When she'd spotted the maplewood in the distance nearly two hours ago, Saena had almost collapsed on the spot with relief, but the plains stretched out endlessly from there. She'd known better than to think she was safe enough to show any signs of weakness yet. Her side was a constant throbbing mass of pain now, but she hardly cared about whatever permanent damage she'd done. She just wanted to get home. So she'd pushed herself for those last two hours, and when she reached the familiar border of her pack, now lacking her scent, she finally did fall to the ground and regretted it moments later when her side protested with an excruciating jolt.
She yelped loudly and bit back a stream of curses as she huddled around her damaged rib. Not only did she seem injured, but Saena also seemed like she hadn't known good care for ages. She was dirty, her fur was beginning to mat, and she was desperately hungry. She couldn't count the days since her last meal but she knew it'd been many. In her need to get home, she hadn't noticed it, but now her stomach seemed to cave in on itself and the sudden wrenching need to eat brought tears to her eyes. But she didn't have the strength now to stand and find something to gorge herself with, so she lay on the snowy edge of the woods, sobbing gently to herself.
Vague because idk what will happen with her thread on Emberflame Ridge, but figured it'd been long enough.
Kael had just enough time to make a den and catch one malnourished rabbit before he had the fortunate luck of stumbling upon his Alpha. He had started that morning with nothing more than happiness and contentment at his acceptance to Phoenix Maplewood by two dark wolves with contrasting features. He was blissfully unaware to any inner conflicts that may had happened throughout the pack, and naturally he danced around the terrain as if the whole protected lands was his oyster.
Kael had picked out a den the night before, doing all the work of digging it out under a remarkable hill. He was prompt and precise in his work, rubbing himself all over the place, caking his whole fur with mud and brush and foliage. In the morning, he went hunting. The lands were alive despite the winter weather, and while the food source was bountiful he had zeroed in on one unlucky rabbit. It had really given him some work to catch it, and it was almost not even worth it. He had mad dashed from one end of the field to the other, scrambling desperately through the brush and across the woodlands. He emerged, loudly, from the brush and pounced upon the creature, hearing its screams only for a few seconds before he snapped its neck efficiently and pulled his head up triumphantly and began to bark in exuberance.
It was in that moment where he saw the other canine figure. Slumped and defeated, he was alarmed simply by the insane juxtaposition of the moment. His catch, his happiness, his stride in his life seemed to be stunned in place and he took a few seconds to just figure out what in the world his life was giving him now. Moments went by before something in his brain clicked, and he began to jog over, cautiously, to inspect the other wolf, rabbit still held aloft in his tawny muzzle.
He got close enough to the other, and gave a soft woof of an introduction through the rabbit's fur. He, stupidly, didn't even think if she had heard him before, and that she probably was watching him the whole time.
The scoop of hollowness against her stomach prolonged her sobbing, but eventually, Saena manged to calm herself down. Frequently she succumbed to her emotions, often heated ones, and it got her into trouble frequently. It simply wouldn't do for her wolves to catch her crying on the borders, and yet, she felt they would understand. She'd been gone far too long for it to be coincidence, and when they found out about her broken rib, she believed any witness would be understanding of her meltdown.
Not all wolves in the pack were familiar with her, though. As she sniffled and tried to clear her eyes, a loud crackling of parting branches and the thump of paws on the earth caused her to snap her head around. Her hackles bristled instantaneously when she spotted Kael, who was as unfamiliar to her as she was to him.
He caught the rabbit he was chasing easily enough. It wasn't much of a meal, but Saena's immediate instinct was to go on the defensive. That's my food, she mentally protested as she forced herself with great effort to her sore feet. Her side strained but she grit her teeth, ground them together to ward off the feeling of light-headedness, and squared off her stance. She swooned on the spot, unable to truly mask her weakness, but that didn't mean the returning alpha didn't try.
"Who are you?" she asked across the distance when Kael caught sight of her and made a sound around the rabbit in his mouth. He was either a new member or a trespasser. She wasn't in the state to deal with either, but a new member would be a hundred times better than a trespasser she couldn't chase, so she hoped for that.
Kael couldn't help but gape a bit as the wolf worked herself to her feet, awkwardly standing with blood gradually dripping onto the snowy ground. Coming from a rather sheltered family and background, he had no idea how to handle this... situation. She seemed okay for a second, but then seemed to falter, making Kael start for a second in pure instinct to help his fellow species kin, but finally began to remember he was a part of a pack. Despite her failing health, she was brusque with her attempts at dominance, her stance, however weak, was filled with authority.
As part of a pack he was representative of Phoenix Maplewood as a whole, and he stepped forward with his own confidence bolstered from that fact alone. He walked up to the white colored wolf, gingerly but assuredly, and dropped the rabbit close enough to her. "My name is Kael." He was about to say more, about the pack, question her, but the female brought her own silent questions and answers to him in the form of scent.
It was weak, but there. The heady but consuming scent that he himself wore to bind the pack members together. While his was still green and fresh, enveloping him like a soft blanket, her's was ingrained. She wore it deep to her own identity, and Kael hadn't realized that it originated from the malnourished female.
Canine instinct took over, and Kael's ears dipped back and his tail hung low. He approached even closer, and took a chance lick at her white chin.
There was a moment where Saena wished for her health and strength back, so she could box Kael around the ears for his confident stride. In better days, she would not have faltered him for assuming she was some mangy stray on his pack's borders, but today she had the unreasonable expectation that, in spite of her absence, all would know that she ruled these woods. It wasn't really logical, but Saena was far from it. Despite her wishes, however, all she could manage was the slight lifting of her lip.
Kael seemed to suddenly understand, for his posture changed and she relaxed a little bit. She held her head up as he came near and lapped at her chin, but she was otherwise still, rigid from the pain and effort of standing and from her own strange discomfort with herself. Things weren't how they'd been before she left. She was a different wolf now, a harsher one, a more jaded one.
Nevertheless, she responded to his introduction: "I am Saena Redtail."
His velveteen ears flicked at her name, and the name was lodged into permanent memory. He dipped his large stature down and nudged the rabbit even closer to her frame in encouragement for her to eat. His body sidled closer to hers, letting his sturdy frame press up against her sickly malnourished ribs in an attempt to help support her weight so she didn't have to.
"I'll help you," He affirmed softly, his tongue bathing her body to help soothe. He continued to keep his posture in check, his tail pressed tight against his hindquarters and his ears laid back, but his legs stood firm and his body puffed rigid to aid the image of a good support. "But you have to eat." He grimaced at the pathetic portion of meat that he had once been excited to capture, but nonetheless, it was there.
I'll help you. A day ago, perhaps, two strangers had offered the very same thing. Aside from allowing them to guide her home, Saena had basically turned down the pair. Fear had been her driving force then. Now, she was safe within the confines of her maplewood, and although it was foolish even to trust an unknown pack mate, she trusted Kael far further than she did Capriccio and Terich-mir. If he lived here, then presumably, Reek believed he was a good wolf.
She glanced at the rabbit at her paws. Her stomach churned with a mixture of hunger and nausea. "I can't take your fresh caught rabbit," she murmured. There were days where Saena's attitude would get the best of her, her power would go to her head, and she might be willing to do just this. But today wasn't one of those days, and Saena wasn't in that sort of mood. "I'll take from the cache," she decided, "if you can help me find one. Bending hurts." She could sniff one out from above the ground, but unearthing it might be another thing. She'd certainly try, to the detriment of her injury, of course.