Sleepy Fox Hollow gain no strength from counting the beads on a rosary

takiyok.
she flared into his consciousness like a ricochet of lightning; mahler held tight his rein and showed no sign of the inner explosion.
they had always presented a united front to outsiders.
now would be no different.
the watchful joiner gave a reason, holding no names that mahler recognized, but solid enough for the general to shift his weight.
the man had come too late to avoid it here, the gargoyle noted with an amused tweak at the irony. 
"vhat is your name?" came his inquiry, holding time for takiyok to make her own judgments, question the stranger with her own words. it was their way.
mahler studied the man as he waited. more than only hale, he was intelligent. respectful. he was still a man, however, made to be tempted in the new season.
but the general knew there were more than a few ways to test the resolve of a new foot soldier; he was ready to allow himself the challenge of his great ambition.