Redtail Rise Now we got bad blood

She lifted her head and inhaled deeply through her snout. Her time away was detrimental. Reek and Arion had kept the pack together in her absence, but Saena felt disconnected now from the happenings of the Rise. Her absence was only a week, but it was long enough to feel like everything was different. The Rise's policies would change to suit their changed Alpha, but probably not in a major way. She'd wished to be a hospitable pack, but that was no longer possible if they wanted to keep their own safe. Still, she didn't want them to be tyrants either; she would give others the benefit of the doubt, but without any of the warmth she'd previously have shown them.

Someone chuffed to her left and she turned her head, half-expecting to see Arion or Reek or Gunnar. Instead, an unfamiliar male approached. She vaguely remembered seeing him at the pack meeting, but that fleeting memory wasn't enough to stop her from pitching her ears forward and lifting what remained of her tail with a warning growl. Previously, Saena would not have shown this much dominance toward a pack mate, but before she could accept any wolf, they needed to prove themselves. No longer would simply living here earn her favour.

"Who're you?" she asked simply, succinct but sharp. Her tone didn't suggest that he was unwelcome, but it was clear that Saena did not trust him, did not regard him with the same warmth she reserved for her fellows. He was as good as a stranger on her border, an outsider. She trusted Reek's judgment in accepting newcomers, of course, or Mercury would not be standing there any longer... but that didn't mean she would treat him as one of them until he was proven.