No difficulty can discourage, obstacle dismay, nor trouble dishearten the one who has acquired the art of being not just living, but rather being alive. Difficulties are but dares of fate, obstacles but hurdles to test and try skill, troubles nothing more than bitter tonics to give a being strength; and one shall rise ever higher and looms ever greater after each encounter one should have with adversity. This was but one of the many sayings of wisdom that the were's older brother had given to him long ago. Even before the day would come that he would find himself wandering further and further still from his family and wherever it was that they resided within this world. These words, as with many others, have lingered within Roman's heart and mind, knowing that these would be wise words to live by, to apply in his each and every day, and maybe even come to serve as a reminder should he ever feel his strides become uncertain of just where it was that he was going in this terribly temporary existence called life, if ever there might be a time where he might question who he was, what his purpose was in this world. He had weathered many years thus far, thirty to be exact though it mattered little he thought just how many have come and gone with the pasting of Father Time, and still Roman was not entirely certain he knew what it he might be meant for, destined for. While be believed that each and every soul controlled their destiny to a certain degree, that they and only they were able to change who they were and who they would become, he was also certain that all were but small yet significant parts of a much grander scheme. He knew entirely too well that not everyone would agree with this outlook that he had on life, but they were just as entitled to disagree wholeheartedly with him as he was entitled to his own beliefs and way of regarding what each day would be worth to him and how it might affect the rest of his tomorrows. It was not something that Roman would ever dare to argue with another, such battles hardly one worth entering into when in the end there was truly no way of proving or disproving the other party. Just as one might believe in a creator while others refused the idea of such a higher power capable of shaping this planet all living things shared, some things were best left alone.

Just as the sun had risen in the east, a new day was beset upon the were to do with as he desired. It was one of the benefits that came with the life of a vagabond. There was no one that relied upon him to be there beside them. There was no place in particular that would summon him out of requirement instead of nothing simpler than a want to be there, wherever it was that 'there' was. He'd managed to find himself another small under-the-table job helping an elderly couple with some yardwork, the fit and well-toned were more than willing to oblige them when they had asked him to help with a few more tasks than had been advertised in the paper. He had been raised in a large family consisting of his mother, father, and five siblings. It had been quickly ingrained into each young mind that respect for one's elders was not a choice, it was an expectation and if broken there would be consequences for such a poor choice. And so, when they'd offered to pay Roman a little more than what had been in the wanted ad, he'd respectfully declined. What they'd given him was more than enough to fill that weathered and worn leather trifold that had paid his way thus far, Roman having relied wholly on whatever odd jobs he could find in the years that he had wandered, settling anywhere from a few days to a few months in any one place before moving on to the next and leaving hardly a single trace that he had ever been there at all. He had been happy to help them after he'd fulfilled his original tasks asked of him, knowing entirely well that his act of kindness would have made his family proud, honoring but one of the many virtues that The Lionel Family held in high regard. And after he had been paid and bid the old man and his wife a courteous farewell, he was released to do whatever he so desired with what remained of the afternoon and evening. He knew that it would likely be wise to spend it meandering aimlessly through those crowded streets, to melt into the crowd of nameless faces and follow ever-churning tides so that he could learn a little more about this still very new and foreign city that had drawn him into its arms two mere weeks ago. Still he was trying to figure out what it was about this world called Sacrosanct that had caused him to give pause just as he had been about to walk past it, the were having been following a small dirt road to nowhere in particular until the light of the dying sun touched down upon those towering skyscrapers and bright city lights that began to flick on one by one.

In the short days that followed that strange and almost gravitational pull into the depths of the city, driving Roman to seek out a cheap hotel where he would make his temporary settlement until he was once again called away and onto the next town or city that waited for him somewhere beyond the horizon, he was beginning to wonder if it had been the beings within that had reached out to that more primal part of him he found true freedom in. Roman had been a loner for some time now, ever since having left his family to find his own path in life. He had never needed another to give him a reason to wake with the rising sun as each new day found him, and still that was true. He lived for himself now, no longer needing to worry that his occasional recklessness as he sought that rush of adrenaline racing through his veins might bring upon his family more hardship that they already dealt with by simply being the creatures that they were, always hunted. It was this fate that had been dealt to them for being what they undeniably were that drove them to be nomads, never settling in one place for long so that they were always several steps ahead of those who sought to end them without so much as knowing who they were. While he loved his family with all that he was or would ever be, he also knew that he could not lively solely and completely for just them. He was still his own spirit, and he knew what it was that called him, ultimately leading him away from the only true home he would ever have. Just as they would lead their own lives, whether that meant staying together much like the pride that they were beneath the human visage, Roman needed to lead his own life in turn. His brothers and sisters would grow the family, Tristan already well on his way to having a family of his own from what Roman's baby sister, Trinity had last told him. He couldn't be happier for his older brother having found a mate to spend the rest of his life with, and to know that they were expecting their first child, Roman's heart only swelled with a conflicting mixture of love and longing. It had been sparse phone calls from his family, especially ones like the other night when news that the family was still thriving even without him, that made the price of his choice to go it alone weigh heavier than he would have ever been able to predict. And yet, here, there was a sense of... something he had yet to fully understand that found him during his encounter with Raven and what she'd told him that day. Only through the passing of time could he hope to decipher what it had been that brought him here, what had shifted within himself after that unlikely meeting with the she-wolf.

The woodlands are damp from the rain that had fallen earlier this morning, and yet it did not bother him as he raced through the undergrowth. Jaws parted to partially reveal lethal weaponry within, powerful muscle rippling beneath short golden fur with every swift and near silent step the massive african lion male took, muscled haunches and shoulders working in perfect harmony and precision as he charges forward in a spectacular display of power, ears almost entirely hidden by his thick golden mane pressed forward as golden-hazel eyes are fixed upon the fleeing creature mere strides ahead of him, the large cat steadily closing the distance as he pursued with a predatory fury and precision. The rush that he felt in this moment as he chased after that deer, the wild thundering of his heart that fueled his strong and sure strides, the adrenaline running rampant through his each and every sense as that distance became ever smaller... there was nothing like it in this world. This was his release, his way of leaving behind the world that hunted his kind and being what nature intended; a skilled and dangerous predator to anyone or anything that dared to place themselves in such a category as the frightened animal ahead of him. He doesn't even desire to call forth his gift, relying entirely on that natural drive and power existing in every fiber of his frame. And then, he seizes that opportunity as his quarry loses its footing on the slick forest floor, saving itself from crashing in a heap of slender legs and hooves, but it would not be enough to save its life. Not today. The lion is upon the creature, a low growl so rumbling from him like the rolling of distant thunder as he lunged forward with intentional force and hunger, forepaws outstretched and wicked claws unsheathed. There is only a single cry uttered from the creature beneath him before everything is silent and still once more, the soft voices of songbirds nestled in the trees continuing on as though nothing had happened and a life had not been lost, that swift bite to the windpipe comforting the once frightened animal with that immediate end. No pain, no suffering, a way that all living things should be privileged with when the end was upon them. Releasing the dead deer's neck, he takes a moment to bow his proud head in respectful silence, thanking the universe and the lifeless animal's spirit for this meal. With his respect given to the life he'd taken, the lion then crouching there within the shadows and indulging in the freshly harvested flesh, the sound of tissue being torn and bones cracking echoing faintly alongside the songbirds and gentle rustling of winter vegetation as a soft breeze whispers through their branches, Roman's own ears flicking amidst his thick mane as he kept alert for unexpected company should he be found.