Northstar Vale the keeper

As the weeks dragged onward to summer, Rian was feeling more comfortable in his position as Beta. He'd taken a bit of time to himself to collect his thoughts, and scout a bit of the immediate territory. The weeks spent traveling with the group had drained the chocolate-and-cinnamon male of his social ability, and the few days of self-imposed solitude had done wonders to his mood. But word of the budding treaty with Moonspear brought about a slew of new worries for him to pick apart. His first, and last, interaction with Charon hadn't gone well at all, and he worried that his status within the Vale would sour any ties Rannoch and @Cypress wished to strengthen. 

But he didn't carry those thoughts with him as he approached the usual haunts of his brother. Instead, he sought the wolf for nothing more than to reaffirm their bond, and enjoy the intelligent Gamma's company. Perhaps even, if the mood struck them, explore an uncharted area of the Vale. That was, of course, providing the silver-cloaked shadow was receptive to Rian's invitation and healed enough after the ordeal with the bear (an incident still fresh in Rian's mind). Try as he might, he couldn't quite shake the memory of his younger brother's squaring off against the two-ton bear without him. But they were alive, and they'd made it.

Somehow, maybe someone somewhere was looking out for them after all. 

Rian paused near a small little copse of trees, needing to relieve himself before continuing his search. As he hiked up his leg he wondered if would be better to just call for his elusive brother...

Fortunately for Rian, Cypress was coincidentally moving in the direction of the very same trees, trying to find some shade. Call him contrary, but he wasn’t sure what was worse — the oppressive heat of summer or the unforgiving chill of winter. His heavy black pelage was stuck in a prolonged stage of spring shedding, the paler charcoal of his dense undercoat peeking through the indelible black. Honestly, he looked a little silly — skinny in some places, overstuffed in others — but he’d never really been concerned with his appearance.

A little breathlessly, “Hey, Rian!” he called out the moment the espresso-and-nutmeg male came into view. “Gettin’ hot.” He crossed the distance that separated them and reached up to mouth at his brother’s lower jaw. Cypress, unlike Rian, had always been perfectly satisfied with the way the hierarchy had worked itself out, but there was nothing perfunctory about his greeting. Affection burned brightly within those eerie lantern yellow eyes, saying, “I love you,” even as his actions said, “I respect you.” The sulphureous-eyed raven was under the impression that Rian had come here to beat the heat, not seek him out, so he offered a comment that probably seemed a bit out of the blue: “You made it just in time,” he said. “Sun’ll catch up to us soon and then the best pace is probably the rock ledges.”