Katja's returned to Ebony lands was a slow, limping ordeal with the wounds in her leg and the stiffening bruises. It was difficult to drink with her mouth so battered as well, her tongue swollen and the cut on her lip breaking open often. It was fitting this would be her first visit as alpha of Yfir - here, to Ebony, the pack that had given her shelter and purpose when she'd lost hers, the pack that had given her a taste of what it was to be an alpha, the pack that she had given oaths... so rare for her... not once but twice, where she'd been released from the first and fulfilled the second. Coming to a halt before the border she lifted her head and called out to Val, her valkyrie, an acknowledgement of one alpha to another, equals, requesting her presence at the border. As she waited, she took a moment to read the scent markers. Ebony was holding together beneath Val's leadership despite her youth, and in fact had grown. This was good - Valeriya's time on her own had strengthened her and tempered her, and she was proving herself as an alpha. This was good. Would she blame Katja for abandoning her to her fate? The border she'd chosen was as much out of nostalgia as it was anything else. The lake region was where she'd held the festival. Where Auora had been sacrificed. Where she'd been buried with great honor. Where Katja had been granted that one brief moment of clarity, of knowing that this pack, her pack, must happen. She had been tempted by the urge to pass the border and walk like a ghost among the old places, to visit Auora and to speak with her, but she was an Ebony wolf no longer and never again would be. So, she remained at the border as she waited upon the new Xanilov of Ebony. Would Val hate her for fighting to take the pack that had been Raisa's lover's? Or for keeping Virgil's children against their will? Would she be surprised? Katja was surprised - surprised to find that she was actually uneasy, almost nervous about this meeting. "

The woman's song came upon Val suddenly, yet it took no time at all to discern. She would always know that voice and it was with a jubilant grin that the auburn Queen bounded to her paws and began a headlong rush for the border. If at all she had showed her youthful spirit since becoming queen it was now, but she could not curb the instinct to rush to Katja's side. Not only had the valiant woman been her mentor and caregiver, she had also come to be Val's strongest role model. She raced along the lakeside, paws kicking up sand and shells, gathering grime in the fur that coated her belly. She was neither distinguished nor regal, yet she could not care. Katja had come back! At once the memories of the last time she had seen her teacher rushed to the surface of her mind, and it seemed to weigh down her steps. She had become a queen that day, and she had also lost a a sister. She would never blame Katja for this, how could she, but it was bittersweet all the same. Val remembered the dark healer's words, and with whatever sense of introspection the gods had graced her with, she looked down at herself. Her mahogany legs were tan with lake grime and she smelled of muck. Her fur was disheveled from running the borders just earlier that day, and she knew she looked more puplike than anything else. Her jaw clenched, and she wavered. It hurt her, somewhere inside, to curb these carefree tendencies... She diverted her for a moment only, wading through the lake, submerging herself for as long as her lungs would allow, shaking herself beneath the surface. The water was a cold shock compared to the day's heat, but upon surfacing the grime on and under her coat sloughed away. Trudging back to shore she shook out the residual dampness and walked with a ginger step towards the treeline, towards the path that awaited her. The trail carried her to the border and before long she broke free from the woods and came into the open space that marked the entry to her lands. Katja looked the worse for wear, and concern washed away the rest of the young valkyrie's thoughts. "Katja! What on earth happened to you?" She rushed forwards and let her jaw drop, taking in her wounds. She had half a mind to throw back a howl and call for her brother, or Max or Adelaide (not that she'd seen either recently.) "Do you need a healer?" She was more than surprise that Katja had waited to be invited in, seeing as in Val's mind Ebony would always be open to her as a home. Once a wolf of Ebony, always a wolf of Ebony, no matter what. "Talk" "You" Think

As her eyes stared unfocused over the border, the sound of pawsteps reached her and dragged her from her reverie, and she blinked slowly up at Valeriya Xanilov's concerned features. "Much has happened since last we saw one another, Valkyrie." She ignored Val's question about a healer for the moment, though her voice slurred slightly, partly from the wounds of her mouth and partly from exhaustion and dehydration from the long journey undertaken while wounded - but the uninjured side of her muzzle rose to bare a single fang in a faintly triumphant smirk. "I have challenged for a pack. I won." The smile faded as quickly as it had come, and she stood, stretching the sore muscles across her lower back. "If you be amenable, I should like to ally Yfir to Ebony in bonds of close friendship." She hesitated then, gold-flecked silver eyes boring into Val's. "But there are things in fairness I should tell you before you do be making that decision." Once more she paused, dipping her head absently to lick the wounds on her leg as she tried to piece together what to tell Val. It was rarely so hard to say what she meant, but rarely were things so important to her as the Xanilovs had come to be. Finally, raising her eyes to meet Val's gaze once more, she just spat it out, the words coming swift and clipped as though she were simply reciting a litany of her sins, which in a way she was. "It was Olympus I did challenge for, though Virgil was alpha no longer. Olympus as a pack is no more. Your four siblings through Virgil I claimed into Yfir as well as their two young siblings in vengeance for your littermates' abductions and my losses to Virgil. They are to be treated well unless they attempt escape, at which point the offender will be made a thrall of Yfir. The Olympus family will undoubtedly wish to punish Yfir for this and if you ally with me you may find Ebony enmeshed within a war not of your making. Virgil has given me one week to heal and to release her children or she intends to kill or maim me. I do not intend to release them. And that is what you would be getting into if you were to ally with Yfir." She continued to watch Val, her expression stoic and distant though inside she was intently focused and... yes, nervous. OOC: Sorry. Katja just doesn't shut up in this post.

Valeriya was at once overjoyed. Katja had struck out on a quest of her own and succeeded. Val had not gotten many details from the sooty femme before her departure, but she had heard enough of the once-Queen's announcement to know that this had been her intention. She moved to congratulate her mentor, but she continued to speak. An alliance would suit the younger auburn fae just fine, and she had a mind to say so, despite Katja's seemingly rambling torrent. "Katja, there is nothing that would keep my kin and I from your side should-" She attempted to speak over the older woman, but her voice trailed off as her words sank in. She had taken... Olympus? Valeriya's vision darkened at the edges and her ears began to ring. Whether it was anger or apprehension that brought about the tilt in the earth, or even whence they had come... she could not say. Hearing the name of her pseudo mother set her head to spinning. She shook her broad skull slowly from side to side, trying to chase the thoughts away, not wanting to consider their weight. The woman who had stolen her siblings... Who had turned Svet into a monster. Kassander had not been the same since her return either, and she had oft wondered if his discomfort's source lay within their pack borders. Virgil could burn for all she cared, and the gods could strike her down for saying so. She was no family of hers, adoptive mother or not. If she had borne them any love at all the golden goddess would not have treated them the way she did but... The children were innocent, at least as far as she knew! To think of any of them holed up somewhere that was foreign to them, to be crushed as her own loved ones had been. It was a hard thing to consider. She saw their faces in her mind, rotund in youth and joyful in their ignorance, overlapped with the idea of imprisonment. She swallowed hard, almost choking with the effort of it. She felt ice cold, despite the heat of the day. "Is there any other way?" He voice was thick with emotion, a toxic mixture of anger lacking a target and a sister's fear for those she was not sure she loved. "Katja, Svetlana's imprisonment ruined her. We may not share blood, but Virgil's children are Raisa's as well. I would see Virgil bleed out and rot where she fell for what she has done to my siblings, I could not bear to come to look at you in the same light. Separate them from their blood kin if you must, I wouldn't ask you to deny the spoils of a victory or a lesson well learned for the scumblood who acted against my family, but..." She worked her jaw, worried her teeth, gnashed them together in indecision. Her head was spinning and she sat down with a graceless 'thwump.' "What if they came here? This is where Raisa's children belong, do they not? Where they will be safe?" It was soft. Soft and a shameful weakness she had trouble expressing to the warlike woman who had spent a good portion of Val's childhood rearing her siblings and teaching them her ways and customs. It was a low blow, hinting at the oath sworn to her mother, but Val couldn't bear the thought of standing by while something like this went on... if she could help it. Would she stand against Katja is stark opposition? No, of course not. She could never. And if her mentor believed that this was the course that must be followed, that her gods demanded it... Well, Valeriya would acquiesce. But she could help envisioning her mother's face if were to come upon them at that instant, overhearing what had been said. "Talk" "You" Think

She didn't expect Valeriya to fully understand Katja's reasons for doing what she did - she hoped she did not, that she had retained some of the childlike innocence Katja herself had never truly had. The change in Val as Katja spoke was palpable, no longer so happy to see her or to congratulate her and Katja closed her eyes briefly in acceptance of her anger. She let Val speak without interruption, even tilting her head to the side as she considered the emotional words. Her questions raised a worm of uncertainty within Katja, but the viking shook her head finally. "It would put you at far greater risk if I brought them here." But it was a thought that itched and refused to be dismissed so easily - she had never really considered Virgil's children to be Raisa's, even if Virgil had assumed Raisa's to be hers, instead thinking of the two litters as fosterlings raised together but considered separate... but Val's words were a disconcertingly emotional reminder that Raisa and Virgil had been more than that to each other. The tip of her tail gave a single violent twitch at the discomfort. She leaned forward intently. "I can fix this, Valeriya. They will not be abandoned and ignored, left alone with their fears and their bitterness until they are twisted and emptied as your siblings were. They will receive the same training, the same support as any of my wolves. I will care for them as I cared for Ebony and for your siblings when Raisa left. This could change them for the better." She pulled back slightly, studying Val's features. The Xanilov was upset and rightfully, but if she could just be made to understand the benefits then perhaps... She wanted to tell her what had come to light in the chaos of the challenge, of her Olympus siblings' aunt and uncle's attempt to kill their own child and the way they had acted, these wolves Virgil had left to safeguard the children Katja had taken... but the words wouldn't come. "I hate Virgil Olympus more than I ever thought possible." The softly voiced confession slipped from her muzzle instead, the tone laced with all the frustration and rage and despair that had coiled within her since she had lost Raisa's children to the Olympian, the emotions that failed to express upon her stony features. Perhaps it clouded her judgement in this, perhaps she was willing to hurt these children simply to get back at Virgil. But... "I'm sorry, my Valkyrie. I do not wish to harm these children, but this is the only way I can see." Except she was not unmoved by Val's words, not as she might appear. The request she'd made of Katja refused to go away - nor would Katja's absolute conviction that given the Olympus children to Ebony would make Valeriya the target of Virgil's wrath. The viking sat stiffly, body nearly quivering in reaction. "

Val looked down at her paws, drawing in a deep breath while she envisioned Virgil and whatever followers remained to her showing up at Ebony's borders. Declaring war, and moving against her own companions. It was... difficult to say the least, but not impossible. Val was well aware that the day might come where she would have to lead her pack to war, or to watch her friends die in the jaws of another. It would chill her blood and churn her gut, but the youth was very much a realist. It was not this idea that stayed her tongue as Katja spoke on, but the words that would come after. Despite the trials, despite the fact that it had not been her burden to bear, the dark woman had done well by Valeriya and her siblings. She had kept Ebony safe, preserved Raisa's legacy when it was Valeriya who should have been there. The young girl ground her teeth and looked to the side, considering if she would press the issue. When push came to shove, Katja has always been as good as her word, if not better. She was a woman to be relied upon, who set her mind in stone. Val sighed. Her whisper, when she spoke, was hoarse. "...I trust you, Katja." Prisoners in their own home... Well, it was better than her siblings had been offered. At least they were together, as opposed to scattered across the realm. Her heart ached for Sigmarr and Sindri, her wayward kin who she was beginning to think she would never see again. Her mother was gone, her other sister hated her. Her head remained bowed in an effort to hide the tears trickling down her cheeks. The auburn queen burned with shame. How on earth had she allowed this to happen? Shaming herself like this, and Katja only a pace away, but it hurt. "I hate Virgil, too," she admitted in a quiet way, slow as to hide the sobs which threatened to choke her. "She broke Svet, she did something to Kassander too. He hasn't said as much, but... And now here were are in this mess. She hasn't come to call on me once, or Kass either. She doesn't care about any of us, not really. All she cares about it her stupid pride." Her tone was dark but impotent, lacking vigor. She drew in a shuddering breath, wanting desperately to find Raisa and ask for her wisdom, ask for her help. Katja had her own pack to tend now, and it felt all at once as if Val was finally, truly, on her own. It hardened something inside of her, some strange mixture of conviction and folly. There was no going back to change the past, and apologizing would only get her so far. "I understand," she told Katja at last. Righteousness turned revenge was as sweet a surrender as any. She'd learned that when she'd forsaken her family for her own selfish desires. Whenever the repercussions came, Val would just have to be ready. She shook her head slowly. "And... you don't need to apologize. If you change your mind, they will always be welcome here. I wouldn't mind visiting either, if you'd allow it?" The question was accompanied with withered smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but at least it was honest. She was homesick, not for the lands themselves but the wolves who made it feel that way. Even those she had not seen in so long. Virgil's children were beyond her control, but Sig and Sin, Raisa and Svetlana... I must find a General, and Masters for the knights. We have to grow stronger. We have to bring my family home... "Talk" "You" Think

It was times like this that reminded Katja what it was like to have a heart. Times like this, when Val's own hurt broke Katja's heart and reminded her - love was pain. Pain, as your heart cracked and bled for the love you bore. The sharp ache in your chest with each beat, because the person you loved was hurting and it was your fault. This was why she didn't love. Hadn't loved... no one had meant this much to her in her life except Auora... Love was pain. Weakness. How had she come to care so deeply for these children of Raisa Xanilov? "Valeriya..." The name was breathed out on a shaken sigh. Her resolve for vengeance was unabated, and she would not put Ebony at risk by giving over custody of the pups, but there must be some way of making this right between them. Maybe the answer lay in Val's request to be able to visit. Her breath hissed out between her teeth. Perhaps it was the willingness to trust Katja despite this, or the chipping away of Valeriya's innocence, but even though Val had said she understood Katja was acutely aware that she needed to do something to keep that faith, to be worthy of it. She was not, could never be, anything but what she was, but maybe... something had to bend or this whole thing would shatter around her already. "How much do you trust these siblings of yours, Valkyrie?" she asked in a low, intent voice. "Are they true to their word?" "

Perhaps she was a fool. Bothering a warrior of such esteem with her petty emotions... In retrospect Val could only wonder what had come over her. The young girl forced herself to take a deep breath, to collect herself, to bring it all back in. Katja's voice was so soft when she said her name, the pity there like acid on the younger woman's skin. Her eyes squeezed shut, fighting against it. She would not accept it because she didn't need it. And then she would ask after her trust? It was a laughable concept that Valeriya should be able to put faith of any sort into a single one of her family members. Excepting Kass they had all abandoned her, and even he had loathed her in their youth. Perhaps she was cursed! But no, to trust the Olympian children she would have to know them. "I trust the foggy, fragmented memories of what might have been my youth, but as for who they have grown to become? I can't say. Don't put that burden of speaking for them on my shoulders." Her voice was bitter and she regretted it the instant her speech dried up. All Katja was trying to do was show that she cared, and Val was being a brat. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It's not fair for me to throw all this at you. I'm just confused, and... It's a lot at once." It would take time before she could sort this all out, force it to make sense in her mind. She couldn't picture Katja being to Olympians what she had once been to her. Would she teach them the legends about her heroes, or how to fight properly? They weren't babies anymore, and maybe the window for learning from their elder's had passed. Maybe the ill will would be too much, but only time would tell. The problem was that Val didn't want to wait, she just wanted it all to stop. Or better yet for time to go backwards, back to before she knew how much she had to loose. "Talk" Think "You"

Val spoke bitter words, hurt words, and Katja accepted them as what she deserved, merely nodding as they were thrown at her. "You are right; it is not your responsibility to speak for them. You have no need to apologize - I should not have put you in this position," she murmured. She let the silence collect for a moment as she maneuvered vague plans and thoughts into coherency, allowing it to coalesce into something more communicable than the bone deep feeling that was Freyja's hand upon her, before speaking again. "I cannot give them to Ebony without putting you at unnecessary risk," she repeated yet again. "But perhaps if the yearlings... your siblings... are willing to give their parole and accept an escort... if you are willing perhaps they could choose to come stay here. Yfir would retain them as members, but they would be allowed to choose to live in Ebony. An exchange if you will - training for them from among your people and less taxing of Yfir's resources for whatever it is that we can provide you." Somehow this didn't much feel better than having hurt Val to begin with, and it didn't entirely sit well with Katja. Regardless of the fancy words she could dress it up in, it still felt like she was dropping her problems onto Ebony instead of dealing with the consequences herself. This way, Virgil would have no reason to go after Valeriya and Ebony to get them back - it would still be Katja's choice of whether to give them their freedom or not, not Val's - but it might make it easier for the Xanilovs to swallow. Still, it wasn't entirely a comfortable offer to make... for either of them. OOC: If this doesn't 100% make sense to someone I can explain it OOC better I think, I'm just really tired and the words aren't coming easily today. XD

To some extent, Val did not expect compromise from Katja. She would have not blinked if the darker femme had held fast and laid down her judgement. Valeriya would have acquiesced. Yet there she stood looking something close to shamefaced. Val's heart broke a bit more for the woman who had had such a hand in raising her, in her very pack's survival. Katja, despite what she seemed to think, did not owe the girl one damn thing. Her kindness was almost painful. The auburn queen thought of her siblings lounging about amongst the ruins, by the lakeside. She also thought about them cursing her name, calling her just another warden, but even if they did not approve they would be loved. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Whatever it takes," she swore, and to herself vowed that no kin of hers, blood or otherwise, would ever go wanting for a safe haven ever again. Perhaps they would help me find Raisa... she thought quietly, almost afraid to give life to the idea. If they were a thing like her blood siblings they probably felt equally betrayed. She could give the dark woman and uneasy smile now, and for all that it wavered it was genuine. "Thank you, Katja," she said with solemn conviction. The Queen bowed her head to her mentor, now her fellow alphess, in both respect and admiration. One day she would become as Katja was. Sturdy and reliable, bound by her oaths and convictions, dedicated to those she followed and led alike. A woman to move mountains, to change the world. No matter how she might see herself, to Val she would always be an icon. "Talk" "You" Think