"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
The Tiger had returned. He could smell him, sense him. The trees of the Taiga welcomed him back as an old friend, just as they all would. He wouldn't deny the creeping doubt slithering beneath his skin, the uncertainty of what the Tiger would want for himself. Was residency really enough for the former leader, or would he crave more? Would he wish to take what was once his?
The purple-leopard man stalked that feline scent, tracked it through their Taiga. He'd let the silence go on for too long, had kept busy tending to his mate and children. But it was time to seek Romek, and gauge for himself the man's intentions if there were any. Glacial blue eyes, wide and alert, sifted through all the little shakes in the trees as he moved. He wasn't silent, wasn't trying for stealth; he only wished to find him. Let him hear him come.
Romek's scent grew stronger, and he drew to a halt. Shadows played at his feet, dancing beneath the forest. Branches swayed and shushed, as blue eyes nearly glowed in the fading darkness of evening. He and Reagan would hunt soon, but this must come first. Romek. His voice was low and even, aware that the Tiger was near enough to catch the sound. He would already know Ruan was here; they each could sense the other.
While he had not been making any particular effort to actively let his presence be known, he had also not bothered trying to conceal himself. Regardless, his approach in feline form is naturally soft-footed, leaving nothing but whispers and scents in his wake, so he could not be sure if anyone had noticed him at all. He was not surprised, therefore, that nobody had sought him out – whether they didn’t know of his existence, or whether they were simply indifferent to it, he did not know, nor particularly care.
He heard the approach of another long before he saw it, or could feel it. Far too clumsy to be the stealthy approach of a predator. A golden eye flipped open lazily as he watched the purple and black stallion finally appear in front of him. Emerging from his leafy recess beneath some sort of thick-rooted tree, he shifts seamlessly into a horse once more, shaking his head, loosening his neck, which had become quite cramped after being asleep for most of the day. Cat’s life, and what not.
It takes a moment for the leopard stallion’s name to find it’s way onto the tiger man’s lips, but eventually it does. ”Hello, Ruan.” They had never had a proper conversation, but he was Reagan’s, and therefore deemed trustworthy enough. And, besides that, he was one of the handful who made the journey up the mountain to begin with – that would have been enough. His question feels odd to the spotted stallion, for he was no newcomer to this land, but he figures it is just an oddity of speech.
”Very well. It feels like I never left.” of course, the forest had accepted him into its shaded embrace easily, and with welcome. Much the way homelands are apt to when you have been wandering for a long time. ”How is the Taiga treating yourself and Reagan?” he paused for a moment, thoughtfully. ”There seem to be a lot of children about.”
"Very well. It feels like I never left."
Ruan bobbed his head in a short nod. He was pleased Romek had been welcomed as though he'd never left. Transitions of change were not always so easy, so simple. "How is the Taiga treating yourself and Reagan?
There seem to be a lot of children about."
He barked out a laugh and a broad grin broke out across his dark face. There was indeed a number of children, mostly his and Reagan's. Their kin held the majority of the forest dwellers, with sparse others laying about in their quiet homes. Jinju, with her fiery heart, was no longer a child but a grown woman in her own right, and patrolled the forest by her own volition. Heda, the sunny-gold girl with twilight points, would soon follow her to adulthood. His darling wild-child Terra would remain at his side for longer, as would his first flesh-and-blood son. Iasan seemed to be growing so quickly, the handsome lad. He was proud of them all.
Yes. I suppose there are a number of younger bodies about the Taiga, he replied with a soft chuckle. His family warmed this land with their play and laughter. He hoped they always would.
I'm glad you're comfortable. Ruan studied him quietly for a moment. He had never been much of a diplomat, always just a little too wild, but perhaps Romek would understand that about him. He hoped he would.
Find me if you ever have need of anything. Though he doubted Romek would ever require anything from him, but it seemed the sort of thing a leader should say. He was genuine, always truthful, but often felt a bit awkward. As though even his attempts at diplomacy were doomed to come out wrong. Reagan didn't seem to mind; that was enough for him.
