Kintla Flatlands a tender history in rust

Gonna just roll with however this goes. If anyone else enters, feel free to skip Saēna if I'm being slow and powerplay her (reasonably). School's starting in a few days, so I might be scarce next week, but I'll try not to!

The plateau's patriarch had informed all the wolves living there that Junior had taken her leave of the pack, though any explanation beyond that had been vague at best. Saēna had felt sweeps of emotion since then, beginning with fear and dread. She assumed from her previous experience with Junior disappearing that the girl had fallen into a river and actually drowned this time, but there'd been no indication in Peregrine's howl that her cousin was dead.

Next, she had felt alternating pulses of betrayal and sadness. Though she tried her very best to do as Pura had once done and control her sadness, she found she was no more able to choose un-sadness than she was able to touch the canopies of trees. It came on her without even asking permission, creeping up out of her thoughts and interrupting her like some dirty insect.

She settled on betrayal, and became determined never to think of nor speak of Junior Redleaf-DiSarinno again, but that dissolved the second that the young Virtúte heard her cousin's howl while standing at the Plateau's edge.

She sped down the towpath, now old enough and graceful enough to do so without much trouble, and quickly forded the river. Her heart thrummed wildly as she made her way to Junior, for although she was hurt and stricken that her cousin would leave the plateau without even saying goodbye, it was almost as though she anticipated something as well. Maybe some kind of praise. Saēna was a sucker for it.

“Where are you going?” she shouted when she was within earshot, though she continued her lope until she was standing in front of her larger cousin. A myriad emotions burned in her eyes, but it was with betrayal that she regarded Junior until an explanation was given.