Northstar Vale The Animal I Have Become

She aimed an affectionate nip at Zephyr's shoulder before following along on his set course. Though she was the leading female of the pack, Saena deferred to others when the situation called for it. In this case, Zephyr was the one who had broken away from the pack, and so Zephyr led the way. She fell in alongside him, leaving him space to be a step or two ahead, and therefore, the authority. She swivelled her ears, one back to listen to the trail they left and one sideways to listen to him. When he explained his reason for leaving the pack's side, she shook her head and said with a smile, "you needn't stay with us all the time, Zephyr."

"I like to get away now and again, too," she told him, twisting her head to watch a small bird dart away from their path. "I was a scout once, so traveling does me good. I don't blame you for taking time to yourself." The instinct to guard the borders was just as strong in Saena as it was in most wolves. She'd been raised with the belief that a wolf's territory was its exclusive land, and any wolf not pledged to that leader was unwelcome. Warbone, as well as heeding her instincts, had changed her way of thinking on that, but that didn't make it any easier to abandon the habits she'd built.

"You don't need to worry about the borders," she shared, just in case Zephyr felt he had to. "Passersby don't concern us, and if they stumble across us and don't behave themselves, well... they'll know us by our teeth then. There's not much here for them otherwise." She grinned, showing off her off-white incisors, then said, "but it's a damn hard habit to break, I know. I catch myself patrolling sometimes, even though I don't actually care if someone passes through here, so long as they treat us with the respect we deserve."