Lion Head Mesa (ap) sympathy butters no parsnips

thanks for clarifying!

Ruenna had amused Jawahir rather than insulted them, thank the stars. She dipped her head graciously, thankful her mistake would be overlooked, but within she still wondered if her words might be reported to Ramessess or some other official at a later time. She knew logically that Jawahir was a person, and therefore more than simply their genetics, but she still wrestled with placing her trust in a coyote, a breed known for trickery and duplicity. Ruenna could not shake the paranoid idea that some kind of entrapment ploy was taking place. 

Jawahir lowered their voice to share their own bit of gossip about the queen, surprising Ruenna. Was it a continued attempt at trickery, or a genuine gesture of camaraderie? Uncertain of Jawahir's motivations, Ruenna hesitated to respond, save the shy, conspiratorial smile that found her features. Would the Akashingoans whisper the same things about her and Germanicus, should they become officially betrothed? It seemed likely-- Ramesses had already expressed his surprise that Germanicus enjoyed passing time with her, a woman. 

"Ramesses said something similar of Germanicus," Ruenna noted, finally speaking. "Is it really a such strange thing here, for an Akashingoan to decline the attention of the fellahin?" In any other pack she'd ever heard of, wolves were the subject of gossip when covert dalliances were suspected. In Akashingo, wolves became such when their dalliances were absent. It all seemed upside-down to Ruenna.