What could he say? It was in his blood. Rougaru had told him countless times of how Celestria tried over and over to push his buttons, likewise Annubis found himself on the fast end of witty remarks and thus more often than not, his half siblings tended to avoid him for fear of the thorns his words often brought. It never bothered Annubis, in truth, he rather enjoyed it. Just as the others, he knew the moment he spoke the little snarky remark she would be displeased. Those ocean colored eyes danced beneath the thick veil of charcoal colored forelock that framed the delicate features of her face. Like his own, those eyes took on a new life of their own, turning a darker shade of blue gray, the color of an angry sea. He can all but see the pulse of her vein that thrummed along her neck and the tension builds itself beneath her white and gray skin. Instinctively he tensed himself, preparing his silver body to receive the weight of her own should she charge forward in attack as Loupgaru was known to do.

However unlike the brazen colt in Paradise, his newfound companion remained silent. Where the others, family and strangers, would have snapped back some strange biting words or tossed themselves around in some outrageous display of anger, Vihar does not. Her nostrils flare and deep within her breast burns a throaty growl that sounded more like the creature that lurked deep beneath his own skin. Small raven tipped ears tip forward as interest peaks even higher, a sort of recognition arising that sang of two similar souls. Now he was far from declaring any thoughts of undying love, for such a thing seemed fickle and unnecessary in his own eyes. However, it did serve to continue stacking points in her favor whether she liked it or not.

She does not speak a retort to him, instead pivots on her heels and trots deeper into the waves that surge around their feet. Her high stepping movement earns a smile of appreciation from his lips. With a toss of his head he follows after her, his own forelegs stepping above the rolling waters and extending the length of his strides so that he could keep up. Time to go home.

Though she had never been to Paradise, or the island of Atlantis for all he knew, Vihar swims with powerful strides, no doubt encouraged by the snarky remark that still played in her mind. He could not quite tell whether the backward turn of her ears was from his words continuing to play through her mind or if she was merely trying to keep the salt water from her ears. He did not need to guide her like a lost lamb, on occasion, when she angled her churning feet towards a different direction, he brought himself nearer to correct but overall found himself more of a companion now than a leader. He had hoped that once the daunting jungles of Atlantis came into view, that Vihar would once more revert into the vibrant, sexy creature he found himself in the company of on the main island. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind, he pictures her pressing against him, the warmth of her skin cooled by the blue waters that encased them. It was a fleeting thought and one that held a slim amount of hope, but that was dashed completely when she left him floundering in the shallows like a newborn colt. Slightly bewildered, he watches her with mouth all but agape as she charges up the shore and disappears beneath the thick overhanging of vines and broad leaves. She left him. Finely dished head cocks in confusion as slowly he followed her quickly disappearing hoofprints from the shallow waters and onto the dry white sand.

For a moment, he stands there, pondering what he ought to do. A part of him wanted to charge off into the jungle after her. The wolf wanted to chase her down as a hunter might its prey and bend her into submission. The creature wanted to see the white rim of her eyes and feel the tension in her skin as she pressed against him. The part of him that won the decision of action was the boy.

He gives his thin sterling skin a shake, ridding the majority of salt water that dripped from his body. With a flick of his long dark tail he turned towards a soft patch of dry skin and let his tired muscles drop his weighted form onto the earth. He rolled himself back and forth in the white sands, scratching the hard to reach spots along his spine with the coarse grains. A single ear swivels towards the jungle, listening for the stomping of her hooves through the underbrush but he does not charge after her. Not yet.

As the days pass, he keeps tabs on her. Golden eyes watch from the shadows as she charges past or tilting his finely dished head to catch the sound of her breath and the growing perfume that strengthened as the days passed. A game. Once more they were caught up in another of her games and Annubis found himself unable to tire of them. He wanted to touch her, wanted to feel her agile body pressed against his or feel the shiver of electricity that coursed through his veins as she nipped and bit and scraped his body with hoof and teeth. There was something almost primal in the attraction that continued to grow between them, even in her absence.

But he could not hold out forever. As with every fall, the rise in hormones drove him to find her. Though he doubted that any of his brothers would dare to claim a mare that lived in father’s herd, that did not mean that Rougaru might not also find the pretty minx appealing to his more animalistic nature. As the sun begins to rise over the horizon, drawing away the thin layer of fog that moves like ghostly wraiths between the tall trees, Annubis finds her. Golden eyes roam shamelessly over the supple curves and contours of her frame, savoring the intoxicating aroma that hung heavily on the humid air between them. Like a stalking puntar he approaches her, his golden eyes bright in the dim light of day. She dances. Like a temptress she dances small high stepped circles in the small clearing of grass that she uncovered. The sharp edges of her hooves rip at the tender green shoots of grass and send them scattering in her wake. Gracefully she arched her beautifully painted neck, her long tail flagging above her hips. Once more that unfamiliar pang of hunger rises and Annubis takes a deep breath before stepping into the dappled sunlight himself. An impish grin spreads across his rugged features as the young stallion halts a few feet from her, his proud head cocking first to one side and then the other as he glances at the corral she had created. ”Didn’t get lost did ya? I would hate to find you tangled up somewhere in one of those twisting vines. Might make you look the part of a slave girl.” he teases, his obsidian tail flicking idly as muscular hips shift the weight of his body to cock a single hind hoof against the ground. Proud head is given a toss, resettling the wind-knotted forelock that draped over his visionfield. ”What do you think? Is it like where you come from?” he asks, allowing curiosity to drive him one step closer.