For a while now I have been thinking about how to do chapter 4 and nothing has come to me. So after sitting down and rereading my first 3 chapters over and over, I felt many changes were needed to bring chapter 4 to life. One of the major changes was that I gave Sapphira more role within the story as I felt it was a little too focused on Lucian which left it unbalanced in my view. Another was I wanted more dialogue not only between Sapphira and Lucian but to have them interact with the other characters too, along with changing some of the scenes some and adding more to them to spice it up so I hope you enjoy the reborn Howling Roar.
Chapter 1: Fateful Crossing of Swords
Smoke flittered across his vision and the distant sounds of small skirmishes echoed in his sensitive Wolf kin ears as Lucian surveyed the devastated battlefield. His wolf like head swiveled back and forth, the nose at the end of his long muzzle sniffing the air lightly trying to sort out the scents around him for any danger. Keen deeply golden eyes with wolf style iris scanned as far as they could through the smoke of battle, seeking any movement around him that might reveal an enemy. Glancing down, Lucian eyed the many dozens of armored bandits who he had slain just minutes before and then to his own body to check for wounds.
Standing seven feet tall easily, Lucian was an imposing figure of a Wolf kin, dark blue grey armor covered most of his body, with a long mane of his naturally deeper steel grey hair sticking out from around the collar area. Tail wavering slowly behind him, his clawed furry hands slowly tugged and stroked each part of his armor and he noted a few more dents and scratches in it from the battle but nothing had pierced it. He wore no helmet like some Kin do, the weight and the feeling of it upon his head just felt unnatural to him so his hands moved up to check for any wounds there. Lifting his head up he stroked through his furred neck, face, and muzzle, the soft white fluffy patch of fur running up along neck and under his chin clean of his blood but some remnants of others blood spotted it.
Suddenly his wolf style ears rotated sharply towards the sound of approaching footsteps, he could barely make them out soft as they were, but there was someone there in the fog to his left. Turning sharply and training his vision towards the sound of the movement, Lucian sniffed the air trying to see if it was friend or foe while his hand reached over his shoulder to grasp the handle of his massive Great sword. He was ready to face down whoever it was that might emerge from the willowy smoke, but when a figure did emerge from it he found himself stunned by what his eyes laid upon.
The smell was unmistakable even though her shimmering emerald green eyes could not yet see it clearly through the fog, Sapphira knew that up ahead a battle had taken place and someone still lingered there. Her Leopard kin ears wavered back and forth seeking a sound to pick up on while the nose of her short catlike muzzle sniffed lightly finally locking onto the scent causing her ears to fold back in caution realizing it was a wolf kin scent. Even though she was running at an incredible speed the young leopard kin easily leaped over and around the many bodies of fallen bandits, her tail flicking wildly side to side to help keep her balance.
Sapphira's golden yellow colored fur was spotted with characteristic black rosettes and even in the low light of the smoke filled field it shimmered slightly with each movement of her toned legs. Her long flowing hair matched the color of her fur almost exactly just a shade deeper and it wavered through the air tied into a long ponytail that made it more manageable for battles. She wore only a light set of cuirass armor polished in a golden hue and trimmed with silver just the way Sapphira preferred for she liked the mobility the lighter weight armor gave her. Easily standing six feet, Sapphira was the very image of the perfect leopard kin, lean and well muscled in all the right places and her clawed hands gripped one elegant long sword, claws digging into the handle in anticipation of the coming clash. On her head she wore a gold weaved pattern tiara, at the center of its intricate design laid a bright blue gem worth more than anything in the world to Sapphira, thinking of it brought a smile to her face.
Her catlike eyes narrowed piercing through some of the thin haze of smoke and making out a large imposing figure straight ahead and her sword whipped up into position for a quick first slash.
Just another loathsome bandit, that is what Sapphira thought as she closed with her whole being at the ready to attack and defeat anyone that would stand before her. But when she finally dashed close enough to really get a good look at the immensely tall wolf kin, something gave pause enough that Sapphira stopped almost immediately and even her fighting stance loosened some.
'Beautiful...' The thought was the first thing that crossed Lucian's mind as his vision checked every aspect of Sapphira's figure which stood mere meters away from him. There was a twinge somewhere in his chest as his nose caught a deeper more clear reading of her scent, struggling to place the familiarity of it to his memory. He had seen so many other females from other kin's, yet this one seemed leagues different from any other he had encountered, something about her making the feeling in his chest grow every moment. His arm which had been readying his weapon began to slacken as his gaze focused further on this strangely enticing opponent, Lucian becoming lost in the feelings she stirred within him. As his golden eyes roamed her body they finally came to rest upon the reflective deep pools of radiant green in the leopard kin's eyes and Lucian felt so drawn to them the grip on his swords handle almost failed. 'She is not of my Kin and yet her beauty....'
