𝑺𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒐

=> Second leader of the pack <=

Saguaro had no memories of his mother's face, only the sound of her voice—soft, tired, and always distant. She had carried him through the desert, ribs pressing through her thin fur, her movements slow and unsteady. One night, she left him curled beneath the roots of a withered tree and never returned. He waited until the sun rose, until the wind buried her scent beneath the sand. Then he walked. He didn't know where he was going, only that stopping meant dying.

He met Sekmet first, a scrawny pup nosing through a half-buried carcass. Saguaro approached cautiously, ready to fight for scraps, but Sekmet only glanced up and moved aside. They ate in silence. Sidewinder arrived later, ribs sharp beneath her fur, eyes burning with defiance. None of them asked where the others had come from. They just stayed.

By the time Alaric found them, they were half-starved and barely standing. Saguaro didn't trust her at first. He had learned early that no one stayed, that kindness always came with a cost. But Alaric did not ask for anything. She shared her kills, led them to water, and growled at approaching strangers. When they were too tired to walk, she carried them.

Eventually, Saguaro stopped waiting for her to leave.

Under her guidance, he learned more than how to survive. He learned how to fight, how to track, how to lead. Sekmet was quick-witted and slippery, always darting ahead. Sidewinder was fierce and unyielding, her spirit as strong as the sun overhead. But Saguaro listened. He studied Alaric's choices, the way she spoke, how she always seemed to know what to do. When she was old, she told him he would lead when she was gone. He didn't want to think about that.

One morning, she didn't rise. Her body was still warm, her face calm, as if she had simply drifted into sleep. Sekmet pressed his nose to her fur, silent for once. Sidewinder turned away, her shoulders stiff. Saguaro only stood there, feeling the weight of everything she had given them settle onto his back.

Alaric had led him through his childhood. Now, it was his turn.