’Cocky bastard…’ the thought voiced from the beast’s growl rumbles through his mind, bringing with it a smug grin to his lips as the dark colored stallion turns to face him. It was foolish to expect the stranger to cow beneath the weight of his sire’s name but Annubis could not deny the sting he felt at the dragga’s indifference to the name. There was no flash of recognition, no glimmer of fear or cautious glances towards the shadowed undergrowth of the jungle. Nothing. Blunt teeth grind together behind his closed jaws as the dappled steed met his challenging step forward with two of his own. Adrenaline begins to pulse beneath his skin, causing the black dorsal hairs along his spine to rise with anticipation. Clearly this stranger would not be removed quite as easily as he had hoped. ’Damn it.’
Yellow gold eyes remain fixed on the stranger’s face, watching as the muscles of his own neck pulse. Around them, the squawking parrots and shrill voiced songbirds have silenced themselves and seemed to peer wide-eyed from around the wide leaves and woody branches like an audience built just for them. Even the insects that seemed to constantly hum and buzz beneath the thick layers of leaf litter silence themselves, the still of the moment interrupted only by their scuttling feet as they scrambled away.
Water logged tail lashes against his hocks as a single obsidian hoof stretches forward to paw a divot in the rich black soil. Despite his initial words of compromising promise, Annubis finds himself goaded by the beast within him, its glittering eyes dancing and sharp fangs gleaming as promise of spilt blood and victory ring in his ears. It was never a sure thing of course, but that did not stop the creature from trying to dig the grave for him. Perhaps Hyacinth had been right when she said his own mind would be his undoing.
The sudden crashing of hoofbeats through the underbrush caught the attention of both stallions. Raven tipped ears press back as sterling neck cranes back to follow the stranger’s attention. Rae. The familiar scent of the ivory woman precedes her appearance and once more returns logic and wisdom to his thoughts. Protector…. Protect her. Once again his stance shifts, angling his shoulder towards the gray stallion and blocking his path and hers should the stallion decide he wanted to bring harm or claim the meek mare. Vaguely he remembered the soft sobs that had fallen from her lips those countless nights before and after Faelyn’s birth. He had not quite understood fully then why the filly’s conception and birth had caused the mare such distress. Now that he himself had succumbed to the rise of testosterone in the fall and felt the fires of a stallion’s need, he understood. It made sense. Regardless how often Rougaru had reassured the mare that Faelyn was his, he understood now Rae’s torment and was determined to keep his father’s promise to keep it from happening again. Not to mention the silver haired stallion would surely rip him apart if he merely stood by as an idle bystander.
Annubis turns his attention back to the stranger now, once more transfixing his golden gaze into the dark eyes of the stranger. Raven tipped ears tilt backwards at the feel of Rae’s warm breath against his flank but he did not dare spare her a gaze in this moment. Temblor… the stallion’s gruff baritones respond, void of any hints of emotion. A single brow raises as Annubis continues to meet his stare, attempting to push his own pulsing anger back as the stallion continues on by reiterating what already weighed like heavy stones of regret on his ego. Love. Obsession. It was Rougaru’s downfall and his, well his was that he sought his father’s approval too much. If only he had remained behind, if only he had left his sire’s fruitless venture before now, maybe then Paradise would now be under HIS rule and he would not be facing off against this stranger with equal measures of determination in his eyes.
The stallion turns his attention to Rae and Annubis too angles his head back to fix the timid woman in his golden eyes. She did not exactly cow against his side but it was clear enough that she was unsure and uncomfortable with the current situation. Yet even in her discomfort, he sees the question in her eyes and the curious tilt of her ears, no doubt she had questions of her own. However she was still Rougaru’s mare as far as he was concerned and the silver buckskin stallion would do what he could to continue protecting her.
A husky blast of air rushes from his nostrils as a grim smirk ghosts across the corners of his lips as he tries to once more return the gray steed’ attention to himself. Shaking out his mane in an attempt to disassemble some of the pent up anger rising within him, Annubis lifts his head proudly. ”I guess I will have to give you that. Father’s venture from the islands should not have been my own too.” he admits, rolling his shoulders and perking his ears forward. The task might be daunting but all was not completely lost. He would not be his mother’s son if he gave up quite so quickly.
”It is clear you are new to the islands and I myself have grown here.” he begins, pausing a moment to swivel a single earlobe towards the sound of the steady rolling waves over the sandy beach. ”I was born on this very island, my children too. I have no intention of leaving it behind.” he states in rather blunt tones as once more he takes another step forward, closing what remained of the distance between them and extending his muzzle cautiously towards Temblor; his body rigid. Dark lashes blink slowly as he continues. ”I wonder if you might find wisdom in sharing Paradise with me?” he questions, studying the gray stallion’s features intently. ”The land is large enough that you need not see me or my fa… my herd unless you wish it. At the very least allow me…. us..” he says tossing his head in Rae’s direction, ”to remain in search of others from our herd.” he adds, pausing for a long moment before continuing. ”In return, I will help you navigate these islands if you so wish and I will not challenge your authority.”
’For now.’ the beast growls deep in his mind but Annubis silences the creature with a yank of the chain. He was used to following orders under father, would this arrangement be so different? Perhaps it would be the first step he needed in the right direction. The first step of his own out of his sire’s daunting shadow.
”You may not trust me anymore than I trust you right now…” he continues, a cheshire grin beginning to spread. ”But I see no reason why we cannot build on that.”