Redsand Canyon judicium

germanicus had barely an inkling of what had transpired with @Towhee, but he sought her out early the following morning.

he needed to speak with kallik, but the injury to the praefectus was unfortunately more pressing.

the imperator strode in the grey dawn toward the tablinum.

It was tempting to run to Ruenna or even Germanicus and consult with them regarding Maxim’s “proposal.” But Towhee sought no one’s advice. There was no one who could make this decision but her. Besides, did the Principales want others to know about the offer? She hadn’t asked him, so she couldn’t be certain.

She yawned as she made her way toward the canyon’s outskirts to patrol, walking slowly to mind her leg. After her second visit to the healer, it felt a lot better. The wound looked pretty gnarly, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Towhee originally thought.

Towhee spotted the Imperator and paused. Maxim offered to marry me, ha! her brain yelled, though she remained mum save for a nod and a wave of her tail.

germanicus stared at towhee's wound and then flicked his stern yellow eyes back to her face. "what happened?" 

glaukos and kallik had only just recovered, and aquene as well. there had been no howls to alert him of dangers from outside. and so germanicus concluded that this had happened within mereo.

towhee was too skilled to have been injured during a spar.

the eagle waited silently for her prompt explanation.

Would you believe me if I said I ran into a door? Towhee quipped, having seen the trajectory of his pointed glance. She laughed and shook her head, then did what she always did: spoke candidly. Kallik and I agreed that an ambush would be a good training opportunity. I decided to sneak up on him while he was banging Aquene. Let’s just say he’s a formidable soldier. I don’t blame him for this, she concluded, indicating her injured foreleg, and I totally stand by the exercise. We all learned a valuable lesson in that five seconds.

But what would Germanicus think? Would he blame Kallik? Would he fault Towhee? She couldn’t guess, so she waited patiently to find out.

banging aquene?

germanicus did not understand for a moment. but he did not think that the scutarius had flaunted his instruction. 

this meant of course that the two had agreed to be married. like himself and ruenna, they had not announced it, only began their cohabitation.

"am i to believe you gained this wound interrupting a newly married couple at their most vulnerable?" germanicus inquired dryly, though perhaps towhee was familiar enough to see the minute spark of bemusement in his eyes.

the question was tactical. he waited for its response.

Yup, she confirmed simply, a line of tension running through her shoulders, which she rolled. No regrets. That’ll learn them to get busy with their backs to the door. Towhee huffed a laugh. But on a serious note, I really wanted to see how quickly Kallik would react when in such a compromising and vulnerable position. He wasn’t exactly pleased at the time but nobody can argue that an enemy or a predator often targets our weakest moments, when our guard’s most lowered. The Praefectus shrugged again. Kallik proved that he can get the drop on an attacker even with his junk flopping about everywhere.

germanicus was very still as he stared at towhee.

his mind processed her crude words and consistent informality with a rapidly amused swiftness.

at last the imperator released his breath with a snort, a smile climbing his muzzle. towhee was as much a lewd soldier as any man with which he had ever served.

"i admittedly put kallik to the pressure of marriage knowing that he had laid with aquene before. he is angry with me, i believe."

but not so upset to quickly claim the rights a husband and a wife enjoyed in mereo.

"i am happy to hear your report of his abilities. it will serve him well when i find a place and a people for a pitched battle."

The tension left her like air leaking out of a tire when Germanicus showed signs of amusement. She didn’t want to get Kallik in trouble any more than she wanted to be rebuked for her actions. Towhee was glad it hadn’t come to that, though she knew the Imperator must be displeased by her injury. At least she hadn’t let it slow her down that much.

The Redhawk’s head tilted when he mentioned the circumstances of the pair’s marriage. As curious as it made her, Towhee didn’t ask for details. Rather, her mind went back to screaming about her own “proposal.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek, considering Germanicus’s choice of words.

Whereas she should’ve asked what he meant by “pitched battle,” Towhee instead found herself wondering, I know we went over some of this before but bear with me, I’m still wrapping my head around how things work here. Wolves aren’t allowed to bang unless they’re married? I have no interest in it myself but I’m curious: how come? Unless the woman’s in heat, there’s no risk of conception, right? She drew in a breath. And on the flip side of that question, are married couples allowed to bang and conceive freely, or…?

"lady ruenna felt that that there was not a way to keep men from women here, or end the possibility of conception. she is correct. the rules are stricter for that reason. do not fornicate outside the borders or outside of marriage. conception is almost always inevitable once you are married i feel. it would be hypocritical of me to forbid conception between a husband and wife."

germanicus was certain that towhee had more to say. the lines of his body relaxed. he stood at ease and in anticipation, assuming that her continued interest in the breeding rules was personal.

“Fornicate” was a funny word, though Towhee held back the snort that wanted to escape her nose. Besides, this was rather intriguing information. All she had to do was accept Maxim’s offer and she could breed freely? Well, shit.

She really hadn’t planned to mention anything specifically but as he stood there expectantly, Towhee wondered if it was disingenuous not to explain why she asked. Besides, she really liked to think she was a candid sort, sometimes to a fault.

I haven’t told anyone and I ask for your discretion, Towhee said slowly, but Maxim proposed to me, kinda? Neither one of us is interested romantically, but he seems to think we could have a mutually beneficial partnership. I even asked him if he wouldn’t prefer someone younger, someone his own age? But he insisted he didn’t want that kind of distraction. He wants a soldier, not a pretty face.

She ran her tongue slowly over her lips, feeling uncertain about sharing all of this, with Germanicus of all people. But… I wasn’t going to mention this to anyone. I wanted to decide for myself. But I guess I wouldn’t mind your feedback, if you have any thoughts on the matter.

to hear maxim's name was not a surprise. towhee was influential and the young wolf was young. germanicus knew that he had been applying himself to patrols and to making companions of the others.

glaukos was about to be alone in the single-housing. the eagle was not certain this would deter the mountainous boy. or perhaps it would. but it did not matter.

with a singular last lament for the carefully disciplined legions of yesteryear, germanicus mulled it over in his mind. "you would still wish to retain a mentoring role through your pregnancy," the imperator noted, speaking as though it had been decided. "and you would be a mother with ruenna."

"are you assured of maxim's ability to continue his training without distraction?" germanicus inquired.

His response caused Towhee to blue screen for a moment or two before her brain rebooted, yelling louder than ever. It was clear he sanctioned the marriage, though that wasn’t what sent a literal shiver down her spine. “And you would be a mother with Ruenna…” She hadn’t let herself contemplate this possibility but with it spelled out on Germanicus’s lips, Towhee found she wanted nothing more in the whole wide world than that.

A breath shuddered in and out of her throat as the Praefectus tried to compose herself and answer the Imperator’s question. I think you said it yourself, the last time we talked about this. Any husband I take would be made to fall in line, not just with my aims but Mereo’s as well… That made her think, however briefly, of Reyes, and just how she’d dealt with an unruly husband and father.

I know we talked about an outpost, even Maxim and myself heading one. But after having time to think about it, I’ve decided I want to stay in Mereo. I would much prefer to remain close to Rue and your kids, even if that meant giving up on the thought of my own kids… But now it sounded like Towhee might be able to have her cake and eat it too. Her stomach flip-flopped, wondering if that’s really what Germanicus was saying to her right now.

germanicus gave a single nod. towhee remained committed to mereo and he knew she would have done so without maxim's presence. the praefectus was even willing to surrender her place in the second cohort to achieve her own aims, though she meant to balance her duties with her wants.

germanicus inventoried mentally the defenders that would be compromised. it came down only to ruenna, aquene, and tamar. with the addition of killdeer and mulberry, that replaced two fighters. glaukos could be prevailed upon to physically mentor one of them, the imperator suspected.

"choose a home in the married-housing." germanicus flicked an ear. "if this is what you want, make it so. you might inform aquene when you — conceive," he added, rather uncomfortably, "unless you would like to relay this to me directly."

Her orange eyes bugged a little when he told her to go right ahead and choose a new apartment to share with Maxim. She glanced in the direction of #1A almost wistfully, though only for half a heartbeat. The Imperator really was sanctioning both marriage and children. Unholy fuck, her brained hollered.

Towhee’s heart pounded in her chest as she nodded her head. Realizing she hadn’t answered to his earlier remark, she said, Yes, I would like to continue mentoring as much as possible. I don’t really—I don’t want to say I don’t care about my rank, because that’s not true. I’m honored to be the prefect. Her lips twitched, though she quickly grew serious once more as she added, And I do intend to reclaim my station after the fact. But… But, well, this was a sacrifice she was absolutely willing to make if that’s what it meant to become a mother with Maxim and the Matrona in Mereo.

(Say that three times fast.)

germanicus supposed he should not have been so surprised. after all, aquene had informed him of the decision made by herself and the scutarius. 

he expected that there would be children now. germanicus did not have so much faith in herbs. and none of this was worth saying aloud.

towhee seemed pleased with his pronouncement. "the military ranks will be open for you when you are ready again.  until then, i would like you to use your time as you have been. eventually i will need a captain and i think that kallik is most fit for the role."

four litters in mereo when he had not even considered one! he would never tell ruenna that he had intended her to have their brood elsewhere. it was safest now in the canyon. 

germanicus suspected that towhee would like to depart now, and nodded to her with a sharp tilt of his muzzle.

She should’ve asked him about the role of a captain. Was that a leadership rank or some such? She also should’ve replied to his query about notifying him personally versus Aquene. Hell, Towhee still meant to ask him about battle pitches or whatever he’d said before.

But this conversation had driven her to distraction. Towhee could only return his nod and say, I’ll report back to you on what happens next. And I’ll try not to be so… all over the place for our next chat. Thank you, Imperator.

Thus dismissed, Towhee turned and padded off in no direction in particular, caring little about where her feet carried her as her thoughts drifted every which way.