Another sleuth, a master of the shadows; so many have trickled into her vale as of late that she cannot help but wonder if it is a silent omen from the Gods that their time to rise was approaching, that those of the Basin who nurtured the arts of stealth were a promising asset. But how to use them? Her mind clicks away at the talent presented to her, how he and his kin of shadow might serve useful to a herd that, traditionally, had focused mainly on physical combat.

The jangle of her own amulets as she shifts gives inspiration to the budding thoughts that smell sweetly of promise. A glance is given to the man alongside her, his magical prowess known throughout the land and, in part, why the Basin was so largely feared – for who would be steady when presented with a man who brought death with his touch, with his whims? And, she thinks, her friendly smile of welcome gaining a sharp edge at the brilliance of her thought, that every member of the herd carrying about such a spell at their disposal would make them quite dangerous, indeed.

She will have to be speaking with Deimos and Roland, before too long.

What the man gives to her next, however, makes any delight she finds in her plotting sour most instantly, her ears falling down and her mask slipping ever so slightly from cordial queen to protective warrior in the slightest of heart beats. "Surely you mean my niece no harm, darling?" she decides on, managing to realign her smiling, cheerful mask more precisely on her features, "though she still lives within Helovia, as of Birdsong. It was the last I have seen of her since."

If he means the daughter of the Empress problems, she will see an end to him most instantly – but, the Lady does know the temper of the frosted damsel, the way of words she has that can manage to grate wrongly against even the thickest of skins, and she would not blame Jakar if punishments were in order and he rightly repaid her. She would blame him, however, if her darling sister’s child was to be removed from the earth – while her sire was less valuable in blood than her dam, Illynx saw promise in the pale girl’s breeding, and would be quite sour to know that she had lost such a prize to a coyote and an old hate.

Maybe she should send someone to watch him, for a while. It would be a test of both his alleged skill set and would help her rest better at night.

In so far as the cold – the Lady has seen many come and go from the hoarfrost of the mountain, so many new faces that, in fact, she has become quite talented at noticing signs of chill among her patrons; it would help her help them stay alive, in the long run, and she means no harm or jest at his pride for finding the weather cold so far north. It is cold. It had taken her a long while to grow accustomed to it when they had been flushed from the Edge and had followed the Time God to their new haven, and her first winter, bitter and horrible and so fucking cold, was not soon forgotten.

She nods in reply to his words, at first, her sweet voice sounding out momentarily after the bob ceases in motion. "It should grow swiftly enough," she says with a laugh, golden eyes sparkling in good humor and memory of her first seasons in the snow, "the summer is not so bad. You picked a rough time to arrive."

Sialia chimes in, and Illynx glances over to the dark mare with a nod of regard. There are a good few who practice in the art of stealth, but skill is something that greatly differs between each unit of the class – her Thranduil is a master of clandestine arts, weaving into places he should not be, while Hotaru and Roland are benders of words, taking whatever they desire from the shadow. Is Jakar a Thranduil or a Roland? Such things are important when assigning skills, and its quite obvious the dark stallion before her will not be as forthcoming or flamboyant as the golden man she’d saved from angry, irritable herd mates his first day in town.

And the lights! How had she forgotten the lights! "It is a good season for the Auroras, though, as Sialia says," her smile crinkles the folds of her face, makes her seem more genuine and alive than she really is, "once the Sun falls, they dance with the peaks, every color one can imagine."

[ OOC: SORRY HEATHER - went ahead and replied to keep this moving for Semper. <3 ]