Now that things had begun to return to some semblance of normal, she found herself with a new budding interest. For as far back as she could remember, she had always been fascinated with learning as much as she could about her family’s lore. She was a Carpathius after all. The history, the stories, the language. Their fairly recent presence at Hearthstone, and even in the times before. Talyssa was so eager to soak up every minute detail that she encountered. But as she grew older and her world expanded. So did her pursuit of understanding. And today, she had questions for her mother- who was not a Carpathius by birth, but a Fatalis. She had always known that- she remembered her mother’s family coming to visit almost a year ago as hazy as the memories were. She knew they were the Armada. She knew the Armada were allies for obvious reasons. But beyond that- she knew very little. Today, she hoped to remedy that. With a clearly determined set to her stride, she breezed through the castle in search of the Queen herself.

After checking a few places her mother frequented, she set out to the gardens. As the chill of autumn set in, there would be plenty of work to do outside which made her think that the earthy fae might be outside overseeing that. Taking a quick moment to scent the air, she was quick to pick out the familiar sweet notes that indicated her mother’s presence. After that, it only took a few more moments to find her in the castle gardens.

Offering a warm grin as she approached with clear intention, she called out a greeting as soon as she entered a conversational distance. “Hey Mami,” Talyssa started lightly, opting for a Carpathian term of endearment. “What are you up to? Do you have time to talk?” She asked, wanting to be respectful if her mother was in the middle of something important.

Briar plucked another bunch of grapes from the vine and placed them in the steadily filling basket near by as she continued her work to prune and harvest her grape vines. With the Auster fall in full swing she knew that this would likely be her last chance to harvest them before the chill took them and had even begun covering some of the plants that had begun to go dormant for the season. She was glad she had taken the time to transplant a few vines from the Cathedral down south though since she was now going into the winter with a much better store of wine than they had last year.

She paused her work though as her daughter’s voice caught her attention, making her ears perk with interest as she turned her head to look at Talyssa. Briar smiled warmly, her tail wagging gently as the Carpathian greeting she was given. She was enjoying watching their children pick up their father’s family language and was doing her best to reinforce that knowledge when she could. "Buna draga," she responded in turn, stepping away from her work to nuzzle Talyssa’s cheek. At the question of whether she had time to talk, Briar nodded in agreement, settling down on her haunches with her long tail curling across her feet. “Of course! The grapes can certainly wait. I’ll always make time for you,” she assured her daughter with a soft chuckle. “What did you want to talk about?”

"Briar Carpathius"

She couldn’t help but brighten at her mother’s greeting- gently leaning into the touch that was offered. As she pulled back in time, the shift of movement before her gave a hint as to what the answer would be to follow. With obvious enthusiasm, Talyssa quickly settled onto her own haunches, vibrating with excited intrigue all the while. When she was assured that the grapes could wait- that there would always be time for them to spend together- her tail swiped at the ground in marked time behind her. She knew as much. After all, she had never been outright refused when it came to a lesson. Redirected, sure. But never had she been dismissed, and the support she was given only continued to feed that desire to know more. So when she was asked what exactly today’s topic was going to be, she entertained no hesitance in her response. “I wanted to know more about your family.” Talyssa answered- but immediately continued with a clarification. “The Armada, I mean.” Obviously they had lots of family in the Hallows, but she already knew plenty about them.

With the memories of their Fatalis family coming to visit, she felt compelled to relay the individuals that she recalled greeting her. “I remember meeting Grandpa when he and Grandma came to stay with us .. Kotori, Gossamer, and the other pups too.” But they were all individuals who were part of the entity of a pack. And trying to transition that train of thought into words was more difficult than she had initially thought. “I know who they are … but I have no idea who they are …” After hearing the words out loud, it dawned on her that she had contradicted herself. But hopefully, her point had been conveyed. “Does that make sense?” She asked lightly after a moment of hesitance, seeking out a sense of recognition or acknowledgment in her mother’s face.

Briar listened curiously as Talyssa made her request–surprising her by asking to hear about the other side of her family, Briar's own family that lived in the Armada. Her expression showed her surprise, but it was a pleasant one. Especially since their move to the northern parts of Boreas, the Fatalis side of her lineage had feel increasingly more detached from her and she knew that her children hadn't had as much interaction with them as she had originally hoped, but it made her happy to see Talyssa's curiosity and her eagerness to learn more about another part of her bloodline. "It does," Briar agreed with a chuckle when her daughter questioned whether or not her request made sense. Knowing someone just by name or face didn't paint a full picture and that was where she hopefully could fill in some gaps.

"Well, the Fatalis family and the Armada pack were founded by your Grandpa Sirius and Grandma Zee almost six years ago," she began, thinking back through the stories and lessons her father had told her as a pup. "Originally, your Grandpa was the guard for the former Ashen Empress when they first came to Boreas, but eventually he and your Grandma created their own pack and began their family too. I have a lot of siblings–some of them I don't think you've gotten the chance to meet yet. Mortis, Azure, Indigo, and Aslatiel from their first litter, Gossamer, Ophelia, Aris, Kotori and myself were the second, and then of course Charlton, Crux, Dread, Stratum, Andromeda, Kyanite, and Vântoase are the youngest." She laughed a bit as the list of names just seemed to go on and on, but eventually she managed to remember and list all fifteen of her siblings. "Something that the Carpathius and Fatalis families have always had in common was how important family is. Our family has always come first and we always do anything for one another."

"In comparison though, the Fatalis family and their pack has a lot more focused on strength, fighting, and war. When Armada was originally founded, their purpose had been to be a fighting force for the Ashen Empire–hence why your Grandfather is known as the Warlord. Learning to fight and being proficient at it was always more of an expectation than a suggestion for us when I was growing up. It's not that we were discouraged from pursuing other passions, but we always had to make time for training. My father has certainly softened a bit over the years and after being a father, but from what I've heard he was quite ruthless in his younger years." She smiled a bit as she added, "It was a... different environment to grow up in than it is for you here."

"Briar Carpathius"

When her mother assured her that her request did make sense, a relieved grin warmed her features. As the lesson of family history began, Talyssa couldn’t help but make herself comfortable, easing herself into a seated position where she had stood in the garden- her attention settling on her mother as she went describing how the Armada had been founded. Though something that immediately raised more questions in her mind was the mention of the Ashen Empire. She remembered her father glossing over them in a different discussion, however, she had not pressed him to elaborate at that time. Now that it had come up in conversation once again, she didn’t feel like she could pass up the opportunity to explore their identity further. “Ashen? Are those the Kleins?” Talyssa interjected as soon as she had a moment of silence to do so. She remembered her father mentioning the name, and she had simply inferred their identity on her own without confirmation. In anticipation of clarification, it was difficult to contain her enthusiasm.

Though as the cadence of their story eased into the introduction of all her aunts and uncles, she did her best to commit each name to memory. However, it became more difficult to do so the more her mother went on. She quickly realized she hadn’t even met half of her Fatalis family. “Wow, you do have a lot of siblings…” Talyssa echoed softly, running through the names in the back of her mind once more. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be one of sixteen. She sometimes thought it was hard enough keeping up with the brothers and sisters she had now, and there were only four of them.

Next, Briar offered a similar value- one that was easily understood. Family was everything. Something that had always been known to her- as far back as she could remember. The notable difference that she was given was far more interesting. The Armada was originally intended to be the fighting force for the Ashen Empire. Her brothers and sisters had always been more fighting inclined than she was- Dusk, Thorn, and Ciaran having always been in competition for knight status. But none of it seemed to compare to the militant nature of her mother’s family. It made her wonder how different things would have been had they been raised with their Fatalis relatives. In the end, she couldn’t picture herself fitting in very well. “Grandpa would probably be disappointed in me then, since I haven’t really trained to fight, huh?” She noted softly. It was a statement not really weighted with emotion, more of an observation as she tried to draw a conclusion in her own mind.

Talyssa blinked away the thoughts as she noticed the brief hesitance before her mother declared how different it was compared to her life here at Hearthstone. “It sounds like it.” Lys agreed a little more confidently, but the acknowledgment did little to dissuade her interest. “But maybe one day we could visit?” Hearing about the Armada would satisfy her cravings for now, but the idea of immersing herself in it was that much more captivating.

"Talyssa Carpathius"

When Talyssa interjected with a question about Ashen, questioning whether or not that was the Klein family, Briar nodded to confirm the suspicion. "It is indeed. The Klein family was more spread out than they are now. There were two other packs led by other members of their family not all that long ago, but they were disbanded or taken over in one way or another so as far as I know it's now just the original Ashen that remains." History and politics was not always pretty, as Talyssa was sure to discover quickly, so Briar wanted to share some of the failures along with the successes so that she had the full scope of how the world might operate around them. She wouldn't go into the sorted details of Chimera's illness that led to the fall of Fenmyre or the hostile take over of Habari, but it was still good information to mention.

As the details of her family continued on and she laid out the harsher tenants of her father's pack, Taly expressed how her grandfather would be disappointed in her lack of training in fighting, making Briar frown in response. She wanted to deny the possibility and reassure her that Sirius would love all of his grandchildren and be proud of them regardless, but it was hard for her to say that with certainty. It had never really been a question of if they were going to learn how to fight growing up, but more of a matter of when so it was hard to picture how he might react to the fact that it wasn't something that she and Artorias had decided to enforce in their own children. She wasn't sure if her father was still just as firm on the subject with her youngest siblings, but she doubted that had changed much. "I think he would be very impressed with your incredible mind, darling. I know I am," she assured her as her smile returned, leaning in to give Talyssa a kiss on the forehead.

Briar chuckled softly as her ever curious daughter questioned whether or not they could go visit Armada one day, clearly not hindered at all by the information she was given about the Fatalis family. "Of course! I've been meaning to take you all for another visit for ages, but it's just been difficult to find the time to cart five troublemaking pups up to the other end Boreas," she joked with a grin. "But we'll make the time very soon. I'm sure they would love to see all of you. We could go visit your Uncle Kotori's pack as well, if you'd like. Valta isn't nearly as long of a trip as the Armada is."

"Briar Carpathius"

The idea that a family having been as widespread as her mother had described, could crumble in such a way, leaving a hallow wake in their path- that an empire so seemingly powerful could fall to unforeseen intervention. Needless to say, it had piqued her interest. Talyssa was absolutely certain that an enthralling story was behind the devastation. And while she craved to know more- to hear more stories about the packs who had disbanded, she would keep her questions at bay for now. Perhaps, that could be a conversation for a different day. Instead, she thought that maybe she could pursue a different line of thought. “Are they good allies for us?” The girl couldn’t recall a time when anyone from the Klein family had visited the Hallows- at least not in her lifetime. But maybe they were just distant like Hattori …

And with her observation of not meeting her grandfather’s expectations, it seemed that the idea puzzled her mother as well. Eventually, Briar offered the conclusion that he would still approve of her intelligence, sealing the sentiment with a kiss on her forehead. Out of reflex, a sweetened grin spread across her features as she leaned into the affection. Though, it didn’t remove the suspicion that she wouldn’t pass the Fatalis standard. Even still, the idea of a visit fostered excitement that she might just get to find out for herself. As her mother expressed that a trip to the Armada was something that she had been trying to plan for a while now, she couldn’t help but perk up- but as to the reason why it hadn’t happened yet made her laugh. “Heeeyy! I know you’re talking about everyone else, and Tati, right?” She answered, pretending to be momentarily offended. Though the facade didn’t last for very long- the idea of her father being a ‘troublemaking pup’ was just too funny.

When she mentioned the possibility of going to visit Uncle Kotori’s pack, she was met with another rush of excitement. “I would love that!” Talyssa interjected before she even had time to process exactly what that meant. After she already expressed interest, then she circled back for questions. “I didn’t realize Uncle Kotori had his own pack. Is it like the Armada?” She inquired, with newfound interest.

"Talyssa Carpathius"

Briar hummed softly with thought when her insightful daughter questioned whether they were good allies for us. "I suppose it depends on what you define as a good ally. On one hand they are very dependable and trust worthy. Your father and their Empress, Venom, have a good friendship and Ashen has had a long history with Armada so there's no concerns with our relationship with them conflicting with our other allies. Even if they aren't as sprawling and prosperous as they once were, they do still have many strong fighters and good access to useful supplies. Still, some wolves only look at alliances for what benefit we can gain from the relationship and if we're looking at it from that lens then we might not be getting much more than a good friendship and possible support should we ever need help defending our land," she explained, laying out the facts for Talyssa so that she could use her critical thinking skills and make her own conclusions. It would have been easy enough to assure her that yes, Ashen was indeed a good ally based on her own experiences with the Boreal pack, but she always wanted to encourage her daughter to assess things through her own eyes. She smiled and asked, "I think they are still good allies regardless, but what do you think?"

The shift to their discussion about visiting Armada and the difficulty of getting her and her siblings up to the other side of Boreas had her laughing as Talyssa pointed blame at her other siblings and her child-like father. "Of course, my sweet darling! You know how hard it is to reign in your father. He'd just wander off in an instant," she assured her with an amused grin. It certainly seemed like Talyssa's interest in going out to visit and explore the other packs wasn't limited to just Armada as the suggestion to go see Kotori's pack had the young woman just as excited. "We'll make it happen then," she agreed, glad to do anything that her children were interested in. Politics and pack relations were something that she had picked up in her preparations to be Queen alongside Artorias, but she was happy to share her knowledge and experience with her daughter while giving her more exposure to the other side of her lineage at the same time. "His pack is newer compared to some of the others so I'm not as well versed in how he has been running his pack, but I do believe it is more similar to Armada, yes," she agreed. "I know at least that he carried that heavy emphasis on family with him and he was far more interested in the fighting side of things than I was growing up. Perhaps we can learn more about his pack together."

"Briar Carpathius"

As Briar went on to describe the Ashen empire in a little more detail, Talyssa nodded along a bit more enthusiastically- excited to gain insight on a manner that was a little more complex than just the daily workings of Hearthstone. When it was all said and done, she felt like she had a pretty good idea as to what the Klein family had to offer them. But as her mother finished her explanation, she offered her own question in turn. What did she think? Talyssa took a moment to formulate her opinion. “I don’t think it depends solely on what there is to gain. Friendship is valuable as well. If we ask for help, and they answer, I would say it’s certainly worth the relationship.” She started, offering a thoughtful grin before continuing as another thought popped into the back of her mind. “Though, I think maybe if an Ally is based mostly on friendship, it would be easier to lose that Ally.” The girl added, hesitating a moment before going on to explain her line of thinking a little bit better. “If we ever called for help, and they had to decline for whatever reason … there wouldn’t be much point to maintaining the relationship if that were the only benefit we were counting on.” Taly observed, though like most things in life … there were always exceptions. “Unless they were really good friends, of course.” She finished with a chuckle.

When her mother agreed with her joke at her father’s expense, she was taken over with another round of giggles. The idea that he might even be the worst one was quite silly. As to the suggestion that they visit Uncle Kotori’s pack, her excitement was well received. She was a little disappointed that there wasn’t much insight to offer in regards to Valta, but immediately perked back up as it was suggested that they could learn together. “That sounds wonderful! I can’t wait!” Her enthusiasm beaming as she quietly wondered how long they would have to put their adventure off.

As things seemed to come to a natural conclusion, Talyssa took a glance over her should- back toward the way she had come from. After a moment to look things over, she returned her attention to mother, offering a warm grin. “Okay, Mami. I’m going to let you get back to tending your garden.” The girl announced, taking the opportunity to right herself in order to head back to the castle- but not before closing the distance and leaving a peck on her mother’s cheek. “I love you!” She declared as she pulled away. As she spun on her heels to head back inside, she'd call over her shoulder in her departure. “I’ll see you later!”

-Exit Talyssa unless stopped-