Haunted Wood Grim, grinning ghosts.

Towhee felt a flash of heat crowd beneath her jaw as she remembered saying nearly these same words to Eljay a few days prior. She forced that thought from her mind. She refused to think back on that hideously awkward moment or the aborted question she'd tried to ask. There was no hope in that direction, hence why she was about to bark up another tree...

Thinking more carefully of her wording this time, the Sovereign said, "Before I get into it, I want you to know I fully understand it's a strange thing to ask. You can absolutely say 'no,' there'll be no hard feelings. I know it goes against a lot of... traditions." She paused to gather her wits, then drove at the heart of it. "I want to have more pups in the spring. I don't have a mate—and don't want one—and this leaves me with the task of finding a suitable donor, for lack of a better term. I was wondering if," she finished with a mild swallow, "you might know anyone."

That wasn't very specific, Towhee realized. But she felt like she'd hemmed and hawed enough. She'd give Hydra a chance to react to the information before piling on any more. Speaking of which, her orange eyes roved carefully over the mountain queen's face, wondering what thoughts stirred in that cunning head of hers.