Blacktail Deer Plateau Season's greetings

Thanks for responding! :3

She appeared and she looked just as their guest had described her. Swordfish smiled at the sight of her, tail sweeping the ground. Saena approached rather hesitantly and left a large gap between them when she paused. He didn't blame her. He was some total strange calling her by name; of course she would be as wary as she was curious. His ears flicked in response to her dubious inquiry.

"Hello. Ms. Saena Blacktail?" he questioned just to be sure, even though her markings were incredibly distinctive. He then dipped his head. "No. My name is Swordfish and I come from a pack called Thief River Falls. It's a few days' travel north of here. I came here with a message for you."

He didn't want to leave her hanging, so he continued without pause. "Ms. Junior Blacktail is back there. Evidently, she entered a tunnel here in the plateau. She said you would know what I'm talking about...?" Swordfish peered inquisitively at her face, then continued, "She found a new pathway and it led her for miles underground, she believes. There was an unexpected drop—'just like the other one,' she said—and she sprained both ankles on her forelegs when she fell.

She managed to keep crawling and find her way out, then called for help. My Captain—my Alpha female, I mean—found her and brought her back to the falls. Bones and Junior soon discovered they were actually cousins." He blinked. That made Bones and Saena cousins as well, of course. "She is family, so we are looking after her and tending her injuries. She is not well enough to travel and likely won't be in any condition to do so until springtime. She was in very bad shape when Bones found her. She must have been down there a while," he opined, oblivious to her previous injuries and illness. "Anyway, that's why I came in her stead."

Swordfish lapsed into silence for a breath, then finished by saying, "It was very important to Junior that I convey to you that she's okay and that she didn't leave on purpose. She said—and this is a direct quote—'I don't give a shit what anyone else thinks happened. I don't care about anyone but Saena. I just need her to understand I never would've left without saying something to her, even if I was upset and ashamed.' Then she corrected herself and mentioned that she cares about Pura too. She said it was up to you to pass that along to him and it's also up to you if you want to inform the pack of this message or keep it to yourself."

Swordfish fell quiet then and said no more for the moment, allowing Saena a chance to absorb all of that and voice the questions and concerns she surely had. He didn't know about the circumstances referenced in the message, nor who Pura was exactly (although he could guess). He hadn't asked Junior and would not ask Saena now. It was not his business. It was his job to pass the message, not editorialize it.