Rouge had been many things.
A son, an orphan. A fighter, a soldier. A lover, a father. A leader, a protector. He’d walked hand in hand with death, jumped into the void a countless number of times; he’d been a speck of dust, a memory, a figure forgotten to the never-ending pool of time. He’d been everything, and nothing at all; but each life be remembered, each he mourned. This life would be no different, but he never was one to fear the inevitable - one day this life would end and he’d bloom into another universe. Novus was simply a new dawn...and he felt a certain amount of duty to make this life as good as any other.
Rouge had come to the realization long ago that there is only one constant in any of these things - Death. Cloaked in a veil of darkness, he remembers their first encounter along the shoreline of a land he hardly cares about anymore. Quiet, He had led him into oblivion. It could’ve been days, weeks, years, decades...maybe even centuries before Rouge was awoken again - he’d been given another chance. The second time they met was against a twilit sky...he’d been cold, but Death gathered him in His warm embrace and Rou had felt free. Life, he found, was fleeting and minuscule; Death was forever, waiting for each and every soul...Death was freeing.
He knows not how long he’d been here - long enough, he supposes, to learn where he should stand amongst the Gods that rule Novus and those that are Their keepers. Long enough to know he should seek out the Dawn Court and their leader, visit them and ask if they’d like a soldier - he was reborn for that, afterall. Wrapped tightly against his forearm was a simple black leather pouch, within it, a dagger that could’ve been carved by the Gods themselves. The edge was sharpened silver, the handle and blade cover adorned in sapphires and golden filigree; lovely, deadly, and a reminder of the new chance he was given.
Dawn brims over the horizon, casting a warm orange glow against the russett of Rouge’s skin. He’d been unaware of just how far he’d traveled, but it seemed he’d ended up in just the right place. The air around him is crisp, the cool breeze nipping against his shoulders - fall is in full swing, but it seems as though the forest has yet to make that assumption. Everything is still a lush, viridescent emerald, alive and rebelling against the early autumn cold. Mourning doves and blackbirds sing their loudest songs, filling the air with a soothing symphony. He closes his eyes, takes in a deep, thoughtful breath, and then -
“Verona!” A scream pierces the early morning calm. Copper ears point forwards and nostrils flare; a woman, she sounded distressed. There is hardly a hesitation as the stallion bounds through the forest, towards the mare’s echoing cry. When he finally finds her, he cannot help but notice the pained, confused look in her eyes. His chest heaves as he makes out a gasping sentence. “I...heard...you. Are...you okay?” Rou asks the ivory mare, cerulean eyes locked on her terrified amber pools.
@Reckitt <3
