<font color=9aa3b4><i>always.</i> //</font>

A L C I D E
The hazy evening light cast long shadows across the land, so foreign to the beast that made his way eastward. His form never halted, and his step never faltered. It was clear the vast wolf was on a mission, one that no beast of land or sea could possibly stop him from pursuing. Dark eyes cast about, forever searching the landscape. What he sought had to be somewhere within the foliage, just beyond his reach. He would not give up his plight � he could not.

It had been three long years since he had seen his moon and stars, the light of his life. He dared not even think her name, had not dared to do so in two years now, for fear it might be the last tendril that tied him to her. When he had left her, set on a mission by an old medicine man to gain the favor of the spirits and the lupine gods, it was only meant to be for a short while � perhaps two, three seasons at most. But there had come a day when such terror and shock gripped his very soul that he knew something was wrong. Mission abandoned, he had ran as fast as his paws would carry him back to Moladion. Only, there had been no Moladion to come back to. Smoke and ash filled his nostrils, lungs, and eyes as he tried to press on further to no avail. To this day he bore the scars of his attempt to penetrate the lands, seeking the family he had left so unprotected. Eventually he was forced backwards and away from the abandoned lands, turmoil rolling in his stomach at the sight of the waylaid bodies of the wolves who had come so close to escape but did not make it.

For two years the sights and smells haunted him. But beyond the smoke filled nightmares a gentle light burned. The smallest wisp of hope: the notion that she was not dead. She could not be, for if she had perished, surely he would not be able to stand on his four paws and face the endless day. Life was empty without her, and it pained him to know that � hopefully � his sons and daughter were growing up in some distant land without a father. In a time when they had needed him most he had not been there for them. He would never forgive himself.

He had nearly circumvented the great crater, searching the perimeter thoroughly before he would descend into its cavernous depth. Surely, with so many flooding back to the now flourishing lands of Moladion she would have returned. Even in its foreign state, this was home to her � though the lands were new, they held the spirit of what once was. And for him, home was wherever she was. The years of searching had brought him full circle, and if he could not find her now, he was unsure how he could possibly carry on. But he had to be strong for her, he knew that.

Over the years their bond had grown faint, affected by the distance and destruction. However, there had always been a gentle tug at his heartstrings, reminding him that she was still out here. As his long strides carried him closer to the eastern most point of the crater, he suddenly stumbled. Fervor tore at his chest, and he threw his head to the sky, drawing in a deep breath. And on the breeze the sweetest perfume known to man drifted. Sniffing the sky once more, checking to make sure he was not deluded, he filled his lungs with her scent. She was there, just beyond the next line of trees.

Bursting forward with all the power that he could muster, he pushed through the dense foliage and emerged into a small clearing that overlooked the crater. Shining brighter than any star in the sky, she sat near the edge, a white raven perched upon her shoulder. It seemed almost as if a dream, an impossibility rendered real by the gods. After all this time, he had finally found her. He was finally home.

�I am here, MoonGlow,� he said, deep tones resonating across the short expanse that separated them. It was the first time he had said her name in two years, and it tasted like the most savory meat a wolf could every have the pleasure to experience. The time for explanations would come later; all that mattered now was that she accepted him back into her life. For if she refused him, he would gladly throw himself from the cliff before them as punishment for all the pain he had caused her. But first he had to know she was well, that their children lived and that they were all happy. He would do anything to assure her happiness until the end of days. And he would never, ever leave her again, lest she cast him aside forever.

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