It was bone chilling, the way the cold settled over his shoulders like a cape meant for the dead. He shivered not because he felt the chill but because he feared what lie ahead. His thoughts trailed from Confutatis and the way she felt against his skin to entertain darker ideas meant for wonder and contemplation. Love, sex, and other things were often topics that required minimal thought, especially to the male population (and some females as well). It was often a physical concept that did not weigh too heavily on any one individual’s mind simply because in this kingdom of Helovia, creatures were guided by the intimate sensation of touch alone. But the sunless skies were something that threatened even the most confident of animals such as Déodat himself. It stole away the primitive feeling of arousal and made him slack with worry.

His shoulders seemed to sag and his eyes seemed to cloud until there was nothing but a ghostly shell of the beast left standing there in the darkness with not moonlight to guide his eye. Maybe he was just the reincarnation of his father, but at least he felt pity, he felt shame. He did not want to face the dangers a life spent in the dark and perhaps that’s why he felt the sudden urge to reveal all that made him feel alone. It was a frightening thing for him to confess, but his past was what made him the creature he was today, as abysmal as it was.

There were few individuals on this earth that knew of him so intimately and though he did not share such information freely, perhaps this was now the time and place. After all, the pair was destined to part and see nothing of each other ever again, so what would it hurt? Slowly, all traces of the present withdrew from his face and he was clouded by the past. He was trapped between wanting to share himself in the name of feeling as though death was eminent and keeping this wolfish mare at a distance as she should be.

Had he gone mad?

It was a tempting idea- to let her in and feel more than just the ice and the cold. But of course, instinct and morality won out and he was one again rigid and speechless beside her. They were inevitably segregated not only because of their race, but because of the vow he’d taken when he’d happened upon the Basin. His family, his life, and his conscious were all devoted to the cause. They were infinitely more significant and somehow he’d been able to forget that for a moment only to be reminded by the harshest of realities. “I don’t think the sun will rise again today… or ever. I’m not sure what’s going on but I do know that there’s more to it than a simple shift in planetary alignment.”

His words were grim and plagued with distress. He needed to get back to the Basin soon before the world came crashing down around them. “However, I don’t think that is has a thing to do with the coming together of two opposing creatures my wolfish girl, I am still quite aware of your misleading. You are still just as insignificant to me as the moment we met… Don’t try to make reason from your injustice. You are what you are and though I will never accept it, perhaps I will allow you equal ground, if only for today.”