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Freed from the shackles of the arena, Pavlos had been a free man.

But he had never known a freedom like this…

He was used to being surrounded by others; be it the cold palace staff that coddled him as a whelp, or the cutthroat gladiators that molded him into a man. It was always loud, chaotic, violent… But now it was…

Quiet.

He didn’t dislike it.

It was different. Suddenly, he wasn’t distracted, and could admire the rising sun as it bathed the land in golden hues. He never felt the wind so strongly before, rustling the grass around him and the mane on his neck. It whispered gently into his ears, tickled his whiskers.

Standing in the midst of the field, he closed his eyes and soaked it in. This was freedom.

But it was missing something. Someone. His heart ached, but he soothed it with the hope that his love was out there somewhere. In his mind’s eye, he pictured her in this place, frolicking through the fields, bathed in golden sunlight. Thriving. Happy.

If — no, when he finds her, he’ll show her this place. She would love it.

His eyes snapped open as someone bumped into him.

In that brief moment of startle, he was back in the arena, tensing his muscles and grounding his feet as if to prepare himself for a fight. Someone is taking advantage of my blindness, he thought, and before he could school himself, he was curling his lip back to show his teeth in defense.

A sharp growl even ripped out of his throat.

Then he realized he wasn’t really being attacked. Despite his size, the stranger seemed sheepish and even a bit timid. Pavlos quickly made himself relax, hoping he didn’t offend him.

Oh! No, I apologize, he cleared his throat, awkwardly, I thought you were… Nevermind.

Pavlos felt his heart slam against his ribcage; whew, that could’ve been ugly. He still felt wired up, so he shook out his pelt, and thus any remaining tension left in his body. He swiped his tongue over his nose, now trembling slightly with the release of adrenaline — how long was it going to take him to unlearn being a weapon?

When the stranger asked him if he was looking for someone, his ears perked forward as an opportunity presented itself.

Uh, yeah, actually… Have you seen a woman around here recently? he questioned, ever so slightly leaning in with hope, Blonde and gray fur, brown eyes?