She turned. Their eyes met. He fell.

Fate had tortured this poor wolf for ten years, scaring both his physical body and his soul. His life had been full of ups, but mostly downs. He had seen two imprints come and go, each one taking a fragment of his fragile spirit with them. It had been hard pretending the pain didn't bother him, but he had managed to get out of it with a false smile. He was on the mend, both from his assault on Iromar and from the betrayal of those he loved most, and life was finally starting to make sense again.

Fate had different plans it seemed.

Once again, the chains had slithered around his heart and locked tight, binding him to this unknown wolfess. As the lock slammed down, Halcyon's paws could no longer hold him up. Slowly, he crumpled before her, falling to his belly as if he were laying down to rest his weary paws. Perhaps she hadn't noticed the weight that dragged him down for she began to speak. Eagerly, his ears stood alert to her words as she gave him her name. Valkyria. It would seem that Fate had also destroyed her family. How apt. He hadn't time to speak it as she continued, announcing that she, too, realized they had imprinted.

Part of him wanted to run. Run from her, from Moladion altogether. But the chain made that impossible. Once again, the false smile returned as he forced himself to stand before her. "I am honored to meet you, Valkyria," he said, bowing his head as one would do before a queen. "My name is Halcyon." An awkward silence stretched between them then. Long ago, he would have caressed her ears with gentle words that promised protection and love. Those days were behind him. With a sigh and a slight wag of his tail, Halcyon bent and nosed one of the corpses towards her. "Here, take this. It's not much, but it should fill your stomach for the day ahead."