It hadn't been a snap decision, she had mulled it over since the loss of their Alpha and Beta. She didn't know Saena, it had always been Reek she followed. She knew no one in the pack besides the other subordinates she had met once or twice, and wasn't close with any of them save for two.
She would miss Spring but wouldn't stay just for the brown furred she wolf. She would always look back on their herbal lessons fondly, and remember the female in high esteem. Esaro was a different story, she was closest to him of any in the pack. She had feelings for him, ones she would never act on. He was the only thing holding her here but she couldn't sit idly by and just pine after him. So she would go.
She didn't have to just slink off in the dead of night as she had done with her father. She wouldn't just leave without letting Seana know either. Instead she settled on a spot, close to the core of the pack land and sat. She howled out a call for the Alpha female, nerves clenching in her stomach as she waited for the pregnant woman to appear.
Saena hung her head over the water, trying her best to lean forward and drink without losing her balance. Her sides felt strange and stiff, stretched to their max, and it made bending an awkward and almost painful feat. As she stuck her tongue out and wiggled it over the surface of the stream, finally managing a lap or two to quench her thirst, a summoning howl broke the bird song and awoke her natural senses. She lifted her head, sighing almost petulantly at needing to go thirsty a little longer, but headed in Lunar Eclipse's direction nevertheless.
She hardly knew the woman and had no idea why she was being called, but Saena was now the sole leader of the maple wood, and making time for her pack mates was once again her number one duty. She missed leaving it to Reek and Tavi, but knew somewhere deep down it made her a poor leader to not know her pack, and so she heeded as quickly as she could under the assumption Lunar Eclipse needed her for something. Her approach was far from excitable—she felt almost nothing these days aside from crushing despair and uncertainty about the future, so happiness was far from her mind—but she managed a thin smile and a, "Hey Lunar, what's up?" in spite of not really knowing her at all.
She felt a lurch of guilt, the woman was obviously tired and maybe even depressed after the strain of the drama. She worried for the health of her pups, but it wasn't enough to stop her. Taking a deep breath she summoned her courage. She kept an alert stance in case things became physical.
"Hello, Saena. I know this is somewhat sudden..but I'm leaving. I figured it right for you to know, since you're the Alpha now and such." After explaining herself she backed away some, watching the female for any aggression. She left out where she was going for now, giving her time to process what was going on.
Regardless how politely Lunar Eclipse worded her plan to leave, without a stated reason, it came as a slap in the face. Saena had expected her subordinate to ask her assistance with something. Leaving had never crossed her mind, and as a chill settled over Saena, she pricked her ears higher and assumed a position of dominance, as if to reinforce who was boss here in the moment of her departure.
"Okay," she said coolly, her face a mask of chipped ice. Did she feel slighted? Absolutely. The maple wood was and always would be hers, and she took it personally whenever anyone left it. "May I ask why?" she asked just as coolly, reluctant to let her subordinate go without even stating a reason. It was rude, she decided.
The female lost all signs of friendliness, instead becoming cold and dominant. Lunar didn't respond to the dominance with a challenge of her own, that wasn't her intent. She didn't want a fight she just wanted to tell Saena rather than just leave.
"I don't know you Saena. I don't feel as if I could follow you, I followed Reek. I'm going to join he and Tavi, I'm sorry if that causes problems." She waited, stance submissive as she explained herself.
Well, that was an even bigger slap in the face.
Being told she wasn't worthy of being followed—for that was how she took it and she was selective of hearing at the best of times—was enough to draw a deep glare across her brow. While she had no idea what the woman was talking about and assumed that Reek and Tavi had both gone their separate ways following their fallout with Phoenix Maplewood, if Lunar Eclipse wanted to go chasing after them, Saena was okay with that, because she wasn't keen on the woman staying with that kind of attitude. If she couldn't respect Saena, then she had no place in the maple wood, but she would make it Lunar Eclipse's decision.
"Go, then, follow that cheating bastard if that's the kind of wolf you are," she said, only half hoping it would remind Lunar Eclipse how honourless Reek had proven himself to be, "and know that if you step out of these woods with that intent, you will never be welcomed back to them. They are and always will be mine." She left Lunar Eclipse with that ultimatum. Stay, correct her attitude and prove she wasn't as honourless as Saena's ex-mate, or leave, proving she was just as untrustworthy, and never return to the maple wood again.
She didn't think she was any kind of wolf, she was just doing what felt right. This was the first time she had ever personally spoken to Saena and it was only because she was leaving. She truly felt that if she had to chose sides between them she would always choose Reek, whom she had been loyal to upon stepping over the boundary.
"Goodbye then. Sorry for any inconvenience I caused," with that she turned to find Spring and Esaro, so she could say her goodbyes. Once that was done she would not be returning to the Maplewood.
"Don't lie to me," snapped Saena, whose opinion of Lunar Eclipse was plummeting by the second. "You're not sorry at all." But that was all right. She wanted to leave and Saena would let her, knowing it would be best for the maple wood pack to be free of Reek sympathizers sooner rather than later.
Flinging her ears back haughtily, she turned her back on Lunar Eclipse and trotted back to the stream she had vacated, where she finally slaked her thirst while simultaneously dousing her hot temper.