Northstar Vale I will find out where she has gone

A drowsy haze settled lightly over Saena's withers as her figure sunk further into Warbone's solid frame, but she remained alert enough that her ears perked and her eyes blinked whenever he spoke. A soft smile curled across her lips as she murmured, "too true," in agreement with his first statement. Nothing good was easy. Perhaps that meant Saena was blessed for the life she'd had thus far, where nothing had come easy beyond the first six months of it. No doubt it would get harder still, but for now, she felt as though nothing could ever be so hard again. She had Warbone to lean on, to keep her sturdy, should it happen.

She hadn't known on the mountaintop that Warbone was her destiny, either. She'd thought she was at the peak to plummet to her death, and never could have imagined the turn their tentative relationship would take here. When she entered the vale, she sought him only to share in joint leadership of it, or to oust him from it (or be ousted), if that proved to be necessary. In hindsight she'd been reckless to challenge him thus, but reckless was what Saena did best. She was glad she'd stood her ground. She was glad she'd not moved from his rough paw against her back.

Saena murmured a soft note of approval when Warbone spoke of rising and leading others, but her eyes widened at the talk of children. She'd not considered it, not yet. She'd told Indra and Laurel that she hadn't replaced them, and if she bore Warbone children, would that not be replacing them? Saena couldn't break her word to her daughters. And yet... and yet they had forsaken her so easily. Laurel had cast her aside when she didn't make empty promises, and Indra had fled the scene instead of choosing. Neither of them were deterred by their father having more children, or so it seemed to her. Why should she be held down by the fear that they would disapprove of her choices?

Screw them, thought Saena as she shed the last of herself in Warbone's embrace. She didn't live for the daughters who'd forsaken her. She lived for herself, and for her warden of the valley, and she knew that come winter and her time, she would unhesitatingly bear him a litter of strong and stubborn pups, and for every year after, until one or both of them returned to the earth to which they belonged. Indra and Laurel had chosen their path. They would not dictate hers.

"Sons and daughters," she murmured in approval, her eyes rising to meet his even as he brushed his lips over her muzzle, and received a tender lick in response. Love needn't factor into it; her instincts guided her here rather than her emotions, and her instincts chose Warbone. "Yes," she crooned, "Powerful, graceful, incredible children. Children of the vale, and wild of heart." The last word left her mouth in a lusty sigh as her eyes slid closed and she dozed. They would in time raise their children to be hunters and defenders and enforcers, masters of stealth and teamwork, and everything a wild wolf was meant to be. Saena could hardly wait to get started.

Saena's conked out so feel free to conclude with another post or archive as-is! <3