Otter Creek Walk it off

"Well, I wouldn't say that's what I'm going for," Saena chuckled, imagining herself being dethroned by some other ambitious female and finding the thought frightening. It was a distinct possibility in any wolf society, but she liked to think her claim would be uncontested. That her followers would follow her and shun other ambitious wolves. She was naive to think it, but think it she did. "But I do think authority is important, and failing to respect it shouldn't be overlooked."

Of course, if Blacktail Deer Plateau operated by the same principles Saena tentatively did, then she would've been out of a home a long time ago.

Gunnar explained that he was wholly viking (for some reason she imagined him with long fur on his chin when he said it), but that his disconnection with his family drove him to find his own pursuits. Saena could understand that, albeit only in part. While Peregrine and Hawkeye weren't her real parents, Saena accepted them as her real family anyway and pushed her biological parents out of the picture. She couldn't possibly understand Gunnar's out-of-place feeling, but she'd felt misplaced once or twice before, so she could sympathize a little.

"I don't expect us to agree," Saena said with a good-natured wink. "Mercy isn't a problem. I mean, if you show no mercy to a pack mate over a food dispute, then that might be a problem," she went on, chuckling at the idea of Gunnar ever being that violent, "but otherwise I expect little mercy. I don't intend this pack to be like the plateau—no one will get away with the things that go on here, I can assure you.

Anyway, I still need to say my goodbyes and figure out where I'm even going," she said, unashamed at how incomplete her plans were if only because they were fledgling and new. "I can call for you when I've figured it out, and if you haven't changed your mind, you're welcome to come along."