Annubis found himself settling into Paradise with an ease only one born and raised here could achieve. It is not often that a stallion can claim such prowess over a land and to be honest, the silver beast has no intentions of taking that for grant it. So far, aside from a few stray wanderers, the gray wolf has managed to avoid the attention of the other islands and their leads. But even he is not foolish enough to know that such peace will last forever.

Despite her reassurance that the chimera stallion had truly gone, Annubis still finds it hard to trust that the once-lead would not return at some point in search of his missing mate and daughter; a daughter that Annubis has grown irrevocably attached to one might add. Which left him with even more of a dilemma…. If the stallion did return… would he willingly part with Promise and Hymn? Could he? The warmth and gentleness that the little girl’s soft eyes brought to him coupled with the layers of sadness and distrust that he slowly was working to peel away from Hymn were enough to keep him doing what he does now. Protect. Guard. Protect - Emotions the old wolf himself had ingrained into every fiber of the silver buckskin. Protect.

Not only was there Hymn and Promise, but the lagoon stallion Khyber had left him Izumi as a sort of peace offering. That in and of itself is what it is, the gold and white mare’s gentle nature and shy demeanor draw on the wolf’s already protective alpha instincts… however, it is Lucifer’s not-so-veiled threat that continues his movements and puts off his visit to Salem for yet another day.

It is this reason more than anything else that has Annubis once again, patrolling the all too familiar pathways nearest the northern edge of Paradise where the red-eyed stallion and his illusive herd hide. The silver beast tells himself he has nothing to worry about, that Lucifer’s threat had been merely his way of solidifying a comradery of sorts between the two, but the black bastard is too much a mystery for Annubis to know for sure. A fact which quickens his steps until once more, the beast emerges from the dappled shadows of the thick jungle foliage and onto the bright, warm sunlight of the beach. Already the noonday sun has heated the dried sands enough that the silvery dragga does not dare to linger long. Stretching his legs in the cool, blue shallows, Annubis cools his heated skin in the lapping shallows before turning again for the shade of the jungle.

For a time, the stallion wanders lazily along the coastline, hugging the trees for protection against the hot sun but allowing himself the serene scene of the beach to soothe the angst that coiled around the unknown plaguing his mind. That is, until one very familiar, very fresh scent crosses his seeking nostrils.

Hyacinth.

He would never forget that scent or the excited flutter of his heart as renewed adrenaline builds beneath his damp skin. He pauses a moment longer, tasting the wind and inhaling a deep breath of the scent she left against the palm bark in the form of pale hairs. A mischievous smirk tugs at his ashen labrums as multifaceted eyes dance with excitement. Leave it to Hyacinth not to sit idly by and wait for him to find her or emerge in a huff of snarky comments and vicious words. She was perhaps the only other mare that knew Paradise as well as himself and that is thrilling in itself.

The mare’s muted hoofprints lead deep into the densest parts of paradise, weaving in and out of the well-worn game trails left by other animals that Annubis used to navigate. What had begun as potential excitement and thrill at the merry game of chase his long-time mate was leading him through, quickly turns into something more akin to aggravation…. Especially when her scent leads him once again back onto the beach. As if he hadn’t already patrolled the borders twice this morning alone! When he does finally re-emerge again onto the beach, there is more than a little irritation on the thin line of his lips. A small part of him almost expected to find the beach empty. Leave it to Hyacinth to lead him on a merry chase only to leave before his eyes can set on her once again. Hell at this point, he almost expects it. That was half their relationship after all, constantly tugging at each other’s last frazzled nerve. It was how they showed affection, or so Annubis told himself.

When his feral eyes find her standing in the shallow waves like a statue of the finest marble, the beast cannot help but stop and stare. Golden eyes travel over the familiar curves and contours of her frosted body, savoring the way the zephyrs tugged at the russet strands of her mane and curled them along the supple arch of her neck. Warmth floods his veins as he exhales an (almost) relieved breath before slowly stalking towards her, the impish smile once again curving into place as he greedily drinks her in. ”Well well, look what the cat dragged in….” he teases, his voice graveled despite the glitter of playful mischief dancing behind his feral eyes.