Redsand Canyon saepenumero

Fennec settled herself near Killdeer, silently waiting. She'd expected a conversation before this but was not about to complain; this was essentially what she'd suggested and it felt necessary. She'd been thinking these past few days herself, and speaking with others about their experiences in Mereo. Doing it this way was very Germanicus; it was expedient, but not entirely personal.

The woman Fennec had recently met spoke up first. Fennec let a brief pause extend after, then decided to share her own thoughts. Fuck it. She wasn't sure how much of the pack knew about their mateship, but if they didn't, they were going to think she was way out of line.

As if I've ever been in line.

I think there's a better way to look at it. Fuck, already there's a blind joke. Mereo's one pack. It should have one purpose, and dividing us doesn't do any good. Ranking some skills differently, or above others, doesn't either. All it does is make certain members feel less important. Less heard, or seen.

Loyalty should be just as important as skill. Maybe even more, in some cases. But right now, everything's restrictive. And everything depends on you to lead it. But you can't be everywhere. Fennec didn't need to worry about meeting his gaze, but she did wonder about his reaction. This wasn't about his pride.

The ranks should reflect value to Mereo, not value to some battle we may or may not fight. Or to some pack that isn't ours. Akashingo. He'd explained why the relationship existed, and she agreed to it... but she didn't like how heavily Germanicus considered it a part of the ranking process. Or how it felt, as a result, that they were an army at Akashingo's beck and call.

She went quiet, finished. Their last conversation still sat heavily in her thoughts too, and the distance between them made saying all of this easier. She worried less about how he felt about it.

And then a final thought came to her, and it brought out a genuine smile with how well it might inform him exactly where his understanding had been mistaken. It was exactly the kind of thing he would understand. Mereo isn't an army. It's a fortress.