Arrow Lake and half a hurricane

renard huffed a breath, eyes flicking along behind her. they hadn't spared thought for their own parents, much less their resting place, in some time – they doubted that was for the same reason as praimfaya. the court had thoughts about family bonds. renard agreed with them. particularly now, seeing what donovan was doing pretending his pack was like his family. just as likely that was the reason they hadn't taken their business outside of redsand canyon as anything else.

so they couldn't argue. "not a bad view." which was true, even if their standards as to what made a good view were incredibly low right now.

as to the purpose of this assignment...that was the question, wasn't it. the problem with someone like donovan, they were finding, was that he was impossible to predict. understanding someone's actions required someone have a certain degree of reasoning behind their actions. and donovan was the farthest thing from reasonable. wasn't a surprise he'd gathered so many equally thoughtless followers. 

"he wanted me to...gather any information worth noting." renard shrugged. "could mean plenty of things. particularly to someone like him." they let a little of the disdain bleed on the edges of their voice. "their numbers, how they've done with the flooding..." better than the saints, without the disadvantage of being stuck between narrow canyon walls. "i don't know if you know this, but he's been to seelie court before. i'm almost thinking he sent someone he could trust a little better along to neverwinter forest and yuelong. but then that would require him to notice something."

praimfaya was a spy. they knew that, but there was always room for that bare sliver of doubt. eventually, though, you had to trust your gut. renard liked to think they had some experience knowing just when that moment approached. the saints weren't the first pack they'd turned against. even if they were the first pack they'd joined without that particular intention.

"he didn't specify. seems like i should, doesn't it? of course, the court's seen me before, and they know what the saints smell like." not much forethought on donovan's part. but of course it wasn't. they knew better than to be surprised.

"i know you're not here for the saints," they continued. the smile curled the edge of their lip. it was practically a joke now, wasn't it? "so if – right here – you'll do me the favor of not pretending, i'll offer you the same."