Warsaw's loss to Bjorn spelled a change in the seasons that Rougaru found he could not ignore. For many turns of the sun he had stood back in idle bliss and watched as the islands changed hands again and again. It was no surprise that Valka found herself once more on Tinuvel. The small fluffy mare fit well in the cold environment and he felt certain that there she would flourish. Bjorn had made an enemy of Warsaw and those who were loyal members of that lineage. Though his connection ended with his son Annubis, the gray former king had been a longstanding friend. It was those closest to his borders he worried most about.

Bjorn's loss of the Ridge had come as no shock. Day in and day out his patrolling found the scent markers along the Ridge border to grow stale and unrenewed in the weeks prior to the dark mare's claim. He had half expected Nyimara to step forward and take the herd under her full control. Had she done so, it would perhaps have made it easier to convince Xiomara that the island of Atlantis belonged under his ultimate control. It was much easier to walk upon a single leader with an army behind him than it was to be faced with two enemies. Though Xiomara had kept herself neutral so far, she was still a dangerous creature in her own right. Nyimara however was proving to be quite the foolish daughter. Like Solaris, she put her faith in another, in the same stallion who lost the Ridge and fled. She would learn, by the gods he would see her learn.

Now he had a new stranger on his border. He had seen the black mare from a distance, her shadow flitting through the dark jungle. Occasionally he caught a wisp of her hair tangled in the dense brush but never did he bother with interfering. He had other things on his mind. That is, until she calls him to challenge. Though Havelle is not his own daughter, she is the daughter of Zjeena and spent many seasons with her twin in Paradise. She was dear to him and though Faolain could not know the depths of his affection, it had placed a sour taste in his mouth that a mare might threaten to take mother from child again. Zjeena could hold her own, no doubt the beast that had awoken in her would gladly shred the black mare into pieces but as any drappa, she relied on Rougaru first to handle the situation. Likewise he doubted that Atlantis was ready for the wrath that the ice queen would bring down upon the island.

Even with the impending challenge, Rougaru found himself surprised to hear the black mare's summons. Twin flutes bury beneath the thick mantle of his caramel colored mane as the muscular stallion lifted his head from where he grazed in relative peace. Multifaceted eyes of emerald narrow in suspicion as immediately his proud head lifts to bellow a response. Large,saucer-like hooves pick up a swift two beat trot towards the intruder.

She does not stray far across the border, a wise decision in his mind but still the wolf is not pleased to see her across his carefully marked border. Lips peel back to reveal yellowing teeth as he slows to a hammering walk stopping only when he is within a few strides from her. Ears flicker forward now as he gazes his nose down upon her, a single brow raising. "You are either very sure of yourself or extremely foolish to dare crossing my borders uninvited. Especially after issuing a challenge." he remarks, his voice relatively devoid of emotion though the slow switch of his tail is indication enough to his displease.