The gentle wind that blows through the trees offers a cool relief to the thick humidity of the day. Though he had long foregone his thick winter coat for a sleek thin coat, still the midday heat had a way of dampening the hairs behind his ears and the curve of his neck where the thick mantle of knotted mane settled. The occasional ocean breeze was a cooling relief that he welcomed.

Today he had relinquished his incessant patrols to Gnome and instead hoped to clear his mind with the company of his drappas. Zjeena and Monster always had a way of soothing the beast and today was no different. Losely they grazed around him, his emerald eyes following each carefully placed hoof and admiring the supple curves of their bodies as they brushed against one another in passing. Time in the jungle had likewise proven fruitful for them as with the rest of the herd. While others starved through winter months, the tepid climate of the jungle provided them with a wide array of fruits and green earth to graze making certain that none felt the hunger pains that often came with a lean winter. He too had grown soft in the past months since Lilands departure and grown rather complacent in the fact that war was behind them. His defeat to Jabari and the raid from the Peak had however done much to rise the beast that lurked in his core. The wolf blamed him, and he himself for the loss of Vanya and her son. Even Calypso's absence was beginning to fester a sore upon his heart. He would have to remedy the situation soon, the wolf demanded it.


Ears flicker as attention draws to the current. Dark eyes fall upon the form of the young stallion that had long been apart of the herd. Though he had not met the young boy, Monster spoke often of him in quiet endearment. He nor the wolf dared to cross the painted viper, especially when her mind was made up and the blue and white boy was one of those very situations. He half expected the boy to bypass him and move to join Monster as he often did, however instead he directs himself into Rougaru's path and stops.

Dark ears perk amid the tangle of creamy caramel colored mane as emerald eyes meet that of the young stallion. His words as roughly spoken but he is not the first that Rougaru has come across deaf. A welcoming smile curves across his lips as he bobs his own head gently in acknowledgement. Dark lashes blink slowly over emerald eyes as the boy continues, the unease clear as his thick hooves scrape over the dirt underneath his hooves.

The boy's words might still be rough, an impressive accomplishment in his eyes. Perhaps there had been more to Monster's bond with him than mere company alone. Dark gaze widens a moment in confusion as thick skull tilts. Of course there were others out there, others that preferred to remove the young from her herd when the age arose. Rougaru however, was not of that breed. He relished in the young that frolics his shores. He often pondered the implication and wondered if it was not his own childhood that drew his need to keep the foals safe under his eyes. The boy met his gaze now, head lowered in submission. A warmth spread through his heart as the chocolate dragga reaches his muzzle out to bump the boy's muzzle companionably, "Home." he breathes, dropping his own large head to inhale a deep breath of the musky soil. "You can stay." he murmurs, doing his best to mouth the words clearly as possible.

Lifting his proud head, Rougaru lets his gaze drift towards where Zjeena and Monster grazed, where no far behind them, he knew the rest of the herd meandered through the dense underbrush or slumbered beneath the sheltering canopy. The serene scene is comforting, but Rougaru knew all to well how quickly the winds of change could be upon them. The morning could be bright an cloudless and by evening, a storm caused the waves to surge towards the treeline with torrential downpours. Like the mountains of old, the islands could be a dangerous place. Meaningfully, emerald eyes meet the white and gray boy. Dark ears fold backwards as he jerks his head towards the gathered pack. "Protect them." he murmurs, the weight hanging heavily upon his own soul. Protect them all.