Blacktail Deer Plateau My shadow falls against the wall

"I think there's a place for both," Saena shared, feeling oddly lightened about discussing this with Osprey. It was nice not to feel animosity, even if the woman's wider abdomen was a source of unease for Saena and surely the rest of the pack. There was the chance that, following what her aunt said, Saena wouldn't be around long enough for it to matter. In the meantime, she could put her temper and attitude aside for a little while; there was really nothing to gain from it, she realized.

"I think being led by your emotions is a bad thing if you are making decisions," Saena said, feeling empowered by her own usual pragmatic outlook (without realizing that she was, in fact, more emotional than she believed), "but beneficial otherwise. I guess it depends on the situation. Maybe some decisions are better made that way." The older she got, the more she would learn to keep her own emotions tempered. It was very possible that Saena would turn out more like Osprey than either of them could anticipate, and that eventually, she would be a master at hiding her emotions as well. Not for a while, though. Youth still governed her.

"If I go," Saena emphasized, "then I won't force Pura to come. The decision is his. I think he'd prefer to stay." Truthfully, Saena didn't know what her brother would actually prefer. Secretly she would prefer that he stayed. His living on the fringe of pack life, scarcely interacting or showing his face, worked for him here. It wouldn't work in a pack that Saena led, and she would be loathe to try to change him or otherwise penalize him for his odd behaviour. It would be difficult enough if she stuck with her dream of leading the plateau to coax him back into the folds of life, and more difficult still to discourage hiding away. She needn't do it in a new environment.