Prim and proper had never really been her thing. The kind and reserved healer who happened to hold a powerful last name was just wandering about with no real purpose. She knew what she wanted to do, but it was a matter of where she would be doing what she wanted to do. The mostly black wolf had been out and about, searching for a pack that she could be a competent healer in. She knew how to fight, quite well surprisingly, but she loathed violence. She followed peace and had a full training in healing. It was a matter of finding a pack who could see her skills. She'd visited a few packs before but none had really taken her seriously. The blue eyed girl had arrived at the borders of a pack and curiosity struck her. She called out a howl for the leader as she felt something different almost about the wolves who had laid claim to the lake beyond but she couldn't place it. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the borders, her flawless pelt flattened against her spine. She was searching for any wolves that might be approaching off in the distance. She desperately hoped that this was the place for her and that her hunt could end.

The howl would ring out, crystalline in the dead summer air. It's voice was foreign but Valeriya had no trouble distinguishing that it was born of a fae. She would rise halt in her paces, considering a moment before striking a course more westerly than she had before. Rabbits could wait, but a stranger at the border might not. The young girl had been busy since her ascension, but she had found it to be a pleasant sort of occupied. Certain tasks were easier than others, but it had not been until she'd fallen asleep in her mother's old den that she realized just how much she had missed home. Her heart was still sick for the wayward ex-queen, just as she longed to see Sigmarr and Sindri once more, even Svetlana. They all had so much they needed to work out between them. But, she had allowed her mind to get sidetracked. With a deep breath, Valeriya forged forwards to meet whoever had beckoned her. Finally, in the distance, the silhouette of another broke the horizon. Valeriya's ears perked as she began to take on it's build. Slender, she thought. And pleasant. It was a relief to know that it wasn't some snarling hulk of a beast she would have to treat with. Not that Valeriya would ever turn away from a fight, only she'd had a long day already, and it would be nice to just have a normal conversation for once in her still-short life. "Hello," she would call out from a distance. "I am Valeriya, Queen of Ebon-" Her words froze in her throat. The woman's appearance was clear to her now and it was hauntingly familiar in it's strangeness. That mask, the hues... She had never seen another wolf besides her family bear them, and her mother had told them all about their lineage. What exactly was going on here? The shock locked up her limbs, and Valeriya froze, waiting for this familiar stranger to explain herself. "Talk" "You" Think

The woman would be content with waiting at the borders until a wolf arrived to aid in the scores to be settled between the rouge and the pack. These scores were quite obvious, whether or not she would request to join or turn her back on the world. She saw a faint figure in the distance and watched as it approached slowly. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw the familiar markings of the Xanilov wolves. The girl would speak, naming herself queen of Ebony before actually looking at the woman with her mouth agape and returning the reaction. "You're a..." She started in disbelief before she shook her head. "I'm Koroleva Xanilov. I was just curious about the pack... but I think this has turned into a family matter." There was a certain shock in her voice as her eyes remained widened.

This fae's words did little to assuage Val's surprise. Koroleva Xanilov? ..No. It couldn't be. This was some sort of trick, it had to be. The first thought in her mind was that Raisa had had other children, a litter before her own that she had neglected to tell anyone about. But Koroleva looked too old for her mother's childbearing years were not so long upon her. Still, at the mention of the pack the auburn Queen forced herself into composure. She cleared her throat and shook her head a bit. "Yes, of course. You've caught me by surprise, I'm sorry. My name is Valeriya Xanilov... Queen of Ebony." She let her surname hang heavy in the air. "A family matter indeed." Where on earth to begin? Valeriya's mind swam with questions, and all were vying for a spot at the front of her mind. She took a step back and turned slightly, gesturing over her shoulder to the pack lands behind them. "Would you care to walk? There are some more comfortable spots farther in." And more private spots as well. Ones where they might talk without being interrupted. Valeriya had a feeling that this might take a while to sort out. Raisa had alluded to having a larger family but she had never spoken of them in the present tense. Valeriya had never known what to make up the nigh-absent information so she'd largely ignored it. To have it presented so suddenly was unnerving, but hardly something she was unprepared to deal with. Each day, another battle. "I wonder how exactly you are related to me?" She began delicately, not pressing too hard for information Koroleva might not want to give. "I am Raisa Xanilov's first daughter, born in this season one year past." How old was this fae, and how had she come to be here? It seemed more than mere coincidence, and Katja had taught Val plenty of the gods. What a turn of fate, that as she loses one family member, another appears. "Talk" "You" Think

She would watch as the woman shook herself from the daze and apologized, saying that Koro had taken her by surprise. The woman nodded and then the queen offered for them to take a walk. She would follow silently, her banner fallen to a normal position as it swayed slightly from side to side. The question she knew was coming had come. How were the two of them related? Then, as soon as she said the name of her mother, Koro understood a bit more. She had learned about all of her aunts and uncles. "If Raisa is your mother then that makes us cousins because my mother was Reila." She answered the question almost flawlessly with a small grin. She considered listing off some of her skills because with her cousin in charge of the pack, Koro was confident she would want to stay. "I was born within the winter months, three years past. I am a trained healer. So this Ebony, is it like the old one? The one that I had been raised in?"

Even as the woman admitted her age, two full years older than Valeriya herself, the auburn Queen couldn't help but notice that she was the taller of the two... if not by much. Still it brought a tiny smile to her face as she led the other woman deeper into the woods that surrounded the lake. Her cousin, huh? Valeriya let that settle in her mind, tasted the feel of it. To think she had more family directly related to her than just her siblings and mother was a strange thing, but far from unpleasant. "Well, along with myself, Raisa had five children. But... We've had some trouble," she admitted quietly. "Mother is missing. Because of that fact, earlier this year her lover attempted to take us from Ebony and raise us in her own pack. I was out looking for Raisa and so avoided her grasp, but the others were not so lucky. When we came of age, Virgil let the others go, but only one brother and one sister came home. Sindri and Sigmarr are missing now too, and my sister did not like that I claimed the throne, never mind that I was born before her." Valeriya let out a long sigh, and realized for the first time that she'd shared rather sensitive information with a complete stranger. "Er, I just want you to know what you're facing," she said quickly. "If you want a place to rest for a few days or even if you'd like to make a home here you're welcome to it! Of course. Only, it's not perfect," she finished her flustered speech quietly. "Talk" "You" Think

The healer would listen carefully as Valeriya started to explain exactly what had been happening. There were a few concerns that she had, a few surprises too. One, Raisa had a lover but the pronoun used when talking about this lover was her and it was then that Koro realized Raisa played for both teams it would seem. Then there was the concern of two of her children being missing and that Valeriya's sister did not approve of her holding the title queen. She offered a slightly sympathetic smile. "Adversity is just a way to test how strong we are and with all of this, all that life has thrown at you and your siblings, and it would seem that the Xanilov name continues to describe the strong-minded wolves that it always knew. No home is ever perfect and I'd like to make Ebony my own home." The words had an informative tone to them but also a dash of sympathy and a twinge of kindness.

Koroleva's words bespoke wisdom, and Valeriya smiled knowing that it also bespoke her training in the scholarly arts. Val wondered if, while in Old Ebony, she had passed from Squire to Sola Knight and completed her training. She planned to ask before her cousin announced her full intentions to make a home with her queendom. Valeriya broke into a grin and stopped their trek. "It would be wonderful to have you, Koroleva. We don't have nearly the swath of land or the numbers of Old Ebony, but we do well enough. I'm curious though, have you been knighted into the Sola Order yet? We have several decent healers if you believe you would like to hone your skills further." Val did not mean to be rude, and hoped it did not come across this way, but it was something she needed to know. If Koroleva had not been properly knighted and Valeriya passed her forwards, it could go rather poorly indeed. But still, the auburn fae was not overly concerned. This charcoal fae displayed every courtesy and kindness, and that was rarely something a wolf came by naturally. She would wait for her kin to answer, and turn her attention to the lake that now stood before them. The late afternoon sunlight glinted off it's surface and filled the air with the heady scent of rich soil. It was not the home her mother spoke of, but it was home enough for her. "Talk" "You" Think

Koroleva listened carefully as Valeriya asked her if she had been properly knighted as a Sola Knight back within old Ebony and she nodded. "I had been knighted just before the rebellion started." She admitted, looking to her cousin with a kind smile. She had taken no offense towards the question because she understood that the queen would need to know something like this. "It would not hurt to further hone my skills. Do you currently have a Sola Master? If so, then who might I go see about this further practice?" She asked out of blatant curiosity. She would leave out the fact that she had fled within the first few days of the rebellion, overwhelmed by the sight of blood and number of patients. She hadn't been able to save them, and that was what had hurt her the most.

It soothed rhe auburn to queen to hear of her cousin's education. It was another weight off her shoulder, to know that Maximous and Adelaide would have another healer to aid them. "I have yet to choose a master," she would admit. "But that is not to say we lack candidates. We have two Sola Knights within Ebony as it stands, Maximous and Adelaide. Both have served us very well." It was the truth. Val didn't know her healers as well as might be wished, something she hoped to rememdy sooner than later, but she would trust her life to either. Even Maximous's squire was coming along nicely, and Kassander was taking motions to improve as well. "I could perhaps introduce you if you like, or we could wait for another day after you've settled in?" She would not press the fae, no more than polite interest would dictate. It was a big decision to join a pack, even if it happened to hold your long lost kin. Koroleva might wish for some time alone, or she might want to immerse herself immediately. Val only wanted the fae to be comfortable, after all. The joy she felt welling up inside was muted somehow, likely from disbelief. It did not feel real just yet, but she hoped in time that would change. "Talk" "You" Think