What had he thought? That he would visit her and feast upon the strength of her scent before disappearing into the land of the free? That the approaching storm would wash away his scent before any were the wiser, that if by chance any vestibule of his scent lingered it would be confused as remnants? Yes, that is exactly what he thought as he trailed away, each step placing his old home farther away. He knew that he should move faster, that it was foolish to meander away but his heart was not in it; his entire soul mourned this one moment. Before he thought he knew but he really didn’t…before he was a child mixed with a battle of elders.

Thunder crashed overhead, the static of electricity tingled down his spine causing the hairs of his spine to lift. Her. Even from here he could still scent her, could still bask in the perfume of her…it would haunt him. Ears still mated to his scalp he did not register the insistent thump of paws until a form passed his, a dark form laden with the tears of Heaven as it whirled. The form was beautiful in its intensity yet steady in its execution as her paws kicked up the mud in her passing and her turn. It shimmered in a wide arc before falling, her mesmerizing mahogany eyes settling upon him just as the thick brown concoction slides down his face, washed away within the torrent of Nature’s pain. He had known it was her before she had turned, before her perfume had registered within the crisp air. HE would always know her for she was the moon who lit his nights, the blood that kept him alive. SHE was his everything and if he could imprint it would be upon her, for she was better than air…better than life itself.

This momentous moment was marked as the Sky screamed, alighting her precious body in light before winking it out, leaving only her eyes. Her eyes. Emotions rolled within him, he had sought not to make this harder on her, to give her the time to move on…to love another. He knew nothing about the fact that she was indeed moving on but that was neither here or there. Yet it would seem that Fate had another thing in mind, it always did. Seconds dragged on as they held each other’s gaze, his tortured visage steady and calm as it regarded her frantic energy….or was it the storm?

Then finally one word slips forth from her lovely lips, one word rippled with energy as it assaulted him. He presumes that this one question was plausible. That it was only natural that she would want to know yet he did not know where to begin, or how to answer her question. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he draws his tongue across his maw before opening his eyes again. He will allow his heart to speak for if this was to be the last time they conferred then he wanted it to count…to mean something.

”My Dragon.” He pauses as he dips his head in respect before continuing, his voice ragged and thick with emotion. ”I apologize for the way we have met yet again, this time however it was my intentions not to come barging into your life. It was my intentions to me honorable and if I had set my sights upon you I do not think I would have been able to turn my back on you formally. I am a coward in this regard Dragon. I am a coward in many things and it took me a while to accept this flaw within me but alas one can not run from their shadow.”

The canopy of rain begins to fade away within his mind, it is only she and he. The image warps and twists as his heart lurches…

”I am no honorable wolf. I have treated those I love the most horribly, and deserted those I hold dear to my very existence. I have run from them when in reality I was running from change. I was running from the unknown and in my cowardice I have jeopardized and destroyed myself in the process. I hold no excuse because one like I deserves no pity. I do not come to beg your love because one such as you deserves so much more. When things change I must be able to take change and roll with it, not run like some wayward pup.”

The last comes out upon a growl, his disgust with himself evident as the fire of a lightning bolt illuminates their position. Paw slams into the ground but missing from the action was the reckless rage that bristled upon his bodice so many moons ago. Now only controlled energy ripples across him, his head finally dropping and tilting to the side as if he was hugging himself. Perhaps he was, the sensation of his slick fur on his chilled chin grounded him and this was how he stayed for a moment before parting his lips once again.

”I have nothing to say, nothing to offer save a healing shell of a brute and you do not need the hindrance my foolishness creates. I can not make a promise for I am not yet healed and the healing I need comes from within.”

He was not broken, he was healing. He was not angry; he was strangely composed as he spoke about the most deadly character flaw he owned. He knew that one day he would conquer all and be stronger for it but that day was not today and he would not delude himself or her. He would only hurt her more if he stayed largely due to his ignorance, yet would the promise of better days be worth it? Heart screamed at him as it shattered again and again, a never ending cycle of turmoil that revealed itself only in the slight tremor of his body. A tremor that originated in the very soul of him, yet that could easily be mistaken as a symptom of the gale. And even as he hid his face in respectful shame, his eyes prickled with the determination to become what destiny called him to be. A fire that never extinguished used for something else other than blind rage and fury.