Heron Lake Plateau quam amoena

the canaanite thought upon the other's words, settling herself upon her haunches and watching the man with a warm light to her expression. the ways of the malkaria were widely unwelcome, and so she would not share them here. but an alliance -- it might strengthen them in ways remaining solitary might not. in another sense, she supposed, they could be weakened by it. 

"what do you offer?" she inquired at length, intrigued but careful.