Morningside Cuesta we'll make a home from the ruins

If Khoe had any say in who stayed and who didn't, the ranks would have looked a lot different than they did. For one, she wouldn't have allowed as many women as Grayday did (it was something that annoyed her, but at least they each had skills of their own), and she surely wouldn't have been as lenient with her joining process as he was with his own. Katya seemed to have enough skills to hold her weight, so Khoe wasn't too put-off by her, but she still had to put on the hard face she'd begun with. 

There's three of us now, then. The two of us, and an older woman named Heartha. Have you met her? Thinking about it, Khoe realized that it had been some time since the two of them had crossed paths, but that was probably for the best. Then came the sob story (it seemed like everyone had one these days), at which point she managed to not roll her eyes. Everyone's pasts seemed to pale in comparison to Khoe's; she didn't like to be so rude when it came to sensitive manners such as this, but she couldn't help it. No one's pain seemed to flow as deeply as her own.

Well, she breathed, we're glad to have you. And provided things keep going the way they are now, you shouldn't have to worry about another famine anytime soon.