Redhawk Caldera Boom and bust

One day, on a future visit, Wildfire dearly hoped to meet the three Ls. (She wondered if they'd chosen those names based on the "El" theme.) In the meantime, all of the adults' attention rested on her after her little declaration. It was too bad Fox was off somewhere with the Hersey squirts—Wildfire grimaced sympathetically—but just because her mom wasn't here didn't mean she would hold back the good news. It was all so secretive in Sleeping Dragon, so she was practically bursting with the urge to tell someone all about it.

But that thought made her freeze suddenly. She didn't dare check behind her to see if Gavriel was still there. Had heard anything so far? Could he still hear now? Wildfire swallowed, feeling her cheeks flaming. It was probably safe to tell her family all about Thuringwethil, since they literally had no dealings with Drageda, but if Gavriel found out, then what did that mean for her relationship with the commander? What would he think? What would he say? Would he out them? He didn't seem the type to meddle in others' personal business but there was a reason the Heda didn't want anybody to know; she thought there might be disapproval, which could lead to unrest in the ranks, especially after that meeting about the culture...

She could feel Peregrine's eyes in particular boring into her impatiently and Wildfire chewed on the inside of her lip, then said in a somewhat low voice, "Oh, uh, it's actually a—a woman." Despite herself, Wildfire peeked in her guard's direction, only to see that he had slipped out of view and thus out of earshot. A ragged breath escaped her. "Um, it's actually so new, we haven't gone public, so I'll just call her T if that's okay. She's, uh... she's actually the leader of the pack. And, um, she's kind of amazing." She left it that, nibbling on her lip and fidgeting again as she waited for the inevitable reactions to the same-sex pairing.