Redsand Canyon Bid my blood to run.

By the time she recovered from her hacking fit, there were three wolves flocking toward her, none of them Ruenna. She recognized Germanicus from the other day, though the second arrival was unfamiliar... and looked decidedly unfriendly. The third figure to materialize was also vaguely familiar. She couldn't place him, until he spoke.

Her spine stiffened. Feeling decidedly surrounded, Towhee double checked her posture and resisted the urge to spit the foul flavor from her mouth. She didn't want to make any wrong moves, a realization which really struck her. Not only hadn't she pictured such an intimidating welcoming party, she hadn't anticipated bumping into someone from Akashingo here.

And that was on her, she realized, just as she wondered if she was making a huge mistake. Her stomach sank. She did want to be near Rue, plus she thought she did have something to offer Mereo. But maybe she hadn't really thought this through properly. Her incompatibilities with Akashingo's ways was apparently going to rear its ugly head. Towhee took a breath, trying to ignore it as her gag reflex triggered.

"Hello, Germanicus. You know that I'm here to discuss joining then," Towhee replied to the swarthy leader, offering him a quick smile and a respectful bob of her head.

"You're not wrong," she added to address the latest arrival's pointy words, "although it's actually Towhee Redhawk." Towhee nodded to acknowledge the false name. "Sorry, Finley Blackthorn was actually my godmother's name. I was being cautious. I didn't know the first thing about Akashingo at the time."

Trying to school her expression, Towhee offered up nothing else about their strange encounter. She'd been a little crass with her honest reaction to the entire concept of "sex toyotes," but was it enough to compromise her bid to join today? Should she reconsider anyway? Where else would she go? And what about Rue?