Northstar Vale Lost but not forgotten.

After a brief pause by the will of his mate, Raheerah had continued searching. He would not give up - she knew this, the rest of the Vale knew this. The dragon had come too far to allow his Lham to die beneath the snows now. He had finally been given his freedom and been blessed with the greatest gift, protecting her, as he was destined to. He could not throw that gift aside. Every day, he was grateful for her. Every day he wished she could understand the satisfaction that arose from the moment he had been set free, and had to kill, tearing his way through the monks in order for their escape. It was what he was meant to do - kill for her. He would do anything, whether or not it be the death of him, and that meant searching for her relentlessly until he did find her.

Sometimes, he wondered if this was but a test. Had his loyalty to her wavered since meeting Xi'nuata? The beast had not thought so; they were held in two different realms. Lham existed as ethereal to him, in a plane beyond the comprehension of mortals. Xi'nuata occupied the life that he could touch, smell, taste. He held them in two separate regards, but still he feared that Lham had only gotten lost to assure his undying faith in her. These thoughts occupied his head as he scoured the debris still, poking through clumps of snow. His muscles had since grown with aches and he was tired, so tired; each step was a forceful push up the crest of the mountain, but he did so with determination.

He was far from believing it was a lost cause. No, Raheerah would never give up; every waking moment he believed that he could very well find his Lham right then and there. And, as if by some miracle, it was that moment that he did catch the faintest whiff of her scent. A taste that floated just barely on the breeze would instantly cause his head to jerk up, lips peel back as he drank it in. Just as quickly, it was gone, but he knew he had smelled it. Raheerah uttered a guttural bellow, baying deeply into the air as he charged forward. Somewhere beneath the snow was his Lham...

There she was. He caught the scent again, emerging from a small hole in the snow, like visible vapors whisping into the cold atmosphere. He had skidded to a halt and without so much as a breath he dove towards the whole, excavating the nearly frozen body within. From the darkness she was revealed, finally; her small body was fractured, broken and bleeding. It was as if something had blossomed within him. Some relief, ecstatic alleviation that at long last he had uncovered her. "Lhhaamm." He spilled, sniffing anxiously at her form. There was still warmth, though she was unconscious. Raheerah grunted and hovered above her. Could he touch her? Would she allow him this moment of reprieve to draw her from the hole? The dragon rumbled and examined what he had uncovered of the woman, deciding to try and wake her first. He leaned back and uttered a long howl, mixed somewhere between victory and desperation still, calling forth others if they should choose to help. Then, he returned to Lham; his heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest and he stared down at her. "Waaake. Lhhaaamm. I aam heeerrree." The beast's voice dropped, eager to see her open her unseeing eyes.