It had been forever since the white wolf had chewed her paw off, but she had been asleep ever since. Ballad had woken up a few times, but was always groggy, and fell back asleep. It was assumed that she was in Ebony, since she smelt like it, and the fact she was in their borders. Blinking her brown eyes open, she struggled to her paws. Not used to only having three paws, she stumbled, and almost fell. All she knew for the moment was that she needed to see the leader of the pack, Katja. But where could she be? In her old pack, the alpha had went everywhere, checking on all wolves. But Ebony wasn't her old pack, and she hardly knew anything about it at all. Maybe the alpha wouldn't wander around like she thought. Maybe Ballad had to look for the female herself.

Limping forwards, for that was the only thing she could do, the female sighed and finally stopped. This wouldn't help anything. Wandering around and hoping to talk to the alpha would do nothing. Ever since the sickness that had made her bleed from her eyes, Ebony had helped her. They hadn't been worried about her attacking, or biting another wolf, or hurting another wolf at all. They had only worried about getting her a cure, and making sure she made it through that. That was probably the main reason she trusted the pack so much. After a few minutes of just standing there, Ballad raised her head and opened her jaws in a howl. It echoed through the land, continuing until she closed her jaws with a snap and sat down heavily, ready to talk if she had to.

Now all she had to do was wait for one of the wolves that had helped her to come.

"Speech"

An unfamiliar voice rang from within Ebony lands and Katja's eyes narrowed. She paused in her patrol for a moment. An intruder? Why, by all the gods, would an intruder call out to announce their presence in the pack's lands? What fool would be so... another thought occurred to her though. She already had a rogue living within her borders, though she'd yet to fully wake since Katja and the healers had brought her across the borders. She had in fact slept through Raisa's leaving, and Katja's coming to power, though she had spoken to the girl in the few moments Ballad had been awake and despite her grogginess she likely retained quite a bit. If the girl was awake she would need to speak with her, and if it was in fact another intruder she would need to deal with it herself, so Katja left off her patrol and moved at a swift lope toward the call. Coming within eyesight she relaxed - very slightly - upon seeing that the injured and now healed Destruction was awake and alert. "Ballad Destruction," Katja greeted her solemnly. "It is good to see you in better conditions than last we spoke." "

It wasn't long before the scent of Katja filled the air, and the three pawed female rose shakily to meet her. "Ballad Destruction," Ballad nodded at the queen, and spoke, although her voice was hoarse and cracking. "Katja." She managed to rasp, and listened to the queen continue. "It is good to see you in better conditions than last we spoke." Ballad, unable to think of what to say, simply nodded. Then she managed to crack a joke, a weak smile on her maw. "Last time we spoke, it seemed that the pain was unbearable and I could barely mumble." She said, and paused before allowing a stronger smile. "I'm surprised you could even understand me." It wasn't long before the Destruction got to business, why she had called the alpha. "Katja, I called for you for a reason, as you have figured out."

There was another pause from Ballad, as she struggled to keep the cracking in her voice under control. "Now that I am healed pretty well, and I can ask you, I want to request to join."



"Speech"

CALLISTO Walk | Talk | Think As suited Callisto best, she was on her way back to her den in the Steppe. The passing of winter into spring had brought with it an entirely unforeseen event that the new Alpha - or Drottning as she now preferred to be called - had decided upon to ring in the new season, a festival that invited any and all within Ebony's borders and encouraged merriment and socialization between every party involved. By nature, Calli had never really been very personable. Her patience for others had always been limited and spent very quickly, her temper easily getting away from her. And, despite Katja suddenly opening up the boundaries of the lake and allowed anyone in, she still liked it here in Ebony. Offending someone and causing a stir was not going to get her anywhere, and so staying close to her den had been her only other option. It was irritating, being driven out of a place that she had long ago begun to consider her home, because of a few strangers but unwilling yet to compromise it was how she needed to deal with it. Her lean grey legs carried her slowly along, trailing the pack's border and seeking where it curved to encircle the Steppe and her den when a call that rang through the air stopped her short. Silvery blue eyes narrowing, the healer-in-training pondered for a moment. Was it a familiar voice? No. The numbers inside Ebony had shrunk, not grown, recently, and the fact they called for Katja seemed to confirm her suspicions it was not a fellow Ebony wolf. But there was something about it... A new suspicion arising, Callisto changed course and brought herself back into the territory that surrounded Firefly Lake, traveling just by sound until she caught Katja's scent. She trailed after it and eventually was rewarded for her efforts by stumbling across her masked leader in conversation with the three-legged wolf who had shown up missing her paw at their borders. Quietly, her silvery blue eyes cast in Katja's direction first in silent greeting, Calli ventured into their midst, her posture neutral, relaxed, though as soon as her eyes went back to Ballad she was already assessing her condition. She was up and moving. That was good. A little wobbly, perhaps, but she could hardly expect anything less. A part of her wished to get closer, to inspect the leg more thoroughly now that the patient in question was awake and capable of answering questions, but feeling as if she had interrupted something she hung back, quietly observing and awaiting a proper opening. Image by Maka.

She studied the young wolf, her thoughts hidden behind the dark mask, before asking cautious questions. "You wish to join Ebony? Why not one of your family's packs? Surely you would be welcomed there." She cocked her head to the side consideringly. Not that more wolves would not be welcomed, with the pack having shrunk considerably since Raisa's departure, yet she couldn't in good conscience accept a crippled wolf into her pack who would only take up resources from her other wolves without contributing, a wolf who could very well simply leave at any time to join her family elsewhere. "So why is it you wish to join Ebony?" "