Perhaps in the heat of the moment at the gate, Ma'tanza's last sentence would be less true, but Tzirret was embarrassed enough by now it turned out that it was true enough for now. With Ma'tanza's words and smile, Tzirret dropped his worries. "Okay," Tzirret swallowed and nodded, "This one guesses he is just overreacting then."

Though it still held a bit of tension, Tzirret returned Ma'tanza's smile and drew her into a hug. "He is sorry for worrying about nothing," Tzirret said in a descending tone, as if his words were routine. The hug lasted longer than Tzirret intended - he even planted a kiss on the side of Ma'tanza's head - but they pulled away soon enough. Tzirret had a much more relieved smile on his face at that point. "Let's keep looking for a bath."

[hr]
Gallus didn't laugh along with Ri'vashi. He barely managed a smile. He was still looking forward in thought as Ri'vashi spoke, but he turned his eyes up to look at her by the time she finished. "But of course. If you need me, just ask around. There aren't many wolves among these clans." Gallus looked forward again, his smile fading. "I think I'll stick around for a bit, maybe do some target practice. That tends to straighten out my thoughts. I'll probably see what Meesei got out of the prisoners afterwards. I'll see to you later, Ri'vashi."