Annubis has never been one to take defeat well. Vihar could attest to that… if he ever managed to find her again. It had taken ages but the silverling stallion was done searching for her.
Now he had more than a single reason to be. Tinuvel was cold, far too cold and harsh for his taste. The silver buckskin stallion was bred for the humid jungles of Atlantis and at the first chill of winter snows he had abandoned any further attempt to return Vihar to his side. She wanted to stay on that spit of ice then she was more than welcome to freeze her little ass off.
It had taken patience and planning but finally, Paradise was his. Annubis knew that it would take years of practice and work but maybe, just maybe… he would be able to reawaken the wolves of Atlantis and have the islands whispering his name in reverence as they had done with Rougaru. He was the old wolf’s son after all.
But back to the point.
The silverling stallion does not miss the light night flight of mare and foal. He was aware of their nervous shadows hiding behind the dense jungle fauna from the moment his bugles first rang over the serenade of songbirds and squawking parrots. He had assumed after a few days of watching him, the mother would finally make her approach. However, as he groggily watched their heads bobbing above the foam-capped waves in the pale silver blue moonlight…. The irritation ignites like an ember doused in gasoline. She hadn’t even bothered to meet him first!
Feeling fairly certain where he might find the pair, Annubis settles back into the sun-warmed sands that he had bedded down into. Although he was a far cry from old age, he was set in his ways and even as a child found it hard to leave the curve of sand his body cut into the beach. Sleep was not hard to come by with the lull of the ocean in his ears.
The early dawn hours found him striking out for the main island as soon as the gulls began their squawking cries. He would get no more sleep with them around anyway and even IF the last remnants of sleep still dragged at his mind, the retreating image of mare and foal is too tempting a challenge to leave behind. No doubt there were a number of greedy stallions already up and on the prowl with the same thoughts in mind.
Standing with a grunt, the silver stallion gives his sleek coat a shake, ridding the last remnants of sand from his skin before taking the plunge into the cold shallow waters that separated Atlantis from the main island. He had a mare to find. Her child was a mere added bonus.
He imagines that with a child at her side, the mare would take the shortest route from Atlantis to the main island if only to help keep the child from tiring or possibly drowning. It has been years now but even he remembers the struggle of leading Holo from island to island as he chased down Vihar.
Her scent is not hard for him to pick out when his hooves touch down on the dry grassland beyond the reaching waves. Despite her sudden flee, the jungle and its aromatic flowers still clung heavily to her scent, as if the very island itself attempted to aid him in returning the wayward creatures back to where they belonged. Confusion flashes in his golden eyes as the beast recognizes the path in which the mare led her child, a place that most of the wiser mares tried to avoid. Well, the ones that knew better anyway. Herd stallions and bachelors alike lurked these lands, eager and attentive to any unfamiliar face. Either the mare was unfamiliar with this knowledge or she was hoping to find herself captive to another as quickly as possible. This caused his pace to quicken and his brows furrow in concentration.
She is not the only mare in the open meadow that lays beyond the skeletal trees deep in hibernation, but she is the only one with a child at her side and the scent of hibiscus clinging to her scent. Paper-thin nostrils flare as the silverling beast inhales a deep breath that is cut short but the sudden movement in his peripheral. For a fleeting moment, the beast turns to fix the black beast in his golden gaze. Competition.
Raven-tipped ears disappear beneath the curling water-logged tendrils of his obsidian mane as Annubis watches the black stallion approach the mare and foal duo with a friendly whicker. Like hell, Annubis was going to lose this round without a bloody fight.
He makes his approach, a cocky grin sliding across his lips as the silverling catches the stallion’s question for the mare and grits back a sound of annoyance at the hopefulness in the dark beast’s voice. ”They were just waiting for me….” he purrs, thrusting his head forward to block the taller black stallion from making any closer advances on the mare. Although the black stallion is easily a few hands taller than him, the silver wolf does not cower in fear or shoot a gaze of suspicion at his rival. The smirk on his ashen lips is smug as he lifts his charcoal-dusted crown higher, ”So why don’t you just beat it, giraffe. I’m sure there are some more mares over that direction in desperate need of your chivalrous rumblings.” he finishes, chuckling at the mere image his words drew together. He could see it.