Blacktail Deer Plateau Awkward Greeting

No one had ever told Saena that age mattered, because it didn't. That was reality for her and most of her kind. Age didn't matter in wolf society because a juvenile of nine months was as useful to the pack as a wolf in their prime, and had the same likelihood of winning a duel. Dominance was ritualized, the rise and fall of wolves in the hierarchy nothing but mind games. Rarely did injury ever occur. It was a matter of willpower. In this moment, Saena had an abundance of willpower. She was the last remaining heir to the pack, since her brother scarcely made an appearance, and she was not willing to become a yearling in the lowest rank of the pack just because she was a yearling. She held two trades and was well on her way to a third. It was not her destiny to sit meekly at the bottom while unproven wolves paraded their age above her, as Tauska surely was doing.

The female sat up, showing herself to be taller than Saena, but only by a couple inches at best. The juvenile was fully grown and had only a little filling out to do. Tauska was a fuller wolf for that reason, likely more stable in stance, but not towering. Smaller in build, just like herself.

Though Saena had nothing against this newcomer and would share words and meat with her as easily as with any other pack mate and wished her no harm, it was the need to establish herself that made her surge forward in response to the other's indifference. Tauska did not submit nor make any effort to engage Saena in this rank ritual. It was nothing but plain disrespect; even an attempted dominance would have shown more than this. Not only that, but Tauska proved instantly she thought herself above those who had lived on this Plateau for many moons longer, something that wouldn't sit well with any pack wolf, least of all the self-proclaimed heir. With a displeased growl the juvenile lunged for the other female's snout, fully intent on gripping it and shoving her head down, where Saena thought it belonged.