Zjeena.

Since his return from that short trip to the Bay, Rougaru could not draw his thoughts from her for long. Of course he devoted his time as much as possible to his precious little viper and the upcoming war, but still... the sadness that clung to the dark brown eyes of the ice queen haunted him. So many emotions raged in him now, an inner storm brewing and unable to quell or find release. He had expected Liland to be angry about the fact that the child who swelled her belly was his own... but he had not expected to see the pale stallion treat a mare that he claimed as his queen... as his love as a prisoner. It made him sick and the wolf bristled with disgust. He should have struck him down then and there. But Zjeena had chosen to return to him... it was where she wished to belong was it not?

He had almost (almost) resolved himself to the knowledge that he would not see the cream colored mare with her pretty salt and pepper locks for some time. He had almost (almost) resigned himself to forget their long evening walks in simple conversation and chalk it up to something that could have been.... that is until Liland appeared. The stallion had not lingered long, as Rougaru expected. Truthfully he had not expected him at all now that Zjeena was back in his herd. What suprised him even more was that Liland was all but banishing Zjeena from the Bay she loved so much. Her name spilled from his tongue with distain, the flavor upon his lips screamed of betrayal and disgust and it was all Rougaru could do not to attack him then and there. If there was ever a mare who deserved her happiness, it was Zjeena. She devoted herself to her herd and her family and though he had only known her for a short time, he knew her to be loyal. She did not deserve the way Liland spoke of her now and it infuriated him. It had taken all of his power to restrain the wolf, to keep the fur upon his spine flat and the hatred in his eyes buried deep beneath the mask of indifference. He agreed calmly to Liland's preposterous demand, but he could not put his heart behind it. All he felt was outrage and anger.

Nervously he found himself pacing back and forth along the shores, part of him wanted to travel to the Bay himself to fetch Zjeena if just to ensure himself that she was safe and Liland had not harmed her, but it was the wolf that reminded him that she would not wish to be coddled.

Nostrils flare as the zephyr winds bring her scent to him more. He had been parolling the border along the Ridge when her sweet scent drifted to his waiting nostrils and immediately he turned from his task and set off at a brisk trot. Thick limbs navigate the twisting, winding trails that cut various pathways through his jungle home, familiar enough with them that he felt sure he could travel them in even the darkest of nights if need be. Here and there he passes others of his herd but they are not his concern right now, there is only one that he had to see. Zjeena.

He comes upon her now, and for a moment, he is at a loss for words. The mare who leaned so heavily against the smooth trunk of the tree before him was not the fiercely independent and level headed Zjeena he knew. This mare, the ghost of his ice queen looked absolutely defeated. The sobs that grip her now as ones that he never expected to hear... but ones he immediately grows to hate. Liland did this. Once again the rage boils within his chocolate breast as cautiously he approaches her.

He does not speak. Does not trust the words to fall from his lips. Instead he simply closes the distance between them with a few short strides. Tenderly his whiskered lips reach for the soft velvet of her cheek. Emerald eyes close, fighting back his own turmoil and desire to see Liland's blood pooling the ground at her feet. She would not want that... not now. Instead he moves closer, tentatively brushing his muzzle along the curve of her neck and beneath the water logged tendrils of her mane. Protectively his thick dark neck cranes, arching over hers to draw her close, to feel the beat of her heart and remind her that his too beat in sync. She left so much, much more than any should be forced to part from. Rougaru would not forget it. He would make sure that Liland remembered her name and that he too felt the pain he bestowed upon her this day.