Denali
I could hear him coming, his heavy thundering paws plain as day through the constant eerie silence of the marshes; he always was less than graceful with his size. I stagger, somehow managing to turn to look upon him as he rips through the water that separated us and onto the small island we called home. A howl rips from his chest and throat, soaring into the sky, its notes filled with a desperation that makes me cringe slightly, having never heard him like this ever before. He would not reach me before I lost what little strength I retained to stand, collapsing upon the less than soft ground. But it was okay, everything was okay, he was here, it would be okay as long as he stayed with me.

"You're back! Denali..." he manages to exclaim through his lungs constant attempts to bring in much needed oxygen. He moved closer to me, his eyes wide with uncertainty. "What... why?" he said, and I could see he was desperately trying to compose himself to ask a complete question. The external pain was nothing compared to the internal pain I was feeling right now. He had gone through the loss of his mother not long ago, and now I put him through this. It took me by surprise that he did not just completely break. To think, that if I were to actually die, that might shatter him, something I would never, ever allow to happen.

I could not find my voice any more in these moments as I watched him move ever closer with my tear filled silver gaze. And with a gentleness that I have never seen before, but always knew he had in him, he brings himself completely beside me, the simple feel of his warmth and touch easing the pain away, leaving it only a nagging thought in the back of my mind. His tongue is so gentle upon my wounds, almost like he feared I would shatter like a broken pane of glass. I mustered up some strength to lift my head and gently reach out to lick his cheek most lovingly and reassuringly. "I won't die....i'll be okay I promise. I won't leave you.....not now, not ever....." I whisper to him, my voice slightly raspy and filled with sadness and a promise.

"Who did this? Nobody... can hurt the only one I care for. Who?" he asks, his voice deadly serious. It was a question that I had expected, what I didn't expect was for him to say that I was the only one he cared for. It left me in a stunned state for a few moments, my brain unable to comprehend what he had just said. When I finally shook my mind away from that, I left out a soft whimper, gently burying my face into his soft, muscular chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart beat to calm myself. "My brother.....Kaius....."

"He trapped me in the free lands, cutting off all escape routes back to Iromar, or any pack for that matter, I wasn't about to be picky. He is a skilled fighter of the mountains from where we grew up, and his sheer size was too much for me to fight back against. So I did the only thing I seem to be good at doing.....running," I close my eyes as I tell my story, fighting for the strength to continue talking and fighting all emotions and fear that seeped into my voice. " He chased me out of Moladion, and for a while I outran him, until I ran into a dead end and was cornered. I tried to fight, but I was outmatched......." I whispered, cringing as images and falshbacks of what he did to me replayed in my mind like a horror film.

I opened my silver eyes once more to stare at Astaroth, the smallest of smiles coming across my face to try and lighten the mood in any way. "If it's any consolation, I kicked him off of a cliff and got away....." It was the only form of humor I could think to find, but even this had to be taken away by an inevitable truth, one that made me look away in saddness and fear. "I didn't kill him though....he's still coming for me," I whisper, pushing ever so closer to him for comfort. I could just never understand why he wants me dead so bad, why he continues after all these years. Why he has to continue to make my life a living hell, leaving me in fear of being out of Iromar. I just want a peaceful life, one with Astaroth.

6 years/ Chained to Astaroth/ Love is complicated/ Iromar