I love only that which they defend; Keeper

[Ryan]

I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness,
nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory

Hyaline had welcomed him home with open arms. Coming back to the  mountains he had declared his home as a child had been like falling into a familiar dream; the land was the same, even with different faces, and it was an easy land to love. It experienced the best of every season and the colors of the seasons were magnificent. Even its new Queen had welcomed him with a soft smile and a kind word, but his presence had been all Ryan had been able to give back to Hyaline.

Unlike the first time, he had not left discontent and mental wanderings drive him to leave Hyaline entirely, but neither has he been able to truly engage with its people like a useful citizen should. In his horse form he lurks, mostly, taking on different coat colors with alarming frequency, hiding in plain sight amongst them. He is comfortable enough with Hyaline to appear non-suspicious, but not familiar enough to them with his ever-changing face to prompt them to approach him. In his panther form, he prowls; he is protective and territorial in that form (he can’t help it) and he oftens marks their borders, the scent of grown male cougar enough to warn off many other natural predators and even some passers-by.

But he can’t detach himself from her. He is drawn to the dunskin mare with the bear living inside her skin like fish to water, or flying insects to tempting lights. She is the one who has seen and recognizes his many faces, the one who can see the man inside the cougar. Keeper is his tie to Hyaline as much as the land itself, and he has watched her flourish here with real pleasure despite his own lackadaisical approach to actually doing Kingdom business.

They are on the very cusp of spring, teetering on the final edge of winter before they fall headlong into the growing season. There are buds on the tree branches and early spring flowers poking up despite there still being patches of snow on the ground. He lopes along easily, tawny feline muscles bunching and releasing as he moves towards her den; winter is still shadowing their every move enough that he might find her there, fighting the instincts of the bear. If he arrives and she has already moved on, it will be simply enough to track her from there.

Ryan

( I love only that which they defend. )

@[keeper]/@[Kristin]

[keeper]

He’d come!

There had been no doubt in her mind that he would but she had not been able to go to him the moment he’d arrived within the borders of this beautiful and bountiful land. Her own gregarious nature and need to bring more and more back to fill the halls of wisteria and red maple had gotten the best of her and kept her from seeking him out immediately. Solace had seen to that, from what Keeper had seen at a distance and knew the Caretaker would welcome him as warmly as she herself would. Still, there had been an odd longing her chest to find him at some point in time when the moment deemed itself just right. But that moment had never come for her.

Worse, the bear had smelled the cougar in her land. Had caught enough of his markers about the borders to know that he was a challenge to her. Predator versus predator… Keeper had to wrest the more savage nature of the bear to heel and it had proven exhausting because the bear had marked enough of this land as hers that she had become just as territorial as the cougar had. Sometimes the bear came behind him and left her scat or claw marks on the bark of a tree over his as challenge to him despite Keeper’s best efforts to temper the bear’s nature. Part of her has feared what might happen if the two of them met as anything but horses.

That fear has kept her from him as much as her duties to Hyaline have.

So too, has the bear’s need to hibernate which saps the strength from her in the wintertime. Never has Keeper napped so much in her life since she gained this new trait. The first winter had been the worst because she fought what was happening - not comprehending until she had no choice but to realize that each time she woke in the bear’s den or beside a kill, that it had been her all along. Now she was used to it. Could stomach the kills better because she knew that was how the bear survived as long as she could keep it from going after the foals that came in the springtime.

Plus the bear favored salmon above else so she kept it close to the lake to feed off the surplus of silver fish therein. Even now, in the bear form that snores and sleeps, she dreams of that first meal after awakening and how it will be delicious fish-meat and delicate bones to pick her teeth clean with. But the mare’s dreams begin to intrude upon the bear’s, disturbing the nature of it’s hibernating rest until the bear shifts back into the mare unbeknownst to either of them. Keeper the mare dreams of the cougar and how she has caught glimpses of him moving up and down the mountain slopes and beneath the burning blazes of red maples caught in the throes of autumn.

How could she not dream of him?

Cougar or stallion, he could not hide from her in Hyaline (or anywhere). She knew him and knew his smell better than most. Even the bear knew it, despite the misgivings it still had about the big cat being in its territory. But bear had become mare and even in the midst of sleep and dream, the mare couldn’t help but say his name in a sleepy rumble not at all aware that he lurked just outside her den in search of her.

@[Ryan] too tired and lazy for pretty html but yay, RYAN! <333

[Ryan]

I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness,
nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory

As the cougar reaches the den, already looking to start adjusting his vision as he looks into the dimness, it is easy for his feline ears to pick up the rumbled words that shape his own name. He pauses, lets his eyes adjust, standing just inside the cave entryway. It’s warm inside, comforting, and he watches her sleep for a minute, perfectly still. It could be creepy, but it isn’t. He just thinks she’s beautiful. Even the other inside of her. Her bear dislikes his cougar, because she is the top predator. Ryan doesn’t have that problem; his cougar would yield to the bear in the wild and while it takes offense to the scent of other felines and even canines, it is content to let the ursine be.

And Ryan-the-horse has no reservations at all. Keeper is beautiful inside and out. After watching for a long moment he moves into the cave, on silent paws and moving very slowly. There isn’t room for another equine in the den, but there is enough room for the smaller and more flexible cougar to slide in, tucking himself slowly up against her – slowly to give her every chance to pull away, to give him every chance to slip out of the way of angry hooves if he startles her into a negative reaction.

But if she doesn’t startle awake and do anything violent, he is ready to slide into the warm den beside her, a purr starting deep in his chest and echoing against the cavern walls. It’s not a quiet sound; cougars are the biggest cats that can purr and they are awfully large, but it is a good sound. A happy sound.

Ryan

( I love only that which they defend. )

I guess Ryan wanted to keep being a kitty. :|