting here? We have you and Daddy, and Mom and us, Terance..." She closed her eyes, imagining storming into the dreaded woods, her family at her side. They'd take out the root of the problem, and then her family could go back to living in peace. She could stay a bit longer and then say goodbye to her sister, and go out on that carefree adventure she'd been dreaming about since she was a tiny girl.

"It's not fair," she went on, eyes hardening. "Why are they such assholes, anyway?"

Rage and indignation coiled up in her gut, and Alya released it with a vicious snarl. The sound did nothing to alleviate the tension in her body. "It just makes me so angry that we're just sitting here, waiting. I know why we can't just barge in there, but..."

She swiftly turned her back on Rannoch, uncomfortable with the amount of weakness she was showing him, even if he was blood.

Rannoch had opened the floodgates of Ayla's concern. Allowing her to voice her frustrations, Rannoch listened to what Alya said and allowed her to speak to her heart's content. When she was done, Rannoch stepped towards her in an attempt to begin comfort her. 

"It's not fair," he remarked bleakly after a pause. "I don't know why they're getting away with what they're doing and it's not fair." He felt the weight of his anger fall squarely upon his shoulders and he shifted out of discomfort, unable to bear the burden on his own. "And I understand why we're not going over there, too, but it just seems like we're taking forever," he would never question his Alphas, but, to Rannoch, it felt as though time was dragging as Ayla's parents took their time to decide what would be done. 

"You heard about what happened to the wolf at Redhawk Caldera, right?" he asked suddenly, unaware of whether or not Hydra had told her of what had happened to Wildfire.

Rannoch was frustrated, too. That didn't surprise Alya; it was a tense situation that no one could be happy with. Still, it was good to feel him rally with her. She felt closer to the male, and more forgiving of his crimes. "Yeah," she replied to his question of the Redhawks, but Alya didn't want to talk about them, either. The pack was a long-standing adversary of Moonspear, despite Hydra's friendship with Towhee. It only made the whole thing seem messier, in Alya's opinion.

She turned back to Rannoch and eyed him critically. "Did you know we're cousins or something?" she asked abruptly, wondering if he'd been filled on on their common blood. It didn't seem likely that the information had eluded him this long, but then again, Alya had loved Cypress for several months before Charon had seen fit to tell her how well suited they truly were.

Rannoch dropped the situation of Redhawk Caldera, realizing that it was useless to elaborate; it would only infuriate him more. 

When Alya turned back to face Rannoch, she asked something that caused him to feel intrigued. "No," he replied slowly, watching her with an observant eye. He had never realized how much the Cerebus looked like Cypress, but, as his mind made the connection between the wolves he thought about, Rannoch found himself easily accepting her vague statement as fact. "How?" he asked after a moment, wanting to what related them.

Alya shrugged; she'd never asked her father. It didn't really matter, did it? "I don't know. My dad mentioned being related to your mom or something," she said, sharing all that she knew on the subject. "I was really happy when I found out - I loved Cypress," she explained, her eyes searching Rannoch's face for some kind of answer. "Lyra loved him, too. We were going to share him. But then he was gone, and I think it hurt Lyra more even than it hurt me. And then you came."

Her expression grew stormy once more, though her anger was no longer directed at Rannoch. "I guess we thought... we thought it was meant to be, you know? We rescused you, and we thought you were gonna be our man. But then Liffey came and found you, and it... it really sucked. We could never find Cypress."

But that was everyone's loss. Rannoch's as well as hers, because they were blood. They were family. "I wish he was here."

Rannoch made a mental note to seek out Charon, wondering if the Alpha had any stories of his mother that he would share. 

The thought of his mother lingered as Ayla elaborated to speak about her experience of when she had learned of how they were related. He felt a mix of emotions as Alya explained the situation; he was happy to know why they had been so mad when Liffey had arrived, sad at the realization of the void that Cypress had left, and a sense longing for his brother's presence. He allowed these feelings to marinate as he comprehended what it all meant in the grand scheme of things. 

"I-I'm sorry," he said after a pause, his gaze averting as he began to speak. He wanted nothing more than everybody to get along, but, he wasn't sure if it was possible-- especially with his brother absent. "I would do anything if it meant Cypress would return." He was suddenly quiet; his throat clenched and he became overcome with sadness as he realized that Cypress might never come back. 

Rannoch had felt too many emotions in a short amount of time, and he found it exhausting.

Sitting, he articulated what he felt to the best of his ability; Rannoch wasn't always the best with his words. "I really hope he comes back soon, but, if he doesn't... do you think we'll all be able to eventually get along? You, Liffey, Lyra, and Hydra are all so important to me, and I don't like this divide that me and Liffey's relationship has created," he admitted, looking at his cousin with concern.

"Me too," said Alya. The words were not true in reality - there were many things she would not do even for Cypress - but were in spirit, at least. If there were a way to bring Cypress back and make their family whole once more, Alya would endeavor to see it through. But there was not, and the way thing stood between Rannoch and the Cerberus, Alya couldn't see them making much headway with Rannoch's request, either. Perhaps... if both Liffey and Lyra could consent to share...

But Lyra was a possessive, jealous woman. Even sharing with Alya had been a stretch. To share with Liffey was unthinkable.

"We're family, Rannoch," she said at last, not meeting the older boy's eyes. "Something will work itself out."

But Alya really hoped that something was Liffey, working right out of Moonspear.

For as long as Ayla decided what to say, Rannoch held his breath. After speaking, he had realized just how bold his request had been, and he had sincerely hoped that it wouldn't cause any further issues. But, to prepare himself just in cast, he tensed and anticipated the worst to come of this. 

He was pleasantly surprised at her response and, finally, he felt as though he could breathe again. "Thank you, Ayla," he replied as he quietly exhaled the air he had been holding in. He diverted his gaze then, his expression softening as he visibly relaxed.

"You have no idea how much that means to me," he admitted.

Alya gave the male a fond, exasperated look, greatful for his ignorance even as she began to feel frustrated by it. He seemed so sure that they could all make up and be friends just for his benefit. None of the Cerberus cared for Liffey, and Alya wasn't sure Rannoch would ever mean enough to them to give up their vendetta against her. Alya certainly didn't.

But, as she looked at her cousin and the adorable look of trust and gratitude on his face, Alya realized that she did care enough to try and hide her dislike of and animosity toward Liffey just a little bit better. The thought filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling she recognized as affection.

"You mean a lot to us, Rannoch," she replied, moving forward to touch her nose to his for an instant. "Just... don't expect things to change too quickly. Lyra's pretty hurt, and to be honest... so am I. Just a little."

She made her expression embarrassed and contrite, though she felt neither emotion. She thought, perhaps, a bit of guilt would help Rannoch toward the place she and the rest of the Cerberus wanted him to be. That, and manipulation came so naturally to Alya that she really couldn't have helped herself either way.

Rannoch was comforted by the coupling of Ayla's sentiment and embrace. He smiled softly and nodded, understanding where both Ayla and Lyra were coming from. "I understand," he accepted, knowing that for now, that was the best that any of them could do. 

Reaching forward, Rannoch briefly touched his nose to her cheek. "I really appreciate you telling me your perspective," he said as he pulled away from their embrace, "I honestly had no idea what happened. That day that Liffey arrived you all suddenly acted so differently." He frowned, unable to express his recollection delicately. "I didn't like seeing you all like that. It just felt wrong." 

Deciding that now might be a good time to try and plant the seeds of attraction in the young Frostfur's mind, Alya let her eyes go soft and gleaming, like Lyra's when she looked into the eyes of a really cute boy. (Alya herself had a similar look, but it had been called 'manic' more often than soft, and 'calculating' more often than gleaming.) "Thank you, Rannoch," she said, her voice hardly more than a breath of air. She let her expression fall, grow troubled and 'earnest' all at once. "I - it didn't feel right to have that distance between us for me, either," she said, as though admitting to some profound secret.

Her eyes fell down to her paws, and then fluttered back toward his face, the way Lyra's did when she was trying to figure out what to say. But Alya already knew the perfect words. "You're a good man, Rannoch. I hope, one day... Well, I hope I can find someone like you."

She tucked her ears back, as if embarrassed by these words. "I should go," she said with a 'nervous' giggle, keeping her eyes pinned bashfully to the ground. "Thanks for talking to me. You've really helped me to feel better about all this."

Rannoch was happy to hear that Alya shared the same sentiments as he did. To him, it seemed as though they all were finally going to get along and he couldn't have been happier if he tried. 

"Thanks, Alya," he said bashfully, feeling flattered by what she had said. "I know you will. Any guy who ends up with you will be very lucky." Had he known of her alternative motives, he might have had different sentiments. But, being the navie wolf that he was, Rannoch only had kind things to say about the second-in-command of the Cerebus. 

As she made her departure known Rannoch nodded to what she said, feeling all the more satisfied with the talk that they had had. "Of course, I'm always a call always if you need somebody to talk to," he said with a wave of his tail.

Alya offered Rannoch one last smile before turning and picking her way delicatly into the territory. The conversation could have gone a bit better, of course, but Alya liked to count her blessings before her failures. Otherwise, how would they ever measure their progress?

The dark girl mulled over this as she sought out her sisters, intent on sharing news of the encounter with them as soon as she possibly could. They needed to keep their stories straight, after all, and Lyra would have to know how to act if she ran into Rannoch and decided to seek succor in Alya's identity.