Redsand Canyon Electronic circus weapon.

Towhee's face softened when Ruenna spoke about her hopeful litter. It was strange to think she would've once denied—perhaps even had denied, not that she could actually remember—permission for Rue to breed under her rule. It made her think of how she would now have to seek permission if she changed her mind about another litter. She had nothing against Kukutux, but the entire premise put such a bad taste in her mouth. Now that she was on the flip side of the equation, it made her resent her past self in a strange way. It was an instinctual drive, of course, but still...

She concentrated on her friend's lips as she regaled her about Mereo. Had Rue told her about this? Had Germanicus? Why did they need to train up soldiers? She didn't get a chance to ask before Rue shifted gears, speaking to her marriage to Germanicus. Towhee couldn't help but laugh, thinking of Meerkat's idyllic romance versus Ruenna's approach, which suited Towhee's tastes much more. A good partnership was more important to her than silly romance too. Even with Reyes, she had never been what anyone might call romantic.

Rue turned the spotlight back to her momentarily. "I don't know," she said, thinking. "I was wandering and came across this big caribou hunt up north. Moonglow had temporarily settled right by Duskfire Glacier. Some dude whose name I forget took me to meet Kukutux and I don't know," Towhee repeated. "We got along okay and I needed someplace to crash. Meerkat was nearby. But then we moved back to the pack's actual territory. I've been trying to find my place, maybe even as their second hunter, but I just don't feel like it's clicking? And then Caracal visited me not long ago—he and Killer are still traveling together—and told me Bronco and Fennec are starting a pack on the other side of the mountains. Fig's with them, apparently." Her stomach tightened. "I just feel like if I tried to join them, or Meerkat—who's landed a guy in Sapphique, by the way, and since moved there—or here, even, I'd just be..." Towhee searched for a word, then finished, "intruding." Or, in other words, unwanted.