maybe i'll see you tonight (hunter)

The sky was darkening for every minute that went and canines all about the territory was starting to turn inside the Mental Asylum to get their night’s sleep – if not for finding shelter from the falling rain. Only the early night patrol of Tempest Soldiers would be right awake at this moment, taking on their shift so other Soldiers could get some rest and last moments with their families before the sun was completely set. The setting sun made Tempest’ heart cast long shadows across the canine territory, and on top of the huge, desolated building the silhouette of a fox dismissed after having given its report. After the small canine had disappeared out of sight, the lone silhouette of a medium sized dog lingered.

Ryu sighed. He was tired from sleep deprivation and mentally worn out by the thought of the upcoming battle. His heart would beat fast every time he thought of it, and a soft chill would crawl up his spine at the mentioning of it. Of course he was scared of the inevitable. Iris was scattered, but yet something could still go very wrong if not careful and determined. And everything was resting on his shoulders. If something went wrong, he would be responsible for it. When others looked, his spirit would be lifted – determined and strong, eager for the battle which couldn’t be procrastinated for much longer. No one should know of the uncertainty hiding in his mind. Bear was probably the only one who knew of it, and that was already one too many.

The four-year-old Canaan dog sat back on his haunches and gazed into the horizon, not minding the rain slowly soaking his bright coat. Birds took flight across the misty, reddening sky in search for a place to rest for the night and somewhere in the distance a male elk was bellowing in victory after battling a rival. Apart from that, everything seemed so quiet. The black and white dog shifted his front paws and flickered with his ears. Lately, a hollow feeling had all too often started to set in his heart, bite him, eat him up inside out. In the beginning he’d thought he was getting sick, but yesterday he’d finally found the reason for it.

He was feeling lonely.

He loved the pack with all his heart and would for no reason put away his duty to lead it. He knew he could rely on Bear to always support him, and he wouldn’t wish for any other by his side. But still… He missed someone closer to him than that. Someone he could tell everything without worrying about the consequences. But there was no one. Not anymore at least. She’d once been there, an adventurous young dog whom had seen him as something else than just a coward. Seen him as something more. A friend she could rely on. Maybe even more than just a friend… It’d been a year since Estelle and he had been rescued from the Iris Pride. He’d hoped it meant they’d be able to spend peaceful time together once more, but he’d been wrong. So very wrong. He hadn’t seen a single glance of her since Hueso carried her home on his back, and she’d barely been conscious at that point. Afterwards, Hueso had taken her away in his grief to nurse her on his own, but to where he didn’t know. Truth be told, he didn’t even know if she was alive. No one had heard from Hueso since he went. They could both be long dead and gone, have passed away from abuse and grief. The thought sickened him. He’d hoped she’d someday return, or that he at least in some other way would be able to… forget? Move on? He didn’t know.

Ryu inhaled deeply through his nostrils. More than once he’d imagined that he could catch the scent of Estelle in the air. Just like he did it now. But he’d long ago stopped checking if it was true. It was just stupid, it was his mind playing tricks on him. He turned to go inside - after all it was about time he got some sleep though he doubted he’d just fall asleep right away, but a sudden howl caught his attention as quickly as if he’d been right awake.

Someone had crossed the borders.

He howled back immediately, a short message telling the young guard to inspect the case further with his patrol partner but wait for him before taking any rash decisions. Then he increased his pace to a run. He dashed inside the asylum, down the stairs and through the corridors in a rabid pace, knowing that only few would stand in his way at this hour. The intruder wasn’t feline, that much he was sure of from the Soldier’s message. But still. Who’d dare cross the borders by now, when Tempest was strongest? He wondered, just wondered… what if? No, it was unlikely. Stupid. His mind raced as fast as his paws, and by the time he ran out of the asylum’s front doors, a second howl from the pair sounded. The intruder, female, was headed toward the cemetery. Could it be? No. Again the world was silent and now Ryu trotted into the bush with tail raised behind him. From the message he’d gotten, the female would be heading right in his direction. The chilly, moistened air made small clouds of cold when he breathed, but despite the foul mood of the weather, it gave him the perfect cover. He could easily be able to stalk unseen toward the intruder.

He came to the graveyard and didn’t have to look for long before a frame that didn’t belong to one of the stones appeared. He narrowed his dark eyes, trying to get a better look at the canine, but the misty air and almost night dark sky made it impossible from this distance. He had to get closer. Out of the corner of his eye he shortly noticed the two shadows of the young Soldiers. Good. They would aid him if needed. He made ready for a growl, made ready to intimidate the intruder on his lands, but before he could make his move, the female dog raised her voice and called out his name. The sound made his coat bristle in anticipation and his heart started to beat harder in his chest, yet still he didn’t dare to get his hopes too much up. The voice sounded much more rough and frustrated than he remembered it. Then again, it’d been so long…

The bushes gave a low rustle as he without thinking twice emerged from his hiding place, slowly walking closer to the canine he now wasn’t sure was a stranger or not. He halted not long from the hunched frame, looking at her with soft and slightly curious eyes. Then he opened his mouth, though he wasn’t sure if he could even speak. But as the words crossed his mouth, they felt much calmer and more calculated than he’d expected, as if he all this time just had waited for this exact moment. “I’m here. I’m right here… Estelle.” It felt as if his whole body trembled by the mere mentioning of her name. As if it had been a forbidden name for his mouth to mention up until now. Behind him he vaguely felt the presence of the two Soldiers as they too emerged from the bushes. He felt their curiosity, their uncertainty of what to do. But it wasn’t them who mattered right now. Right now, it was all about Estelle. The friend he’d missed for so long and who now looked so very different from what she once had. They'd both grown. They'd both changed. He wondered...

Would they still be able to stay as close together as they once had?

Estelle’s whimpering made his fur bristle, sending a shiver through his entire body. But it was a good thing. It felt right. She remembered him, recognized him, rose to greet him. It was good. He felt happy, yet still afraid that she’d soon disappear and he’d realize it was all just a dream. But she didn’t. She was so very real, that he figured as soon as her soft cheeks brushed his and her muzzle nuzzled his face. At first he stood as frozen while she caressed him, but it didn’t take long before he let go. His eyes closed and his body relaxed as he took in her scent, let it fill his nostrils and his mind drift back to the time long ago when they had been puppies, happy in each other’s company. And in their ignorance of luring danger.

He pulled back a little to watch Estelle’s face as she stammering explained why she had been gone for so long. His brow furrowed slightly as he tried to understand her, but his old friend’s words didn’t seem to fit together all the time, and the tears suddenly streaming from her eyes and down to wet her soft cheeks and muzzle just made it even harder for him to focus on her words. ”Don’t think about it,” he blurted, voice hoarse as he realized how fast his heart raced in his chest. ”It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter any of it anymore, I-” He lost control of his body as it once again made a shiver run through his entire body and the words were caught in his mouth.

His face turned slightly as he half-heartedly looked back at the two Soldiers. ”Thank you. You’re dismissed. You can go back to your posts now. If anyone asks, tell them it was nothing.” His command to the two canines was short and his voice indicated that he wished to be alone with his friend and wouldn’t tolerate disagreements. He noticed their retreat and looked back to Estelle as soon as their frames disappeared from eyesight in the bushes. Just looking at her made his features soften, and he smiled once in a laugh. “I can’t believe you’re here. I have waited for so long. I was… I was scared I wouldn’t see you again. I-” For the second time his voice failed him and he then leaned into Estelle to nuzzle her neck with his muzzle and hide his face from the world as tears threatened to flow freely down his cheeks. ”I really missed you,” he whispered into her light brown fur and felt like all courage and strength, everything he’d build up as the façade of the determined leader, fell from his shoulders and made him stand before Estelle like a naked man, vulnerable and full of faults. But happy. Like he was the richest man on earth. Here, with Estelle, he could be himself without being scared. Without being judged. Right here, right now… there was no one but them. And it felt good. It felt right.

Estelle’s reply was softly spoken into his white and black patched fur, and even though her voice was muffled by his coat, her tone still indicated that a smile lingered on her dark lips. His ears twisted slightly as Estelle talked of Hueso. How his guilt had broken him down, making him leave the pack and take his tortured daughter with him, trying to hide her away from the world that’d hurt her. He couldn’t believe what had come to Hueso’s mind, the old General only seemed a shadow of himself. It stung Ryu’s heart to hear how his mentor had faded. He’d always admired Hueso, loved the General for making him what he was today, for giving him courage and the skills to fight, to protect those he cared for. Now the white Shepherd was long retired and not even a part of the pack anymore. Both he and Brooke were gone now and though he was getting more used to the though with each passing day, it still felt hard to have everything resting on your shoulders, only with Bear and a few dedicated Elders to help you out.

He smiled at Estelle’s last words. “You have to stay here, in the pack with me. I won’t be away from you again like that. You’re too important to me,” he said in a calm, low tune. He hoped it wasn’t too much to tell her, but there it was. They’d been apart for too long now, at least that was his opinion… and something made him feel like Estelle thought the same thing. She wouldn’t have come here all for nothing after all. But how? How had she managed to get here with her bad hips? He wondered how her joints were feeling after such a long imprisonment, almost a whole year, but he chose not to linger by it. That could wait to later when the time was right.

As the light brown Shepherd mix gazed upon him again, Ryu had to gulp and look away for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. Truly, Estelle would know nothing about Bear and his promotions, and the fact suddenly made Ryu feel awkward. How did you tell your friend, just like that, that you’d become the Warden of Tempest while she’d been gone? Would she think of him differently? Start seeing him as the leader he now was instead of the friend he’d been to her? It wasn’t a thing he could keep a secret for her, that’d just be stupid attempting, but he hoped she wouldn’t view him in another light. He was still the same. Kind of… He wasn’t really the scared, little, clumsy, stuttering, insecure, trembling, covering puppy he once had been. ”Much has changed while you’ve been gone,” he suddenly heard himself say while looking slightly past Estelle’s face, gazing out into nothing significant in their darkening surroundings. He paused shortly before continuing, deciding she for sure would be proud of her baby brother’s new position in the pack. “Brooke passed away not long ago, but a few months back she chose her and Hueso’s successors. Bear is my General. And I think Brooke made a great choice. Bear always makes sure the Soldiers are fit for fight when I tend to other things. The Soldiers are in a better shape than they’ve been for a long time. We might even be ready to attack Iris soon and make an end to the pride,” he said, hope softening his voice. Hope that the Tempest Pack would make the Iris Pride’s terror come to a final end, hope that Estelle would be relieved that their enemy, their captors, would disappear as a threat.