He had left Lirim lands for the first time in what felt like forever. Kairi knew he had gone out, but he didn't say for how long he would be gone. Maybe a few hours. Maybe the whole day. Maybe even a week...or perhaps longer. Did it even matter? He knew he wouldn't be missed anyway. So with that in mind, he headed southward until he reached the banks of the huge river that cut through the lands. The summer sun beat down on his back as he walked along the banks, head low and ears folded back. It was clear he wasn't in a good mood, but in all honesty, he wasn't quite sure what to feel anymore... "Talk"

Gwen had decided to take a couple days to herself. She left word with Aurielle, and got a sitter for the pups, then set off for the east. She still held a vague hope that she'd be able to track down the family she had left, since they'd last been seen there, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. Finding out about her mother's death had somewhat dimmed her desire to look for them - she was afraid of what she'd find out. It was easier to just believe her brothers and sister were alive and well out there, somewhere, raising their own families.

Still, she couldn't help but be drawn there.

Kassander, the wolf in Abaven, said he'd buried her with the help of a Tornach Adravendi up at the range. She was fairly certain that was the same Tornach Adravendi who was Regulus' younger brother, so he'd have been raised thinking of Ephiphron as his aunt, if they'd met at all. That must have been difficult for him. It wasn't the same as losing your own blood family, but hard. She had the vague idea that she could ask him to show her where her mother was buried, but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to deal with the inevitable 'oh, you're my cousin!'s if he was anything like the rest of that branch.

Grandfather, you truly made a mess of this family, she thought with sad amusement. He'd certainly complicated things a great deal by adopting in so many into the family, and then Erani had complicated things even further by adopting random strays of her own and choosing to call them Adravendi.

She paused at the banks of the river, watching as a wolf paced along the other bank downstream from her. He stalked along, ears flat, and Gwen tilted her ears toward him. This couldn't possibly be this Tornach, could it? He had a similar red to Regulus, only much less saturated, closer to a russet. She'd been under the impression that Tornach was a gentle sort, but... well, everyone got upset once in a while. It wouldn't hurt to see if she could help whoever it was, though.

She slipped quietly into the water and paddled for the other side, the current carrying her downstream even as she swam strongly for the other bank. When her paws finally touched the ground to pull herself out of the water, she was a bit downstream from the other male, but not terribly so. She shook the water from her ivory fur and padded over to him.

"Hello," she called softly. "Are you all right?"

So absorbed in his own mind, he didn't notice the other wolf that had noticed him. Eyes were trained straight ahead as he walked along the bank, and it wasn't until he heard a voice call out to him that he slowed a few paces before coming to a full stop. Eyes narrowed as he glanced to either side of him before his gaze soon found a woman had seemingly appeared from nowhere. From the look of her coat though, it looked like she had come from the river? One brow point rose as if questioning if she had just swam through the river to...what? With it being summer and pretty warm out, the idea of her going in for a swim wasn't too absurd for this time of the year, so he chalked it up to that. "I'm just peachy," He responded. He decided that since he didn't know this woman, he could probably keep up his bad mood. But then again, was it fair of him to take it out on a stranger like that? Especially a woman? He felt kind of conflicted with himself on that. He didn't particularly like to be rude to women unless they deserved it, so he supposed he'd play nice. Or try to anyway. "It's pretty warm out...and I see you've decided to go for a swim...how's the water?" An awkward start on his end, but it had been quite a while since he socialized with anyone outside of Lirim. "Talk"

Gwen was unphased by the male's rude start, her friendly expression just shifting to amusement when he tried again, in an awkward attempt to be more friendly. "It's all right," she said, not entirely referring to the water. "I'm not usually much for swimming. I don't mind water, though, and I wanted to talk to you. But if you're looking to take a swim, it's not bad. Especially in this heat." She tilted her head, studying him. "You seemed upset about something, and I admit I'm a bit of a busybody. Really nosy. It's my character flaw." She grinned at him, though the grin didn't quite reach her eyes. Friendly, yes, but... reserved. "So I couldn't not try to help. Name's Gwenevere Adravendi."

He wasn't quite sure how to react, unsure of really what to do. His ears fell back slightly as he sighed quietly. He really needed to get a handle on himself, but he felt like that's all he'd been doing. The woman responded to his question, though she caught him off guard when she said she wanted to talk to him. His head tilted in slight confusion, and the more she spoke, the more he learned. Great! So she could tell he was having a bad day too!? First Baelfire, and now her? He supposed he wasn't making any attempts to hide it at all, but he also didn't expect a complete stranger to swim across a river just to talk to him. Then she said her name and he nearly did a double take. Did...she know who he was? If she was an Adravendi, that meant she was related to Faite...right? Honestly, he had no clue who all was part of her family. He had only met Zuriel and...probably a couple others he couldn't remember, but he had never heard of this woman. He did chuckled after Gwenevere relayed that she was a nosy busybody, it was...interesting. "I...I'm Zell Valentine." He had questions, but he was confused and not sure where to start with them. His mouth opened a few times, and each time he shut it. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, turning fully to face her. Blue gaze rested on her as he tried to think of what to say first, but alas, he decided to just dive right in. "Wait so...you're an Adravendi...? My ex-mate was an Adravendi...Faite. I never really met any of her family but I did know of one named Zuriel...and this annoying little brat that she adopted..." He frowned as he thought of Jewell, and he was soooo glad that Faite hadn't taken his last name. While there had been plans to, he just would not have been happy if that runt had his last name too. Not that he would have let that happen in the first place, but Faite was gone, and he knew he needed to move on eventually. While his gaze had drifted away a bit, he returned his attention to her again. "I've gotta admit, I'm a little...confused as to why you'd swim across the river just to talk to me. For all you know, I could just be an asshole looking for a fight or something." He wasn't, of course. But he could have been. "Talk"

The male reacted amusingly, but the amusement faded slightly into faint exasperation when he asked about her name. "That is... a long story, but Faite Adravendi's mother was adopted by my grandfather a long time ago. She and her siblings are not Adravendi by blood." Oh goodie. Another adoptee bearing the Adravendi name, and this one apparently a brat that had managed to get under this male's skin. Gwen forced a smile regardless. "I could have handled myself if you were. I'm afraid, though, that in part it was selfish. My mother was buried in the range up north a little ways, and I was hoping you were the male who lives near there and could show me where she's buried." She shrugged. "I am not disappointed you aren't, though. I enjoy meeting new people."

"Ah.." He didn't know any of the history concerning Faite's family, and he was a bit displeased that some of his kids had the Adravendi name considering they weren't blood related like this woman said. He didn't think he could or would ever adopt someone into his name without a very good reason, and it seemed Faite's side had adopted left and right. Whether or not for good reason was beyond him, and he didn't particularly care right now.

He chuckled when she said she could handle herself, and he could respect that completely. That was a good thing. He knee Faite could handle herself, wherever she was. But his kids? Probably not so much. She then mentioned something about her mothers grave and he solemnly shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know anyone that has been buried there. I don't know anyone else with your surname asides from Faite and Zuriel," He wished he could have helped more, but he really didn't know anything about where her mother might be buried. He wished he could visit his own deceased family...but they were buried beneath a rockslide beyond Boreas and Auster. He was a bit flattered that she decided to talk to him, he hadn't met many new wolves outside of Lirim. In fact, he had been avoiding his pack mates like the plague recently. "I could help you search if you'd like. It's the least I can do, anyway."