The Sunspire our hearts the same,

terance didn't actively avoid rannoch... no, that would be wrong. terance wasn't hiding from his friend, but the other day was... too much. fifty different things happened at once and terance didn't even know where to start. he'd fucked up, and he knew it.

would rannoch forgive him? he could only assume so... but... he felt like he'd betrayed his closest friend-- more than once. and his heart ached with the fear that rannoch would just give up on him. sounds dramatic, but hydra had done so without a second glance his way-- what's to say rannoch wouldn't do the same thing? and liffey... he needed to see liffey as well. but... well, liffey he was actively avoiding. at least until he spoke to rannoch.

gathering all his strength and bravery, terance followed after @Rannoch's scent trail, his head low and his ears pinned. he caught up to his friend headed to the borders, probably on guard after the redshank incident. terance gave a low bark to grab his friend's attention. rannoch turned to view terance with a concerned expression-- probably because terance looked like he was going to piss himself-- regarding him with a tilt of his head. 

"we gotta talk," terance said slowly, tail slowly moving between his legs, "i think... i think i fucked up-- like, real bad-- and like obviously a couple times in the whole redshank ordeal but like also later that day and i know we gotta talk about that but... i just... but.." terance hesitated to keep going. maybe this was unwarranted... and nothing would happen and he didn't ever have to tell rannoch? maybe? that seemed like wishful thinking-- he knew he was going to have to swallow his pride and just admit to his mistakes. 

"seabreeze is in heat and... i tried to get her to liffey or olive but... i don't know what happened i just-- rannoch i'm... i'm sorry-- it wasn't my place, i never talked to you... i didn't even mean... or plan or... i'm so sorry." if only terance could voice his emotions properly. it was just that  rannoch and liffey had the right to reproduce first-- and it was breaking his heart to admit to rannoch that he'd robbed him of that right. he'd broken trust, maybe-- maybe? definitely, at least in terance's eyes. how could he do this to someone so close to him? 

and for a moment, he thought of wraen. what would she think of him after this? oh dear.

Rannoch's mind was kicked into overdrive the moment that Terance had said that they had to talk; he wondered what caused his Beta to be so scatterbrained. In time, as words spilled ungracefully from Terance's mouth, the root of his stress was revealed— Terance had mated with Seabreeze while she was in heat. He blinked, finding himself recalling when both Seabreeze and Titmouse had brought up the issue days prior and although he could see why Terance was worried, he knew there was no reason to be.  

Rannoch smiled softly and shook his head. "There's no need to worry," he assured his friend,  "Seabreeze told me about it— I'm going to do everything to convince Liffey that it's okay to keep them if they happen."  

rannoch didn’t seem mad… at least not right away. terance was silent for a moment, regaining some composure, and then responded-- more eloquently this time. "i'm sorry i didn't come to you sooner... you should've heard this from me," he said softly, feeling embarrassed and scared and just sad all at once. but rannoch's words were... soothing, at least a bit. they always had that effect on him. he let out a soft sigh. "i don't deserve you," he added gently, with a tilt back of his crown.

Rannoch’s face scrunch as he heard words he knew to be untrue. ”Of course you do,” he replied, his voice stern. How could Terance even think that? 

”Everybody makes mistakes, and it’s okay as long as we learn from them,” he added, ”And I’m sure that you both will learn from this." If they didn’t, there would be consequences.

terance didn't argue, but his smile was weak. rannoch was just too nice, too pure. sigh. 

but there was more to discuss-- terance knew his friend knew this, so he sighed. "and uh-- do you wanna talk about redshank? i've been thinking a lot about that," he said, sitting down so they could discuss this more comfortably, his shoulders rolling. "what do you think about it?"

Rannoch nodded; he had been anticipating this conversation. Following Terance's lead, he sat. "Yeah, totally. I've been thinking a lot about it, too," he admitted, "I'm having a hard time deciding what would have been the right resolution for the situation." He could understand where both Terance and Liffey had been coming from, and there were certain aspects from both of their approaches that he could agree with. 

"I think I would have personally attacked him if he had attacked me first," he said after a pause, his voice thoughtful. "I know we were getting nowhere with trying to talk to him but, I think at that point I would have just tried to chase him out. He's going to be just as weak if he ever decides to show his face around here." Redshank had proven that he had not been successful in surviving on his own.  

"Does that make sense?" Rannoch then asked with a tilt of his head.

terance was silent for a while. he listened to rannoch and all he had to say, absorbing and thinking and trying to decide what he should say. truth be told, the raven-furred beta already knew how he felt. he wasn't conflicted. his only confliction was, of course, that it was a conflict... if interest, that is. he firmly believed his approach was right, and that liffey was being sensitive and rannoch being too swayed by liffey to see that. was that a hydra way to think? maybe, but terance believed it. 

"it does," terance replied with a flick of his ears. he at least could understand ran's place, he wasn't one to be a dick about other's beliefs, his were just different. terance felt the need to explain himself-- his actions-- to tell his friend what he felt from the opposite side of the spectrum, since liffey had clearly stated her own previously. "i acted to protect you, in that moment-- but i was thinking about your children...  you and liffey want to have kids this year-- you told me... rannoch if he comes back with even half of a brain-cell, and doesn't alert us that he's on a murder mission... what if he gets to them? this wasn't some random hit and run we did because of a miscommunication-- that guy was coming to kill." did that make sense? his green gaze narrowed. 

there was a pause, and then a soft sigh-- terance leaned back. "i know we're not moonspear and we 'don't handle things like them' but... i'm not putting your life or the lives of anyone in this pack at risk because i'm worried about having a little bit of morality."  

Rannoch got Terance's message loud and clear, and he felt tension develop in his shoulders as he considered what had been said. "I understand," Rannoch replied, his voice suddenly quiet; he knew Terance was right. 

"And you're right," he admitted after a pause. "I'm going to want to do everything to protect this family— blood or not." He rolled his shoulders at his next thought and sighed. "This is something we have to talk to Liffey about, too. The sooner, the better." They all needed to agree how to handle these altercations before the next one happened.

glad that rannoch wasn't upset with him for voicing his honestly opinion, terance nodded, giving his friend a soft smile despite the weight of their conversation. they'd be alright-- the whole lot of them-- and terance knew this. he hoped rannoch knew this, he wasn't great at reading people, and therefore couldn't tell exactly how the young alpha was feeling.

"you know i'll always think before i act," he added on, hoping to ease any nerves that he just couldn't sense, "and yeah, you're right-- hopefully we won't need to... but it's good to be prepared." god he hoped they didn't need to anytime soon.

"I know you will," Rannoch replied with a wave of his tail. "I think, for the most part, you and I are on the same page in regards to the borders." It was only Liffey that differed in opinion. "That's why we need to have a conversation with Liffey about all of this." 

"On a kinda similar note: have you checked in with Cassiopeia since she's been healing?" he asked after a moment with evident concern; Rannoch knew he needed to check in to see how she was recovering.

"you're right," terance replied with a dip of his nose. liffey probably would dominate this whole thing... which was fine, but he still stood stubbornly beside his own opinion. terance knew that, for once in his life, he was right. 

and then he shook his head, mouth turning down into a deep frown, his brows knitting together. "i haven't-- i need to, i'm worried about her but... i didn't want to crowd her?" he said with a deep breath in. then, after a small pause, asked, "have you checked up with her?"

"No, I haven't been up to visit for the same reason. I'm sure she's been exhausted," he replied. Like Terance, Rannoch had wanted to give Cassiopeia space while she healed; abruptly, an idea came to mind. "Do you want to go together right now?" he asked, "I'm sure she'd appreciate it now that some time has passed— especially if we brought her something to eat." 

his ears pricked. "yeah, actually, that sounds good," he said with a nod and a small smile, "we can stop by a cache on the way there." there was probably one major cache on the way. he paused to take a few breathes, nose twitching as he tried to find a hint of cass' scent. she wouldn't be too far, she was probably just resting-- as she should be. "lead the way?" he asked with a wave of his tail.

Their plan was set, and Rannoch was satisfied with the outcome of their conversation. "Yeah, I've noticed that Wraen has been working hard establishing the caches," he remarked fondly, "It shouldn't be difficult to find something on our way there." 

Rannoch sniffed at the ground as Terance did. After a few moments of classifying the present and faded smells, Rannoch pinpointed Cassiopeia's; he lifted his head and beckoned for Terance to follow after. With the worn scent trail guiding them, the two yearlings picked their way up the mountainside to where their packmate rested.