His tiny paws, which weren't so tiny anymore since he would be a year old shortly, they shook as he lifted them and gently placed them down. The blind pup was very unsure of being by himself, but he didn't want to just lay somewhere and die. Othello had promised him the search and discovery of his true mother who would take him back so they could go live happily ever after. But the reality of his mother never coming back wouldn't hit him until much later. But Othello misplacing him had already hurt him. The young boy hadn't eaten in days, maybe even a week at that. Sure he ate grass and whatnot, but who the heck eats grass? He couldn't hunt for himself and was too scared to even find someone and ask them for a bite. Grass made him sick anyway, so if anything it was making him worse. Through his shaky, blind steps he stumbled and flipped over a small stone and landed on his back on the other side. He would lay there for a moment trying to let the pain of the scratches and crunches he was too scared to even find. He was fine, but he couldn't think of anything but the worst case scenario, that he would stand to his feet and his back bone would fall to pieces. Walk "Talk" Think

Val could smell something strange on the wind, but it was so faint, so small, she couldn't be sure... What on earth? The auburn queen paused on her trek homewards, turning to the east, into the prevailing wind. She climbed one ridge and then another, finally scrambling up a half fallen wall as she came upon the ruined foundations. She was about to give the delusion up as fatigue when she saw a spot of darkness against the greenery and the grey. A wolf? He had not announced himself, and something about him didn't seem quite right. He stumbled, he seemed thin and haggard... Val was about to call out when she saw him stumble over a stone as if he'd never seen it in the first place. She gasped and lept down from the wall, wincing against the impact on her limbs, before rocketing off towards the fallen intruder. He seemed young, younger still as she drew close to him. She could see a gaunt frame under his dark pelt, and finally milky eyes. He was blind. "Gods above, are you alright?" she called as she came up next to him. She stood a length away, worried that crowding him might be worse than anything else. She scented the air, testing for blood. "Are you hurt badly?" she asked again, a bit flustered and uncertain how to proceed. She wished Fendar was with her, or even better, Kassander. Her brother would certainly know what to do. "Talk" "You" Think

Though the voice that called out was sweet and high, the boy jolted a bit but didn't raise from his position. He still laid belly up, but instead he closed his pure eyes and tried to stop breathing as if it would make him invisible and that the woman would go away. But only a few seconds, he would slowly open one eye after the other and let out the air he held in. "I... Don't know..." He spoke quietly, barley audible. He should have been used to strangers interfering with him, being apart of Othello's family. But he was just more frightened of the girl leaving him, or even hurting him. Of course she showed no sign, but he had been alone for some time; enough to have him scared of what would happen to him. But being with someone was what he really need. That was the only way he could survive. Walk "Talk" Think

Valeriya was completely out of her element. She was no sage, no healer. Gods, why wasn't he moving, why did he just remain there on the ground? We he admitted he didn't know the extent of his injuries. Panic threatened to well up and consume her but she forced it back down with a gulp. She was the Queen of Ebony for godssakes! She'd spent half a year out in the wilds and she hadn't even been a year old... She could handle this. Val took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Would you like me to go fetch you a healer? We have several in the pack here, all very good at what they do." She wanted to help this male, if he would only let her. If she only knew how. If he rejected that offer, well, she'd just have to think of something else. A meal probably wouldn't hurt, but she'd need to get him on his feet first, less something more malicious find him while she was away. "I'm Valeriya Xanilov, by the way. I'm Queen over these lands, I can get you whatever you need." She meant it as reassurance, not as bragging, and hoped he would take it that way. Her resources were somewhat more considerable that the average Joe who might have stumbled across him. She shifted her weight from one paw to another, eager to be one with it, to do something other than just standing. She had always been a wolf of action, and careful deliberation had never been a strong suit. Still, with something as delicate as this, she knew she ought to pay some extra attention. "Talk" "You" Think

Kassander hadn't known that his sister was wishing for a healer. He hadn't know there was an intruder, or that Val had found him. He had been more concerned with filling his growing herbal stores almost obsessively, gathering the soggy, storm-lashed herbs and drying them out in one of several caches he had been filling. The rain had already ruined more than one cache with molding, but he was determined that when fall came and killed the growing things, Ebony's healers would still have enough herbs to treat illness and injury through the winter without anyone suffering for it. He might not be a fully trained healer yet, but he had spent most of his life obsessing over memorizing healing herbs and their uses so he had them down cold. It was his own experience he was nervous about - what herbs were the most important for winter? What ones were gone through fastest? What diseases were the most likely? He didn't know, but the idea of asking Maximous - who had treated Val so much like a child when Katja turned the pack over to her, who had in that single harsh conversation betrayed Kass' trust of his judgement and hurt his easily-bruised feelings - what his own experience told him was simply impossible for the young Xanilov. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. And Adelaide had just vanished, Kass hadn't even seen her since he'd returned from Olympus. He hadn't even met any of the new wolves who'd appeared from Old Ebony... the shy introvert hadn't been able to bring himself to approach one yet, though he knew as Val's brother he really should... so he didn't know if there were other healers among them. So, he'd been simply stuffing his hoards to the gills with all the healing herbs he could in the hopes that it would be enough. That's what he was out doing when he spotted Val with another stranger, and Kass changed his course to meet them. With Val around he felt more capable, anxious to show her that he wasn't useless, so his stance was straighter rather than curled in on itself as it had been since his return. As he approached though it was clear something wasn't right. The stranger wasn't quite emaciated, but certainly approaching thin, and he was lying prone and helplessly before Val. More telling, Val looked concerned. Really, really concerned. "Val?" he asked softly as he came up on them, then to both Val and the stranger added, "Is something wrong?" That was the first thing, to establish if anyone was hurt or unwell. The stranger sure didn't look quite right, but... "Talk" "You" Think

Exodus wasn't too sure what he wanted or needed. He didn't want to trouble the woman who was trying to help him, but he always seemed to trouble someone. When her words of being queen and ruling over lands came in mind, the boy gently started to roll over. He heard the young boy approach, but he was obviously talking to the Queen, Valeriya. "Sorry..." He felt awful for trespassing into the woman's lands, he started to stand to the fact but showed no sign of actually being hurt. He shook his legs a bit as he stood and kept his head facing the ground toward their feet. "I'm Exodus." He was still showing polite, but was more frightened that his tresspassing would only hurt him. The girl trying to help him before had slipped his mind and he couldn't think of anything but the worst. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Walk "Talk" Think

Several apologies, along with a name, would pour forth from the young male's mouth and take Val completely aback. She realized a moment too late that her talk of holding claim to the terra around them had frightened Exodus, and her jaw worked uselessly as she tried to come up with some reassurance that she would not harm him. Her brother would appear, a gift from the gods, and Valeriya looked at him with wide 'Help Me' eyes. He had always been a more gentle soul, and she was way out of her depth here. She sputtered out, "Hey, hey, you've got it all wrong! There's nothing to be sorry for, I just want to help." She worried the ground with a bit of pacing, wondering what on earth she would do. She looked to Kassander and ground her teeth. Godssakes, she had only seen one measly year of life, and she was no Sola! Kass on the other had had always seemed wise beyond his years, and she had half a mind to foist the entirety of the situation onto him. "Kassander, can you help him?" She stepped back a pace, half back-peddaling and half giving her sibling some room to maneuver. She hadn't exactly seen how the young male had ended up in this position, only vaguely from a distance, and she had little else to offer on the matter. "He tripped so I came to make sure he was okay, only I don't know..." her voice trailed off and she let her lack of knowledge hand in the air, and uncomfortable burden she could only pray Kass would distract her from. "Talk" "You" Think

His approach had the other male practically cringing away from them, apologizing over and over. Kass' startled gaze swung to Val's, mismatched eyes wide. She asked if he could help the other boy, stepping back and giving a quick description of what had happened. "Uuuuhhh..." he could only manage at first, his eyes flicking from Val to the boy and back before managing a weak smile and "Sure, Val." He stepped toward the darker boy, running his gaze over him now that he was closer. "Hi there," he said softly to him, his voice positive and calm in the hopes of soothing the patient. "I'm Kassander, I'm a healer. I'm going to help you, all right? I just need to ask a few questions. Are you hurt anywhere from falling? When's the last time you ate anything or had anything to drink?" There were more questions he wanted to ask but he didn't want to overwhelm the frightened kid. He knew how that felt... His brow knotted as he peered at the boy's completely white gaze, and his own questioning eyes darted to Val's before he carefully raised his paw and waved it directly in front of the boy's eyes. "Talk" "You" Think

Exodus would sit and point his nose straight down, still a little frightened for passing their borders. Silent, he thought that they were lying. tricking him into thinking he was okay but really they would take him to a cliff side and push him off. Or worse. Now that the boy had approached him, he would pay more attention to him and speak when he asked questions. "No I'm fine." he was still sore on his back but he knew that it was nothing serious. Just more of stress pulling on it. "I... don't know when I ate. I was separated from my mom a few days back." It was so weird calling Othello mom. The taste almost sour since his real mother was no where to be found. Suddenly a flick of darkness moved across his eyes, he pulled his head back slightly, indicating that he could obviously see shadows but he wasn't startled by the movement. He would relax as Kassander turned to Valeriya. Wondering how they felt right now. Walk "Talk" Think