Redsand Canyon Bow your head soldier, the heart keeps marching on

@Germanicus

Large tawny paws tore up the ground as a hulking beast, slipped from the shadows. Night had fallen, and the steepening shadows painted his pelt in harsh lights, winking along the seams of his golden fur. Maw parted wide, saliva drip, drip dripping from the broken canine that jutted, blunt and then razor sharp on the edge of his maw.

The moonlight slid along the scars that painted his broad shoulders in sweeping strokes, a caress of a lover in pale glow. For days he had traveled up and down the coast and the flatlands. Feet tearing up the ground, searching, always searching. Tireless. 

He found the most defensible spot and had smelled the strangers there, strong. Not brittle. And he alone. All gone, all of them are gone. Karma, or punishment, yes punishment for misdeeds.

He shook his scarred ears, the notches that framed them, point that he had been strong warrior. He had bested many, all of them Renald had put in front of him. Every single one.

He lifted his head and howled, and then with a small growl of discontent, he swayed with the wind as it blew across his body and he stared, motionless for someone to heed his call.