The darkness of the clouds was rare during the summer months, but yet he enjoyed it even more so. Of course, Solas was completely devoid of emotion. Only Adalgisa who had been with him since his younger years would be able to tell the little differences in his behavior to tell what he was feeling. They were at the lake where the Xanilov's were rumored to have set up new ebony. They were half siblings of Raisa, which meant with the current queen(they were unaware though) was their niece. His single white paw stopped as the sound of thunder and lightning boomed in the back ground.
He would speak, he would leave that for Adalgisa unless it called for him to do so. He was a guardian nothing more, his life depended entirely on the saftey of his sister and whoever she wanted to be protected. So for the Kaisin bastard, that meant most of the Xanilov family that Adalgisa was allied with. Yet his patiently waited, the masked man giving a small huff.

Storming clouds loomed over head, threatening with the promise of showers. Ghostly eyes stole a single glimpse at the sky before her silver touched paws lead her forth into Ebony territory, the lake glimmered in the darkness thanks to whatever shafts of light that escaped the gripping thundering darkness of the clouds above. They had arrived finally, after a long and painful journey; they were finally here. The question remained; was it worth it all?

Pausing before the glimmering lake, the yearling was quick to utter a single calling howl for whoever maybe the leader of the Ebony pack during these times; it was short and quick; quick and sweet. Cutting off the call, those eyes shifted to her brother; nothing more needed to be said as she stood by his side; awaiting the appearance of the would-be-alpha.

It seemed these days that Ebony - and by extension its alpha - was greatly in demand, several calls coming from the border in quick succession since Katja had dropped the mantle of leadership upon Val and left them alone. At first Kass had let the calls pass without thought, used to someone else always handling the tasks and letting him concentrate on other things... but now it occurred to him, the single person handling all of those tasks was Val and that wasn't at all fair to her. With Sigmarr and Sindri missing and Svetlana off who-knows-where, it was up to Val and him to uphold the family name and to be frank he'd been doing a terrible job up until now. So this time when he heard a call from the borders Kassander didn't leave Val to deal with it alone. He left the herbs he was sorting to follow it. Even if he wasn't able to do much of use - he was a healer, not a diplomat, and the idea of interacting with others in that capacity made him anxious - he'd be able to greet the stranger at the border and see what they needed, to take the stress off poor Val. So it was with purpose - anxiety hidden behind a cloak of dignity wrapped tightly around himself - that he approached the pair on the borders. His eyes took in their appearances... each bore a mask similar to his own, the male bearing as well a familiar auburn marking beneath his eyes, but Kassander rarely paid attention to the appearance of others and in his distraction did not connect the markings to the possibility of a blood relation. His own russet form was drawn up with assumed nobility as he stopped before them. "Good day," he greeted politely, though the day wasn't that great obviously with a threatening storm, and he winced inwardly at how stupid that sounded. "I'm not the alpha of the pack, but I am her brother. Is there anything I can help you with?" "Talk" "You" Think

The call woke Valeriya up from a deep sleep. Being a queen might have been rewarding, but gods above it was time consuming. She chuckled and pushed her large form upwards, shaking out her coat as she did so. She took off at a trot for the border, ears perking as she caught her brother's trail. Was he heading out to meet the callers as well? That thought brought a silly grin to her face. In her mind, the turmoil of their childhood was ancient history, and the thought of greeting a new wolf together was exciting. She hadn't been able to spend as much time with him since her return as she would have liked. There were many things she wished to talk about with her sibling, and she had often sought his council when he was not available to her. As it was, she would come onto the scene just as her bother finished introducing himself. She would slow to a walk and smile. "Kass," she admonished with false offense. "How could you do this to me! Usurp my border patrols, why, I thought you loved me." She would let an easy laugh pass through her lips, but when she turned and caught sight of their visitors her brows shot upwards. Her mother had taught her of the Old Ebony lineages in those rare moments they had together. She supposed the woman had been trying to prepare her for leadership... or something. But she could recognize the markings as well as anyone, the build, the coloration. She couldn't be certain of course, but she had never seen that mask on any wolf other than her mother and her siblings. It was of Old Ebony. "Greetings," she would say warmly. "I'm Valeriya Xanilov, Queen of this pack. My brother was quite right in asking you though, is there anything we can do for you?" "Talk" "You" Think OOC: I'm kind of placing the timeline of each of these joining/meeting threads as a few days after the one before, so I kind of took some liberties with how Val would react. I can edit if you'd like anything changed!

He was relieved that family was here, they bore the mark of the Xanilov. That was enough for him to let down his slight defensive guard, but he still kept a calm and collective look. As his cyan eyes moved over to his sister for a moment and then looked to the two other wolves. The yearling shuffled a little, and his expressionless maw then opened. "Solas Volkov, and this is my sister Adalgisa Volkov. We are from one of Kaisin's litters, Raisa's half siblings. We came to Ebony seeking to serve the Xanilov family as our blood calls for." he said himself. Though his sister could say what she wished.
He was here as her guard, and whoever she wished for him to guard. Though Solas held her on high regard more so than anyone else ever did. As his white tipped tail flicked. Who were these Xanilov's? They were ones he had not heard about, but than again he and his sister were mere yearlings after all. Even if they would both be two in the coming autumn.

Valeriya would smile at the news. More family yet poured into her lands, whether it be by scent or instinct their drive was relentless. These two were the third and fourth in as many weeks. The woman seemed friendly enough, and for all that her brother was quite stoic he also radiated a calm assurance that signified to Val that he was probably a quite competent warrior. "You've certainly done that much," she said with an easy smile. "Four of us reside here currently, including my brother and I." So, her aunt and uncle, then. Valeriya looked them both over closely and noted features in them she'd seen in herself as well. Even if they were only related on her grandfather's side, even if they didn't technically bear her name, they still shared blood. They were kin to Val, no matter what custom said, especially in times like these. The loss of her sister was still a raw wound, and the continuing absence of her brother and reaming sibling had her thinking the worst. Maybe with all these knights finding their way to us, she thought, we might be able to get an actual band out looking for them... She could only hope, though. "If you're looking for a home, this Ebony is open to any Old Ebony refugee. If you only need a place to lay over for a while, please stay for as long as you like." It was not a hard offer to make, and she said it all with an easy grace. The kindness she was in a position to offer made her heart swell. She realized it was definitely something she could get used to. "Talk" "You" Think