one little rule.

[♛ ætara]

AETARA closed her eyes against the bright glare of the setting sun. Even with lids closed, her vision still glowed gold in the semi-darkness. The light did not hurt, but it was not comforting as it would be to some. Light held no pleasure for Aetara, not to say that dark held any either. In fact, dark was a feared thing to her because it represented the eight years she had spent alone.

But not completely alone.

KAIDRON stood silently by her side, his bristly red fur tickling her skinny legs. His own eyes were not closed, but were held open in defiance of the sun. He did not gaze into it, but rather at the way the grass glowed orange in it's radiance. He could sense Aetara's displeasure without trouble, though she was so often in this state of mind he hardly bothered about it anymore. She was not easy to please, and he rarely tried.

"If we are to leave, now would be the time."

He spoke through cracked teeth. His voice was harsh and wheezing, though not from age. Damaged vocal chords could often lead another to think him much older than he really was.

Aetara knew better, she was the old one of the two.

"Do you believe we should Kaidron my friend?"

She whispered through dry, flaking lips.

"What if we stay?"

He replied quickly.

There was silence between the pair, and neither spoke. They felt no need to continue their conversation. The mute understanding they held simply left it to where if one of them wanted to leave, they would do so and the other would follow without complaint.

But both were still, and the setting sun continued it's downward path.

[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The sun was beginning to set, and Cian knew that he’d be shit out of luck if he got caught out in the middle of nowhere when the wretched night fell. The idea of being in the dark made his skin crawl. He really hated the dark. It was bad enough that his day vision was starting to wear out, but becoming unable to even see at night was worse. He was convinced the second he went blind he’d be completely useless to the world and some bastard who felt sorry for him would kill him.

For being a hopeless member of society.

But all of his worries were just brands of paranoia. Twelve years of war had molded his mind into that of extreme paranoia, worried that around every corner lie an enemy waiting to eviscerate his bowels, just like he had done to many enemies on the blood-soaked battle field. However, when thinking about all his deeds of war, he never regretted a single moment of it, it had molded him into a strong general.

The grass was soft beneath his paws as he entered the Tireta valley. He smiled; he had been here all those years ago when Katriel’s father had slipped away from the Black alliance and formed the White alliance. He had been one of the few to be brave enough to leave the hell. Oh the memories of this place.

Two figures standing against the sun.

He stopped and squinted into the sunset, eyeing the two figures, one a tall skinny horse and the other a shorter red-brown manned wolf. Limping closer he focused his eye on the wolf, he had not seen him, and then he came across the red glowing markings. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he tensed; catching the end of their conversation he softly chuckled,
If you stay you have the chance to meet new creatures.
He kept a trained eye and open mind to the two, knowing that if they attacked him he’d have a little chance of survival.

But he was ok with dying, he was old anyway.

[♛ ætara]

AETARA opened her mouth, sucking in a breath of cool air in a yawn. She had done so little that day, but her body was tired all the same. She lowered her head, resting her silver muzzle on Kaidron's lean shoulders. The hairs of his fur tickled her nose and whiskers, but she ignored it and kept her eyes closed. She was oblivious to the new-comer, had never been one to be aware of anything sneaky in her life.

She raised her lids slightly, and stared through dusty eyelashes at the valley around her. The slight movement of Kaidron's body below her alerted her finally to the old wolf's presence, and she raised her head slowly. Her neck ached, and her eyes flickered around to try and find the newcomer.

The blue glow caught her gaze, and there her eyes stayed, waiting.

KAIDRON, being the first to notice the other wolf, and raised his head. He felt Aetara's head lift from his shoulders, her warm breath blowing on his fur disappearing. His glossy hazel eyes watched the elderly wolf with curiosity, but no fear. The wolf was obviously no threat, even to an elderly, frightened mare and a harmless middle aged wolf.

"Why would we need to meet new creatures?"

Kaidron said, his voice calm, and cool. He eyed the other with little emotion in his eyes. Aetara however, watching with a strictly nervous glare, said nothing. Why should she, Kaidron frequently took care of interaction for her.

[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The tension between the three animals was minimal; it irritated Cian that they did not see him as a big threat.
They probably don’t know who I am and what I’ve done…that’s ok. For now.
Sitting up straighter he studied the pair intensely, gauging that the mare had to be as old as him or maybe even older. She had that air of age about her that no one could ignore regardless of how they looked. But funny, age had a way of creeping up on everyone he himself was beginning to gray around the muzzle and eye.

It was hard for the ex-General to admit to himself that he was old.

A light breeze picked up and the grass beneath them rolled gently in the setting sun. It was just so beautiful. Sighing softly he picked up a paw and quietly inspected the cracked pads,
Hah, in a land of war, meeting new people is a good thing to do, gotta know who your enemies are. And who your friends aren’t.
Paranoid?

Of course he was.

He was a great General of war, he slaughtered siblings and sons, who wouldn’t want to see his head hanging on an oak tree branch? A creature who had successfully torn apart families in the midst of war. To his enemies, he was a despised and wanted figure. So in truth, he had every reason to look behind his back around every corner.
The name’s Cian.