It was in the quiet predawn hours that Ruger moved silently away from his small family, picking his way carefully through the tall grasses until he reached the shore. It had been quite some time since he had ventured even this far. The sand felt strange but familiar to his hooves after many seasons spent on the hard packed earth of Luthien. The peace he had finally gotten was not a despised feeling, but the emptiness was. It was clear now that Shamwari was never coming back. The red stallion that had made this his home. Despite being left alone by the new leaders of this land, the void was only growing deeper and darker, and he could only begin to assume change would cure it.


Without offering this idea to Evanescence, Mikhail or the children; Ruger stepped off into the chilling waves. The embrace of the salt water was like a reuniting hug, helping him along the swim to the next idea he might consider home. Not Salem; the vast desert entirely too harsh nor did he want to be baked alive by the sun. Tinuvel, perhaps, but moving there now of all seasons seemed nearly suicidal. Both thoughts are why his hooves step onto the Atlantis shore.


As he stands there, looking out across the many colors the tropical island has to offer, Ruger does not smile nor show any emotion on his face. The warmth of the new sun glows upon his back and cast an array of colors he wonders if Evanescence might like? Only the thought of her softens his expression some before he lets out a call, announcing his presence.