Lion Head Mesa [ap] I'd rather have the right man, than the right wedding.

ruenna spoke and he listened.

she commiserated with the feelings that crowfeather must be experiencing. germanicus felt somehow confirmed in her remarks. this must only be something allowed to pass. he could not indulge it. already he had harmed the shadow a great deal. had it not been against his order that crowfeather had gone to the sunspire?

the demeanour of the redfern changed. germanicus sensed at once a deep welling-up in ruenna. it was far more than she allowed it to be in this moment. 

he smiled softly, moving to her side and allowing the woman to use him as support. akashingo thronged around them. he recognized teya and the red wolf from the hunt. so it seemed they too had become one. the queen glided past with two maidservants in her wake. germanicus dipped his head respectfully at the catch of her azure eyes.

the open-air throne room yawned ahead. he led ruenna beneath the vast stone arches. here the sound was muted. and yet the imperator was aware that ears listened always in the mesa. "i am interested to know what you envision, ruenna," the eagle said when they were truly alone for a moment. his voice was low. 

she knew he was not a committed man. he was a wanderer. but it was not the role of husband she had offered. it was a request instead. and it was one that appealed even to the small surging of elegance left to the man. some way to settle the unsatisfied voice of his father.

crowfeather.

"you choose the hour of our discussion. now, while the pharaoh is distracted. or another time, when i might call upon you at the caldera again."

to the left was the small hallway with its single room. 

he was not yet ready to depart, to see the shadow, to feel the affectionate, wondering eyes upon him again.

germanicus did not deserve such sentiment.