Phoenix Maplewood let the rain fall down

It was the warmest day of the season so far, but gusting winds rattled the blooming branches of the maple trees and off in the distance lingered ominous clouds. Saena observed them a moment as she strolled through her domain, but her naturalist ways had long since fallen to the wayside and she no longer remembered the significance of cloud formations. She guessed at rain or sleet, but could tell nothing else. Checking the sky and walking the perimeter were both welcome distraction from the ever-winding thoughts that plagued her these days.

Of course, there was a measure of danger in being so exposed whilst quickly approaching her due date, but it wasn't something that stopped her before, and Saena would be damned to change that now. She'd made all her preparations for their arrival and all she could do was wait, and waiting within the territory was not only boring, it was haunting. There in the deepest reaches of the maple wood lingered her memories with Reek and the darker still memory of him plowing Tavi, and that was enough to force her to the fringes for now.

It was a lucky thing, for otherwise Chosovi might have passed by the forest without anyone intercepting her. As luck would have it, Saena caught the silky ripple of cream-brown through the trees that suggested a pelt, and she adjusted her course, coming quickly before the averagely-proportioned Chosovi with indecision about whether to be defensive or welcoming. "You're close to my borders," she suggested softly, and then had the good sense for once to ask, "why?" instead of making her own assumption.