Silverlight Terrace here's to the ones who dream

Although initially unawares of the observer watching him from a higher ridge, Rian did take note of a marginal increase to the seductive scent that drew him here. His nostrils flared and a light fog billowed from them on the following exhale only to dissipate into the mid-morning air. He imagined it the result of a shifting breeze or, simpler yet, his tentatively sanguine hope that these weeks would not go to waste; that she may yet invite him with open arms...

Who was he kidding? Hydra was more like to greet him with sharp nips, and thunderous growls, incensed by the current circumstances and then some. Because he was, by all rights, a damn fool for falling prey to a misguided youth full of ambition but no courage to see those dreams to fruition—

Movement to his left. His broad head swung to pin a fierce, but unreadable, look on the shadow that garnered his attention. He didn't fear it, nor react immediately save for the quiet scrutiny on which he leveled—

Pitch-dark fur, a sure-footed carriage, and a heading straight for Moonspear?

His heart lept into his throat. Rian jolted to his feet, and bounded forward in two quick hops get a better look before the wolf vanished. One paw curled up at the ankle with uncertainty. No, could he be deceived? He spared a searching glance to the treeline bordering the mighty peak, and licked his jowls. What did he have to fear from the King and Queen upon the mountain now? The fretful boy of Neverwinter, and the Teekon Brat Pack returned as a man grown; broad, and unaffected by maladies. Hale, whole, and in possession of a dangerous desire to step out from the shadows at last. 

Rian, come hell or high water, broke into a swift trot to consume the distance between them. A low, thunderous rumble of neither greeting nor aggravation ignited in his throat as he drew near while his all-but-blazing jade eyes sought her own.