Things since seeing Raisa, since leaving Ebony, had been hard. Not to mention there was now this ever-looming notion that she was, at her core, just like her mother. I mean she'd just left and... But at the same time, how could she stay? Valeriya was suffocated by her 'family' lands, by all those half-malicious stares, all those wolves who wished Raisa had never lost it. Nope, she told herself. Nope, nope, nope. Don't think about that. Instead she narrowed her eyes and flashed her teeth at the world. Raisa was useless, and her turning up when she did hadn't done a thing to help anyone. And despite her best efforts, she hadn't been able to pick up even the slightest trace of Sigmarr or Sindri. She closed her eyes and tried to picture them, and was alarmed to find that the young memories she had of them were growing fuzzy. It was with these closed eyes that she ran headlong into a border line. Alarmed she lept back again, carefully placing herself on the right side of things. That had been close. But it wasn't until her second breath that she realized how familiar this scent was... Valentine? She smirked, remembering the gargantuan man she'd raced that past winter. She chuckled and tossed back her head, calling out for him. So he was a pack wolf? Who would've guessed! "Talk" "You" Think

 

Ah, Valeriya. Her name came to him easily. How could he possibly forget her? Her voice came to him on the wind, instantly bringing a smile to his lips. Valen set off immediately to see her, long legs eating up the distance with ease. When he arrived at the border, the brute slowed to allow himself time to study her. She looked exactly the same; as beautiful as he remembered. Finally he stood before her, a smirk on his lips. Quirking a brow, he queried, “You looking for a rematch or didja just miss me?” He was hoping for the latter, but the former could be a good place to start. “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.

He was prompt, which surprised her in a way. Part of her had wondered if he would show up at all, and she was ready to shrug off that reality... But there he was. Fur all blue and dark, every bit as giant as she remembered, and she was no small fry herself. She rolled her eyes, humming "Guys and their egos." Even so, it was strangely nice to see him. After so long looking for specific wolves, it was a little bit gratifying to see his familiar face. "I won't lie though, it's nice to see you again. I caught your scent on the wind and decided to drop in." Travel still intrigued her, roaming the wilds was still something she enjoyed, but it was getting hard to reconcile her purpose. She'd crisscrossed the realm, checked nooks and crannies alike but... Nothing. Maybe she did need to take a break, where was the harm? "So what are you doing so far south?" She'd met him on a volcanic slope in the east, yet here he was in a grassy swath down south. "Smells like pack, are you all joined up?" She snickered and looked around, craning her neck to see if he'd brought anyone else along. "Talk" "You" Think

"...are you all joined up?" At this he grinned, then shrugged coyly. “I suppose you could say that.” Now, did he draw it out or tell her now while the topic was centered on him being a pack wolf? It would be fun to mess with her, but there was only so much teasing he could get away with before she was liable to thump him. “Actually,” he admitted, “I'm the alpha here.” A faint smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. “Welcome to Imperium,” he said smugly. What did she have to say to that? “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.

Valeriya paused, breath catching in her throat. She blinked, processing his words again and again. He was... She threw her head back and laughed, mirth flwoing up from deep in her gut and cascading out into the air. Her eyes began to water, the muscles of her stomach began to ache. Oh goodness, this was too perfect. She'd fled her own queendom and ended up meeting another king, who apparently spent a good bit of his own time goofing off. This gargantuan blue oaf began to change shape in her mind. And he seemed so proud of himself, as if he'd pulled some big prank! The dashing king consorting with a lowly country lass... Worried that he might get the wrong idea she tried to form a coherent sentence or two. "You don't say," she gasped, trying in vain to calm her breathing. "And aren't you the big man, the lordy lord lording over his domain. Ever heard of the pack Ebony?" Her cheeks felt all tight and worn from the width of her smile. She took a step back and fell into a deep, mocking bow. "You stand before the once-queen of Ebony, Valeriya Valkyrie Xanilov, firstborn daughter of Raisa Xanilov by Ailwyn Xanilov and true heir of the Ebon Throne. " She sucked in a deep breath and rose, recovering from her lengthy (read: ridiculous) title. Her thoughts flashed to Kassander and her chest bloomed with warmth and affection. Perhaps she ought to introduce the two, or had they already met? Valentine had acted kindly towards her, they might make decent friends. Thoughts of politics were quickly washed away while she awaited his response. The young, wild fae he'd raced up the side of a fucking volcano, the one he'd played dirty with and lost to... She wanted to see the look of it in his eyes. "Talk" "You" Think

She laughed in his face. And it wasn't a teeny tiny giggle either, but a deep belly laugh that immediately began to blast holes in his pride. Well then. He'd never had someone laugh so heartily upon learning that he was an alpha. No one had ever laughed period. Valentine had half a mind to be offended. When she at last got a hold of herself, Valeriya set about mocking him with words. Now he was indeed offended. In the span of a few seconds she managed to poke countless holes into his dignity, causing great rivulets of pride to gush freely from his damaged ego. The speed with which she'd done it was rather alarming. More frightening still was that she'd managed to find a chink in his armor that he'd been unaware of. The brute liked to think that he knew his faults very well and this knowledge allowed him to not only roll with the punches, but to also poke fun at himself in a way that kept the aggressor from winning. He harrumphed. “I do know of Ebony.” The current king was adorable. “But I have no idea what you just said.” There were too many v's, y's and x's in what he assumed was a fancy schmancy title that meant absolutely nothing to him. “It sounded good though, so...” He returned her mocking bow. “My Lady.” Valentine then rose and said, his tone easily matching hers, “And just so you know, it's Imperator Lordy Lord Valentine, current King and ruler of Imperium, bastard son of Cataleya the nameless and Taurig the useless.” He paused, thinking. “Seeing as I founded this pack and had no name until I did so, I suppose that makes me the founder of my "royal" name and bloodline.” “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.

Valeriya saw at once that she had offended the larger male and her laughed subsided. Well shit, that had not been her intention, but maybe that's what she deserved for being so hasty. She chewed on the inside of his cheek as he listed off his own title, smiling. A giggle escaped her, more delicate this time, as he dubbed his father useless. She nodded with mock gravity, saying, "I know how it goes, having useless wolves inflicted upon you, and being forced to call them your kin." Of course, that really only applied to Raisa. She loved her siblings more than anything, and she never met her father, but maybe that made him useless too? Rather than get lost in thought, she chose to clear to air. "I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't mean to upset you, it's just ironic. A king racing a queen up a mountain? And neither knowing the other's supposed to be some responsible jackwipe delegating things and ruling? Come on, that's funny." She smiled again, bright eyes flicking over his frame and then over his shoulder to the rolling lands in the distance. It looked nice, so different from the foggy moors and rocks and lakeside she was familiar with. "Nice digs," she said at last, rolling he shoulders. Had he really made all this himself? A jolt of apprehension caused her gut to turn as she accidentally compared him to Raisa. It put a sour taste in her mouth, but she pressed it down and talked genially as if the traitorous thought had never surfaced. Valentine was nothing like her mother, and it was stupid of her to be afraid just because they both happen to be leaders. "Why'd you do it? Start up a pack, I mean?" Raisa had simply felt entitled to it, taken what she thought was hers by birthright, but she was too weak to hold on. Some voice in the back of her mind started praying the Valentine would give her a better reason, something impressive, something that would make her smile again. "Talk" "You" Think

"I know how it goes, having useless wolves inflicted upon you, and being forced to call them your kin." Ah, then she understood him. “Fortunately for us, it seems there's at least one in every family, so I doubt someone could successfully hold it over our heads.” Taurig was, in Valentine's opinion, one of the lowest forms of life found in Alacritia. He couldn't commit, not even to his own children, so what else could he be besides a piece of shit? Sure, Valentine wasn't exactly a monogamous role model himself, but he at least stepped up and took care of his kids. He was committed to seeing them into adulthood and being there every step of the way. Where the hell was Taurig? “Offend? Me?” He harrumphed. “Nah.” Maybe a bit. She had a point though.  He snorted, one corner of his mouth tipping up in a lopsided smirk, and nodded to convey that he agreed. “What were the odds?” "Nice digs." Hell yeah they were. “Thanks,” he rumbled. "Why'd you do it? Start up a pack, I mean?" How could a question be both easy and difficult? “I wanted to be my own person. My mother is alpha of Arcanum and while I love her dearly...I didn't want to be in her shadow for the rest of my life.” He shrugged. “Be my own person, make my own name. All that jazz.” “”

NOTE: Valentine has a female striped skunk companion named Lefty. Unless stated otherwise assume she's present.