11-10-2018, 07:34 PM
the taigan
He'd walked these lands countless times. Destruction and six years had changed it much, but not enough for their Taiga not to welcome him home. This forest had soaked up too much of his love not to. The Heart of the Taiga, they'd once called him. When he'd been married and guided their people at his wife's side. She had done most of the leading, and he had done all of the loving.
So many children, he'd brought home to cherish and strengthen.
He missed Illae, the softest of them. The most innocent.
He'd wanted so badly to protect that for her.
He missed them all.
And then he'd led it alone, but never alone. He held the place of leader, but they all led together, the Taigans. This was their forest, not his. Their home. He was Dominant, and Alpha, but never a king. He'd never craved power as others had. He'd only taken it up alongside his wife, and continued on dutifully in her absence.
His winter coat was long, adding to his wolven appearance. The shape of his body was all that separated him from his wolf. He had the color, and the heart, and the mannerisms. But he could no longer shift, and that soul was kept permanently from him now.
He would've howled if he'd been able to.
He would've hunted if he'd been able to.
There had been one other thus far in Taiga that he'd come across with a natural Dominance, loud enough in presence to put him on edge. When confronted, the powerful man had only held Ruan in respectful deference, allowing him to hold the highest position between them. It had been an odd meeting, a curiosity, but Ruan had been glad of it. And found himself respecting the man for their shared lack of hunger for power. Even between themselves. He hadn't a clue what he'd done to earn that sort of respect or indifference, but he didn't question it long. It wasn't in him to do so.
As he continued through the land, he came to pause at the creek, his eyes darting to the sides as he approached in natural caution. There was only the quiet of a chirping night that greeted him, and he pressed forward to drink, lapping the icy water in solitude. Polaris and Soldat were curled up asleep in safety nearby. He was alone for now.
