hands around my throat

Perhaps he had been languishing for too long in the peace and quiet that came with sedentism. The titan sought to stretch his muscles in the wee hours of the morning with a brisk trot along the coastline, taking special care to mind the fringes of the land bridge as the tide began to seep back in to swallow up the path to the mainland. There were lingering scents of strangers all over lately, but his cousin seemed to have a proclivity for allowing a few special cases roam freely for
short periods within the boundaries. The amethyst dappled fae who'd led their great rhino hunt came to mind. Evidently it would simply be something to get used to, and he would have to make some type of effort to keep up to date on who was being welcomed as a guest nowadays.

Chilly pre-dawn surf lapped at his ash cloaked paws, slinking up the beach as he patrolled the southern edge of the island. Already the bruise-dark sky was beginning to betray the rising sun. Wispy clouds overhead were warm grey now, the moonlit silver leeched from their ephemeral tendrils as the first tentative rays of sunlight reached up to caress them. Dark form stood out in stark contrast to the sands as he splashed his way through the shallows, unbothered by the steady inwards trajectory of the minute waves that were soaking his ankles already. It was doing the important work of keeping him awake- too many morning had been wasted lounging in the cool damp of his cave. The day promised clear skies, pinpricks of light winked in and out of sight overhead for as far as his brimstone gaze could follow them. Even those thin clouds couldn't block their delicate forms above. Good, soon enough the gloom and chill of winter would leave him longing for a cloudless sky and a tepid early morning patrol.

Damp sands gave way to a rocky shoreline, and he picked his way along its edge with sure steps. Ruby marked coat began to feel the barest traces of sunlight against his flank, drawing his attention to the sun as it crested the horizon. A few scant rays stretching up towards the heavens turned the waves to molten gold. The titan paused. There were no figures on the water that threatened to reach their shores and invade the island. He could stop to watch the sunrise for a while. Crimson dipped banner swept idly over his hocks, heavy skull tipped ever so slightly in consideration as the eastern skies lightened. From the southernmost point, his view was unobstructed by the mountains and trees that created the imposing silhouette of the island.