Grouse Thicket Life in plastic

Even as dark descended and the forest slipped deeper and deeper into the quiet gloom of twilight, Saena was alert. There wasn't much sleep to be had without the safety of fellows, and she was inclined to keep one eye open in this unfamiliar place. A habit from her time in the taiga, no doubt. As Redtail Rise and then Phoenix Maplewood, Saena's pack had ruled the taiga unhindered for quite some time, but she would never forget the dangers that had faced them from elsewhere. She was no longer in the taiga, but those dangers were still very real, including the ever-looming possibility of another assassin from Redhawk finding her here.

The rustle and bump of treading feet pulled Saena out of her musings and her head snapped around as adrenaline flooded her system. Now fully awake, the leading wolf hunched further beneath the bush, hoping to escape notice but knowing that her creamy coat reflected the moon and stars too readily for that. As expected, the unfamiliar wolf must've spotted her, for he stopped in his tracks and from his throat was loosed a noise, but Saena barely heard it for the thumping of her heart in her ears.

In the dark, Ezekiel was well-hidden, and Saena's eyes and memories played tricks on her. She could imagine the eyes a little darker than their blue-white, and the white at his throat appeared darker than it truly was to her. There were imagined spots above his eyes. The play of shadows upon his pelt made him seem darker, larger, and fatter. The twilight phantom of the man was unmistakable, and brought Saena to her feet in an instant.

"You," hissed Saena, eyes wild with fury and danger. Sebastian had escaped her once and driven her away a second time, but not again, never again. She wouldn't let him walk away alive just to find her again this time. Without even taking a single moment to notice the wolf's scent and its dissimilarity with what she remembered of Sebastian, Saena lunged at him.