It had been too long since he had spoken with Finch and, furthermore, too long since he had worked on his sparring with Shai. He wanted to see his sister, to check up on her and perhaps work on some things with her. Shrike knew that he was not the most active member of the pack and he honestly felt bad about that. Perhaps he'd talk to his dad soon about what more he could do for the pack. Where he could work to improve. He didn't want to be the weak link of Abaven. It wasn't even that he cared to be heir or strive for a high rank, he just wanted to do more for his family. A howl would leave Shrike's lips, calling for Finch. He was in the middle of the plains, a place away from the prying eyes of others. Here they could work on their training together. Whether it was sparring, herb gathering, or something different all together. The young man would seat himself upon the ground, waiting for his sister to show. "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

*Home Turf -- Serpent Plains

She laid in the belly of her den, curled into a tight ball. She was drifting in and out of sleep, not having been able to catch much shut eye the night before. It wasn't until she felt the soft plucking of her fur that her pale blue eyes snapped open, glaring at the bird who was pulling on the sensitive fur on her head. Civetta tweeted at her, hopping back from her newly awoken friend. "Finch! There is someone calling for you!" the young finch sang, half hopping and half fluttering out of the den. Yawning, Finch rose to her legs and shook herself out, groggy as she followed the bird. She had no idea who had called her, but she was sure that the owl finch would lead her there. So slowly she followed her friend as she took to the sky, one pale blue eye on her. Soon enough she saw Shrike, and a sleepy smile came to her lips. "H-hey Shrike!" she called softly, her stutter hardly making an appearance anymore. Unlike Starling, hers was based on the disuse of her voice, until it got to the point where it had physically hurt her to speak. But now that she was home, she was talking a lot more and slowly her voice was coming back to her. Snuggling into his soft coat, she placed a lick and was about to ask why he called her, before Civetta dive bombed her brother, flopping dramatically onto her back on the top of his skull. "This is who called you! Should I beat him up?" the song bird asked, and Finch laughed at her friend. "N-no! This is m-my brother s-silly!" "SPEAK" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Shrike’s expression would soften as he saw Finch. It had been far too long since the boy last interacted with his lovely sister. He was about to give her a loving nuzzle when he felt the bit of pressure on his skull as the finch flopped onto it. He would lift his head back slightly, eyes turning up to see what had suddenly decided to perch on him. So it seemed that his sister knew this little creature? It was apparently a friend of Finch, but more than that Shrike didn’t know at the moment. Definitely sounded like a bird though. “I see you’ve made a new friend!” Shrike would say happily. Sure he wasn’t content with the fact the bird had settled on his head. “Do I get a name, or am I just to be referred to as your brother?” He would tease Finch lightly, his voice soft. “...and what of you, little feathers? Have a good name?” He’d ask, trying to look up between his ears once more. "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

As the boy lifted his head Civetta let out a trill and hopped back to her feet, tiny claws gripping on his fur. "Are you trying to knock me off, you big skulled litt-" Finch cleared her throat, blue eyes narrowed every so slightly at her friend. This was her brother, and she would not let the bold little bird call him by any mean names. When Shrike commented on her friend her eyes lowered to him, head shaking with vigor. "W-hen me and S-starling found her, s-she was r-really hurt. B-but he saved her!" She said happily, pushing her face into her brother as she cuddled in close with him. She did realize that she had left out his name, and her head snapped back as her mouth formed a little 'o' shape. "O-oops! This is S-shrike, and Shrike t-this is Civetta." She said quickly, pointing her nose to each in turn. It wasn't often that she even had to make introductions, Finch didn't often make friends at all. The tiny bird half hopped and half glided over to Finch, settling on her quickly as her beady black eyes inspected Shrike. Giving off a little huff she fluttered to the earth, picking around the two wolves for some grass seeds and tiny bugs. The girl laughed softly before she turned her full attention back to her brother, blue eyes blinking slowly as she studied him. "S-so what's up S-shrike?" came her sing-song voice, head tilting to the side. He had called her here, so there had to be something going on, right? "SPEAK" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Oops. While his intention hadn’t been to necessarily dislodge the bird on his skull he had nearly one just that. He was happy to hear though that Starling and Finch had managed to save the little feathered creature, even if she wasn’t entirely getting along with him at the moment. He would chuckle softly too as he was introduced to the finch, named Civetta. So introductions were given, and, thank goodness, the bird would make her way to his sister instead.

“I’m glad that you guys were able to save here.” He would let his gaze linger on the bird for a moment before gaze would shift back up towards his sister. He’d offer a smile, his words soft. “I was thinking that you and I could do a bit of training together, Finch. It’s been too long since we’ve done something together.” He’d shuffle on his paws. “...and we’ll have to do something fun afterwords! If... If you want to that is.”

"Speech!"
'Thoughts!'

Table by:: Eve

Civetta send a thrill tweet his way as he stared at her, hoping down and pushing herself into Finch's fur, trying to hide from her meanie brother. Finch rumbled softly to the bird, while she didn't approve of her behavior, she wasn't her mother and couldn't control the bird, as hard as she tried. And then Shrike moved on to something about training, and she shuffled slightly on her paws. She wasn't very good at training for her rank, so she was kind of glad that Shrike had asked her to do something with him, she needed all the support that she could get. Plus, he had said something about something fun! She liked doing those kind of things with her siblings. "W-what kind of t-training did you h-have in mind?" she asked, standing up and sending Civetta off flying into the distance. Her feathered friend didn't need to be here for this, besides she wanted to work on her nest anyways. Eyeing the bird as she flew off, she returned her attention back to Shrike, giving him the full lead on this. "SPEAK" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

It seemed that Civetta didn’t care for him much, which honestly bothered Shrike. He wasn’t used to being disliked, at all, and it kind of hurt. He’d breathe in slowly, deciding to focus instead on his sister. He wanted to support her the best he could, in both her rank and simply by being her brother. He would lower his front end to the ground, butt wiggling in the air almost as if he was more interested in play than training. “I was thinking we could do a little race at first... Whoever wins the race gets to go first in the spar!” The boy would rise again, his gaze shining happily. “Is this agreeable to you, Finch?” The boy wanted to make sure that she’d be comfortable doing this sort of training. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable or upset. "Speech"

Table by:: Eldarwen

When Shrike brought up a race, her ears pulled forward, her head about to nod in agreement. She did like to run, she was good at that! But when he brought up fighting, her ears lay flat once more. Fighting... she wasn't too good at that. The silent girl fought with her options, shifting her weight from paw to paw. She had told Lark that she wanted to learn how to fight, and she wanted to feel stronger and better. And who better to practice with than family? Shrike wouldn't make fun of her when she tripped and fell, or when she did something wrong. He would help her, right? He was her brother, after all! Even though they were all litter mates, Finch often felt like she was the little sister. Everyone looked out for their shy, reserved sister, making her feel younger than them. But she liked it, a lot. It showed just how important she was to them, and that even if she didn't feel like she mattered, she mattered to them. That was all that should count! Civetta looked at Finch, seeing the little fire burn in her pale blue eyes, and took off, settling in a nearby tree. She didn't want to be clinging to fur while the two wolves raced off. "O-okay Shrike, b-but you have to b-beat me f-first!" She called, standing up and taking off like a bullet, leaving a trail of laughter behind her. Not a fair start, but where was the fun in that? Giggling, the pale girl weaved through the plains, until she slowed down to a jog. Oh dear, they hadn't come up with a finish line! Looking around for Shrike, she kept moving forward, not wanting to lose. Oh boy, maybe starting so fast wasn't a good idea! "SPEAK" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"