And now for a brief intermission

Avacyn had never truly been worried about her youngest siblings while they were away on their journey of learning and self discovery–all of their family was more than capable of handling themselves and she had sent them to packs that she knew and trusted–but any lingering concern or curiosity about them was relieved as Mariah expressed how well she was doing and all of the incredible things she had learned. Seeing the way Mariah smiled as she spoke made all the time she had spent without her siblings around her worth it. She picked up on the fact that her sister must have been in Valta all this time as she mentioned the idea of departing to move onto the Hallows and while she was certainly surprised that Mariah and Malico had been gone for so long and had only just now considered moving on to their second destination, she wouldn't question their pace. Anything in the realm of healing was out of her depth so she didn't know how long it took to really gain a mastery over that sort of thing. As long as she was still getting something out of being in Valta then it was worth the time she spent there.

"Yes, unfortunately it seems that it is," she agreed when Mariah mentioned how the decision to leave had been made for them, glancing briefly past her sister at the battlefield behind her. Even if Valta remained standing after all of this she would still feel better knowing Mariah and Malico had moved on to the Hallows to know they were somewhere secure. Her attention returned to Mariah and a gentle smile returned to her lips when she was asked how things were back home. "Things are well. Uncle Deimos and Ikigai welcomed their first litter very recently–I'm sure you noticed them back there," she said with a bit of a chuckle. She could only imagine the scolding their uncle was going to receive for bringing their very young pups to a bloody challenge like this one. "I've decided to name one of their daughters my heir, but I'm waiting to do that until they turn a year old. I don't want to intrude on their childhood with responsibility the way mine was."

She would never resent her mother or how her upbringing was handled–she took too much pride in what she was selected to do for that to happen–but she could learn from mistakes and keep them from repeating. "There's been a bit of movement in the ranks... Albion was named my advisor and Scylla is our new Master Warrior," she added as she tried to think of anything that might have moved or change in her sister's absence. "It's been fairly quiet, thankfully. I know that hasn't been the case for a lot of packs these days so I'm counting my blessings." With the mention of their upper ranks and the wolves that currently held them, it did bring to mind one of the main reasons why she had allowed Mariah to go on this journey in the first place.

"I do still hope that you'll return one day soon to be our Master Physician," she mentioned, not wanting to make a hard deadline for her sister, but still wanting to remind her of what was waiting for her. "I'm sure Irilyth would have no problem holding the position for as long as we need her to, but Fia is the only one of our family that holds any of the Master ranks and she has been gone even longer than you have..." A little frown crossed her lips at the thought and she sighed softly, giving her head a little shake to clear it. "Please take as long as you need, but just know that I would love to have you both back sooner rather than later."

"Avacyn Mendacium"