The islands were once again, slowly beginning to arise from their peaceful slumber. Rumors whispered around the islands of an uprising. Ghosts foretold of returning faces long thought mere bones decaying into the earth. Even the birds that migrate from island to island had new stories in the unchained melodies….

And it left the young wolf on edge.

NOT only had Hymn and Promise seemed to vanish once again into the recessed of the jungles shadows, but even his skills at tracking had not managed to solve their disappearance. And that bothered him more than anything.

It is their continued absence in his life that keeps him here in Paradise. Had their scent or hoofprints been discovered near the Shores, Annubis would have been forced to assume that Hymn went back to Promise’s sire. Of course he would have given her the freedom if she had asked, but maybe it is more because she didn't and he never found proof that they left Atlantis… that alone keeps his sterling form anxiously pacing through the well worn pathways in hopes that today might be the day that made a difference.

But it is not Hymn’s graceful frame or the bouncing half-grown Promise that leaps out into his path.

The glittering of moonlight stirs the surface of the trickling spring-fed stream. But it is the the muffled sound of the water squelching beneath hooves that cause him to come to a sudden halt. Small, raven tipped ears pitch forward amid the mass of tangled black forelock. multifaceted eyes of gold immediately scan the moon dappled shadows.

There.

The faintest movement in the shadows and he lunges forward. ”Hymn?!?” he calls, unable to hide the hope in his voice.

But it is not Hymn that his keen eyes fall upon.

Appreciation dances in his golden gaze as the beast lets his eyes roam over the mare’s beautiful markings. No. She was no Hymn… But a far prettier sight than the stallions who had recently shown up on his doorstep. Perhaps his luck was finally beginning to turn.

The beast takes a step back, his proud head dipping slighting in an apologetic motion. ”oh, sorry. I did not mean to scare you. Are you looking for Akkadian? His herd usually stays to the northern most parts of the territory.” he fumbles, switching his dark tail against his muscular haunches at the no doubt awkward tone of his usually sarcastic voice.