Blacktail Deer Plateau Riders on the Storm

A small voice at her rear made Saena turn her head and blink back the tears. The blurry figure of Valtyr caught her off guard, for Saena had never seen a smaller wolf than she on the Plateau before, but his story would have to wait. The Blacktail was very self-centered; even if she cared where Valtyr came from, it was of no importance when measured against her own problems.

"My sister is sick," she said thickly. There was so much more wrong in Saena's world than just Junior being sick—the events of her youth were piling up into a mountain of concerns for her sanity—but it was this most recent event that shook her the most. Tytonidae's disappearance was no more than an afterthought most days, and Pura haunted the Plateau like a feral monster, but he never came near. His hold on reality was tenuous, and she wasn't sure she wanted to test what little there was left by seeking him out.

She blinked hard, clearing her vision so as to inspect the child more easily. His fur was dark, but red broke through on his points. It was similar to her own copper. She might have identified with him if she wasn't so focused on herself. "She almost fell off the plateau a few days ago," she mumbled, wrinkling her nose against a second onslaught of tears.