The night had consisted of a lot of thinking and accepting the new truth he was suddenly confronted with just the day before. It didn't allow for much sleep, but that was something he had grown used to a while ago. He slept just enough to stay upright most days so this was no exception. He got out of bed pretty early in the morning, doing a quick patrol before going to find Serenity. The more he thought of her as his daughter the more comfortable he got with the idea, though it still felt a little difficult to navigate how he should interact with her since she was already an adult. He mostly opted to just be kind and offer her as much support as he could and just let her direct what she needed and wanted from him instead.

He gave her a smile when he found her. It was still pretty early in the morning, but late enough that he'd expect his other kids to be up by now. "Good morning," he told her with a small wag of his tail. "I guess we should get you introduced to the rest of the family, huh?" He was nervous to see how the other kids would react, but if she was going to be living with them then he would rather properly introduce everyone rather than have her meet them randomly around the pack and have to explain herself every time. He led her out to the courtyard before settling back on his haunches and lifting his head to howl for his children.

Ulric Adravendi

I Was Wondering If After All These Years You'd Like To Meet To Go Over Everything ___________________________________________________________ It felt weird being inside the castle and part of a pack. It had only been one night, but she was still exploring the new emotions. Ulric had invited her into the pack, and it was the only way she thought she would be part of a pack. She obviously hadn't had time to prove herself over night but she was not a taker. She didn't want to prove herself as a daughter to Ulric, but as a pack member to The Hallows. It was still pretty early morning, Serenity seemed to have the same lack of sleep with the same things on her mind as her father. She had gone out into the courtyard, enjoying the quiet of the castle. She could hear the stirring of the waking wolves through the corridors, and when Ulric had found and approached her, she gave him a slight smile. "Mornin'" she nodded in greeting, "I guess, if that's what you want to do." Serenity had actually figured she could go on a while without being introduced or called out for being Ulric's daughter. But of course she didn't know how obvious it would be, she didn't know the rest of his family. She was feeling uncomfortable meeting them. She wasn't used to being around many wolves in general, and she supposed she was having a bit of worry about what they would think. She would have rather just went along without drawing too much attention to herself. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ They Say That Time's Supposed To Heal You But I Ain't Done Much Healing

Lilith didn’t have trouble waking up in the mornings, she liked rising with the sun. At the beginning of the day she had the most energy, she felt the best that she could. Morning was when you were most likely to catch the young Adravendi girl out and about and today was no different. She wasn’t incredibly far, on her way to the infirmary to try and help Gwynevere while she could manage it. She liked the Carpathius girl, she was understanding and treated her well, she never shied away from her silly questions. There wasn’t anything important to do today so when she heard her father’s call from the courtyard she was swift to avert her course.

The dainty silver yearling crossed through the hallways and emerged into the greenery and gentle light of the morning. Garnet gaze fell on two forms, one of her father and the other was a stranger. She looked vaguely familiar but Lillith was certain she had never seen her before. Dappled ears perked forward Ulric and the woman, her expression curious. Lil dipped her head slightly to both, content to be patient for the explanation he had for calling them together.

Lillith Adravendi

Ezra hadn't really liked mornings at all until moderately recently and even then he still didn't get up nearly as early as his father or some of his siblings did. He just got up when it was still pretty firmly morning and not noon which felt like an improvement. He was just getting up and starting to pull on his armor when he heard his father call for him and his siblings, making him lift his head with a curious tilt. Ulric only really called them all together like this when he had something to tell them or give them so it must be at least kind of important, whatever it was. Ezra finished getting his armor into place so he could go out on a patrol afterward and then went down to the courtyard, trotting along quickly with long strides.

When he got down to the grassy area where his father was waiting, he saw Lillith with him first and then his ice blue landed on the lady that was sitting beside him. The easy smile on his lips faded a bit as his brows pulled together with a bit of confusion creasing his brow. He quickly smoothed his expression back out though as he approached the group, not letting the stranger see the flicker in his expression. She had the same sort of clusters of speckles and dots on her shoulders and hips like their father and Jane both did and she was the same sorts of brown colors as Ulric as well, except just lighter and with more gray tones around most of her body. Was she an aunt they hadn't met? Or a cousin maybe? Either way, he sat down next to Lillith and gave the stranger a little grin and a nod, trying to be friendly for the time being.

Ezra Adravendi

Ulric waited next to Serenity for his children to appear - his younger children, he corrected himself. He was still getting his mind into the habit of thinking of Serenity as his daughter even though when he looked at her there was no doubt. It was just a sudden shift to think of this young woman that he just met as his own. He would though. She was as much his daughter as any of his children and if anything he felt like he had a lot of missed time to make up for. The first to arrive was Lillith and he gave his little girl a grin, always happy to see her out and about. Shortly after his son appeared and he offered Ezra a similar grin. He was happy to see them both, but for very different reasons. He knew his relationship with Ezra had ups and downs, but as his boy got older he seemed to level out slightly. Hopefully Serenity's introduction wouldn't throw things into another tailspin.

He looked back toward the castle for a moment, letting his silver gaze peer out toward the plains as well as he waited for Jane and Emile to appear. He wasn't exactly surprised over Emile not answering him. The boy hadn't appeared for much of anything lately and he was beginning to wonder if it was just him the boy was avoiding since he had heard from Eska that she had spoken to the young healer. He tried to not feel offended and worried when she told him, but it was difficult. Jane was a surprise though. The sweet girl was usually fairly punctual for these kinds of things. He hummed softly and wrote it off as her being out on a morning hunt or something like that and just made a silent note to find her later.

Refocusing his attention on the two that did appear, he gave them a smile before glancing at Serenity as he spoke. "Kids, I wanted to introduce you to Serenity. We found each other yesterday. Serenity, this is my daughter Lillith and my son Ezra. Their siblings Jane and Emile are around here somewhere so I'm sure you'll run into them at some point." He looked to Lil and Ezra then, trying to find the right words. "I lost touch with Serenity's mother before she was born, but... Serenity is your half-sister. I know this is probably a shock, but... I hope you'll help her feel at home here."

Ulric Adravendi

I Was Wondering If After All These Years You'd Like To Meet To Go Over Everything ___________________________________________________________ Serenity couldn't help the hidden jitters under her skin as the two joined them. Still she remained rather neutral and friendly, waiting for Ulric to get the first word in. She had a lot of trouble putting her eyes on either of the younger pair's forms, but her eyes moved easily to Ulric as he started speaking. It was evident she was at least more comfortable with him than the other two, but she didn't want it to be that way. She was sure it would take time for her, and certainly for them. But if nothing else, she wanted a good first impression, or at least not a bad one. She did actually expect more kids of his, so when he mentioned she took a slight nod before her gaze returned to the ground as she waited for the rest of the big news. When he finally came out with it, her eyes flicked over the other two as she began abruptly, "You don't have to make a big deal of it or anything." A nervous chuckle left her as she looked down at her paws yet again, "Won't hurt my feelings if you just act like I don't exist." Was that... harsh? Wrong to say? She wasn't typically this anxiety ridden, but she wasn't used to talking much to others so she was really just blurting things out. "Or, uh- whatever." She tried to muster a content smile but failed horribly at it, it was clearly fake though she wasn't joking about them wanting to ignore her. She really wouldn't have been offended if they chose that route, though she personally wouldn't have minded getting to know them. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ They Say That Time's Supposed To Heal You But I Ain't Done Much Healing

Lilith was obviously curious but she was also showing her more shy side as garnet gaze glanced up at the caramel colored woman before their father could speak. She was slightly surprised when Ulric started speaking with Emile and Jane still missing. The former especially she worried about, her poor broken brother. He tried so hard, but she glimpsed the turmoil within him. She tried to put him from her mind as she looked up to Ulric.

What she hadn’t expected was for him to introduce her as their sister. Ruby eyes blinked in surprise as her attention shifted to the shy woman as she averted her gaze and spoke with a voice that Lillith knew all too well. Self depreciation. Slate dappled ears fell to her skull and Lillith moved forward with careful precision. She was not a touchy feely individual but she could feel a connection to Serenity. Even if it wasn’t reciprocated Lillith very careful attempted to take Serenity’s paw into her own silver furred pair. She didn’t hug her or make some grand show, that wasn’t like her, but Lillith wasn’t difficult to impress. She knew the value of family and no matter where she came from they were sisters.

”I’m glad to meet you,” Her voice was soft, indicative of the life she lived. ”Dad is the best dad, I know you’ll like it here.” She offered innocently, bright rose red eyes beaming up at her older sister. Lil lost a lot in her short life, but this moment she truly felt like she was finally gaining something.

Lillith Adravendi

He made a lot of guesses for what was going on and who this stranger was, but what he hadn't guessed or expected was for his father to tell them that this was their sister. A wide eyed blue gaze lifted to his father, unable to hide the shock on his face. Sister? Well, half-sister, he supposed. He wanted to be upset, to berate his father for being with another woman besides their mother, but he bit it back as Serenity quickly spoke. His gaze shifted back to her and when he saw how timid she was and heard her say how they could ignore she existed, a frown pulled at his lips and his expression softened. It was probably a good thing that she was here when their father told them so that he could see that she didn't mean any harm to their family - if anything it looked like she was trying to sink into the ground and disappear.

It was hard to be mad at his father when he was looking at Serenity. It wasn't her fault after all and she was older than then so whoever her mom was happened before he was with their mother so... He supposed he could forgive that more easily than he had forgiven him for being with Aranea. He watched Lillith curiously as she surprised him by stepping forward to hold the other woman's paw, giving her some kind words. Lillith really was the sweetest of them all and he couldn't help but smile a little when he watched her. Now his only hope was that if Lillith got attached to her that Serenity wouldn't disappear from their lives. They all had already lost so much and while he felt like he could take it he wasn't sure his sister could.

Looking at the speckled woman at his father's side he finally gave in with a sigh. He got to his paws and crossed the short distance between them, plopping down at Serenity's side and wrapping his long forelegs around her shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze as he grinned and chuckled. She was a lot bigger than Lillith, but he was still a good bit taller than her now that he had grown nearly to his full height. "Welcome to the family," he told her as he hugged her tight, giving her a goofy grin and a wag of his tail when he finally let her go.

Ezra Adravendi

Ulric really didn't know what kind of reaction he would get from his children when he told them the news and for a second he thought Ezra might be a problem with the way his son looked at him, but when Serenity spoke that seemed to be the tipping point that helped ease her introduction to them. He looked down at Serenity when she spoke with such a quiet anxiety, frowning when she made a comment about them being allowed to just ignore her. He didn't have to respond though since his sweet Lillith came over to greet her personally, making his chest swell with pride. He had a feeling the two of them were going to get along just fine and hopefully having a new friend in her half-sister would do Lillith good.

Ezra maybe surprised him even more when the speckled boy eventually got up as well and came to give Serenity a big bear hug, making Ulric grin and chuckle. Ezra really was a sweet kid. A little rough around the edges maybe, but he had a big heart. Seeing the three of them together warmed his heart and for a second he was just left watching his children with such love and pride. He wished Jane and Emile had been here to welcome Serenity as well, but this was a good introduction to their family at least. "Lillith, Ezra," he said after a moment, giving them a small nod to the castle grounds around them. "Why don't you go show Serenity around a bit? Show her where the training grounds and greenhouse are. Maybe introduce her to the alpacas." A little sibling bonding time seemed like a good way to start helping Serenity feel at home.

"Speech"

I Was Wondering If After All These Years You'd Like To Meet To Go Over Everything ___________________________________________________________ Serenity hadn't shied from Lillith's gesture, and when she had made that subtle connection in her touch, Serenity couldn't help but feel the same kind of connection through Lillith's eyes. She smiled, glancing at Ulric as she mentioned him as the best dad and she wouldn't have denied him the opportunity to show her. She knew that him not being a part of her life until now was not his fault. She knew that before she even met him. Her gaze turned to the brother as he approached too, and with surprise had given her a whole hug. She chuckled in the loose embrace, maybe not so genuine but she knew it had meant a lot. A big, brotherly hug. To her, to them, and she felt like maybe she could fit in better than she had anywhere. This new, unknown family was welcoming to her, she wouldn't have rejected them either. She held back real tears as her eyes glazed over through her chuckles, though it was more ecstatic than sad. She had never really had a family, or even friends really. And this moment was something she didn't even know would mean so much to her. She looked back to Ulric as he offered, looking about the three of them once more, "Sounds good to me." And she looked forward to what else this family had to offer her, as well as what she had to offer them. If they could welcome her so easily, she could only assume that her life could only get better from here. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ They Say That Time's Supposed To Heal You But I Ain't Done Much Healing