Phoenix Maplewood princess no more

For @Luke

Gaia could not pretend she knew much about the pack politics of the Maplewood – nor was she interested in getting her nose thrust in to it. Instead, the well-kept yearling kept to herself for now, her nose tingling with the fact that in the past few weeks, the ranks had seemingly exploded with recruits.
 
She could not let them be better than her – and her quiet approach at ‘settling in’ had to end now.
 
She was not allowed near the birthing den, and she had accepted this without question. But her intention to prove herself to Saena was not something so easily pushed aside, and so the aspiring girl held a smaller grouse in her jaws – a catch brought forward more by luck than skill, though she would admit this to none.
 
She skirted around the birthing den, her pale eyes seeking a place to lay the meal as a contribution without breaking the radius to which she was allowed. Dropping the bird to the ground, her ears splayed back to her skull as she considered her options – she could announce the meal with a gentle call – but she did not wish to wake the pups. And if she simply left it here, unguarded, it was possible one of her pack mates would either take it for themselves, or claim they had captured the meal.
 
She had no choice but to settle down on the outskirts, very much an outcast for now, and wait and see if she could present the bird to her Alpha at some point in the day.