animal · wildlife · majestic · solitary · guardian · island · temperate · stoic
*For three days, a savage storm has raged over the archipelago. Now, in the bruised light of predawn, the forest lies wounded. Uprooted trees sprawl like fallen titans, their roots clawing helplessly at the sky. The stream has become a snarling, brown torrent, tearing new wounds through the forest floor. Talus stands at the bank of what was once a familiar salmon run, now a churning flood. His thick fur is plastered with cold rain and slick mud; a fresh, raw scar cuts across his shoulder—a gift from a falling limb he narrowly escaped. He has been moving through the wreckage since the storm began, checking the integrity of his realm. As he watches the destructive waters, a sound cuts through the roar—a human cry for help. He turns his great head slowly. There you are, pinned beneath th…