Panther Park Then surely I'll do the same,

Gold. Finley had struck gold and it had barely taken any metaphor at all! Now the tug at her mouth curved distinctly upwards.

Firstly: Seelie Court, mountainside—the pack that Donovan had tried, and failed rather spectacularly, to make peace with. Finley knew little of them besides this; she had no opinion one way or another on their strength, as they had an advantage through alliance alone. More interestingly, the stranger was their guard. Had she been present at the “peacekeeping” mission itself? The question jumped to the tip of her tongue; Finley knew equally little of just what Donovan had done to invite so much hostility, but her impression from within the pack had been less than stellar.

Fortunately for Finley’s impulse control, the ex-guard continued and introduced more. Yuèlóng and Neverwinter were new; Kaistleoki, less so, by scent if not by name [vague for ongoing thread’s sake]. The introduction indicated little judgment of two; Yuèlóng, less so, if only for location. Finley had to agree there; she had little familiarity with saltwater, and with these rains living by the water seemed even less appealing.

By the time the verbal tour had finished, Finley had raised her head in very keen interest. No mention of the Saints, but surely a former guard would know of them. Was there a reason they hadn’t been brought up, even as a warning? If she spoke only of her own considerations, then whatever disagreement she’d had with the Court did nothing to change that.

“You’ve certainly learned a lot.” Knowing one’s neighbors was bare minimum for a guard, really, but count Finley impressed nonetheless. She’d got this one talking. Why not push her luck? “What made you leave the Court?”