Phoenix Maplewood finders, keepers

Alya did not miss Desdemona's discomfort, nor Lyra's pointed glances. A rush of fondness almost overwhelmed her - Good old Lyra, she thought, painfully aware of how much she'd missed the most evil of the Cerberus. Still, it wouldn't do to let her sister hurt one of the Morningsiders - especially since she'd grown marginally fond of the other woman. "This is Desdemona," she introduced, giving the girl a friendly nudge as she turned to lead her sisters to her makeshift nest. "She has helped me get around the territory, from time to time."

Perhaps that would cool the murder from Lyra's gaze. Alya decided to let Hydra worry about that, though, and turned to speak to Timberlake with a playful grin. "Maybe you can show Hydra your wrestling moves. She is an accomplished warrior. She is also an accomplished bug catcher."

She met Hydra's eyes over the boy's head, silently pleading for the other girl to drop the subject of leaders. Alya did not kno exactly what had become of Aditya, but she had her suspicions. Timberlake didn't need to be worried about all that.