She had promised she would not run away this time. She had not just promised herself but she had promised her dearest niece (or was it cousin?) Val that she would remain in Ebony and now Koroleva was back seeking forgiveness from the leader and blood. She stood at the borders of where she knew the pack to be and she let out a fierce howl for the alpha whom she believed to still be Valeryia Xanilov. Koro had never met Kass but she was in for a rude awakening to learn that the leader herself had left. The vastly grey and white and russet girl waited for someone to heed her call and come towards her so they could discuss her rejoining. "Please forgive me."

A call reached his ears from the border, and Kass sat up startled. So far no one had been interested in joining his pack, or even showing up to talk diplomacy (the former being a little depressing to the perfectionist, and the latter a relief) so he had yet to answer a call to his borders, so the howl came as a surprise. He set out immediately for the call but by the time he reached the border he was already ready to turn around and go hide back in his den. But if he was going to be an alpha, he was going to need to get over his social anxiety one way or another, so he swallowed it down and moved to face the newcomer. He couldn't remember meeting her, but this woman had a very familiar and hard to mistake marking - the royal mask of old Ebony. The same mark he bore. "Can I help you?"

It did not take long for a wolf to arrive and while he bore the royal mask of Ebony same as her, he was not Val and therefore she did not think him to lead the pack. "Hello! I'm Koroleva Xanilov and from the looks of it you are too? A Xanilov I mean... I'm looking for Valeriya as I had heard she led Ebony. I'm looking to join." She left out the details of herself having been in a pack and wandering off. That was not relevant to the conversation. The dark colored girl with the mask of light grey and brown looked to the boy before in curiosity. Perhaps this was one of the siblings that Val had told her about?

The torrent of words flustered the young king, and the tips of his ears flushed with embarrassment. "I... yes. I'm Kassander Xanilov," he said faintly before clearing his throat and speaking somewhat more strongly in an effort to sound slightly less like a child and more like the alpha he was supposed to be. "Valeriya is my sister. She did rule here but she left Ebony to me when she left to travel." He tried not to shift around on his feet despite the discomfort of explaining why he was alpha, and not his sister, especially to an old Ebony wolf. After all, in old Ebony it would have been unthinkable for him to have taken the rule of the pack while he still had three living sisters and his mother was still alive, yet here he was.

There was a grin on her face when she heard him talk about being the alpha. He seemed so uncomfortable but she supposed he was new at the whole alpha thing. That was a lot to put on a boy of his age. "Well it's about time they changed things around." She comforted before preparing her skills before her. "I had the honor of meeting your sister so I'll tell you what I told her. I'm a skilled healer and fighter with decent hunting skills though my parents, your aunts or second cousins or something like that, pushed me towards diplomacy. I want to join." She laid out her skills and she made her point clear.

Kass' ears flopped to the side in continued discomfort at her words. Frankly he'd have felt better about the whole thing if there hadn't been any changes... but he couldn't expect this stranger to feel the same. After all, Val was his sister, he was bound to feel differently about it. And he didn't want to make her feel bad, since she was trying to join and everything... "Ok, uhm... We'd be really happy to have you here..." he told her, with genuine sincerity but a hint of nerves. How did you bring someone into the pack properly? "What sort of like, job were you wanting most? A fighter, or a healer...? Oh wait," he flushed in embarrassment, realizing the girl might be insulted that he was offering her a common position when she had been royalty in old Ebony. "Maybe you'd prefer Lady?" he offered tentatively. Was this royalty stuff this hard for his mom to learn? Or had growing up in a kingdom like old Ebony made it easier for her? He kind of wished she was here now to teach him. He found himself... missing her. Even after everything. "Talk" "You" Think

Kassander seemed shy and withdrawn almost and it was clear that he was new with things so she would do her best to help him along. She thought about it for a minute. "How about I rank as a Lady until I choose a path? I'm not entirely which one I should choose." It seemed a far enough deal but she would look to the young leader for his final word. The masked woman wondered if he had an adviser guiding him or if he had challenge for leadership or if it had been dumped on him. She gave him an inquisitive look as she tried to determine which it was.

The woman made a suggestion, and Kassander seized on it with gratitude. "That would be fine. You've got the right to it anyway, you're royalty." To be honest she probably knew more about the customs and politics of their people than he did. When they were pups Raisa had taught Val to be queen as she'd been expected to be, but if he'd bothered to make the effort she'd have probably taught him too, not to rule but to support Val. Instead he'd gotten too wrapped up in his own paranoia and self-doubt and pushed them all away... well he was really regretting it now, that was for sure. He didn't even know what the nobility of Ebony were supposed to do for the pack, yet he'd inherited a Lord and now he had a Lady. "I-I'm going to be holding an event in the next week or so, I guess you can get to know the pack lands and stuff until then? Then you can meet any of the wolves you haven't already, and..." And what? By then he'd have figured out what all he was supposed to do and give her orders? "And we can go from there," he finished lamely. "Talk" "You" Think

Her heart truly went out to the young boy as he took her offer without hesitation. "That sounds great, thank you Kassander. If you ever need any help or advice, I'd be more than willing to help. This must be overwhelming." She offered him a small smile before dipping her head in goodbye. She walked past the borders as she sought to relearn the lands before her. She took a calming breathe as she remembered that Fendar had told her that the pack was there which meant that he was probably calling the place home as well. The newest Lady of Ebony had a lot to do.