Golden eyes dare not move from Rougaru now. Silently, he wills the fast pace of his heart to silence itself for fear that the great wolf might hear and take advantage of such a weakness. Keen ears catch the sound of rustling leaves and he does not need to turn around to know that Vihar has risen. Something about her told him that she stood now just behind him, even before her lips brushed gratefully across his hip. A single dial twitches at the gentleness of the touch and he resists the urge now to meet her gaze or even to gaze at the child that she had worked so hard to bring into this world. Though he had no deep feelings for children, he could not help but to feel a strange sense of curiosity and possessiveness over mother and child.

Rougaru speaks, his deep baritones harsh and feral in delivery. Raven tipped ears rotate backwards a moment in shame as his proud head drops but then, somewhere deep inside, the beast snarls awake with a fierce rush. Golden eyes raise once more to meet the accusing eyes of his sire with a snarl of his own. ”Tainted?! Shamed?! Since when has the sins of the father been blamed on the children? Or do you not remember mother?” he snapped taking a commanding step forward to shove his small muzzle against his father accusingly. Golden eyes gleam as he snorted hard, lips peeling back to reveal ivory teeth in threat. ”She was with me long before her father’s transgressions. Long before Nyimara came here with her news.” he starts to speak of the restless nights she spent pacing back and forth on the shores or the knit of her brows when Nyimara had appeared out of the blue with news of her loss. He does not admit that Vihar and himself both found the news of the broken alliance as troubling for that would be a weakness and the wolf did not need to see her weaknesses.

Raven tipped ears lift now as Rougaru speaks again, outlying the sins of her father in blunt tones but Annubis finds himself caring very little. A dismissive snort blows past his lips as he shifts protectively in front of Vihar and the child. ”Do you fear him now? Is that what brings the threat to your lips old man? Are you afraid of the ice king in your old age? Is that why you threaten her?” he continues, his long obsidian tail snapping audible against his heels as he flexes his shoulders and arches his sterling neck. ”I invited her here with me and she will continue to be under my protection. She is not a captive here or a bargaining chip to be toyed with and baited. She is mine!” he growls, dropping his head now, ready to charge forward should Rougaru decide to take the bait.

But he does not. Instead of rising to the challenge that Annubis places before him, Rougaru merely shoulders past with a flippant veiled threat. Of all the moves the wolf could have made, Annubis did not expect this. Curiosity follows in the wake of his father’s disappearing form, never leaving the shifting shadow until the older stallion’s musky scent begins to fade. Only then does he turn back to look at Vihar for the first time. Golden eyes roam over the curves and contours of her body, noting the streaks of moss and leaf litter that gathered in her pale mane and smears of mud that marked the side of her body where she had lain on the earth. Aside from the tired exhaustion that gleamed from her sea-green eyes, she appeared no worse for wear.
Mischievously he smirked at her, tossing his head to shuffle his dark forelock to one side of his brow. ”You look terrible. Guess that's what you get for just walking off like that.” he teases, stretching his muzzle forward to tug at a twig tangled in her pale mane. The scent of milk surrounded her now and a sudden loud suckle reminded him of the foal at her side. Her son. His son. For a moment he is silent, staring at the little dunskin painted colt in awe. Terror and amazement and nervousness balled itself together in a bundle in the pit of his stomach as Annubis gulped down a breath before shuffling his feet beneath him awkwardly. ”Umm.. This is him?” he asks, glancing back at Vihar, doing his best to hide the curiosity in his tone. ”You pick a name yet? Need to know what to call him when he gets outta hand and all.” he adds with a dry laugh.