Like a good neighbor, the Hallows is there!

Ember laughed along with Delphi as the alphess lamented her name, though Ember couldn't help but appreciate its uniqueness. Still, if Delphi preferred to be Delphi, then that's what she would be called. While she speaks her intentions, Em can't help but notice the way Delphi seemed to visibly relax to have the additional help. There was some apprehension, but she chalked it up to the wolves of Hemlock and formerly Heiðinn being a proud bunch. Asking for help was never an easy thing to do, but it was sometimes the necessary thing. Still, Ember logs it away mentally.

Delphi mused on her declaration that she could function as a jack of all trades, ruminating to herself while Ember sat and tried to decipher the expressions on the smaller fae's face. She confirmed that Víðarr had read her into everything the viking king had been up to before he ceded the throne to her, and then she asked a question that made Ember pause to consider. How much did her father tell her? "I'd like to think he tells me everything I need to know, but sometimes I wonder if that's true." The whole ordeal with the Syndicate had left a bit of a sour taste in her mouth when it came to her sire's leadership decisions as of late. But surely he wouldn't send her off into a mission with bad intel, right? "Regardless, I'm here to help in any way I can."

Something Ember said must have resonated with Delphi, because the next thing Em knew, she was getting a full briefing of Hemlock's state. It was a candid look into the reality Delphi faced. Em's brows knitted together while she mulled over the situation. Delphi had been holding Hemlock together as best she could, but she couldn't do it forever in its current state. They needed to bolster their ranks, get their wolves' skills up to par. All things Ember could do. "I'll help you keep Hemlock together and strong," she vowed, still lost in thought. The Carpathian girl's musings were interrupted when Delphi asked about her name. It was a question nobody had ever asked her before!

"Oh! Well, I don't really know for sure, but fire is a very important symbol to my family. It symbolizes strength, warmth, light to keep the darkness at bay. It's why my family's sigil is fire." Ember gestured to the brooch that held her cloak around her—the golden flame sigil of the Carpathian family. "We keep a fire burning in our Great Hearth all year round as a beacon of hope and light to those who need sanctuary. I guess my name comes from the same place too." In truth, Ember had never asked her parents about the origins of her name. Maybe she'd have to do that when she saw them next... "What about you, Delphi? Is there a special meaning behind your name?"

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"