The Armada may no longer be a part of the empire in the same way as before - or maybe they were, but she'd avoided having a conversation with Sirius about what exactly had happened at the meeting with Venom out of sheer hatred for Deathbelle - but they were still allies as close as they came. When Recluse broke off to form her own extension, Zee felt it only right to greet, congratulate, and question her. She arrived at the borders late at night with a plush pelt in her mouth, having heard that the Habari alpha was a night-owl due to her delicate skin. She tipped back her head and called gently for the alpha before reclining back upon her hip and waiting patiently for the newly crowned Klein to show herself. Hopefully they'd remain as close allies as the Armada was with Ashen and The Hallows, but it was not right to assume. She could only hope that if Recluse wasn't in, that it would be Hari to answer the call and not Deathbelle. "Speech"

With the way that things had panned out she hadn't had much time to discuss with the warlord about how Habari worked within the empire, and obviously she had no inclination to be totally honest but in the chaos of the shuffle it had slipped her mind, and she was glad when the woman she knew as Sirius' mate came-a-calling, and Recluse was more than happy to stop the work she was doing on the finishing touches on her den to answer the call. She moved down the side of the mountain, not stumbling as much as she had before living there though she didn't yet have the easy glide of someone wholly used to her element yet. Then once she was among the trees she wove carefully towards her border, slowing as she approached the woman, a soft smile pulling at her lips. Not the easily faked thing she sometimes pulled out when among others but something that indicated the horned woman was welcome here and that Recluse felt enough at ease with her there not to be on edge.

Not that she was totally comfortable, as fas as she knew Venom did not have as tight a grip on the warlord's leash as her aunt had had, and she had no idea what had happened between her and the armada, it was wholly possible that the armada could perceive them as a threat that needed to be dealt with... all the more reason to try and seem friendly, which she wanted to be with the armada. "Good evening, she said, dipping her head in a greeting, "to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Her posture was confident but not dominant, they were now equals after all.



Speech

Art by Vethysnia

Zee returned Recluse's small smile with one of her own, though it was as cautious an expression as she'd given to another in many seasons. Recluse was a Klein, and historically Zee had not had much luck with her ex-slavers. Deathbelle had been the exception... until she too, betrayed Zee. The suspicion was hard to get past, though she knew she needed to make an effort for the sake of her pack. "Recluse." Zee placed the pelt on the ground so she could speak, gently nudging the bundle with her paw so it'd roll towards the pale woman. "I came to offer my congratulations on behalf of the Armada. You've risen high and succeeded in extending the Empire. You must be very proud." Carefully she lowered herself into a seated position, her tail curving to hug her hips. Appearing to be relaxed when she was anything but in the face of Deathbelle's new alpha.

Recluse did not know what had happened between her aunt and the warlord but she had more than enough reason to figure it wasn't anything to endear her to Sirius or his wife. She watched the woman carefully, though her smile softned as Zeitgeist congratulated her. It was a strange feeling, hearing anyone older than herself seem to recognize her, awakening an old ache she'd long learned to ignore. What would it had been like if she'd been born to anyone but the Klein family? Would she still be plagued the nagging doubt, the fear that she was fundamentally unlovable? Would she know where she belonged? Would she have never doubted her place? Recluse did her best not to dwell on those questions, even as the woman's kind words suddenly drudged them back up.

"It's more than I was expecting." She said honestly. Her tone softer than she intended, the edge of her worry creeping into her tone. "I meant to come speak to you or Sirius before the move but things went much faster than I would have thought." She said dipping her head, feeling the confidence move back over her, a familiar mask.


Speech

Art by Vethysnia