Redsand Canyon Bid my blood to run.

She wasted no time retracing her steps back to Mereo, traveling overnight and fighting the glare of the rising sun until she reached the shadows cast by the Sunspires. Towhee sighed in relief, pausing to rub her sore eyes before continuing her trek toward the canyon.

When she arrived, she suddenly wondered if she'd really given @Ruenna enough time to speak with @Germanicus. It gave her enough pause that she stood there awkwardly for several minutes. Well, she wasn't going anywhere now. She was here to stay, so she might as well ring the doorbell.

Towhee raised her muzzle to howl for Mereo's leaders. She noticed the flock of mourning doves passing by overhead in an absent sort of way, though she became significantly more aware of them when one of them sent a hot, oozing torpedo of bird shit right down at her open mouth.

it was the eagle's opinion that former leadership made poor subordinates. was towhee ready to subject herself to his hierarchy? he had enjoyed speaking with her and the fact she had his wife's trust and support was enough to stay his tongue. for now.

"towhee," the imperator greeted, uncomfortable with the lack of formality between them. "it is good to see you well. lady ruenna has spoken of your coming."

there was little to do aside from wait for his wife to arrive. but if she was ready to enter mereo, the eagle was prepared to tour her through the barracks.

The call had been for the leaders, but the auxillary headed to the borders anyway. The voice was from a stranger, and he wanted to be there as backup if it was needed. 

His mood today and been shitty; he woke up grumpy and none of his usual tactics has brought him out of it. He found the smallest inconvenience  triggered his irritability. That happened sometimes, more often lately, and he just had to deal with it. 

When he arrived, he stopped just behind the imperator, his gaze cold and probing as it settled on the woman. Germanicus knew her by name, but that didn't ease the tension in his muscles. He still didn't know why she had called for the imperator and matrona.

The mercenary had been patrolling when he had heard the call.

As Arsenio approached, he noted that there were two others from Mereo who had gone to the borders. The caller was a familiar face. He remembered her from Akashingo. She’d arrived on their border and had asked about the cultures of the mesa. When she’d gotten her answers, she’d scoffed. He remembered her scoffing. Sayf had been polite about it, but even Arsenio had found the woman to be rude.

The Greek had not heard Germanicus greet her, so when he approached, he offered a knowing and toothy smile to the woman.

You get around, Finley Blackthorn.

^^

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?

germanicus did not look toward kallik but felt the young man's thorny energy. arsenio joined them next, jovial as usual, but he used a name the imperator had not heard before.

towhee seemed far less poised this time, which he supposed was to be expected given the nature of her visit. and she was cautious about the subject of akashingo, which was a positive quality in the book of the imperator.

"lady ruenna tells me that you are a master warrior and guardian." he studied towhee for an implacable moment. "part of the requirement to ascend the third cohort of ranks is a one-month tour of duty in akashingo as a palace guard." 

now he paused, waiting for her reaction. today's interview was held with no sense of nepotism. if towhee intended to be here, she would need to demonstrate her ability to command respect through skill. he believed ruenna and trusted her judgement, but mereo was a place of soldiers and so he felt he must be more firm.

The auxillary learned a few things. First, that Arsenio and Towhee also knew each other. Second was that they apparently knew each other from Akashingo and that she had lied about her identity before; the ladder was only of interest to him; Kallik could understand the need to keep your identity a secret when scouting for information. The last thing he learned was that this woman was here to join them and was apparently a master warrior and guardian. He was both intrigued and uncertain. 

He would need to know more about Towhee. But for now, he remained a wall behind the impertaor, ready to act as needed. They didn't yet know if the stranger would accept the the terms of being a soldier in Mereo.

The pale figure Kallik did not speak.

Germanicus addressed the woman. When she spoke, it was to admit that she had lied about her identity when she had been on the border of the mesa. The mercenary regarded her with a cold stare, curious to know what had compelled her to conceal her nature. If he had not been mistaken, she had seemed almost interested to join their numbers. Why do it under a false name?

The Greek did not allow for her lies to sway him. He was in a pleasant mood, and he would leave their meeting place to see his wife. Towhee, Finley Blackthorn, Arsenio did not truly care that she had given him false information. At least, he did not care until Germanicus spoke of her skills as a fighter.

She is a master of fang an espionage, then? What a treat.

The redstone wolf sneered with a breathy laugh.

What would Towhee say to the premise of serving her time in Akashingo. The last she’d been there, Arsenio recalled her leaving quickly. Could she spend a month beneath the pressing eyes of Ramesses? The man had his doubts.

Ruenna was late to the party, as always. At least she had no need to offer excuses-- her limp would speak for itself. 

She did not like the feeling in the air, when she joined the group at the border. There was something tense happening here, which should not have been the case. She had given Germanicus notice of Towhee's arrival, after all. 

Ignoring the weird atmosphere, Ruenna stepped forward to press her cheek to Towhee's shoulder in a brief embrace. Pulling back, she asked, "..What's this I'm hearing? You've managed to master espionage since I last saw you? You've had a busy twenty-four hours..." 

No doubt the humor would fall a little flat, given the current climate. However, the hug and the small joke would serve the important purpose of communicating to the auxilia that Towhee was a friend of the Matrona.

She realized her mind was racing, her defenses up because of the trio of inquisitors, particularly the latter and his indictment. Chill, Towhee instructed herself. Take some deep breaths. His remark didn't have any apparent effect on Germanicus's desire to continue the conversation, so she would take her cues from him.

She returned her whole attention to the leader, reading his lips in careful silence. Towhee nodded to acknowledge what Ruenna had told him as true, then felt her back stiffen again when he made a point to mention a stint with Akashingo. His decision to raise this point was almost uncanny. And what exactly was a palace?

It made her orange gaze flick over to the ginger—she'd never gotten his name—but she quickly looked back to Germanicus. She caught the red man's sneering laugh out of the corner of her eye but missed whatever remark accompanied it. Towhee shifted her weight. She wasn't exactly a stranger to mutual disdain, though he represented something which would require careful consideration if she was going to go through with this.

"Okay," Towhee said to the leader, pausing to gather her thoughts. She decided to speak frankly. "I still don't know much about Akashingo. If I'm honest with you, what I do know has struck me as a bit strange." She glanced at ginger. "But something I learned in particular these past couple months is that cultures vary wildly around the Teekons. And I can respect ways that are different than mine, without necessarily subscribing to them personally," she said, thinking fondly of the "moon woman."

"That said," she continued after another brief break to choose her words, "I'm not here to climb the ranks necessarily. I don't mind showing you what I'm worth. And if you agree what I have to offer is valuable, rising in the ranks accordingly." Towhee thought about striking a camaraderie with Shikoba after their first spar. "But I'm not really concerned with position as much as... purpose, I guess you could say. As Rue told you, I'm a mercenary, with lots of leadership experience too. I think I have a lot to offer as an advisor, a guardian and a mentor." She'd said the same to Kukutux, nearly word for word.

Briefly, she glanced at the palest figure still lurking in the background. Towhee then glanced past the three men, wondering if Rue was slowly shuffling her way here. The Matrona hadn't mentioned the specific terms Germanicus put before her, though it was up to Towhee alone to weigh her options and decide what staying with her friend—and facing homelessness for that matter—was worth...

Ruenna chose that moment to appear, the sight of her face and the touch of her cheek solidifying Towhee's desire to get into Mereo, even with the unpleasant parts. When the Matrona drew back and made a quip, the Redhawk could only smile at her in bemusement, silently mouthing a question.

Aloud, she echoed, "Espionage...?" She realized a beat too late that she'd missed something. Being deaf in a multi-directional conversation was a bitch sometimes. Towhee glanced at the redhead, then returned her attention to Rue. "Shit, if I don't even realize I'm a spy, does that make me a very good one? Or a very bad one?" She huffed a laugh and added a warm, "Heya, Rue."

germanicus experienced several understandings as towhee spoke and ruenna appeared.

the first was that arsenio did not like this woman. the eagle found this curious, as all present shared a healthy aversion toward the pharaoh and his palace. he did not correct the red wolf however. the former mercenary had his trust and his opinion factored strongly into certain decisions germanicus made.

the second was that towhee showed a distinct level of tactics he appreciated. she had veiled her identity at the gates to akashingo. she was mindful of her place here. she showed talent tempered by respect and spoke diplomatically as any ruler would. the question had been twofold: first to assess her willingness to work in a place she did not understand, and secondly to push against her sense of ambition. germanicus more and more approved of towhee though of course this would not show upon the trained lines of his darksilver face.

the third truth came when his wife appeared and germanicus felt his mien shift to one more relaxed. kallik remained cold and arsenio remained aloof. but the matrona welcomed towhee with a familiarity that somehow made him feel displaced. it reminded the eagle that he had not yet achieved the easy greetings and warm knowingness with his own mate. 

but anyone watchful might notice how his yellowpaint eyes lingered upon her, and how the reined ghost of a smile appeared upon his mouth when she had drawn near. "it means spymanship comes so easily to you that you find it second nature," he said with his own dry humour, glancing between the pair.

his gaze was upon towhee once more. "i believe mereo is the place you will find this purpose." he gestured to the pale auxillary. "this is kallik. and this is arsenio, as you know. he is also a mercenary and served as a guard inside akashingo for a tour." a pause. "the pharaoh and his ilk are not well-liked in mereo. he meant us to be an outpost. it has become more than that, and for this i offer thanks to lady ruenna. the palace is indeed a strange place. but i mean for there to be an understanding between us. this is why soldiers are contracted to work in his land for a time and this is why ramesses understands that i am not his servant."

there was time enough to learn about the mesa.

"in the days to come, the auxillia are to be promoted. i would like you to collect three assessments from among them and report to me their potential for guardianship, warriorhood, or tactics. you may conduct these as you see fit and you may utilize any space in mereo to do this." germanicus kept his attention upon towhee now. would she see this as an order or as an opportunity?

The arrival of the matrona did nothing to ease the tension within the auxillary. He already knew of their familiarity from when he first got here, so the fact that Ruenna greeted the stranger as a friend didn't make him any less suspicious of her; it addressed none of his concerns. The joking was an unnecessary delay that he ignored completely. 

And Arsenio's words only fed his own distrust of the situation. He decided he would need to find the man later and ask him some questions. 

Towhee sounded fairly reasonable which, admittedly, made her more intriguing. Not enough that he trusted anything she said yet. 
 
The imperator was as impossible to read as always. Well, aside from the way he looked at the matrona and visibly relaxed in her presence. It was like she had put some kind of spell on him, and Kallik couldn't tell if made her more or less suspicious than before.

What finally pulled anything but a cold, blank expression from Kallik's face was the task Towhee was given to prove her skills. His jaw clenched and irritation flashed in his eyes for a few seconds before he could get himself under control. The imperator was going to base their promotions on the words of someone who didn't know them; someone who had no idea of their skills. Most important, she was someone who he didn't trust. He was not happy about this. But as he had learned many times over: it didn't matter what he did and didn't like. 

His surliness grew more intense and he suddenly wanted to be anywhere other than here. He would give no one the satisfaction of knowing how he truly felt, though, so he remained planted in place, gaze shifting down to the ground until the meeting was over.

The woman seemed to have shed some of her prudishness in her time wandering. Arsenio wondered what had caused the turn in character. He wondered further if she was only playing a part to gain the approval of the man who’s ranks she sought to join. Trust was a difficult thing to be earned. So far, he had seen two very different faces on the woman.

All the while, he could not help but wonder why she would risk the name of her godmother. Akashingo was not the place to be so foolish. His mention of her skills in espionage had been intended sarcastically. It seemed no one had collected as much. Arsenio did not care.

Germanicus would do what he believed was best. The Greek would trust his judgement. Towhee could be spoken to later. The mercenary was curious to know if her new face would hold up.

Arsenio stood quietly, waiting for the woman to accept the terms set before her. With Ruenna’s blessing, there would be no doubt that she would have a place of worth in their group. It would be curious to see what she did for Mereo.

Ruenna was not used to seeing Towhee on edge, but then again she was not used to seeing Towhee anywhere she did not rule the roost. To Towhee's silent question, she replied with the mouthed answer, trust me. She would have signed it in ptero, but she worried that the already dubious-looking auxilia would be suspicious if she gave any indication of the fact that she and Towhee shared a secret language. 

Ruenna's joke was met with humor by Towhee and Germanicus and stony silence by the auxilia. As much as it irked Ruenna for her friend to have such a cold welcoming party, at least Towhee would now have an example of the kind of attitudes they were up against here. Towhee would be able to advise her from a place of understanding, when they finally had a chance to speak privately. 

Germanicus spoke then, peeling back another layer of the political situation in Mereo as he touched on the bad blood between the packs. This was a piece that Ruenna had not told to Towhee beforehand. In Ruenna's opinion, the looming threat to Mereo was not the Saints, but Akashingo. As it was right now, the understanding between Akashingo and Mereo held on by a thread.

Ruenna gaze steadily at Towhee, hoping to project trust me vibes at her friend until they were able to conference. Germanicus offered Towhee a task right away; one designed to help her get to know the auxilia. However, her role as an evaluator was not likely to instill a whole lot of goodwill. Perhaps that was the point. Perhaps Germanicus didn't care if the auxilia liked Towhee. ..Perhaps he didn't want the auxilia to like Towhee...

Germanicus joined in on the joking, which went a long way in tempering some of her remaining tension. But he quickly returned to a more businesslike demeanor as he expressed his opinion about whether Towhee suited Mereo, and vice versa. He formally introduced the two other men flanking him and she laughed a little on the inside at the words, "This is Arsenio, as you know." Well, now she did.

Her lips parted in surprise when he informed her that her opinion of Akashingo was by no means unique in Mereo. That simple bit of knowledge really sealed the deal for her, along with Rue's warm presence beside her. When Germanicus mentioned Ruenna's influence on his pack's structure, Towhee smiled knowingly. Rue had a habit of elevating the leadership, that was for sure, and she was particularly adept at smoothing out rough edges.

Germanicus said a word she didn't quite catch. She supposed the exact term didn't matter much at the moment, as she was able to gather from the context that it was a rank. Her eyes sparked when he outlined a task for her. It sounded like a clever way to put her skills to the test. Pitting her against perfect strangers would be challenging in more ways than one, she knew, especially after glancing at the silent duo in the background. She snorted lightly. Towhee understood the assignment.

Her head dipped. "I accept your terms," Towhee said to Germanicus, then promptly shifted her eyes to Kallik and Arsenio. "Are you two of the—Auxiliaries?" The word came out quite haltingly and she glanced at the leading pair in case either one wanted to correct her pronunciation. Then she looked back to the Auxillaries. "I would like to work with you first," she said to Arsenio, "and then you," she added to Kallik, wondering how they—and Germanicus and Rue—would react.

the pale wolf recoiled into himself. arsenio remained hard. germanicus felt that both of these reactions were suitable for soldiers. towhee seemed to take a great deal in stride. this had been a particularly grueling interview but she had come through it and gained a higher esteem in the imperator's mind.

kallik would need time to cool his head the eagle felt. towhee was wise to choose arsenio first.

there had come an edge to his scarlet friend since he had departed akashingo. it meant that his time there had been highly affecting. germanicus made a mental note within his mind to take the former mercenary aside. perhaps they would go outside mereo this time.

ruenna's attention was perceptive and centered around towhee. "very good," he rumbled in response to towhee's choices. "i am giving you the same rank as they for now, pending your report. after everyone has been shifted, i believe it would be important that you took a position reflective of your abilities." it was a gambit designed to level the ground between the redhawk and the rest of the auxillia.

germanicus was not one to placate. towhee would train the less experienced wolves. he wanted them to be well-rounded, and that included taking instruction from those with different masteries. but this explanation would only be condescending for kallik and arsenio at the moment. "we rise early and work late. welcome to mereo, towhee."

he wanted to give ruenna a chance to speak with her companion, and so stood back. "i will give you a tour of our training grounds this evening." the day was long. perhaps she might rest in between. but this was the jurisdiction of the matrona and germanicus was happy to surrender the reins of their meeting to ruenna with a softer look.

Towhee spoke directly to him and Arsenio, and Kallik met her with icy silence. He wouldn't be outright disrespectful of the imperator's wishes, but he wouldn't be friendly either. 

His focus started to turn inward, into his angry thoughts. He could tell the imperator was speaking, but he couldn't process the words. 

When Germanicus turned to leave, Kallik turned as well and quickly trotted off without another word to anyone.

The woman spoke to him first.

Arsenio offered her a toothy smile.

Yes, you settle in. Find a den. I will call to you and we will run my favorite path for patrols, hm?

Kallik did not speak in response. The redstone wolf regarded him with a small nod, a comrade’s motion. He would find the pale fighter and speak to him, later. Germanicus had said before that he wished for Arsenio to know the other soldiers in Mereo. It was as good a time to start as any. If they were to have a family in the spring, the Greek man wished to have a sound future waiting for them.

Without offering another word, the red figure dipped his head to Germanicus, offered a small nod of respect to Ruenna, and turned to prowl back through the canyons in search of something to occupy his time and mind.

Last for me!

Ruenna nodded, affirming Towhee's pronunciation of auxiliary. Either auxilia or auxiliary was fine, the terms were interchangeable. 

She was a little surprised to hear her friend accept membership so readily, expecting that Towhee would have more questions before jumping in with both feet. 

Towhee wasted no time in setting up the assessments for Kallik and Arsenio. Arsenio responded with a smile and agreement, but Kallik made no indication he had even heard. It was an attitude that Ruenna thought he reserved only for the civilians, but apparently he was surly with everyone.

Germanicus would tour the training grounds with Towhee tonight. "I'll show you to the barracks," Ruenna offered, eager to speak with Towhee away from the suspicious and judgmental ears and eyes of the other soldiers.

Germanicus mentioned promoting her after she completed her task. Towhee didn’t know the first thing about the hierarchy here yet, but she wondered if he intended to place her above the current Auxillia, including the two present. Was he deliberately trying to build resentment among them? She had to wonder. She would definitely like speak to him more about this condition later, maybe when they toured the training grounds. For now, she merely nodded to acknowledge his remarks, limp tail giving a few grateful twitches.

Her attention shifted to the two other soldiers. Kallik didn’t even acknowledge her, which was as rude as it was unsurprising, given what Germanicus had just said. Towhee didn’t say anything or react, instead turning to face Arsenio as he grinned toothily at her. Whoa, uncanny valley. He’d pretty blatantly tried to throw her under the bus for behaving rudely at Akashingo’s borders, and now he spoke to her like they would be bosom buddies. It was definitely hard to get a bead on him, though she would get more of an opportunity later.

She opened her mouth to let him know she wouldn’t be able to hear his call, yet all three men soon turned their backs and left. Towhee gazed after them, not at all sure what to think of what had just transpired, at least until her orange eyes drifted to the only wolf who remained. Ruenna’s face reminded her of why she was here.

What are barracks? Towhee replied, smiling at her friend and motioning for her to lead the way.

It was definitely tempting to unload her thoughts on the Matrona now that they were alone, though perhaps she shouldn’t. She didn’t like the idea of being unable to speak freely with her friend but, well, this was an entirely new dynamic in Mereo. She would just have to find her footing and adapt accordingly. Either way, she was pretty sure it was worth it, just based on the happy relief she felt walking beside Ruenna again.

The men withdrew quickly, as they were prone to doing. If there was no chance at a battle, and no tactics to discuss, the military minds were easily bored. 

Towhee asked her question, and Ruenna chuckled. "The barracks is the densite for the soldiers. You'll see." Ruenna would stick to Towhee's side until Germanicus called for the new recruit, seeing as they had never gotten around to mentioning Towhee's deafness to the Imperator. Towhee would need someone to let her know when it was time for her tour.

Towhee trusted Ruenna pretty much implicitly, so she simply replied, Okay. And then, still reveling in their shared homestead, she remembered to tell her, Oh, before I forget, I floated the idea of an alliance past Kukutux before I headed this way. She seemed more than open to it. I told her it was up to you and Germanicus, of course. There was no bad blood re: my departure. Even if Mereo didn’t see the need for a formal relationship, they would probably be glad to know Towhee hadn’t come with that brand of baggage.

But enough with the business talk. It’s good to be here, with you. I know it’ll be an adjustment but, well, that’s a price I’m willing to pay, to be back with someone she considered family, and to hopefully find a sense of purpose and home here in Mereo.

An alliance with Moonglow was an excellent suggestion. "I like that idea," Ruenna replied. "Meerkat would be proud of your Ambassador-ing. Or.. is it ambassa-ding? Ambassing?" She tilted her head questioningly for a split second before breaking into chuckles. It felt good to be joking around with an old friend. She hadn't realized how much she missed the whole casual interaction thing. Socialization in Mereo was very scripted, but perhaps that was an area in which Towhee could assist? Towhee had never been much for doing anything by the book. It was one of the reasons she was so uniquely wonderful. 

"Mereo is very young," Ruenna replied to Towhee's last statement. "There are ways that Mereo can adjust to you, too." Ruenna felt similarly to Towhee in that now that she had a close friend here, she would go to many lengths to keep her. "If things could be better, if something could be improved... you just have to ask." She smiled. She then directed Towhee around a bend in the canyon wall. They had arrived at the pack's common ground, which was bordered by the neat row of cubby-holes dug into the side of the canyon. Home, sweet home.

Am-bad-ass-ing, Towhee supplied with a cheeky grin. When Ruenna broke into chuckles, her eyes danced. She couldn’t hear the sound of them, of course, but the way her friend’s face contorted made her own mouth twist into a wolfish grin, right before she huffed a laugh.

She didn’t say anything right away when Rue explained that Mereo was somewhat malleable, being so new. Towhee wouldn’t mind helping shape it, though she wasn’t here to throw her weight around. She had ruled the Redhawks a long time—most of her life—but that era was in the past. Towhee was ready to embrace a new role, one that was more in the backseat. Well, maybe in the front, but in the passenger seat.

They approached what looked like a bunch of doorways set in stone. Huh, she remarked, looking over it all. This place is very unique. It’s like nowhere I’ve ever been. Her eyes traced back to the Matrona’s face. And I like it for that. When Moonglow returned to the spine and it turned out to be just like the caldera, I thought it was a good thing, at first. But then it just depressed me. So I’m glad for an actual change of scenery.

She returned her gaze to their surroundings, orange eyes climbing the reddish brown walls of the canyon and peering at the blue sky overhead. Her head dropped and she turned slightly, peering behind them and sweeping the whole of the ravine. Yeah, living here was going to be very different in a lot of ways. Even patrolling was going to be a whole new venture. And despite her lukewarm welcoming party, Towhee Redhawk suddenly felt absolutely ready for it all.

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