The sharp warning has gone unheeded and Hietala isn’t sure to be impressed by the stranger's boldness or annoyed by it. The wolf emerges from the long reeds and the injured ice queen squints her clouded brown eyes, desperately trying to focus on this intruder. From what she could make out, the younger female is mostly white with splashes of orange and black. She must admit, it’s at times like this she wished she could see properly. She could tell that this one was born with the grace gifted from the moon goddess and the fiery courage from father sun. Though what she was admiring most was how easily this painted female conducted herself. It was a pity Ashitaka wasn’t here, otherwise Hietala would be trying to convince him into asking this beautiful stranger into their courtship process.

Parting her jaws slightly Hietala sucks in the air over her tongue as the stranger steadily makes her way downstream along the bank. Once she is certain that this wolf hasn’t come from Spirane, the injured ice queen visibly relaxes. Leaning down she takes three laps of water before steadily, and painfully, rolling her back to one side to submerge the other half of her burning wounds into the water. “I would be glad of some company,” she states in a hushed tone. It’s the closest she will come to apologizing. Her ears twitch in curiosity to the sound of a shocked gasp. Clearly, Hietala was in a worse state than she thought, or maybe this younger female was not accustomed to seeing the results of fierce combat.

The female then speaks something in a familiar language and Hietala’s eyes grow wide in … surprise. She narrows her eyes and tries to stare though the other females flesh and right into her soul. Her fangs remain safely tucked behind her lips and her white face wears a neutral expression. The pair are standing in silence now, trying to sense each other's intentions. Hietala had no schemes of harming anyone else, at least not until she was fully healed, and only mother moon knew how many months that would take. In any case, that was one crime she was never going to commit; attacking a healer that was only trying to fulfill their sworn oaths.

Smokey brown gaze lowers to the water as she hears the stranger step into the stream. Hietala couldn’t believe her luck, she had been sent a saviour? Perhaps she did still have a purpose to fulfill in life. Her long white limbs tense before she lifts her chest out of the water. She doesn’t wait long enough for the water to drain out of her dense coat before trying to get back on all four paws. She stumbles on the stones beneath her, gritting her teeth in agony as her spine, neck and shoulders cry out in pain. Taking a moment to catch her breath she then staggers towards the painted saint. “I am Hietala,” she states in a matter of fact tone, though it felt almost distressing without being able to add her royal titles. So instead she adds the facts that can never be altered.

“First born daughter of King Haggard and Lenore,” there is a slight pause there as she wonders if anyone from Moladion remembered her illusive mother. The fallen queen speaks with fire in her belly, but she is only demonstrating her will to live on. With a single step forward she touches the tip of her black nose to the first aider. It’s a sign of respect and an understanding that any procedures carried out may be excruciatingly painful. In their homeland forgiveness is given to the healer before they start their work. “Where would you like me?” she asked while lowering and twisting her head so that the infected area was at optimal visibility.

Yours Sincerely,

Hietala *, The Fallen Ice Queen