Kings and Vagabonds

He paced through the woods wearing his armor, his eyes upturned as he passed the gigantic trees. There had been a point when he’d owned these woods and he and his brother had hunted through the towering spires and he had met with the pack mates that answered his first call. That was all a lifetime ago, when he was a yearling boy and the weight of leadership had crushed him. It had taken a second try at leading to convince himself he was no leader, and a string of heartbreaks and betrayals to go along with it.

He yawned, the helmet raising as he opened his maw. Thinking of his failures always made him bitter, Paradise had advised him to focus on his beautiful family and accomplishments, but it was hard with so much weighing him down.

He had left the pack for the day, leaving his children with Paradise against his better judgement to venture out alone and sulk. He sat with a huff, wishing he had at least brought Cloud with him as someone he could talk to and keep his mind from straying into darker territory, or better yet leaving the children with Cloud and taking Paradise with him to get away from their own life for a bit. He had hardly had a chance to be alone with her between the pack and their needful pups even though he fully intended to make her his wife when Acere approved of their relationship. That made him feel like even more of a failure, he still hadn’t told her about Kai and their sordid relationship even though he loved them both. He was afraid of what she might say when she found out; afraid that she would leave him and break his heart, maybe take their children away and never allow him to see them again. He swiped furiously at the ground at that, his head lowered as a growl climbed up his throat, more frustrated with himself for even thinking Paradise would do that to him. He wished she was here now, wished he could hear from her own mouth that she would never do that to him.