"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'

Lost?

Yes. She had been lost.

But that was time ago. Svetlana had gone through many trials in her young life. Trials of loss. Trials of jealousy. Pain and torment. Both of mind and body, she had been through a lot. But she was not alone. No, she was never alone. Faithfully at her side stood a one-earred fox. The creature, known as Korrin, had faithfully been at her side for years. Since one was a pup and the other a kit of their kind. They had always had each other... and that was yet to change.

When she had visited the borders where Ebony had stood, seeing the scents stale, Svetlana knew that it was no more. She had taken not of the loss of the presence of her siblings and while she grieved, she would not allow that grief to overcome her. Time passed and she was ready to press on to her new life. To a new existence. She would head East, to Fiori, where her last sanctuary and friend had been.

Her mind was on Leo, and the leader Epiphron. If Fiori still stood that was the place where her alliance, her heart, belonged. She wound find it so... but it was not Pip's scent that marked the borders. A pleasant surprise awaited her nose as she caught a scent however. Leo! She would throw back her head, howling for the young man.

Would he be surprised when he saw her in a healthier state?

Table by:: Shelby

Sometimes, usually in the late hours of the night or the early hours of the morning when he lay in his den alone, he wondered if it was healthy to lack any close friends. He supposed he could count his family as friends if he really wanted to, but that almost seemed worse. Why was it that he couldn't seem to hold onto anyone as a friend or otherwise for more than a moment? Was he just to focused on his family and Fiori to notice their absence till it was too late? Or was it just fate telling him to focus on something else with his life? These questions plagued him through the morning as he began to work his way through the territory for his routine check of the borders. It had become part of his habit since he took over the pack to wake up, spend an hour or so wandering through the territory and checking on everyone, and then head to the border for a patrol. However, right as he was about to begin his patrol a voice called for him that he hadn't heard in quite a while. It took him a moment to actually register that it was actually Svetlana's voice and then he quickly shook himself out of his surprised shock so he could go answer her call. He hurried a bit more than he would have usually since he was happy to hear from the girl he had grown fond of during her stay here while Ebony was at war. He spotted her a few moments later and a wide grin split across his muzzle. "Svetlana!" he called excitedly as he drew closer. Normally when he met someone at the borders he would have kept a polite distance and minded his manners, but he was so excited that he just couldn't help himself and trotted forward to embrace her instead. "It's so good to see you again! And I'm glad to see you're looking well. And how's Korrin? As fisty as ever I hope?" He chuckled and took a step back, his blue gaze finding hers while his russet tail wagged easily behind him. It was like fate had finally decided to throw him a bone and bring one of those precious acquaintances back into his life. "Talk" "You" Think

"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'

The excited call had her wagging her own tail happily. She had missed him, her one real friend outside of her family. Svetlana would return the embrace to Leo in kind, giving a happy whine as she leaned into his body. Gods above, where did the time go? Where were all the moments of happiness gone? They were back, wherever they had been, and slowly, oh so slowly, she would draw back with a grin to the young man. “It is likewise good to see you again, Leo.” She’d glance down at the little fox, who had been missed in Leo’s hurry to her side.

“Korrin is just fine, and definitely feisty as ever! Korrin could bite your ankles if you need proof!” Her words might have been sharp but they were not necessarily unkind as the little fox grinned up at Leo. He made Svet happy, and that was good enough for her.

“We’ve been doing some soul searching, Korrin and I. We took a long journey outside of Alacritia to decide what was best for us. When we returned Ebony was no more and well... You and your mother’s pack were the first thing I thought of.” Svet would confess. “Perhaps Korrin and I could stay here?”

Table by:: Shelby

Leo was very glad to see Svetlana in good health and apparent good spirits. He followed her gaze down to where Korrin was standing next to her, giving the fox a sheepish, apologetic grin for missing his presence in his excitement over seeing Svet. He chuckled and shot her companion a playful glare at the comment of biting his ankles. "No, no proof needed I assure you," he added with a chuckle before bringing his gaze back up to Svetlana's. She explained what they had been up to and he nodded in understanding. He had done something very similar when his parents had decided to leave their posts as King and Queen. Her request to stay here in Fiori wasn't a surprise after her explanation of how they had ended up at his border, but it was certainly a request he had hoped she would ask. He smiled happily and nodded in agreement without hesitation. "Of course you can. I've been hoping that you'd come back for a long time now." "I'm sure you've guessed by now that I've taken over Fiori," he added after a moment, not able to resist the proud grin that crossed his face at the thought. "Not much has changed about how things are run, just a change in leadership really. My mother is still a member of the council though." He looked at Svetlana hopefully when an idea suddenly popped into his head. "I've actually been working on finding a new council member since my brother has gone missing again. Would you maybe be interested?" "Talk" "You" Think

"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'
Svetlana would feel a gentle flutter in her heart as Leo spoke. He had been hoping she'd come back? Tail would slowly begin to wag behind her, a feeling of excitement rising within. The young woman would listen to him speak, confirming what she had suspected. So he had taken over Fiori in his mother's stead, though she was glad to hear that the woman was still about as a member of the council. "It is good to hear that she's still here with you. Congrats on the promotion by the way~" A grin was added to her words.

A grin that would fade to a look of surprise when he popped a question. A member of the council? Her? She would think over it for just a moment before speaking up. "It'd be an honor, Leo." She would glance to Korrin, and the fox, sensing her meaning, would chuckle before scurrying off. Svetlana would wait until the fox had disappeared before lifting her gaze back to Leo, taking a breath and speaking again.

"Do you... maybe want to take a walk together?" The female would feel her cheeks heat up.

Table by:: Shelby

Leo's tail wagged happily behind him when Svetlana accepted the position on the Council that he offered her. He wanted the Council to be made up of wolves he knew he could trust and with his sister holding the position of head healer and Athena taking one of the head sentry spots it limited his options a bit. But now that Svetlana had returned he was happy to have her be in his upper ranks. "Fantastic! I'll have to let mother know about your new position when I see her again." He followed her gaze down to Korrin and watched curiously as the fox chuckled and then ran off. He glanced back up to Svetlana to ask where he was going, but before he could she asked to take a walk with him. He blinked with surprise, but his surprise was quickly pushed away by happiness. "Absolutely. I'd love to take a walk with you," he replied with a smile. He turned with a little nod of his head and led the way back further into the territory. With Svetlana walking at his side he smiled contently and his tail wagged slowly behind him. "So what have you been up to? Why don't you fill me in on what you've done since I saw you last?" "Talk" "You" Think

"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'

The young woman felt a surge of happiness. Getting to see Epiphron again, as well as having a stable home would all be a wonderful blessing. Her life would find a sense of stability again, and she would begin to walk alongside Leo into the territory. He would ask the question that the girl would expect to come, and she would take a breath, beginning her story.

"When I left Fiori everything was alright for a time. But then... I started to feel that things were missing in my life. Things that I couldn't quite grasp, or understand. I felt like I was almost in a state where I didn't even really know myself. I couldn't remember where I was going with my life anymore. My siblings seemed more distant to me then ever... and... I just... I left." Svetlana would frown, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Korrin stayed faithfully at my side as I wandered, trying to heal my mind, my heart. For so long I kept feeling betrayed, my heart fighting with what it knew was right and wrong. There was a lot of things to be sorted out." Svetlana would smile some. "Finally I just... came to accept everything. I accepted the losses I have experienced. I accepted the fact my family was not so close anymore. I accepted that I was the one distancing myself... I accepted that I had my own life to live, and that I had to stop chasing the past." Svetlana would look at Leo.

"I can't even remember now how long I traveled as a loner. It was a simple time. It gave me plenty of time to think, to realize that everything was okay. I got to see so many things, wonderful and horrible... and I was never lonely thanks to Korrin." She would frown again.

"When I came home, however, I came to find that Ebony was no more. Well, truth be told, I knew it was changing hands, becoming Yfir but... after that I know not what happened to the pack, nor my siblings, but I know that they are in the old lands no longer. That was when I truly realized it was time to stop chasing the past... and start chasing the future." Svetlana would flick her tail slowly back and forth.

"...and I thought of you. Of your mother and the kindness Fiori showed me when I was here last. So here I am."

Table by:: Shelby