Redsand Canyon reliquum

maybe @towhee whenever she & arsenio get back :D

germanicus wondered if his own centurions had regretted their harsh choices. 

two soldiers wounded. their healer maimed. the saints returned. and he was besieged also by his attentiveness to ruenna. he wanted to know that she would be rewarded for her efforts. that she had set aside sovereignty to work as a soldier's wife in the hope of children, and that he would be able to ensure this occurred.

a private sacrifice to venus was in order. germanicus did not speak of his gods and could not be considered religious. it was protocol to observe that which his culture respected.

his mind suggested that there was also the matter of kallik and aquene. germanicus had not prioritized this with  no true evidence. it was only a subject of diversion for now, driven by speculation.

he was in the forum. the eagle stared down at a map he had drawn in the cold red dirt, a series of dots and marks and half-circles coded only to his knowledge. it detailed what he knew and what he did not of their terrain. it showed where the attack had happened and the number of patrols since.

he had not yet spoken with the young soldiers. their promotions still would be influenced by towhee's report. he wanted all the auxillia returned before he made such announcements. it was dark and he was late to bed, illuminated by a moon broadening each night.

She hadn’t made her way to bed yet since returning. Towhee pined for it. She yawned every minute or so as she wrapped up her patrol and finally began walking toward her “apartment.” On the way, she passed by the forum and detected the Imperator’s presence there.

As much as she yearned for sleep, Towhee paused and chuffed. If he was ready for the report, she would give it now. Otherwise, she would leave him to it and head to bed, then pass along her findings in the morning.

"towhee."

germanicus lifted his head and stood to greet her. "are you prepared to give me your findings among the auxillia?"

he had in mind each rank but he would not announce them until this juncture had been completed. a comfortable silence fell, one that invited the guardian to speak.

She didn’t catch it when he said her name, though he lifted his head and stood to face her, so Towhee began padding toward him, signing, -“Good evening,”- when she reached him. She bit back another yawn as her orange eyes sought his face in the dark, squinting a bit to catch his words.

His request gave her pause. She had expected him to ask about the results of the scouting trip with Arsenio. She stood there wearily for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. Towhee supposed she could just tell him she was too tired to think this hard right now, though instead she drew in a deep breath through her nose.

I would recommend Arsenio, Maxim and Kallik as guardians, mostly because that’s what they would have chosen for themselves, though their assessments corroborated her conclusions. Glaukos didn’t give me the time of day, so I’ll recommend him as a warrior. I never did find Diesel. That was short and sweet, though she could always elaborate further if he wished.

Holding the back of her paw against her mouth as she unsuccessfully fought off a yawn, Towhee added, We did find a pack living in the vale, and fell silent on that too. Germanicus would let her know what additional information he needed.

germanicus listened. they differed in opinion only upon arsenio, who he thought was hotheaded enough to be a warrior. but that was not a side of the redstone man which had been so tested here in mereo. "very good."

"you will be praefectus now." he did not yet comment upon this pack within the vale, though he wished greatly to know what they had discovered. "it reflects your skill as a guardian while not placing you so far above the others that you will be resented."

he had learned that this might be a concern of hers, despite the fact she had only joked about it. "i know we have enjoyed an informal discourse and i would like this to continue, towhee. but outside of our meetings and before the other soldiers, you are praefectus and i am imperator. it is important that the others are aware of this hierarchy, and it is not for ego's purpose. it is a chain of respect." his words were neutral. they were not chastisement. he meant only to be informative. 

henceforth he would refer to her as such before the others and expected the same address in return. "will you tell me what you discovered in the vale please? i am interested to know what rears its head there."

ruenna had meant to settle it herself once upon a time. how would she take this development? furthermore germanicus saw that towhee was very tired. but it must be secondary to this conversation. diesel was gone. glaukos was disrespectful. these things he too filed away.

He seemed pleased with her assessment. Towhee nodded, though she went still when her title changed in the blink of an eye. She laughed inwardly at his remark about resentment. That sounded a bit like wishful thinking to her, though she decided to simply accept the promotion. Anyway, she was too tired to argue for or against herself.

Thank you, she replied simply, adding, and noted, in reply to his request about titles. Again, she absolutely thought egos were an undeniable part of this, though she didn’t comment. Maybe she was wrong. Imperator, she thought to add after a pause long enough to be considered awkward.

Her eyes were actually beginning to water, though she nodded and replied, The pack is called Kinfolk. Their Matriarch is Alys. She mentioned a mate and children, said the pack would be exactly what it sounds like with a name like that. She seemed nice enough. Arsenio could give you a fuller report. He did most of the talking.

towhee conceded.

germanicus found himself relieved. her jovial and open nature suggested resistance to the formal. he was grateful to have been proven wrong. 

the praefectus continued with her report of the pack in the vale. a family pack with a family name. "arsenio is excellent at public speaking," came his dry quip. "were he not so besotted with his wife i might mean for him to be our messenger. but he is newly married and i would not send him away so soon."

"we must make an overture to them."

As much as she enjoyed his tasks, Towhee felt a niggle of dismay when he mentioned an overture. She intuited that he meant for her to have some involvement with that. On one hand, she didn’t want to deny his request, so soon after being promoted. On the other, she held a higher rank now and should probably get some say in these matters. Besides, she didn’t mind being sent on errands, but…

You should know that ambassadorship is not my forte. You would be better served delegating that to someone else, like… well, Arsenio. She paused. Who would corroborate that I have a spotty track record with the whole ‘making a good impression with the neighbors.’ Towhee huffed a laugh. Are there any aspiring ambassadors or messengers, aside from him? she genuinely wondered.

towhee declined. he listened with a brief amusement. "you have done your part. i would not send you upon such an errand. i am not suited for it myself. i was considering that kinfolk might join us for a dinner that i am not fit to plan."

"mulberry mentioned that she had an interest in hunting. learning to scout for prey will teach her how to travel. i consider it to be a complimentary trade."

If Germanicus had had her in mind, he did not counter her. Towhee sagged a little, feeling wearier than ever. Her eyes began to water and she did her best to blink the tears away, though one escaped. She quickly brushed it away, trying not to miss any of the Imperator’s words.

Her lips pursed at the suggestion. Wasn’t Mulberry pretty darn young for something that important? Perhaps he meant for her to be the girl’s chaperone. Towhee supposed she wouldn’t be opposed. She didn’t mind foraying a bit, so long as she didn’t have to make nice with too many strangers.

Rue would be an absolute shoe-in, if not for the obvious reasons why she should stay safely tucked at home, Towhee thought aloud, right before an extremely forceful yawn made itself known. She shook her head and apologized. I’m sorry, I’m pretty wiped out and I can feel my brain cells shutting down. Are you implying you would like me to escort Mulberry?

germanicus could see that his words were lingering too long.

"lady ruenna is of course my first choice. it is why i believe kinfolk should visit. but there are many details to be worked upon. for now you should sleep."

they would revisit this another time. the eagle was in no hurry to form a plan for diplomacy.

he nodded toward the guardian.

O-o-okay, Towhee could only helplessly agree as another yawn shuddered through her. Good night, she said, returning his nod and beginning to turn and pad away from the forum, taking several steps toward the distant housing before remembering to turn and call (quite a bit too loudly), …Imperator!