Northstar Vale I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright.

Does this even make sense? What day is it? Where am I?

She didn't know...? Nobody had told her...? How could she not know her own sister was among them? This news only set Ibis' nerves further on-edge, and her frown deepend. The queen could not help but think that this was somehow her fault, as she'd been so distracted by Akavir and her growing belly that she'd overlooked an equally important piece of her life: Reiko. The Empress was much closer to her whelping date and she did not need this added stress. All the same, Ibis could not let go of what she'd witnessed so easily.

There was... A situation, I suppose I should call it, at the borders. Now was the true test of Ibis' ambassadorship skills; she did not want to malign the sisters against one-another, nor disrupt the delicate balance of the hierarchy, nor the friendship and shared respect between herself and Reiko. She chose her words carefully.

I came upon it late, but... The most important part is that, I thought she was you. I am ashamed to admit that she was very convincing, and I was so focused on the visitors to our borders that I did not question things immediately. Ibis paused to let these comments sink in before sinking her teeth in to the meat of the issue, her expression softening as she sought to grant a silent apology with the shift of her ears and downcasting of her eyes. A man and woman have come to us seeking shelter. The woman claims to have been a captive, her name is Corra, and she is very thin. The man who was with her, he seemed... Injured, but with old injuries. A guardsman of some kind, I think.

While we—myself, and this woman posing as you—discussed their arrival, Awenfen arrived and... She pointed out that it was not you, but someone else. It was jarring. Her frown returned, twisting the corners of her mouth with worry. She claimed to speak on your behalf. We welcomed Corra, but the man—Memory, he was turned away.

If this woman Hime was speaking on her sister's behalf, then Ibis would not protest it. It had been Hime's harsh manner that so surprised sweet Ibis, and something about the imperious nature of the other woman was unsettling to her. However, the way of kingdoms was still new to her; she trusted that Reiko would be able to back-up Hime's claims or annihilate them. It felt so strange to be mediating between these two women without properly knowing the two of them, but Ibis knew it was something that must be done.