Snowforest Taiga Some turn to dust or to gold

Although the woman shuffled suspiciously back into the bushes and did something that Saena didn't even notice, Bazi's response reassured Saena that nothing was wrong, but only because her experience with pregnant wolves was limited to Blue Willow. The Blacktail Deer Plateau healer had been on her feet until days before giving birth. Her brief belief that a pregnant wolf should be with their pack, resting, seemed to be fallacious. Relieved that she wouldn't have to worry about helping Bazi back to the ground—it wasn't really in her nature to be that selfless with strangers, anyway—she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

She sucked it right back in when the other asked what she was doing alone, like she was some sort of kid that needed to be watched over, even though that's not at all what Bazi meant. A brief flare of irritation lit in Saena's breast. "I'm an Outrider," she explained, doing her best to mask any annoyance she felt over the question. "And I'm looking for a good place to stake a claim, if you must know." Unlike the lone wolves Saena had recruited, there was little enthusiasm offered to Bazi, almost as if the pregnant woman wasn't invited. Which, of course, she wasn't; even in the unlikely event that Bazi was without a pack, she was pregnant, which was a deal breaker.