Flycatcher Downs Though I am old with wandering

It was almost there, like a word on the tip of her tongue. There was something unsettling about Fox and the way she spoke, but before Saena could even begin to pinpoint it (she would have failed to recall the other's unprovoked attack on her anyway), a third wolf was scared up out of the bushes by Fox's scolding tone. Although Fox seemed loathe to bring the other wolf into the conflict and there was probably nothing to worry about, the odds were stacked against her, and Saena was lulled by her instincts into a defensive posture. Her hackles prickled along her neck, and she began sidestepping away from the carcass.

She could take one of them—a half-blind wolf smaller than she and a young wolf likely untested in any sort of combat—but she wasn't about to take on both of them. Even if they were moving away, it was enough of a reason for her to head back to somewhere safer. Whatever made her feel so unsure of Fox and red wolves in general was filed away for another day as Saena turned away and stalked back into the wilderness. She could wonder who Peregrine was without other wolves around.