Redtail Rise onyx

They came but revealed little.  She looked to the youngest first.  With a small whine her tail swept behind her, inviting them closer.  She would reassure that departure had been temporary.  There was a responsibility there, not quite maternal, but not quite apart from it either.

Ulfhedinn and Berserker came next.  Redd attempted to read them as she rose wearily, but aside from relief she saw little.  If either sought to usurp her now was the time.  She was in no state to defend the rise, neither her title nor their borders.

Perhaps Wealda was more than this.  Redd did not know.  And so she remained neutral, still, with her shoulders set in an unsure slant.  This trust was theirs to give.  For the first time she felt no drive to take it, knowing that physically it was not a promise she could fulfill.  

She could only do as she always had and look to the good of the whole.  Be that at their head or at their side mattered little to her in this moment.  The end to her solitude was enough.