Redsand Canyon Lord knows it's taken a hell of a beating

It is. She'd been hoping for more of a clue into his thoughts on it, but she knew by now what to expect. She could leave it at that. It was a better understanding than the fear she'd worried about.

Thankfully he didn't ask her to stop because she wouldn't. Fennec would always do what she wanted with her own time, and stopping something for the sake of a paranoia she didn't understand was beyond her limits. Luckily (for Germanicus) she didn't do it often. She got more fullfillment from her gardens than she did any deception, and fucking with strangers was more fun (and less risky) when she didn't have a pack and a rank to worry about.

Fortunately for you, I have a reputation to uphold. She flicked her tail, then began to move towards him, listening in the dark. And an Imperatrix has other priorities. There were a lot of ways that she might damage Mereo's relations with other packs - she wasn't about to call herself a diplomat anytime soon. But she wouldn't do it by lying to strangers.

Not unless Mereo had something significant to be gained as a result.