The road that was once so lonely

Intruder. The accusation was a familiar one, a word that echoed through his dreams as he slept tonight. The nightmares he frequently suffered from were hazy upon waking, but felt startlingly real when he was trapped in that barely-conscious state. It seemed as though in his dreams, he was always being followed, always being watched, yet he could never find the source of his paranoia. Tonight the voice taunted him, calling him an intruder, telling him he didn't belong. Intruder!

It was the scent of a stranger that roused him from his light slumber. It seemed that the unfamiliar scent of a creature that did not belong in Ludicael had prompted his dream. Was there an intruder here? Bronze had grown accustomed to the scent of his packmates, even though he didn't know all of them well, and immediately upon awakening he knew something was off. A soft groan escaped from his lips as he rolled to the side, slowly shaking sleep from his mind. Lids would blink over dark eyes as he made out the frame of his wife beside him. Not wanting to wake her, he would pry himself from her side slowly, quiet as a mouse as he slipped from the den into the night.

He was curious, more than anything; and this place was his home. His family's home. They were safe here, and he wasn't willing to let anything threaten that safety. Investigating seemed the best thing to do. Slowly he walked through the mangrove, remarkably quiet for a man of his stature and age, slowly stretching his limbs. The night air was cool and comfortable, and he marveled at the sound of crickets chirping and frogs singing that echoed through the land. It didn't take long for him to locate the source of the scent, though he struggled to see the man's form in the distance. "Who is it?" he asked, his voice loud and void of much emotion. Perhaps it was not an intruder at all, but simply a Destruction he had not yet seen or smelled; but he could not be so sure, and he knew he would not be able to return to sleep until he knew.