Prologue (Pt.2)

A soft chuckle would escape his maw as she stumbled into the cave behind him. He'd gotten so used to long travel. She'd probably not been used to the sensation for some time. There where things Newol was impatient about. Covering ground was one of them so he'd become very good at it. Not everyone was the same though. The cover of darkness now familiar roads made for quick movement. It was a change of pace for Avalon, he was sure. But she'd done fine and he was glad to have her at his side once again. It had been too long sense he'd had someone at his side. And he'd been searching for it for far too long to start second guessing things now. All the right pieces where laid out on the table, now it was time to start piecing together the puzzle into the image that was meant to be. Now it was time to finally build the pillar of happiness he'd longed for for too long.

Meeting her at the entrance, he would nuzzle her softly, taking another breath of her scent into his nose. Turning, he would make his way through the tunnels. His pace was much slower now, head low, feet steady beneath him. It was highly unlikely that the mountain would change in his absence, but he wanted to savor this. These stone walls had been home, a layer of second skin around him. Where he could stomp and swear and yell and bellow his hatred for the world in privacy. And he had. Many nights gone to sleep with teeth locked and tears falling. But he'd always gone to sleep. It's funny, how he was suddenly able to count all the small blessing that had been afforded him amid the chaos. At the time though, his hatred had simply been too strong.

Their path would dip and head down deeper. It had been so long, and yet, his paws still guided him well. Avalon had only come this way by chance once, but he had done in daily. The sounds, the scents. They flooded over him and his breath started to catch hard in his chest. This was it. The urge. The tug to come here, he was starting to understand. He had to say goodbye to this mountain. He had to say goodbye to this place and step out of it for the last time. On his own terms. A faint light would start to form in the distance and he knew at once that he was closing in. A single shiver would run down his form, and though Avalon could not see it, he closed his eyes and walked the last leg on his own.

The images danced in his mind. Newol's long journey. He felt the warm desert sun on his back, the sting of the coyote's claws across his nose as a youngling fighting for his dinner. The burn in his legs as he ran head long through the sand storm. The first feel of grass under his paws as he came out the other side. The trees. His first time standing in a forest. Standing atop The Wall and talking with The Lady In Red... She'd been so beautiful... The Willows. His eyes fell on Erani again for the first time. Her warm smile. Her seasoned and experienced scent. He recalled his eyes opening on the first morning he woke up in the old den in the gorge. The first morning he woke up an Adravendi. Then the sting. The painful memories. The fall. A young cougar who'd been a Valhallen like him. Sharing a fish with the old man on the beach. Splashing in the waters of The Delta. It was pack land now. His lips pulled back in and his head raised in a blood curling cry for venginces in the deep mountain's belly. These all danced in his head.

It was over now. It was all over now. A single ray of light now pierced the thick clouds of smoke that had once covered Alacritis. The old war stories could be laid to rest in the coffin. He was no Zaraidd nor had he ever been meant to be. It was just a spring board meant to throw him at the Healer's feet. As he stepped through the archway and into the dim blue light, his eyes would slowly open. Before him he beheld a dome in the mountain with a flat floor, illuminated by a soft, faint, blue light. In it's center was a jagged but round pool of the most crystal clear water you could behold. In one corner was a pile of dusty, old pelts. His bed still there, hidden away inside the mountain. Slowly, he would approach the glowing pool. How long had it been? How long sense he'd seen this beautiful sanctuary? Walking up, he would lower his snout to it's surface. Eyes transfixed for a moment, awe and wonderment on his face. He would sniff it's surface before lapping at the water for a moment.

Turning, he would bring his head up slowly as he turned to look at Avalon. This was right. He'd waited damn long enough for it. And the world couldn't deny him that. His paws would move, carrying him back to the woman. She was still as gorgeous as before. As difficult as it was for him to speak right now, he knew the proper words for this moment. He knew just what to say and do. Gently, he would place his snout under her chin, a smile spreading his maw and the old gesture lost in the pages of ancient history. He would lift his head up to tilt her maw just a tad, and his voice would fall from his lips as he placed a paw on top of hers. "Will you stay? Maybe we can walk our common road together for awhile?" They where old words. But their meaning had changed none. He was thankful to have her at her side. Theirs had be only a fleeting moment, torn away from them in the grand scheme of things. But now they had a chance to pick up the page right where it had all stopped at.

Thing End Where They Begin, And Something Anew Starts Back Up Again.