Overture Downs long live the king

rannoch rarely left the safety of the territory. not to stay safe, there were simply duties within the borders than the man must keep up with, along with his children and wife. it was uncommon for him to leave, plain as that. and when terance found the scents of coelho and rueger mixed in, well, he couldn't say he wasn't confused-- and intrigued. 

he padded at a measly pace, feeling that the situation was probably not dire and that he was only being nosey. but, of course, that was until there was a howl. rannoch's howl. and it wasn't just a friendly call. 

his feet pounded against the earth as he sprinted towards his friend's howl, muscles working overtime to propel him forwards. his heart began to beat harder and harder, faster and faster, as his worst nightmares became reality. everything terance had ever done had been for rannoch. everything he was was for rannoch. everything he'd ever become was for rannoch. rannoch was everything terance loved, everything he believed in. all he had left. he had literally moved mountains for the man-- from moonspear to sunspire-- and now to the hollow. rannoch was terance's everything. 

had it all been in vein? had this all been for nought? R + T -- carved carefully in the center of a heart at the base of a thick trunk, merely scratched out, not even neatly. there was nothing terance loved more than rannoch. and as he heard a blood-curdling scream-- one he recognized to be coelho-- he almost stopped completely.

this was it. it was over. there was no point. nothing had any point, not anymore.

but he kept up pace, trying to push back all of the negativity that flooded his brain.

even as the scent of bear, terance's one true fear, rushed to his nostrils.
even as the hot, metallic scent of blood invaded his mind.
even as the maimed, broken body of coelho came into view.
even as the towering, disgusting creature bent over her body.

it was not until terance spotted him, the crumbled up gray and white form, that any kind of instinct took over. 

terance would not remember this moment, plagued by anger and emotional pain. the gray beast tore forwards, snarling and snapping. eyes wild, flaming, blood roaring, terance fell in beside rueger. terance was always afraid of bears. there was one day that one almost took his own life. he sacrificed his life there for moonspear. for lyra. for hydra. for alya. for galaxy. for charon and amekaze and vela and jarilo and every other wolf in that pack. 

but now, as he so recklessly crashed towards this monster, ready to exchange it's life for the life it had taken from him, terance wished that it would just kill him too. there was no point anymore.

there was no point without rannoch.