I am so damn proud of how this came out. I don't want to toot my own horn, but my coloring skills have greatly improved from my first feeble attempts at digital art.

I commissioned this lineart from theunborn's Platinum Artist Challenge of Luna and Rogue's first meeting. Below is the story of how these two first met. I hope you enjoy it as much as the picture itself.


Luna and Rogue: First Meeting

The purple wolfess lay on the cool grass, enjoying the warm afternoon sun on her belly, atop the hill on which her family lived. The day had dawned unseasonably cool, but once the clouds had cleared, it had become a lovely spring day. Gentle breezes and wispy clouds lulled her into drowsiness and she let her heavy eyelids slip closed.

A sudden cry shattered the peace of the day, causing Luna to leap to her feet. She recognized the voice that had cried out as belonging to her brother, Mist. He'd never sounded so frightened before and that scared her. Bounding down the hill, she saw something she had never seen before: another wolf.

The large black and blue male wolf was snarling at Mist. His sharp white fangs were bared at the little blue fox as he recoiled from the wolf, a dead rabbit hanging from his jaws. Luna sped up, her feet barely making contact with the earth as she rushed to her brother's aid. As she neared the pair, a deep growl rumbled forth from deep in her chest, causing the stranger to look away from Mist and towards her instead. His surprise barely had time to register on his face before Luna tackled him, her fangs just barely missing his throat.

The black wolf managed to get away from her, scrambling to regain his footing. He snarled at her, anger overtaking surprise, and she snarled back, making sounds she never knew she was capable of producing as she rolled back to her feet. Every hair along her back and neck stood on end as she moved forward, circling the strange wolf, keeping her body between him and Mist.

They kept circling one another, neither willing to back down, until Mist, who'd slipped away unnoticed, returned with the rest of the family. The sight of four foxes and an angry she-wolf made the wolf reconsider his options. He started to back away, but Luna advanced, emboldened by the arrival of her loved ones.

"Who are you?" she growled. "Why are you here?"

He looked at the family and knew there would be no running away. By attacking the little fox, he'd brought on the anger of the whole group. His options were limited, so he took on a more submissive, non-threatening posture.

"I was just hungry," he said softly, lowering his eyes and ears. "I haven't eaten in days, and then I smelled the rabbit..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

Luna and her family exchanged looks, then Larch, the silvery-purple vixen, stepped forward, her golden eyes soft with compassion. "What is your name?"

"Call me Rogue," he replied, puzzled by the kindness he was being shown.

Before he could question her intent, the lady spoke again, her tone gentle, but firm, brooking no argument from anyone. "Come with us, we have plenty of food. You only needed to ask."

Everyone watched as the vixen turned and started back towards their home in the hillside, but no one dared to argue: everyone knew better than to argue with a Mother whose mind was made up.



Lineart courtesy
Colors and Luna/Rogue (C)