Rougaru was never one to make friends easily. In truth, even his own mares had learned to accept him after seasons of chasing and unrelenting pestering. Hell Vanya herself had sought the protection of the peak mares just in an attempt to thwart his advances and yet still somehow he managed to return her to Paradise where she belonged. Albeit she demanded a crown, but it was one that Rougaru found himself no longer regretting offering to her. The painted woman had stepped easily into her new role and done well as a new queen. Yet even she was not without her challenges.

Rae, beautiful, sweet, gentle Rae was the only one who never made him chase after her. He counted himself lucky to have been the one to discover her that night on the beach and even more blessed that she saw beyond his gruff exterior. Never once did her gentle brown eyes stare at him with any sort of fear nor did she ever flinch away from his touch. Unlike the rest of the world, she welcomes him even in the worst of times. Even the wolf itself became meek as a lamb in her presence. Even after the villainous stallion that would not be named assaulted her, she still welcomed his embrace where another might have fled. Even as he finds himself releasing what weighed so heavily on his mind to her waiting ears, she does not draw away or tense, instead she stands beside him, allowing the weight of his burdens to be layered upon her soul and offers him silence. Silence that so long he has been without. Silence.

Again her velvet soft muzzle found his skin, the gentleness of her touch a healing balm to his weary mind. He finds her angelic face, a gentle smile on her lips and even through the turmoil of troubles that plague him, he finds something akin to peace. She listens as he speaks and only when the apology for unloading his burden upon her leaves his lips does she seek to crane her neck across his own back as though to draw him into a blanket of comfort. Even in his worry over Monster and Alpha’s disappearance, he felt a sense of ease wash over him and draw a sigh from his lips. Tension ebbed away from his bones as he found himself leaning into the gentle meditative press of her lips against his skin. She admonishes his apology simply enough and after a moment offers her own view. A view that he wondered would ever be a popular opinion of him. Yet nonetheless, her words bring a smile to his lips and warmth to his heart as he blinks at her with grateful appreciation. He had heard the words before in his own head, and spoke the words again and again to the wolf to try and reassure himself that he was doing what was right. He told himself that he was a good leader, but to hear it from the lips of another… it was enough to draw away the hints of darkness that clouded his thoughts. A warm smile tugs at his lips again as he nestles his muzzle against her skin.

Again she speaks, promising that Monster knew of his care and like a drenching of cold mountain water he feels the weight of her name on his heart. Like when Zjeena left, he feels the absence of his painted viper like a gaping wound. Mournfully, the beast within him whines its sorrow and he feels the silence in the lump that gathers at the back of his throat. A single ear flickers as Rae attempts to offer her reassurance. Monster will return. By the gods he hoped she was right but again, that flickering of dark shadows plagues her image. Would she? Could she? Could he have done anything to stop her? The latter was unlikely to be sure but still…

The touch of her lips against the tense muscles of his back is a soothing bandage to the wounds that seeped within him. She asks about Monster and how they met. Once again the ray of starshine in the darkness of his heart. A tender smile plays upon his lips and despite the ache, he finds his green eyes flashing with mischief. ”I met Monster when I first came to the islands.” he mused, resting his chin again into the gentle slope of her sunwarmed back. ”She was just as fierce then as she is now. Strong. Determined. Brave.” he breathes, pausing as the memories begin to grow more vivid and bright in his mind. Even now he can see her, a young mare just beyond youth, her multicolored eyes staring back at him with the same challenge that had shown in his own. ”Even then she was a queen. She made her own way in this world and none would sway her mind.” he says. ”I chased her from one end of the islands to the next and even when she came to Paradise with me, still she had her own mind.” he adds with a fond smile.

”Perhaps this too is her way of showing me she still has her own mind.” he finishes, blinking away the memories and letting his gaze fixate upon the brown speckled hairs of Rae’s silver white skin.