The Sunspire taking over this town, they should worry

---

the pack had only recently lain claim to the mountain, and for the first time in a long while, cass felt that she was doing something right. in a childhood fraught with doubts, fear and the perverse darkness of the wood, there was little time to think, little time to grab hold to something steady. but for once she had found something to dedicate herself to that was not volatile, or forced upon her, but something that was good and of her own choosing.

she'd forgotten, in her many months in the dark wood, the entrancing allure of nights on the mountain. star-gazing sessions with her mother surfaced, groggily, as she moved up the mountainside, searching for the same kind of outcropping that, on moonspear, would allow an open view of the night sky. when finally she found it; she crept carefully to the little look-out, stones skittering out from under her paws as she situated herself on the stone, blinking out at the vastness of the sky that surrounded her quite suddenly.

---

Everything about Sunspire's claim seemed smaller under the expanse of the night sky. Starlight twinkled as far as the eye could see, and Rannoch couldn't help but pause and gawk at the activity overhead with awe; this evening marked the first in Sunspire's short history that the night sky was visible. After a few wonderstruck moments of observation, Rannoch decided to climb higher and get a better view. 

Rannoch walked cautiously up the mountainside, taking care in every step he placed. In time, Rannoch spotted his star-freckled packmate from a distance and chuffed immediately to catch her attention. Although it had not been his intention to seek her out, Rannoch figured it was an opportunity to get to know her better.  "Would you mind some company?" Rannoch asked with a wave of his tail. If the idea were unappealing to Cassiopeia, he'd seek a seat elsewhere and leave her to spend the evening to herself.

---

the slightest sound of pawpad on rock had her twist her muzzle, hackles prickling warily. after a moment, she tentatively guessed the owner of the soft call and the footsteps, her guess proved correct when Rannoch rounded the rock. her hackles stilled, and her weight shifted near indiscernible as she settled again on her haunches. "no," she called back after a beat. 

she watched him a moment, curiosity flickering in her gaze.  "why did you leave moonspear?" a moment after the question left her maw, she realized that surely it was a more direct question than she ought to ask, perhaps. amending a moment later, she added, "sorry, if that's blunt." but she was curious; sharply so, wondering if he'd left voluntarily, or perhaps been driven away by the likes of the cerberus.

---

When Cassiopeia voiced her preference, Rannoch couldn't help but smile. Without another word, the Alpha began to gingerly scale the rocky terrain so that he could join Cassiopeia. As Rannoch hiked along the rocky pathway, Cassiopeia initiated their conversation with a question. Rannoch smiled at Cassiopeia; he had anticipated her curiosity after discovering their similar history. "It's fine, I promise," Rannoch assured her with a wave of his tail. 

"I'm going to be honest with you," Rannoch established once he had sat beside Cassiopeia, "There were a lot of things that contributed to our decision to leave. But, our biggest reason was when we all realized we didn't agree with how leadership handled certain situations. They acted recklessly instead of thinking through things logically, and as a Counselor, that didn't sit well with me." 

Suspecting that Cassiopeia would want to know an example, Rannoch explained, "They crippled one of Liffey's family members because they suspected he was involved in a situation. It was later proved that he was innocent, and now he won't walk the same for the rest of his life." Despite the inkling of his repressed anger he felt, Rannoch kept a straight face.

---

he seemed alright with her direct line of questioning, and the girl shifted a moment to allow more room on the ledge beside her. her ears perked attentively in his direction - thinking immediately of charon and amekaze when he mentioned the leadership. it was when he mentioned one of Liffey's family members and crippled that she thought immediately of screech. 

 "they hurt my friend - the sisters. they took his eye because he saw a girl die - he's innocent, I know." unlike Rannoch, there was anger in her tone; stars forgotten now, her tail lashed once behind her. she made an effort to still her tail; she was aware of how easily anger came to her. "they won't let him go home - they think the Valley's their's." it felt nice to dump the info on him, though her hackles prickled with barely contained tension.

---

"You know Titmouse?" Rannoch asked with bewilderment; it was highly improbable that another wolf had experienced the same misfortune as Titmouse had. "He used to live with Liffey and me when we lived in the Vale. He's... like a son to me," he explained. 

"How do you know him?" Rannoch prompted.

---

her first response was one of bewilderment, and she clarified after a moment. "no - his name's screech." she took in the rest of the information with further confusion, adding, "he's from redhawk." she wondered at this, though surely they must be speaking of the same wolf - unless the cerberus made it a habit to remove eyes from wolves. 

here she paused, unsure of just how much she ought to reveal. surely if she told him the truth, his trust in her would be lost, tarnished. she hesitated, but after a beat decided she trusted him, in part. and so, she told him a version of her truth.  "I didn't leave moonspear, not willingly. there's a place to the south of here, called blackfeather. they - I lived in a cave." haltingly did she share the bare details, gaze shifting to the sky rather than see the look on his face as she continued. "after a while, I joined them. I didn't want to rot away in a cave anymore - that's when I met Screech. I thought he meant to attack me, and hurt him, badly. my captor took him, too." 

oh, excellent. here she was, likely throwing whatever trust he had in her off the side of the mountain.  "there was a war coming. I was a part of them and not, but my captor told me to go. I took Screech, and took him home, though the alpha chased me from the borders. things got bad - Screech found me a while later, he saved me. and then the girl - the sisters - I lost him again."  she neglected to mention their meeting a while before, and her green gaze moved back to meet rannoch's, heavy and guarded.

---

Screech? Rannoch's face scrunched with evident confusion; he had never heard Titmouse refer to himself as Screech. "Yeah, Titmouse was from Redhawk, too," he confirmed. "He's light grey, white underneath, and has a little bit of red fur along his neck." Rannoch hoped that the description would put both of their concern to rest. 

Cassiopeia then went to reveal the nature of her departure. Quickly, Rannoch found himself frowning at the story— it was an unfortunate story for a wolf as young as Cassiopeia to have experienced. "Blackfeather is just an awful lot of wolves," Rannoch remarked. "But, I do not blame you for joining them. It's what you had to do." The story progressed, and more misfortune followed. Rannoch could see why Elwood would have chased off somebody from Blackfeather Woods, and he also didn't blame his father-in-law. 

"How long has it been since you've seen him," he asked in reference to Titmouse. "I saw him while we were traveling here, he's living in a pack named Ravensblood Forest." Rannoch hoped the information would help.

Rannoch and Cassiopeia talked about the subject for quite some time, and they both left the conversation learning something new about their shared connection. Figuring that Liffey would want to know, too, Rannoch sought his wife so that he could tell her what he had just learned.