Redhawk Caldera I'll interrogate the cat.

"Nothing," he said and her brows lifted curiously, then dropped, accepting this at face value. Except that he continued speaking. Towhee had been about to glance away but returned her eyes to his mouth as he spoke. She felt herself stiffen at the leading question. She shifted her weight from her hip to her middle, sitting up straighter, face pensive as she tried to figure out how to answer.

"I'm ignoring them," she answered baldly (and honestly). Beyond the contemptuous glare she had given the lot of them upon their arrival, she hadn't even really seen any of them since. She had smelled them around, of course, but she hadn't really crossed their paths. "I'm not comfortable with them," she added, because her godfather had told her she shouldn't do anything that made her uncomfortable. And she had kept up her end of the deal too: she hadn't been harsh with any of the newcomers, just avoidant.