Rougaru finds himself alone more and more as of late. Monster’s continued absence stirs an emotion in him that had long since been buried beneath layers of ice and stone. He had imagined that her silent treatment would be one short lived, that eventually her seething would give way to that anger that boiled beneath her skin and once more she would find him in the height of autumn and together they would rise like the rolling tides to twist and clash and fight as they had done so many times before. The excitement of the thought kept him on constant watch, his thick saucer-like hooves leaving deep impressions in the malleable sands as he patrolled up and down the coastline in search of the painted viper. Yet regardless of how many times he patrolled the dense jungle or scanned the open horizon, never once did she appear.

Frustration began to mount itself inside him, frustration in the form of anger and resentment. First Zjeena and now Monster. What was worse was she had even taken Alpha with her. Where once he would have his outlet for rage and lust and frustration, now he was left alone. Though Titania and even Vanya found their way to fill parts of the void, even the wolf could not find it in himself to release all his pent up frustrations on them.

Monster. The howl echoed from his lips as he lifted his grizzled muzzle towards the skies, echoing the creature that mourned the loss within him. Monster. Again he called to the heavens and the oceans alike, as though the very white capped waves that had taken her away from Paradise might somehow manage to toss her once more upon his shores. And yet it was not his painted viper who’s head bobbed above the surface of the azure waters. Multifaceted eyes of emerald narrow as the stallion finds himself pausing with stiff legged anticipation and expectation. Pale, pale as the white capped mountains in the distance or the silver white moon that hung heavily in the night skies at night. Pale faced and dark haired the soaked woman all but claws her way from the shallow waters with ragged breaths. Curiosity now replaces the loneliness that had seized him only moments ago and the wolf takes a step forward in anticipation. He is ready to meet her. Ready to find out why the hippocampi of the ocean sent a stranger to him instead of his viper but before he can even ring forth his greeting, she launches forward.

For the briefest of moments, he is dumbstruck, watching in silence from the treeline as she lunges up the white sanded shores and towards the dark shadowed canopy of the jungle beyond. For a moment, he is caught, torturing his mind for some semblance of recognition but not long. The heavy perfume of her body and the fleeing sound of her thundering hooves against the rich root ridden soil of his home is enough to drive the beast into motion. A scream, ragged and deliberate rages from his lungs as the silver bay stallion charges after her. Muscular legs stretch beneath him as he angles his massive body in and around the twisted and winding trails that he knew so well. Together, he and the beast are one, blinded by the need to hunt and procure and produce. Their knowledge of Paradise leads him beyond the trail, leads him with leaps and bounds over hills and dips until he finds himself charging parallel with her fleeting figure. Thick saucer-like hooves pound the ground as he lunges ahead, leaping clear of the dense ground palms and fragrant underbrush. Paper thin nostrils flare as he slides to a halt, his broad frame blocking her chosen path and yet every muscle beneath his body tensed in preparation to lunge after her should she try to avoid him. Dark eyes glaze with feral hunger, lips parting as tongue licking back the saliva that builts in his mouth. He does not speak, the voice within him silenced by the madness that froths within his mind. Small dark ears perk forward amid the mass of cream and caramel tresses that hang heavily against the sides of his muscular neck. Chocolate dappled neck coils as he angles his head towards her, expectant. Waiting.