Sunspire Mountains you would come up to me, mumbling awkwardly
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#1
All Welcome 
 
thread title taken from pisces by rebecka reinhard

things were weird for her at the sunspire —

she felt inadequate.  even though she had arranged the meeting between bearclaw valley and sunspire, she wondered what need there was for someone like herself when olive and forrest were much more experienced than she.  so she focused instead of what she could learn from them; she would not ruin her new beginnings with bitter thoughts, and instead would use it as an excuse to cultivate relationships.

a dark-pelted boy with brilliant green eyes came to mind as she stepped outside their borders, but she pushed the thought away.  she needed some time to think, some time alone.

her paws carried her close to northstar vale, where it had all begun for her, and she stared at it wistfully from a distance.

[Image: 70c0c50922211f79c19a9fbb2dbe797a.png]
 
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Ooc — remus
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#2


the news that they'd have neighbors at the vale was unexpected -- jomyo'd not reported anything about it. he's not cross with her (he wonders if they'd just missed each other or something?) but it presents an immediate anxiety, mostly because, hello, they've never had neighbors before. 

he hopes they're nice.

delight plans to make an official visit, of course, but he's still fatigued from their long journey and so takes a day off to rest and map out the edges of the vale. the way the mountains cup them provides a sense of sanctity and seclusion he finds reassuring, and mildly heartened, he decides to do a quick border check, strengthen the scent of their claim.

there's a figure in the distance. moon eyes squint, his momentary cheer knocked off balance at the immediate thought that it might be someone from next door come to... start something, or something. but the figure doesn't look to be moving any closer or threatening, and as delight steps closer he recognizes the scent immediately.

"brienne!" he calls, his tail wagging behind him as he picks up the pace, crossing over his borders to go greet her. delight hadn't thought he'd see her again -- what a strange new world they've found themselves in! "what are you doing here?" he can't help but ask, his voice intrigued and bright, hoping she's in a far better place than last he spoke with her.
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
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#3

the closer to the vale the more the smell of tindome is upon her.  but how could that be?  the scents were fresh and new, and she paused for a moment to inspect one of them.  weird.

a certain voice pulls her from her thoughts and she draws her head back in confusion.  i live here, on the sunspire she laughs somewhat awkwardly, the gentle sway of her tail coming to a halt.   it was not that she was unhappy to see delight, she just... she thought she had left them behind, that she would have room to grow.

something bitter roots in her chest that overcomes the morning glow of heat that had just begun to blossom within her body.  she chooses to ignore both.  what are you doing here?  are these marked borders?  

she cannot decide if she hopes it is or hopes it is not; she would love to have delight and friends close enough she could heal but far enough she need not be involved, but having mato so close?  no.


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Ooc — remus
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#4



she doesn't look exactly thrilled to see him, though he guesses he can't blame her for that much. his brightened expression shifts back into it's usual countenance -- not sullen or unhappy by any means, he's still glad to see her, it's just a more measured glad now, especially when she confirms she lives with their neighbors. 

haha small world isnt it

"yes," delight says in answer to her question, glancing back towards tindómë. "after burke's passing i .. started to revisit the idea of relocating. and then the king elk died," he catches on a breath, still guilt-ridden over that, "and -- there just didn't seem to be anything else left for us there.

we just got in the other day -- i was going to come by to ... introduce us properly. our scout didn't report anyone else living near the vale during her scouting trip, so we weren't expecting to, uh, be so close to -- another pack."
delight is rambling a little bit, nervous about how she'll react to their being neighbors. on the one hand: he loves brienne and having her close again sounds wonderful, but if she's angry still -- she could, theoretically, put in a bad word against them with her new pack. (he doesn't think she would, exactly, but... still.) awkwardly he shuffles his weight between his paws for a moment before asking "so.. what pack are you with?"
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
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#5

she worries now about all of the things she has confided to terance and rannoch about her ex-husband; she does not want to ruin things for delight no matter how bitter she is about it all.  she'd have to be careful.

oh no, delight!  i'm so sorry to hear about... all of that.  she wants to commiserate with him, to tell him about zada and her disappearance and how it hurt but she was determined to remain stoic in front of delight.

i'm happy to hear that you're close, though.  i was going to miss you all the way out here.  i'm with rannoch, our old alpha at northstar vale, the territory you guys have claimed.  she does think it's a little tasteless and cruel for her ex-husband to come marching in and take the territory of a man who had given him shelter but she bites her tongue.  delight is leading now; this was likely not mato's idea.

we live over there, we're called, well, sunspire.  because we're on the sunspire.  she perks herself back up again (the hormones whirling inside of her help more than a bit), wagging her tail.  so, if you want, i can arrange something.  let him know you're here.  maybe we could have a meeting together as a pack.

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#6


"yeah, well," he says, feeling more awkward still, "it's alright." of course it isn't, not really (only less than two weeks prior he'd still been knight of a forest and the king elk had been alive), but brienne is no longer a cenma and wholly unresponsible for tending to whatever emotional woes befall him. also, talking about feelings makes him squirm.

the news that sunspire is being lead by none other than rannoch perks his ears up excitedly. mato's always spoken so highly of rannoch, delight has long since secretly desired to meet him, to find out more about the original incarnation of northstar vale that mato departed from to make tindómë. he hopes the news that rannoch is near will cheer up mato as well -- maybe it'll help pull him out of his funk. "oh, bri, that'd be great," the morwinyon says enthusiastically, "i've always wanted to meet rannoch too -- i'm glad you were able to find a new home, too." and truly he is. brienne's departure is maybe the only one that hasn't stung so bad. maybe because better than anyone else he can understand the scar that mato's flame leaves and the need to remove yourself from it when thing don't work out. "i hope we can be on good terms," he adds, referring to tindómë and sunspire -- and brienne and tindómë, too. he doesn't say the m-word (and he won't unless she addresses it) but even now he knows that particular spectre haunts their interactions (and how silly since it's not even like they're a thing, whatever semi-reciprocated feelings lay between them). but only time can really tell how this particular development will shake out, and delight's eager to meet that time head on.
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
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#7

delight, she says, focusing on him with a scrutinizing gaze, you can talk to me.  i know how close you were to burke and how much the elk meant to you.  she wasn't sure how difficult their deaths would be on the newest members of tindome; she doubted they'd really gotten a chance to appreciate either of them.

she brightens considerably when he accepts her offer to have everyone meet.  oh, i'm so glad!  i will pass on the message for sure.  she reaches forward and touches his cheek with her nose.  i'm glad you guys came closer.  honestly.  i didn't know what i was going to do without you.

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#8


ah. he'd almost forgotten brienne's uncanny ability to see right through him (as if he isn't already transparent). 

he squirms.

"okay, yeah, it sucks," delight admits, scratching at the ground with one paw absently. he pauses as she agrees to help arrange a meeting with rannoch, brightening a bit himself -- why had he even worried? he loves brienne -- laughing softly and with relief. "heal?" the androgyne deadpans the joke, quirking an eyebrow, though he can't keep the corners of his mouth from upturning into a smile. "no -- i missed you, too. i'm glad we ended up next to you." delight sighs. "as for burke and the king elk... i mean, it was burke's time, but the elk -- i was so afraid of ruining tindómë when ma- when i took it over, and then he just... keels over. no idea what happened or why, and -- that was actually our third death." he takes a deep breath -- he'd not bothered to mention cicero earlier, given that brienne probably doesn't know who he is and it's more confusing than illuminating, but he's going all in now, so to hell with it: "i met this wolf named cicero, he was traveling with his two sons, looking for burke -- who'd already died by then -- so i took them all back to tindómë of course, and then he goes and dies right on the borders." 

as tragic as the scene had been, for delight, it was mostly incredibly inconvenient. the kids are old enough that they aren't a burden to tindómë, but they are weird and most ungracefully dumped on him and he feels bad for them but that's about the extent of his emotional range. "it's been a lot," he admits to brienne with a short laugh, "but, uh, so, how have you been..?"
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
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#9
 
ugh sorry

his joke cuts her to the core.  yes, she supposed, that had been her intention.  but with how far mato had reclused, was this not an opportunity for her to strengthen her bond with delight at arm's distance?  she offers a nervous, ingenuine smile and is happy once he starts talking about himself again.

i'm sorry for your losses, delight.  she knew much of history already; so soiled with death, this seemed fitting in a sad and haunting kind of way.

she wonders, briefly, if it will follow him to the vale.  and she genuinely hopes not.

that's truly a lot to deal with.  are you handling well, since mato has... done whatever it is mato does when he is not leading tindome.  she makes a noncommittal gesture.

i'm doing well enough.  the girl i traveled from tindome with, i think she died.

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#10
no worries!

he squirms again, weight shifting between fidgeting paws, and wonders if it's too late for him to reach across time and eat the words he's shared. brienne's sentiments are comforting and not at the same time -- he thinks maybe it's still too raw even if it's part of the story. he hasn't earned those calluses yet. 

again the spectre of mato hangs between them, always implied. delight bites his tongue for a moment, long enough for brienne to share her tragedy. the comment strikes him as uncharacteristically off-handed, and eager to distance himself from himself, he scans her with critically. he does not know he's met the same girl that brienne left with, but he knows she must have been important to her in some way. "i'm sorry for your losses, too," the morwinyon settles on. it isn't his place to pry anymore. "i'm handling okay. i have people in my corner," he says, faintly smiling, before adding, "but i don't think... i don't think mato is going to come out of his seclusion any time soon." delight's hoped -- when burke died, when they decided to move, being here -- yet mato's remained quiet and introverted. he doesn't want to give up hope, because giving up hope is resigning himself again to loving from behind glass. but hope can only carry him so far, and more and more the practical realities of tindómë take precedent over the willful longing of his heart.
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]
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#11

she is intuitive enough to know when to push and when to let things go.  although she feels she has failed as a counselor, she does at least know that much.  she cannot force him to speak of things that he does not want to, that he is not ready for.

but she'd be here when he could.

i'm sorry, she says, sucking in a breath.  she almost expected it of the moonbeam prince.  he has had a lot on his shoulders... but so has delight.  i know how it is.

although she didn't, really.  she had only witnessed his casual cruelty, and had not been strung along with false hope.  send him my way, if he... ever feels up to it.

she had a lot of things to say to him, but mostly she wanted to apologize.  perhaps she had never given him a chance.

you can always find me.  if you need me.  i'm glad you're close.  but it seemed that he had moved on, he had others in his corner and soon even delight wouldn't need her.

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#12
end here?

the boy dips his head in a slow nod: she does know, better than anyone. even if their exact experiences with the silvery prince have differed -- delight has never known his loving touch like she, but nor has he borne the brunt of his mean indifference -- they are bound together inexplicably by their shared silver strands. 

"i'm glad too," delight says, a childish earnesty in his voice. of his many failures, brienne is the hardest to take. "come visit any time, you're always welcome in our home." cautiously he steps forward, going to briefly brush her shoulder with his nose should she let him give the gesture -- he's ready to go collect his thoughts in his own corner if she is.
but we were worried that you'd fallen in the river, or worse
but then you sent us back a letter, it said in capital letters
"THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO CATCH YOU"
[Image: 8jSCQgn.png]