Isi had stopped running long ago. In fact for a while after leaving the pack lands the chase had simply been a game in her foolish mind, so intent upon running however it was of course rather fortunate that she hadn't called back any taunts to the wolf already irritated enough with her; she may not have been standing here quite so unharmed if she had. He'd given up, grown tired with her and perhaps assumed he'd get his revenge later if he was that desperate for it. That thought hadn't occurred to her until long after she'd made her decision to explore, the freedom to wander the world had been rather thrilling. Had was of course the key word there. She of course had plenty more things that she could see, by no means had the girl seen everything and yet all the same her adventures had grown a little boring. Once she had considered heading back to the pack, truth be told she was a little lost now though, so careless in her exploration she didn't actually know the route she had travelled and had charged aimlessly from place to place, it had all been fun at the time and that was all that had mattered. Of course she wasn't desperate to return. Isi could cope on her own though some may have found that a little hard to believe. Sure it'd be a shame if she never found her way back, she could make a big entrance and disappoint all those who thought they'd gotten rid of her and those that cared like her family would welcome her home with such glee, either way she'd get a fair amount of attention. She wasn't some die-hard supporter of the pack, dedicated to spending her entire life doing what she could for the King, Queen and their cronies, if she was telling the truth a lot of their words went straight over her head. She just did enough to get by and not get kicked out of the pack or demoted. Now she could do what she wanted. Only problem was, Isi wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do...

Raisa had wandered, as she was prone to do. Her errant paws had carried her beyond the borders of her homeland, nose to the wind, seeking out the salt air. She wanted it to change course, to carry the scent of the ocean into her waiting snout, but for the moment it worked against her will. So, with a sigh, she carried on. She was of a mind to scout the tidal pools for a snack, perhaps lounge among them and cool down. It wasn't until she placed a paw onto the sand that she realized she wasn't alone. The wind gusted towards her, baring the scent of a stranger. It was a fae, by her best guess, and though she smelled like many of the land's rogues there was something hauntingly familiar layered beneath it all. Curiosity brought the queen forward, ears perked upwards. She could not see her quarry, so with brows drawn she made her way to the ocean, placing it at her back, so as not to be surprised. She called out then, "Hello?" Before, the world had been her oyster, but Raisa had found now, once she had settled, foreign lands held many more dangers. She was not master of her own fate any longer, but responsible for the safety of others, and it was not to be taken lightly. "Talk" "You" Think

"Hello?" It was the voice that became the first clue to Isi that she was no longer alone. That fact probably should have filled her with more fear than it did, as instead the girl was simply intrigued to see who was approaching. At least she looked first, head turning and her orange eyes falling upon the stranger. In Isi's defence a wolf probably stood more chance of being perceived as threatening if they spoke and stepped forwards with more confidence than the woman before her now, not that the thought had actually crossed her mind. A friendly grin spread across her muzzle as she fully moved herself around to face Raisa, her tail wagging a little at the possibility of company. No she didn't have the slightest idea who this wolf was, but it didn't matter much to her. It'd been too long since she'd gotten the opportunity to speak to another wolf and whether this one liked it or now, she now had Isi to deal with for a while. "Hello." She responded cheerfully. "I'm Isi, who are you?"

Raisa froze upon coming face to face with this friendly-seeming fae. Something about her seemed... Familiar. The stock of her body, the set of her ears, those eyes... It was as if she had seem them before. Yet the woman's scent and voice seemed utterly foreign. Raisa pushed the thought aside, filing it away for later. Raisa forced a small smile and dipped her head in a quick greeting. "Hello to you, too," she said in a kind voice. There was no need to frighten the woman, or push her to aggression, simply out of suspicion. "My name is Raisa Xanilov, queen of the pack Ebony, not far from here." Raisa tossed her head to the northeast, in the general direction of the lake and the garden. The woman before her, Isi, seemed to smell of a rogue, instead of a pack. Still, this did not mean that she was alone, and Raisa maintained her guard. All things considered she seemed like a well built, friendly young girl. Perhaps if she sought a home the sooty queen would oblige her. "Talk" "You" Think

From appearance there was nothing about Raisa that Isidora could say seemed familiar, even scent was foreign to the girls nose. She had been born as the Xanilov line lost its credibility in Ebony and that much younger she had never had the chance to meet the former heir to the throne, now a Queen in her own right. Ignorant of the stories spread around the pack, Isi probably wouldn't have even had the slightest bit of recognition by name alone though of course Raisa had more to her title now than name and was apparently a little more detailed in her introductions than Isi herself was. "Hello to you, too, My name is Raisa Xanilov, queen of the pack Ebony, not far from here." Isi's expression changed to a slightly bemused smile. Clearly there were some facts that needed to be set straight, either that or someone else from the pack had tracked her down and was now trying to get Raisa to play a joke on her. She wasn't going to fall for it that easily though, oh no! "You're not the Queen." She responded bluntly. "At least not of Ebony. I can't quite remember where Ebony is but I know its not here." It was perhaps a little rude to accuse the Queen of such a scam, though of course Isi didn't know any better, she was under the influence that she was supposed to be the victim here. "So, who are you really? I'm Isidora Koval if you wanted my full name. All fair now, so you can stop with the jokes. Who put you up to it? I didn't think anyone would find me when I couldn't even find them." There was of course a chance her full name would be recognised. The Koval's hadn't held much importance within Ebony, though they had been there for a few generations now, certainly before Raisa had been born.

The woman's blunt refusal of her title was at first very confusing. Raisa was miffed, of course, but in a somewhat amused way. Who was this fae to say what she was and was not? As the girl spoke on, however, it became somewhat clearer. An amused grin split the cinder woman's maw and a small chuckle leaked out. By the time Isi was at the end of her deduction, Raisa's sides quaked with laughter. "I'm sorry youngling," she said, sides quaking. "I think there's been a bit of a miscommunication between us." Raisa took a deep breath and looked over the woman once more. Koval, eh? It was a name she had heard before, if only once or twice. The queen dug deep into her memory to produce the names that she hoped would prove her legitimacy. "Taisiya's daughter then, yes?" She could not remember the girl's sire, but the mother's name sounded right. "You seem quite young, certainly not old enough to remember much about the coup. I'm not certain what you've been told, so I don't expect you to believe me. I am Raisa, by Ailwyn Kaisin, heir to the old Ebony throne. I have reformed the pack, loyal to the old ways, here in this new realm." Raisa sat down and looked at the girl in a new light. "So tell me, what has become of my old homeland?" "Talk" "You" Think

There certainly had been a bit of a miscommunication and Isi's face now shifted to a complete frown as Raisa began to smile and eventually laugh. What was so funny Isi really had no idea, she had after all worked out just what the prank was before it had really gone anywhere so the plot hadn't worked at all. Raisa, and who ever else was involved had failed, so why laugh at her? She was just about to ask as Raisa found her voice. "I'm sorry youngling. I think there's been a bit of a miscommunication between us." The frown still didn't shift from the confused female's face, still not quite following what was happening. There was still a few more things that Isi needed to know before she could guess the problem here, and as she recovered from her laughter, Raisa continued with her explanations. "Taisiya's daughter then, yes?" Isi gave a small nod of her head, not sure how this female knew her mother, she was sure that she had never met Raisa before after all. "Yes." She confirmed, though not even entirely sure what this had to do with the rest of the problem. If Raisa really did know Taisiya then she must have known that Ebony wasn't around here and of course knew that the pack was ruled by the Azarov Family. "You seem quite young, certainly not old enough to remember much about the coup. I'm not certain what you've been told, so I don't expect you to believe me. I am Raisa, by Ailwyn Kaisin, heir to the old Ebony throne. I have reformed the pack, loyal to the old ways, here in this new realm. So tell me, what has become of my old homeland?" Her first thought was of course that once more Raisa was mistaken, she wasn't the heir, Ailwyn Kaisin, whoever the hell that was, wasn't the Queen for starters. Slowly however her mind began to recall some of the pack's history and some facts about a dodgy family that had led the pack before Thalev and Kalla took over, something like that anyway. The recollection certainly helped make things clearer though, and it showed across her face, the frown now fading. "Well I don't really know how it's changed." Isi stated simply, not sure where to really begin with explaining things about the pack. "Thalev and Kalla Azarov are the King and Queen now. I don't know if you knew them." Isi herself didn't really know them, though found them a little strict for her liking.

The name 'Azarov' set Raisa's hackles to rising, but she forced herself to calm down. It was not this girl's fault, everything that had happened. It was not for Raisa to take out her lingering resentment on her, so she let her breath out slowly, nodding as the younger wolf spoke. She seemed confused and mistrusting, but this was not hard to fathom. In her place, Raisa would be much the same, although her language would likely be a bit more coarse. "Oh, aye, I knew them." Her voice was without emotion, but her thoughts were much more bitter. I knew Thalev as he tried to seduce my mother, and then watched as he killed her. I watched Kalla tear out my father's throat. I saw their knights butcher my baby siblings, I saw their servants used as fang fodder to hold my retainers off... But she voiced none of this. This girl had likely been misled, fed a false truth. Raisa felt no urge to alienate her, as she might be a valuable source of information. "I'm not sure what history you've been taught, but perhaps you've heard whispers of a coup that overthrew the old reign? That reigh would be my lineage. I was driven away, but I have pulled the pieces of the past back together as well as I was able." The queen did not mention the horror and terror of that night, the scandal and plot, and ended her short speech with a shrug. She felt no desire to dredge up those painful few moons before and after her world had been torn apart. "Talk" "You" Think

All signs of the laughter from before had faded now and the air certainly felt much more serious. "Oh, aye, I knew them." Isi wasn't quite sure what the sudden change was all about, couldn't guess much other than the fact it probably wasn't exactly good news, something to be cheery about. She remained silent, her bright eyes fixed upon Raisa as she allowed the older woman to speak, providing of course there was more to say. If not, well there would be the very rare occasion that Isi was a little speechless. "I'm not sure what history you've been taught, but perhaps you've heard whispers of a coup that overthrew the old reign? That reigh would be my lineage. I was driven away, but I have pulled the pieces of the past back together as well as I was able." Fortunately there were indeed more words, though the topic remained rather sombre, not typically something that Isi was accommodated to dealing with or particularly knew how to act now. It didn't help matters that she hadn't exactly been the model student when it came to learning about the pack's history. The details were rather vague in her mind though she did indeed recall them faintly. "Ummm... yeah. Something like that." She responded. To be honest the typically confident and carefree girl was at a bit of a loss. She wasn't exactly a member of the pack that everyone had been fond of in Ebony, or old Ebony as Raisa had called it but all the same she had certainly been tolerated and still cared for as a member of the pack. She supposed they were technically Raisa's enemies though, and it was a thought that made her a little uneasy. Of course she was indeed jumping to conclusions again, but there wasn't any stopping her. "You're not going to hurt me are you?" Even if she was there was hardly much she could do about it was there, maybe run but where too she had no idea. She'd never make it back to old Ebony and her family, and Raisa and her new pack would probably be able to hunt her down quite easily.

The girl seemed largely uncertain of how to act, and Raisa could understand that. Hell, for half a year Raisa hadn't been sure of anything other that that should couldn't go back home. How to speak, now that her matron wasn't constantly at her throat. How to hunt, without a half dozen knights making sure she didn't 'hurt herself.' How to interact with others, when they didn't grovel for her. Oh yes, much and more had change, but the queen felt as though she had come out of it on the better side. After all, her companions now were each worth ten of the wolves she had left behind. Isi did not seem terribly confident even about what she had been taught and Raisa smiled. The girl, at a glance, seemed like somewhat of a spitfire. From what Raisa had been able to gather she was lost, but this did not seem to trouble the younger wolf in the least. Suddenly, a fear took her over, and Isidora asked, "You're not going to hurt me are you?" Raisa's eyes widened and she backpedaled, uncertain at first how to voice her denial and deciding to show it instead. Why on earth would the girl think that? Isi had done nothing to harm her, after all. It occurred to Raisa that perhaps the Azarovs had been harder on her old pack mates than might be wished, even if it was not entirely surprising. Finally, the queen found her voice, now several paces farther away. "Gods no! No, no, I'm sorry. Did I make you think that? No, youngling, of course not." It was largely repetition but the queen wanted to be more than certain her message got across. Collecting herself with a breath or two and a small shake, Raisa asked, "Isidora, what sort of punishments do you face in your Ebony now?" It had not been this way before Raisa was forced out, nearly killed. Sure, there were executions, but only for treason and murder, things like that. No one killed in cold blood, or for revenge, or spite. It occurred to her for the first time that she was much better off in Alacritis, than back home. "Talk" "You" Think

Isi stood still, debating on whether or not it was time to run. She probably shouldn't have asked the question, should have just gone when the air turned cold at the mention of the Azarov family. Really, it wasn't clever of her to put ideas into the minds of others or hurry their thoughts along to what they were perhaps planning all along, not when it could possibly involve her getting hurt. And this was all far too serious for her liking, not like the last time she'd had to run from punishment, it'd all been a bit of a game then, up until she'd gotten completely lost anyway. To her surprise, and relief, it was Raisa that formed more distance between them, stepping backwards so neither could reach the other without a clear movement giving away the motive and a head start to begin running away. There was shock on her expression as well, one that suggested with the shuffle backwards that hurting her had never been on Raisa's to-do list. Well she was rather thankful for that but now felt like a complete idiot for bringing the question up in the first place, well she had done anyway just for a slightly different reason. "Gods no! No, no, I'm sorry. Did I make you think that? No, youngling, of course not." Isi shrunk a little now, hanging her head slightly for thinking such a thing. Of course she didn't know Raisa, it would probably be forgiven but she still felt a little foolish for it now. "Well you don't really like the Azarov's do you?" Isi began to explain how she had come to think such a thing. "I'm a part of their pack, or was maybe, I'm not quite sure now." She of course didn't know just what they had done to Raisa's family to earn such a hatred, all she had figured was that the distaste between the leaders of the packs would mean the same stood for the members of the packs, the rivals for the name of Ebony, the enemy. "Isidora, what sort of punishments do you face in your Ebony now?" Of course the wrong part of that would stand out to her first. "Isi, I'm only really called Isidora when I'm in trouble." She wasn't quite sure when she'd taken to the shortened version of her name, though she certainly found it more fitting in her mind that Isidora, it sounded a bit more stuck up than just Isi in her mind. That sounded more fun and friendly. But back to the matter at hand, she'd never really thought much on the punishments of the pack. She'd been born into that environment and any who objected to them had been taught to be quiet rather swiftly. She had managed to avoid punishment for the most part to be honest, and that probably helped her thoughts not to linger much upon the cruel treatment and yet the punishments were no secrets, they had all been warned what would happen for any crimes. "They're a bit rough I guess." She had nothing to compare it too, all she knew was they seemed to strike fear into the hearts of most that faced them or the urge to run apparently in her own situation.

Raisa listened to the girl explain her suspicion, and relaxed after a time, as understanding grew within her mind. She offered a small smile and visibly relaxed as the tension left her muscles. The girl seemed uncertain of much and more, and for that Raisa could not help but pity her just a bit. "In the new Ebony," the sooty queen began, "We call others by the name they make for themselves, not what they are told is their identity. If you were an Azarov wolf it might be different, but it doesn't seem that's so." The girl went on to admit that, yes, at times her new overlords were a bit harsh. That brought a frown to the woman's lips but not in her displeasure with the girl. Rather, she was upset to know that her old subjects, or rather those still breathing, could very well be abused. It was never something allowed under her parents rule. Sure, they might be politically controlling, but that was only the court of nobles and their scheming. The smallfolk were left out of it more often than not. But if even the Koval family was feeling the hard hand of their rulers... "Isi, you seem like a sweet girl. If you need a place to find sanctuary, for only a time or more indefinitely, I would welcome you among our ranks." The offer might seem rather out of the blue, and the cinder-coated woman recognized this. More likely the girl would want to find her way home, back to her family, but Raisa did not want to think of her being misused. She seemed innocent and kind. It would be a shame for those qualities to be beaten down. "Talk" "You" Think

"In the new Ebony, we call others by the name they make for themselves, not what they are told is their identity. If you were an Azarov wolf it might be different, but it doesn't seem that's so." Isi shook her head at that comment, nope she definitely wasn't an Azarov. She wasn't sure what sort of name she'd developed for herself or could potentially develop though it certainly wasn't in even remotely similar to the reputation that the Azarov's likely had. None of that really mattered though, Raisa had clearly stated that Isi was safe here and all explanations for the thoughts regarding that topic had been given and the course set straight. "Isi, you seem like a sweet girl. If you need a place to find sanctuary, for only a time or more indefinitely, I would welcome you among our ranks." Her ears perked slightly at the offer. She certainly hadn't considered joining another pack, had merely been pondering the fact that she was rather lost. Technically you could even argue that this wasn't entirely a different pack, just a different part of it, the part that could have been the sole existence if things had gone differently. "OK, great!" The young girl accepted with a happy smile. It may not have been her original home but it certainly had to beat being stuck aimlessly wandering around. "Oh! Thank you." Her mother wouldn't have been too happy to hear her forgetting her manners.

For all that Isi seemed caught off guard by the offer, she did not reject it. Instead Raisa watched a light of interest kindle in the girl's eyes and a smile spread on her face. The sooty queen couldn't help but chuckle at how odd this encounter had become. From a stranger to an enemy to an ally, this girl was certainly full of surprises. It also occurred to her that she now had a number of Old Ebony wolves at her side. Vaughan and Sif, Aeryc and now Isi. She wondered if more might come to her in time. As it was their numbers were already growing fast, and each new member made the fae more prideful and excited than before. The queen turned from the water's edge and angled herself back towards her homelands. She cast a glance back at the younger fae and tilted her muzzle in the general direction of the garden. "C'mon, I'll show you the way." "Talk" "You" Think

When you put it like that, this certainly hadn't been the most conventional of meetings, even for Isi. The young girl hardly stuck to orthodox ways most of the time, straying to do whatever she felt like in the moment. It was probably rather fortunate that she'd found herself in the company of a pack watching her grow up then rather than meeting complete strangers all the time, though of course it was now time for circumstances to change. She certainly would be meeting and befriending more strangers, Raisa was only the start of that list. "C'mon, I'll show you the way." Came the Queen's simple statement as she turned to lead the way to what Isi supposed would now be her new home. It was rather exciting really, and Raisa certainly didn't need to say the words again as Isi bound into action, eagerly following her. There were likely to be more questions voiced along the way, or random comments that sprung to her mind. It didn't typically take her long at all to warm up to others, and after the brief concern of drama, she was back to feeling quite relaxed again.