Redsand Canyon laichen

His wife.

Of all the curiosities that could have taken hold, this was the word that caught Ruenna's attention. She might have wondered why they were alone and nameless. She might have wondered what had come of Diaspora. Or Stigmata. 

But no. She only wondered if Mahler's wife was at all like herself. 

Ruenna's musings were interrupted as Kallik took his leave. "Thank you auxilia," she murmured. 

Mahler requested a conversation, and Ruenna was powerless to do anything but indulge him.  

"Yes, this way." She would lead him into the canyon and toward the pack's commons area. Kallik would appreciate this choice in space for its openness, she presumed. Good for keeping watch from afar. Rue also thought there was a good chance her husband might catch sight of them and join. 

"It sounds like you mean to put down roots in the hollow," Ruenna observed. How long ago it was, when together they sought to claim the entirety of the Sunspires! How young they were then, and how embarrassingly vain and foolish.