OOC: idk if its a true raid or not but Roug blocks regardless XD

”When you have a pack of your own….” the voice droned on and on as the young grullo stallion followed in step behind the large chocolate form of his sire. Despite himself, Akela could not stop his golden eyes from rolling with exasperation. It was a speech he had heard more times than he cared to count. Day in and day out, Rougaru pressed for his sons to remember and patrol the borders of Paradise with guarded steps. ”... there are always strangers prowling at our borders…” the chocolate stallion went on, Akela mimicking his words with a mischievous gleam. Yes, Rougaru was determined to keep Paradise safe, and as far as Akela was concerned, he had never come across anything close to a stranger at their doorsteps. Sure occasionally they ran across prowling cats or large pythons but those were easy to dispatch or push away from the herd. Only Loupgaru, who was always ambitious and far too careless in Akela’s mind, bore scars of his encounter with the jungle cats. But even these creatures seemed to have found elsewhere to roam as of late, more than a week has passed now since last the faintest whiff of danger caused the herd to stiffen with alarm.

Rougaru stops now, pivoting on his heels to face the smaller stallion with hard eyes. ”Are you listening to me Akela? You are 4 years of age now. A stallion. My son. I expect you to start acting like less the daydreaming colt and more the protector you are meant to be!” he snaps, flicking his cream and caramel tail against his muscular flanks in irritation. Of all his sons, it was Akela who seemed less ambitious and even less thrilled with the idea of striking out on his own. While Rougaru was not overly ready to see any of his sons leave home, he at least expected Akela to begin exploring the other islands like Annubis and Lougaru were beginning to do. It was natural. It was the wolf. Multifaceted eyes of emerald stare down into those of his golden-eyed son, searching through the depths for the creature he was sure lurked beneath.

Akela stopped short as his father whirled around to face him. He hated how the chocolate stallion still seemed to tower over him but did his best to keep his head held high. Raven tipped ears flex backwards in admonishment as his own salt and pepper tail flicks against his sleek flanks in agitation. ”Yes father. I am listening. Protect the herd, guard our family and our borders. It is the same speech you give me every time we go patrolling together.” groans, pushing past his sire to continue down the trail. Rougaru did not understand. Akela had tried to explain it to him before, tried to explain that he had no desire to go racing off into battle on distant islands or continue to spar with his brothers day in and day out. There was no need. Rougaru’s reputation and determination in battle was enough incentive to keep most rogues from their doorways and what fool did decide to pass beyond was usually met with father’s teeth. What use was there for him? Why could he not just continue to enjoy the wonders that the jungle had to offer and the health with which the herd grew? It was not like they were starving for food or faced with dangerous predators every time they turned around.

”Akela STOP!” the command from his father was enough to halt his tracks midstep. Immediately the melancholy demeanor that had settled over him is replaced with something more akin to nervous unease. Ears pitch forward as golden eyes follow the form of his sire as the larger stallion slides past him without a glance. Rougaru lifts his head to catch the breeze as it passes over them and likewise Akela lifts his own to let his nostrils drink on the various flavors that lingered there. Salt. As always the overpowering scent of salt water coats the zephyrs, reminding Akela again that unlike the stories mother had once told him of her home, this jungle paradise did not go on forever like he teased the younger foals. However mingled into the scents of fragrant flowers and ripening fruits, there is a new and unfamiliar odor.

”Strangers”. In unison the words fall from both their lips as excitement boils beneath the grullo stallion’s skin, prickling the fine hairs along his neck. This time, as he follows behind Rougaru, there is no grumbling or rolling of his eyes but instead a glimmer of excitement. Together they push through the dense brush, stepping easily over upturned roots and leaping across small streams with a sudden urgency to their movement. For a time, Akela let Rougaru take the lead. Content in just the prospect of seeing his father in action. However, as his mind lingered on what lay ahead, the sudden need to be seen as more than just a young untrained stallion overwhelms him and he picks his pace up to allow himself to burst through the brush at Rougaru’s side.

The scene that lay before them was a strange one in his eyes. A mare, her cheeks dampened with tears, lay curled tightly into herself and not far away a stallion he had never seen before. Rougaru took a step forward, and Akela followed in suit, his dark ears buried beneath his charcoal mane. ”How dare the Lagoon cross my borders uninvited. Surely there MUST be a good reason for it.” the chocolate stallion began, his attention fully on the spotted stallion expectantly. Akela knew too well his father’s disdain as of late for the lagoon men and their code of conduct. He had spat his displeasure on more than one occasion so the young stallion found no surprise in the fact his sire had forgotten about the mare huddled in a pool of her own tears.

Akela had not.

Though he kept one ear towards the stallions, listening for any cue that a show of force might be needed because, let's get real, it would be his first true attempt at battle, he turned his gaze towards the mare. He had seen many mares come and go from his father’s herd, thought a few of them beautiful though none would ever compare to Zjeena in his eyes, this one, even in her sorrow, was beautiful. Her smoky silver and white coat gleamed against the dappled sunlight that filtered through the trees above. Despite the tears that darkened her cheeks, he could see the fine curves and contours of her face that made her appear even more delicate and small where she lay curled in her sorrow. For the first time, he felt the stirrings of longing begin to arise in him. Desperately he found himself wanting to reach out to touch her, to feel the warmth of her skin beneath his own searching lips and assure himself that she was indeed real and not some mirage that his fantasies had dreamed up in him. He takes a step towards her before stopping himself, his golden eyes for the first time in a long time, completely unsure. Nostrils quiver as he inhales her scent. Vaguely, like the tickling of a dream on his memory, he remembers her scent. It had not been as sweet and intoxicating in the flavors it held now, but somewhere, somewhere in his memory the beast recognized her. Confusion ghosts across his eyes as he blinks at her in silence for a moment, studying her as though somewhere in the fine lines of her cheeks he might uncover her identity. ”You… y-are?” he stumbles, clearing his suddenly graveled throat and giving his proud head a shake to stash away the plaguing thoughts in hopes of making himself look less like the fool. Raven tipped ears perk forward now as he suddenly forgets about Rougaru and the Lagoon stallion that had disturbed their patrol. ”Have we met before?” he asks, tilting his head towards her, long black forelock settling across his outstretched muzzle.