Phoenix Maplewood It had become a glimmering girl

@Grace Feel free to slot this in your timeline as needed. :)

The sound of sobbing was loudest in the center of the wood, where a pale wolf with red ears slumped over what was once her den.

Stepping foot into the woods had brought with it a hundred memories. Memories of the fire that sent her fleeing from her former home. Memories of Nochtli and Citali, who had both left and never returned. Memories of Reek before he'd been the monster he'd evidently become. Memories of Junior, who had never lived in the forest with them but who had died in the fire, or so she thought. Memories of her time leading the pack through both its toughest times and most triumphant times. Sickening memories of Reek and Tavi locked in one another's embrace. Heartbreaking memories of her children and their first breaths. The place no longer smelled of her. That was probably the most heartbreaking thing of all.

She'd wandered, nearly catatonic, through her former home until she'd found her den. The place she'd given birth to three children, two girls and a boy. The boy was gone now. The girls still needed her, she hoped. But for the moment, Saena sought refuge in her former home and time to come to terms with everything that had happened over the past half a year. Her girls could wait one more day, as traitorous as that thought seemed to her at times. They could wait one more day while their mother gathered her broken wits, took a deep breath, found her feet again, and began searching for her favourite stream whilst preparing herself for what was to come in a matter of days.

After her run-in with Stark, Grace decided to relive other memories and visit the very first place she'd ever called home. It was also the place she'd found her first crush, developed feelings for someone that had broken her by their abandonment, and earned the scar across the bridge of her nose from exploring a rose bush with Esaro. It was also the place she had chosen Nova over the wolves of Pheonix Maplewood, and right now she was depaiting whether she should've stayed or not. Marauders Keep, while she had made many new friends and grew so very much, had held little to nothing to her; even Nova had gone off to do better things. 
She'd stopped and layed down next to a rose bush-the rose bush, she knew, despite having no proof-and thought about such things. Would her future have been better following the pack from this golden place? She cried, voicing her guilts outloud for the first time, but another sound drowned out even her own breathy sobs. 
They were sadder than hers-not out of guilt, but such sadness that it nearly broke Grace's fragile heart in two. The russet yearling stood and, with a last wistful sniff to the bush, limped forward to where she swore Saena's den used to be. It never once occured to her that it would actually be the ex alpha of the maplewood woods, and so when she got there, announcing herself with but a chuff before poking her head in.
Her golden eyes went wide with amazement, and partly fear once she remembered that Luke might just be lurking close. What was Saena doing here.... And where was the pack? Did it relate to why she was crying? Questions flooded her mind, but the only thing she could manage was a mumbled, 
                        "S-Saena?"

At some point, a distraught Saena slipped into the dark comfort of her den. There was nothing fond hidden there to find save for a dark spot of long-dried blood on the floor where her children had come into the world. Luke had dutifully stood guard outside while she agonized for them, but in all senses she had been alone for it. Her mate had chosen another woman, and her closest friends in the pack, she hadn't trusted at the time. There was too much uncertainty. It had been her, her babies, and a stoic white man with a blue nose, and that was her last semi-good memory of the maple wood.

She was heedless to the approaching wolf above ground until a head blocked the sunlight and someone stuttered out her name. She didn't recognize the voice, warped as it was by the tight confines of her den, but Saena's lips curled and her hackles flared at the intrusion of her privacy. The intrusion of her home, even. Phoenix Maplewood would always belong to her in her mind, even when it was off limits due to her ex-mate's savagery, and so she responded in the only way she knew how.

She flew out of the den, jaws snapping defensively and wild eyes rolling in an effort to focus on her unwilling opponent, whom she would not recognize right away.

Im really sorry, I thought Saena was already IN the den! D:

The fresh, thick scent outside the den signaled of the woman inside, and Grace really should have known not to go inside. It was the alpha's den, after all, and one of the stupidest things Grace ever did was stick her head in that space. Her wide gold eyes saw it all happen: Saena had been there, crying, but at the russet girls arrival her expression morphed into one of hate and anger. Grace noticed, though, that she never quite looked at her. There was no recognition, no specific reason the pale woman struck out, and for that reason Grace thought-hoped-that she indeed hadn't realized her name.
However, the russet yearling was making her brain move faster than her paws. She tried to rush backwards, and she might've been able to twist and bound out of the ways of the jaws if it weren't for her damned leg. All Grace did was stumble back a yard before falling onto her haunches with a yelp of fear and pain. Her lug jutted out stiffly in front of her, and there was only one thing she could do: defend herself. Not that she didn't try to talk sense into the pissed off mother- but with her luck lately the tailless woman wouldn't listen anyway.

                             ​"Saena, Saena stop! I mean no harm!"

Her sharp ivories flashed towards Saena and whatever part of her Grace could reach from where she was, a deep snarl of warning ripping from her jaws out of pure instinct. She put momentum behind the snaps, if only to try and pull herself up-her hind legs now scrabbled for purchase on the earth under them- and again be on even ground.

When Saena was able to whirl around in a full circle, her attacks slowed and probably would have stopped had a set of teeth not raked across her muzzle in that moment. Her gaze locked on Grace in the same instant that the girl struck out at her, and even a proficient young fighter like Saena was unable to dodge a point blank attack. Shock rippled through her system first, followed by pain and then outrage.

What kind of idiot wolf, Saena thought angrily as she slowed. Any wolf stupid enough to stick their head in someone else's den deserved to get bit, and she was outraged that her perfectly natural response was met with an attack. This was her forest. Her den. How dare you, Saena's eyes said as her muzzle wrinkled into an ugly, affronted snarl that caused beads of blood to rise to the surface of her newest wound. Her gaze roved over her opponent, and when she finally was able to recognize who she was looking at, it all made sense. She'd always thought Grace was a special kind of imbecile, from the moment she'd shown her true disloyal colours in the maplewood, and now it was confirmed.

Saena snarled deep in her chest and rose to her full height with her ears thrown confidently forward. After all, she was a well-fed and healthy wolf, and Grace was just a cripple. There was no contest. "Get out of my sight or you're dead," she snapped.

Teeth connected with her face just before they separated-Saena's fangs cut across her left eye, ripping the flesh on either side and sending a burning sensation through her eye-Grace worried for the sight on that side, but it wasn't at the top of her list of worries right now. 
Finally, they pulled apart as Grace landed her own hit, and the russet yearling limped a few paces away while they both soaked in the moment and what was going on. The alpha-or so Grace thought-finally seemed to recongnize her, and the only thing she spat out was "get out of my sight or you're dead". The white womans body language, which usually would have shut down the shy female, was ignored wholly-while this was formerly Saena's land, it was now unclaimed, and the womans will had no effect on her former subordinate. Nobodys will did anymore, in fact: she was a loner. 
             "Nice to see you too, Saena-clearly you haven't changed."
The girl's leg curled to meet her flank-only it couldn't quite stay firmly in place, flopping around at movement but still being less of a problem- and she was quick to turn and trot a few yards away. She slowed, though, and turned only her face back to her former alpha: clearly, she didn't understand the need to be with those you love, or she wouldn't be lashing out like this. 
                                  "I'm sorry for leaving, for what it's worth: I hope the maple wolves found a better, safer home somewhere." 
After that, she was off again, moving at a brisk walk out of mere nervousness of an aggressive wolf at her back. The trip back to familiar lands had not done Grace well, clearly-despite having met two of her former packmates- but where else did she have to go?

Gonna leave it up to you to follow or fade here, but please don't hurt her <3 Glad you're back, Chelsie!

Saena would actually attack before Grace had a chance to do half the actions she took, so I'll just assume Grace outdistanced her for the sake of not injuring her and fading this. :)

Grace's mouth moved but Saena heard only the rush of blood in her ears. She'd never truly realized how much she hated disloyalty until she was faced with someone who had turned her back on the pack. It didn't help that Grace was also not the smartest of wolves. She didn't hear what was said and she wouldn't have listened anyway, because almost the second that Grace began to speak, Saena lunged, snapping her jaws toward the cripple's muzzle.

Phoenix Maplewood was not her claim any longer but she was one hell of an aggressive motherfucker about it anyway. Even the dumbest of wolves heeded aggression, as Grace did when she took her leave with rapid strides. Saena pursued but the weight of many thoughts was like an anvil on her back and she was slower than usual. Maybe it was intentional, or maybe it was incidental. Getting into a scrap before ever finding Reek and her daughters was certainly a stupid move and that reality likely contributed to her slowing well before the edge of the maple wood and letting the other wolf get away nearly unscathed.

Her breaths came rapid and shallow as she bared her teeth and snarled after Grace's retreating figure, then melted back into the shadowy wood to resume her grieving.