She'd caught wind that Sirius' band had found their own healer. Lucretia was torn - on the one hand, she was relieved to have some of her burden lifted, but on the other hand... could she ever trust another wolf to steward the health of a portion of Deathbelle's empire? She'd have to meet this wolf in person before her judgment was passed. The cynical Klein was hypercritical of her own actions and those of outsiders; most relatives got a pass from her. It would take a very particular wolf for her to be able to relax. Sirius' Armada would generate its fair share of injury - after all, that was the natural byproduct of fighting.

Muttering to herself, Luce paced the desert as she tried to collect her thoughts. Bourbon would probably tell her to trust Sirius' judgement, but how could she? He was headstrong, and yet Deathbelle trusted him with her life. It was time to get this meeting over with. Lifting her head to the sky, Lucretia called for the Ashen Armada's strange new healer.

Bourbon watched silently as Lucretia paced over the red rock, her mind racing faster than her feet. He wasn’t often very far away from her, and most of the time his presence seemed to calm her. She’d been inconsolable since learning about the Armada’s healer. While he was curious about the wolf he didn’t obsess over the Empire’s health either. He wouldn’t ever tell his mistress, but her well being was his number one priority. He didn’t need to say it though, and Lucretia was likely well aware of his opinion.

He’d grown bolder in her presence, he was no longer timid about giving her his opinion, especially when it came to her health. He said not a word when she treated the wolves below her, but when it came to keeping her healthy Bourbon held nothing back. He had settled a few paces away from where she went back and forth on the path, and he remained still, sphynx like, as he awaited the appearance of the wolf his mistress called.

As usual, Io was out collecting. Preparing. So when the call came, she wasn't far away. The small woman's nose wrinkled slightly. There was no urgency in the call. Why in the hell would someone be paying her a social visit? She finished packing her herbs away then slid the strap of her pack around her neck.

Dainty, snow dipped paws led the tiny dame towards where the call had come from. Green and gold eyes fell upon a wolf and a...dog. Odd. Coming upon the pair, Iolaire raised a slender, silver brow. Clear, accented tones crossed the distance between them. "You summoned me?" What could this woman possibly want? There was so much to do. There wasn't enough time in the day for idle chatter.

Sirius frowned at the call that summoned his healer. Luce was an authority in the Empire, but not in his Armada, nor did her power extend that far. What was she doing, calling for his sister? He pulled himself to his still-healing feet, and lumbered towards the rocks that he had grown so familiar with. It wasn’t a long trek, he had built his den close to Deathbelle’s pack on purpose.

He arrived shortly after Io, and he gave his sister a friendly nudge with his tail as he passed her to stand in front of Luce and her pack dog. He frowned at her, not entirely unfriendly, but also a deep question on his face. What authority did she think she was operating under? He still hadn’t quite forgiven her for her suggestion of group therapy, but his habits ran deep, and he didn’t treat her with disrespect. Instead, he took a seat. He no longer bowed, a king in his own right it was not appropriate. Instead, he greeted her with a tilt of his head “Luce” he said.

She gave Sirius an appropriate greeting in response, tucking her tail briefly and bowing her head lower than his. "Warlord," Lucretia replied, a small grin playing on her face. Perhaps she'd misunderstood the purpose of his splinter cell group. In her mind, it had been created to serve Deathbelle... but he had shuffled off any sense of subservience. Interesting. "I just wanted to call on your healer and talk shop," Luce said amiably, "who I can only assume is...?" Iolaire had the scent of freshly gathered herbs about her. Good. Luce's own paws and the bottom of her chin were stained with virulent green from days of concerted harvesting.

"My name is Lucretia, the lead healer of Ashen and Deathbelle's sister." Belle had suffered so much since Archon's passing... maybe knowing that the Armada's health was in capable paws would soothe her. Little did Luce know, Io was already intimately familiar with the Ashen empress' "health."

"I just wanted to check in. Put names to faces." If she was as dedicated as she seemed to be - Luce's sharp eyes picked out her satchel stuffed with herbs - then they would get along just fine. Lucretia ushered Bourbon closer with a nod of her head and another small smile. "This is my assistant, Bourbon." He had been a gift from the Empress, but they didn't need to know that. Bourbon had proven himself indispensable, that was all that mattered.

Bourbon relaxed quietly as the woman summoned appeared from nearby. If she was any kind of good healer she was out gathering supplies, and it seemed that had been exactly what she was up to. Bourbon offered a polite smile as her golden gaze landed upon him as she appeared before his Klein master. The massive guard that had once stood vigilantly over Deathbelle appeared behind the small healer and Lucretia summoned him closer.

Bourbon got to his paws and made his way to Lucretia’s side, his stance proud but his actions obedient. He offered a lot bow of his head to each of the wolves before settling back on his haunches beside Ashen’s Shamyn. ”Pleasure.” He offered at his mistress’s introduction.

Sirius wasted no time in showing himself. He arrived almost as quickly as she had. There was a strange sort of tension in him that she could only assume was due to some personal thing between himself and the woman. Maybe she would ask about it later. For now though, pleasantries.

The woman introduced herself and her companion. Iolaire nodded at them both and made her own introduction. "I am Iolaire Akeldama. Armada healer, ambassador and sister to Sirius." ...since they were apparently giving titles. Haunches folded, bringing the small woman to her seat. "Good to meet you both. "

She claimed that she came to talk shop. Shop was fine. Iolaire didn't like falls pretenses, however. Blunt honesty worked best with her. As she waited for some sort of response, she inspected the dog. Intriguing. Io was a sucker for other species. She took a liking to most companions. It was rather odd that she had never acquired her own.