Redsand Canyon seems a pity not to take a chance

Germanicus had visited the Caldera. Ruenna nodded. The Caldera's downfall was a fresh pain, and it weighed heavy on her heart. Had she managed to recruit Germanicus and Crowfeather to the Caldera's ranks when they first appeared at her border, would the this outcome have been avoidable? Ruenna thought that maybe-- just maybe-- the pair of able-bodied auxilia would have tipped the scales in favor of the Caldera. 

"I'm sorry we missed each other," Ruenna said, frowning. It was regrettable that Germanicus had been left to draw his own conclusions, and to worry needlessly. "I came as soon as I could, but my paws are not as swift as they once were." Ruenna leaned her weight against Germanicus as they crossed a dry stream bed. Her gaze lingered on a deep chasm in the wall of the canyon, where the warm hues of the bedrock were dusted with a curious marbling of blue, drawing the eye inward and upward. 

Germanicus indicated that they should sit, and Ruenna was relieved for the chance to be off of her feet. She circled once upon the goat hide and settled. The conversation turned to their exchange in Akashingo, and Ruenna grew apprehensive as she thought of the plans they had traded in hushed tones, huddled in the Pharoah's hallways. 

Germanicus surprised her. She shook her head. "I have no intention of withdrawing, assuming you have a reason to accept other than sympathy." The corner of her mouth quirked a bit wryly. Without a claim of her own, she was little more than a charity case-- a beggar on Germanicus's doorstep. 

"Has your vision of Mereo shifted, since we last spoke?" In her memory, Germanicus's previous apprehension had less to do with the weight of the personal commitment (as he claimed now) and more to do with the presumed unsuitability of Mereo as a home for anyone other than soldiers. Had Germanicus warmed to Ruenna's suggestions? If she was to stay, she meant to be useful.

His acceptance was sinking in slowly, blooming warmly in Ruenna's chest despite the dry chill in the air. For the first time since the Caldera's collapse, Ruenna felt optimistic.