The Sunspire love your ground

Weather: 17°F, mostly cloudy.
Location:  Along the border with Panther Park.
Note: Hoping for somebody that is pledged to Sunspire!

Rannoch stood along the border with his hind leg hoisted into the air; although he wanted to explore the internal portion of the territory, he knew that establishing their boundaries was more important. A gentle stream of urine streamed through the chilly air, and soon, the once-pristine ground was stained with Rannoch's mark. Without another thought, he shook his leg and continued along.

Although an official decision had not been made about whether or not they should resume their residence at Sunspire, Rannoch's mind was set— this was their new home.

Much like Rannoch, Liffey too had come to the conclusion that the slopes of the mountain beside their former home was now their new home. Though there was little about her time at Moonspear she could bring herself to look back on fondly (not with the bad memories so fresh still), she had enjoyed the territory itself. Sunspire gave her the pieces of the land she had enjoyed, and then some. It was light where Moonspear was dark. It was open where Moonspear was tangled and shrouded. It was home, where Moonspear had been anything but.

Liffey was coming down from the higher slopes when she spotted her mate in the distance, dutifully marking their claim. She smiled softly at the sight (even though its a little weird to watch the guy you’re banging pee, lets be real) and picked up her pace to bring herself alongside him. She greeted him with an affectionate kiss on his temple and a wag of her tail.

”I’m getting the feeling that we won’t be traveling any further,” she commented, relief evident in her voice.

Rannoch turned as Liffey approached and watched her with tenderness in his eyes. Rannoch returned her affections in full, as he kissed her cheek and briefly pressed his nose to her forehead. Rannoch withdrew from her as she articulated her opinion about Sunspire. A smile quickly spread across his lips. "You know, I had the same feeling," Rannoch confessed as he met her gaze, "I guess that's why I'm down here making us a border." He chuckled then and mused, "I guess a little presumptively." 

"I'm glad you think so, though," he admitted, his voice softening. "I want this to be our place for years to come, and then have our children inherit it when we keel over." 

Liffey wasn't surprised in the least to hear that Rannoch shared her sentiments about Sunspire. He was claiming it already, after all. She smiled at his confession, but shook her head. Something told her that the rest of their little band sensed the same, though she wasn't as confident regarding their feelings on the decision. Looking back over her shoulder at the mountain that towered behind them, she couldn't imagine there would be much in the way of argument.

A single brow was quirked as she turned back to Rannoch, her head tilted slightly and a smile stretched across her lips. "Keel over?" she said, chuckling softly before changing her track slightly, "How on earth will we ever decide which of our kids to give it to?" She paused, mimicking a thoughtful look before brightening as though an idea had hit her, "Puppy triathalon? Winner takes all?"

Rannoch smiled coyly at his wife as a thought formulated at the forefront of his mind. "That's an idea but, I was thinking something a little darker," he revealed as he danced a step closer to her. "I thought we'd just have them fight to the death. Winner takes all." He attempted to hold a straight face as his words subsided into silence but, the efforts were shortlived. 

"Kidding, obviously," Rannoch said before he leaned forward and kissed Liffey's cheek.

Liffey's ears perked with curiosity as he responded to her triatholon idea. His suggestion surprised her. Her jaw dropped open in incredulity and she reached up a paw to smack his chest lightly as he came in for a kiss he very much did not deserve.

Still, it was with a smile on her face that she shook her head ruefully at him. "Well, look who's trying to win father-of-the-year already," she said with a laugh.

Rannoch had deserved the smack to the chest, and he knew it. Although he didn't often make off-colored jokes, Rannoch occasionally snuck them in when he was feeling feisty. "I'm the definition of father-of-the-year," he insisted with a laugh and kept the witticism going for just a moment more. 

Rannoch watched his wife, and as he did, his expression softened. "You have no idea how excited I am to start this new chapter of our life together," he said, feeling suddenly sentimental. Although the weight of his grief had lifted, it had been replaced with a specific liveliness that he had not felt in months— he felt rejuvenated and ready to take on this new opportunity with his wife and best friend.

Liffey smiled as she rolled her eyes at her mate. Had she any worries that he wouldn't be an amazing father, she might've found less humor in their banter. As it was, she had no doubts whatsoever that he was going to be a spectacular dad, in spite of his poor taste in jokes.

Her smile faded slightly as he changed the subject. While he spoke of a new chapter with such honest joy, Liffey found herself suddenly remembering the old chapter she'd made him walk away from. She looked at him then and with a slight tilt of her head and some uncertainty in her voice, she asked, "You mean that? Really?" She knew that her mate loved her and would give anything to make her happy, but that didn't mean he couldn't still find room for regret or disappointment over what he'd had to do to make her so.

"Of course," Rannoch replied quickly, his expression furrowing. He wondered what had brought about this uncertainty within her— was his comment perceived as ungenuine? His joke unsettling? A twinge of guilt twisted in his stomach, and he frowned. He had felt confident a moment ago, and her anxiety caused that light within him dimmed considerably. 

"Do you not think I'm telling the truth?" Rannoch asked then, his voice concerned; they weren't going to pussy-foot around this matter until it festered to the point of combustion. "Because I've never been more serious about anything in my life." Rannoch pressed his nose to her forehead and exhaled gently. "I love you, Liffey, and I want nothing more than to rule this mountain at your side." 

"I promise I'll never make another joke like that, either," he assured her for good measure. Rannoch wanted to make sure that all of his bases were covered. "It was in bad taste. I-I was just foolin' around but I shouldn't joke like that about our kids." 

Rannoch was quick to reassure her. Liffey struggled against it momentarily, but then allowed the honesty in his voice to soothe her worries. She had to stop thinking like this. She had to let what had happened at Moonspear go and move on. A major part of that was forgiving herself for being so unhappy there and for asking her mate and her friends to give up so much for her to be happy. She had to remind herself that she had not been alone in her misery there, and also that she had not forced any of them to come with her, not even Rannoch. Every one of them had had a choice, and if they had chosen to stay, then Liffey would've been the one sacrificing for them. She had to let this go. It was done now.

She found herself smiling at her mate just before he suddenly changed the subject. She blinked at him then, startled, and not even sure what it was he was talking about. What joke? She squinted at him and canted her head in evident confusion. Then, it came to her, and she shook her head at him with a small laugh. "Rannoch, it's fine," she reassured him, "If you think something like that would bother me, I need to take you to visit my mother again. She used to try and get my brother and I to fight each other to prove to her which of us was the good twin. Because she said we were being boring." She rolled her eyes, but there was fondness in her tone.

"But anyway... I know you are, and I'm sorry I keep being so pathetic about all of this," she said with a sigh, "I just can't seem to stop feeling guilty. I keep remembering what Terance said when we first left... I keep wondering if maybe I really didn't give them enough of a chance, or if I should've done something different. But then I remember seeing Titmouse the other day, and... I know we made the right choice. I guess I just feel bad still that it had to be this way."

Liffey disclosed a portion of her past that Rannoch was not familiar with. "Wait, really?!" he replied, his eyes wide. Although Rannoch had known his mother-in-law to be a quirky individual, he would have never suspected her to do something like pit her children against each other out of boredom. "Hopefully she won't do the same to her grandchildren," he mused. Rannoch had a feeling she would, and he would have to keep a close eye on her. 

Rannoch shook his head as Liffey spoke of her regrets. "You have nothing to apologize for," he assured her as he drew his tongue to the side of her pale maw, "You're not pathetic, either." Nothing about their departure had happened the way that Rannoch had intended, and he still had his regrets, too. "There is so much about that day that I wish I could go back and change but, I can't," his ears pinned to his skull, and he sighed. "I think in the end we made the right decision, and in the long run, that day will hurt less. It's just so fresh in our minds right now, and it's understandable that you're feeling this way." Rannoch pressed himself against her in an attempt to comfort her. "We'll probably feel this way for some time, and that's okay. It's not weird or pathetic... it just is how it is." He exhaled slowly then and released some of his pent-up stress.

Liffey smirked at Rannoch's reaction to her story. Fin had never done anything to actually hurt her kids. They'd been puppies at play and she had goaded them. But the Blackthorn's daughter did have something of her mother in her, which is why she decided not to clarify these little details for her mate. Instead, she shrugged, as though she wouldn't have minded in the least if Finley made a little gladiator pit for their kids and had them battle for her love (which she probably wouldn't have).

She sobered at Rannoch's encouragement regarding her feelings towards their move. His words were ones that she needed to hear, so she soaked them into her very being as best as she could. They were words she would need to remember when the guilt crept in again later and threatened to turn her from the happiness she was seeking here. She nodded slowly in response, then leaned forward again to snuggle into his comforting embrace.

"Okay," she said softly, shutting her eyes as she buried her face in his fur. She sighed thoughtfully after a moment before voicing a decision she had just come to. "I need to talk to Terance... Clear the air," she said. It would be difficult. It felt much like she'd be tearing open the wound he had from his own feelings of loss at leaving Moonspear - a wound that was already on its way to healing - but she didn't want the one in their relationship to fester either.

"Plus, we should see what he thinks of settling here," she added, trying to finally leave the subject behind, at least for the time being, "I want him to feel just as good about where we stay as we do. Wraen too."

As Liffey nuzzled into him, Rannoch gently groomed the top of her head. He considered all that was on her mind and gave her all the time she needed to sift through her thoughts and come to a conclusion. Surprisingly, she had come to a decision much quicker than he had anticipated. 

He was proud of the resolution that she had made, and his pride was evident in the look he fixed on her. "I think that's what would be best. I want us all to be able to talk about our issues and come to a resolution." He paused for a second and considered the additional information that she added but, an agreement came easily. "Yes, of course," he said, "Their comfort with the territory is as important as ours. We're all a team." Wraen had still not returned from her scouting mission, and he added, "Should we wait for her to return? Or should we talk to Terance about what she would think about the mountain?" They had already informed Wraen by a howl of them stopping.

Rannoch supported her decision, which was not surprising in the least. She smiled at him and nodded, redirecting her focus on their next steps in claiming Sunspire as their own. Wraen not being currently present did pose a problem. But, selfishly, she reasoned that Terance would likely know best how Wraen would feel. He could speak for them both, right?

"Why don't we go find him and see what he thinks?" she suggested, "Maybe call for Wraen, see if she's close enough to come join us?"

Rannoch nodded in agreement to Liffey's suggestion. They couldn't claim anything officially without the consent of Terance and Wraen. With a new motive in the forefront of his mind, Rannoch sniffed at the ground to see whether or not Terance had been around recently. When he caught a relatively fresh scent trail, Rannoch lifted his head, nudged his wife, and started off in the direction where the path direction them both. 

Butterflies suddenly tickled at Rannoch's gut as they wandered through the territory, and the gravity of their conversation struck him— they had found a home.