Noctisardor Bypass wonderfully wandering alone
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#1
All Welcome 
@Tadec srry here's a novel
The Governor was nothing if not fiercely avoidant. It had taken him no time at all to tarnish his relationships with their newest additions; he was certain Delight already knew about his terrible encounter with Queenie. Honestly, he hadn't stuck around to find out. He had fled with the rising sun, an inexplicable mix of dread and terror clutching at his chest the more he thought about it. Borders at his back once more, Alarian ran through the valley and beyond with a silent promise to return by the next night. No one would miss him in that time, he was sure.
It was much later when he finally stopped to rest, knowing he would go no further. Exhaustion had slowed his racing thoughts, slowly replacing them with questions. Why? Why did it matter so much?
Something sweet and achingly familiar carried on the wind, then; he froze, recognizing it only subconsciously for a few beats. Quite suddenly, he was aware of where he was; he stood surrounded by mountains, but somehow still open, exposed. His gaze flitted past smoothly sloping verdant hills, tracing the creek that wound through the plains. A vast lake marked the end of its path, ink-dark and shimmering moon-silver with each ripple. It was breathtaking, but—
The scent was what drew him closer, stronger than any drug. Rationality abandoned him; it could not be real, he knew— he knew, but he could not stop himself. Tenderly he held together the raw shards of his heart with the illusion. Mom? Alarian croaked, broken, into the night; he swore the scent grew stronger around him. He turned all around with ears flat and eyes wide, taking nervous steps backwards. The boy was at once full of hope and dread, grief and joy.
His mother was dead— he would never feel her embrace again, he told himself. Something dark flitted past his vision. Would never see her smile again. He turned. Would never tell her he loved her again. His eyes lifted, half-fearful—
And there was nothing. A choked sob tore from his throat, dying there; his eyes welled with hot tears, but none spilled. The Governor blinked them away, swallowed hard. He told himself he hadn't expected her— he hadn't, he hadn't. He wasn't crazy.
all the world will be your enemy
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There, somewhere out beyond where he was, there was a voice.
 
The long-legged moonlighter felt a stirring in the air that carried the desolate sound of a stranger toward him. Try as he might, the image of a damaged creature was far too much for him to leave behind. Though he had a hare clutched between his sharp little teeth as he was intending to return with it for Indra, the coywolf turned sharply and cupped his ears so that he might hear the call of the voice once more. He waited, heart thrumming softly in his chest, but it seemed that it had fallen silent. Tadec wondered if he had imagined the voice of a spirit – one that had stopped running – or if he had conjured the very creature from beyond.
 
Turning in his tracks, the moonlighter searched with his gaze for the frame of another, or the light that might have struck him to illuminate his figure. In this – his search – Tadec held his breath, almost as though he might hear the other breathing over the sound of the world. The coywolf was poised perfectly in his position. He released a soft chuff to announce that he was there. He hoped that he would hear the sound of the other calling back in a short matter of time.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
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Slowly the illusion faded, leaving him cold and exposed. He couldn't have missed the far less familiar scent on the breeze as the hysteria left him; he tensed, fearful for a reason he could not name. Something pulled him forward anyway. There was so little to lose— and the night suddenly seemed too vast and empty to be alone.

He took a few hesitant steps in the direction he thought the scent was coming from, halting as a chuff reached his ears. Immediately he felt a chill, hackles lifting despite the harmlessness of the sound. Calm down, he tried to remind himself (not very convincingly). After a moment, he managed to settle, responding to the stranger's chuff with his own. The clouds shifted in the next beat.
The change in lighting was not dramatic, but to Alarian it was dizzying. Disoriented as he already was, he looked away immediately— down between his paws, blinking hard. His head started to pound, and he was unable to focus on anything else.
all the world will be your enemy
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In the silence, there was an answer. The crow’s ears swiveled atop his crown to meet the sound of the stranger. Tadec breathed a soft sigh of relief. He had not always been a superstitious creature – aside from the cultural beliefs that were written in the fibers of his soul – but having spent a great deal of time on his own had turned him to a fearful and flighty beast. There was never a moment that he wished to leave his life to chance. Tadec was only prepared to enter the great expanse of stars when the dark coyote asked him to follow. Until then, the crow knew that he was intended to keep himself and those he cared for alive and well.
 
A light yap followed the sound of the other canine. The crow searched in the darkness for the creature, hoping that he might lock his sights with the frame of one like himself. Somewhere in there, Tadec saw the moving shape of a wolf. The coat of the figure was yellow and grey; a peculiar mixture. Fretting quietly, the narrow coywolf moved his feet in place as he waited to see if the wolf would approach, or if it would turn away at the sight of him. The darkness of his cloak seemed to conceal him well, save for the glimmering embers of his bronze gaze.
all the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand Enemies. 
and when they catch you, they will kill you. but first they must catch you; 
digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. 
be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.