Lake Rodney Sugar in the creek

He obliged her. Towhee stiffened even as he did her bidding, orange eyes watchful. There was nothing worrisome about his approach, his demeanor quite abiding. She relaxed slightly when he came to a stop a few yards away, her eyes combing from head to toe but quickly flicking to his mouth when she saw his lips moving.

"—the Redhawk Caldera. We met Ruenna."

For a beat, she just stared. Who was "we"? Then she vaguely remembered her Regent mentioning something in passing, a bit about two wolves loitering in the area. That was Towhee's word ("loitering"), not Rue's. The Redfern really balanced out, even complemented, the Redhawk in a lot of ways. She had been a good candidate for Regent, unlike Fennec.

Nipping that thought in the bud, Towhee focused on the stranger before her and said, "I'm Towhee." Her eyes squinted a little. "Remind me of your name and business in the area?"