Abaven... took some adjusting. And yet, she couldn't be more happy that she returned to Alacritia. It made her feel peaceful, calm, although that might be a result of the evening. It was late afternoon, and the sun was dipping down below the horizon. Clouds were overshot across the sky, fluffy clouds, to thin clouds in the upper atmosphere. It was wondrous, causing the sky to glimmer all shades of pink, orange, and pale violets as the eastern part of the sky sunk into the blue of the night.

Oh, she was glad to be back, and even more glad that Bass' daughter had been returned safely to the lands, whole and alive, even if in recovery. She couldn't imagine losing a daughter, and now that Finch was a bit better from what she could tell she knew she had to check up on Bass, see how he was faring. This led her to where she knew his den was, stepping carefully over muddy spots. The land was slowly drying out, summer ever so close.

"Bass," she called out softly. Concern tinged it, but also a request for him to appear. She had no doubt he would, though.

"Speech"

He laid on top of his stone roofed den, back against the rock as his golden looked up towards the setting sun. A heavy sigh left his lips, tail tucking against his belly. He hadn't gone to check on Finch for a few days, she was getting better and Bass wanted to give her some room to breath. The whole ordeal had been stressful on his family, and he had felt the tension expand towards the rest of the members as well. He knew that he should talk to everyone, but he hadn't had the energy to call a meeting together. Tail tip twitched against his belly fur, and he rolled over. Paws dangled over the edge of the stone, kicking a few times as he settled himself. It was then that he heard his name called, and he looked over to see Vali standing there. He offered the girl a small smile, still so surprised how much she looked like him. They really could be related, even their eyes had almost the exact same shade. The alpha dipped his head towards her, the colours of the setting sun decorating her coat. "Hey Vali," he said softly, resting his head on his legs. "What brings you here?"

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Or, you know, he was already in plain sight and she was blind as a bat. That happened. Her head jerked up when the voice came above her, and she grinned at him briefly. "May I join you up there?" It'd drop, though, when he asked why she was there; it was indeed a serious matter. "I was wondering how Finch was doing," she murmured softly. She had never met the girl, nor could she imagine the heartbreak and fear that Bass had gone through, but Finch was Bass' daughter, and that was the important part. She knew the girl had been found; it was pretty obvious when there were healers around the young girl's den at various time. Bass hadn't called a meeting about it, but that was likely due to the fact that he just... didn't want to, not now. Not until Finch was better. It made perfect sense to her.

"Speech"

When she asked if she could join him, the pale man nodded his head. His tail thumped on the space next to him, further inviting her up. He was glad for the company, maybe it would bring his mind off the matters at hand. But when she answered why she was here, his smile disappeared as well. A heavy sigh left his lips, eyes closing for a moment. "She seems to be getting better, although she is still plagued by nightmares," he answered slowly, his golden eyes opening to meet hers. It was hard to hear her like that, whimpering and kicking in her sleep. He hated seeing her that way, but he understood that it could take longer for her mind to heal. Her physical ailments may be healed, but her mental health was another thing all together. "There are still so many questions we have, but parts of her memory are still fussy. We still have no idea if the wolf that treated her sought to poison her, or if it was an accident. Harmony said that its an easy herb to overdose, and Finch remembers the woman saying that it would help her." He shrugged his shoulders, his body shivering slightly. The sun was nearly set now, but it wasn't the chill that made him shake. He couldn't imagine his precious daughter going through any of that alone, and he just wanted answers to all his questions. Bass knew that he had to deal with the fact that he might never know everything, which angered him. He just wanted to find that spotted wolf and demand her to fill in the blanks. But with no scent and hardly a description to go off of, he knew that his goal was futile.

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Vali would not hesitate to take up on that invintation, and she leaped up smoothly next to the brown marked man. She would watch her old friend's expression, a look of sadness crossing her own face when he answered. Poor girl, how did she deal. "Perhaps I could help?" she suggested gently. "What does she love to do? Her passion?" she asked softly, before falling silent to his next words. No wolf, let alone Bass' daughter, deserved to go through that sort of hell. "Were there any other wounds on her body? Any claw marks, bite marks? If so, that would be the sign that it was a poison, instead of an overdose. I forget what Foxglove treats, but it's definitely not for superficial wounds." Vali fell silent as she spotted Bass' light shake, and it was not hard to guess why. It was warm out, and the topic was his daughter being hurt. She shifted slightly, attempting to press her muzzle into the taller wolf's shoulder fur; a measure of comfort, if you will. "I'm so sorry," she whispered softly into his fur. Perhaps, if she had been around just a little more, tried a little harder, she could have prevented this from happening.

When the female jumped up beside him, he turned his head on his limbs so that he was looking at her. Her expression matched his own, but he blinked in surprise when she offered to help. A faint smile touched his lips, tail beating on the stone beneath them. "I'm sure she would love that, she doesn't have many friends outside of her siblings," he said softly, head lifting from his front legs when she asked about her hobbies. "She likes to collect things, like rocks and shells. She loves to sing as well, her voice is just like her mothers," he said, flinching slightly at the mention of Wren. It had been awhile since he had even seen his mate, she hadn't been here the whole time Finch was injured. Trying to shake it off, he thought more about what his shy daughter liked to do. "I think that's about it, she's been fighting with being so shy her whole life that she doesn't get out there much." Bass was ashamed that he had not pushed her to do more, but would that even work on such a timid woman?

Vali asked more about how Finch had been when she had been found, and he let out a soft sigh as he thought back to both what was told to him, and what he saw. "There was a slice on her shoulder, but also a lot of other small scratches along her back. I don't know if they are all wounds from banging against a rock or from another creature. It's... it's hard to tell. I don't want to say one thing over the other, its hard without a lot of information. Finch said that she had the sniffles and the woman gave her the herb, it wasn't until after that that she said she was attacked by the monster with teeth," Bass huffed, ears pinning slightly towards his skull in irritation. There were patches missing from Finch's encounter, and there wasn't much else to go off of. When Vali said that she was sorry, the pale brute turned to her, his head shaking back and forth slightly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's life, things happen. I can't always protect them from everything, no matter how hard I try." He leaned into her touch, thankful for the comfort that she was offering him. Eyes closed as he let out a soft hum, licking the top of her head.

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Vali nodded, determination hardening in her gaze. That settled it; she would do that in a heartbeat. She would visit Finch after she finished this time with Bass, or at least in the next day. Her ears perked up, and a smile grew on her face as Bass went into Finch's hobbies. Collecting? Ohh, that'd be so much fun! She knew the perfect places for that; she was guilty of her own little collection in her den. Mostly feathers, but she did have a few shiny polished river rocks. She even found a purple rock outside Alacritia that she carried with her; perhaps she could give that to Finch... Hmmm... She had never quite found a rock like that before and haven't found anything similar since, so it'd be a good gift. And singing... Vali would ask her to sing a song, definitely. Her thoughts broke off sharply when she noted the flinch, and was that a pained tone she heard in his voice? Oohhh. She still hadn't met the woman... in fact, she couldn't smell Wren at all with Bass. Gone, left? A slow anger curdled in her stomach. How dare someone leave Bass, if that was the case. She wasn't going to ask, though, not with that pain. Instead she simply pressed against him in response.

Nothing more would be said, or motioned with Bass' (former?) mate, with Bass simply continuing his words about Finch. Hmm, shy? She... didn't have a lot of experience with shy. But, she'd try anyways! A sheepish grin crossed her face. "Well, I don't have much experience with shy but I'll see what I can do," she promised, a light of hope in her eyes. She'd make Finch cheerful again, she would. The grin dropped when Bass started speaking again, but the light remained in her eyes as she listened quietly. She nodded slowly to the words. That does... make it hard. If there's the possibility of rocks, then that means she was found near rocks. That could definitely cause it. And hallucinations, that wouldn't be too far out of it with a poisoning, even if she didn't know the symptoms of Foxglove. Perhaps she could ask Harmony, and begin to learn about poisons. Prevent this from happening again.

Bass shook his head to her apology, but that didin't change how horrible she felt about it. She listened, the light in her eyes darkening as she looked up at him. Slowly, her head would lower, until it was laid on the combination of his paws and hers. "I just wish I could have done more, stopped this from happening." The girl didn't deserve the pain, and neither did Bass.

"Speech"

He let out a soft laugh when she said that she had no experience with shy. Well, that was an understatement. Since the beginning, Vali had been a very exuberant wolf. He didn't think that there was a single time in her life that she had ever been shy. Finch might be a challenge for her, but he was so glad that she was willing to try. He blinked slowly when she lowered her head on both her paws and his own, and Bass dipped his head so that his chin was on top of her skull. Letting out a huff, his yellow eyes closing for a moment. "Maybe something good will come out of all of this... I don't know. But please don't feel guilty. Honestly, I don't think it would have changed anything." he whispered, feeling his own guilt churn in his gut. He was really preaching to the choir now...

"Speech"
'thoughts'

A half-smile twisted her lips. Of course he laughed at it; he above others knew just how well that statement was true. After all, when she was younger... everyone was her friend, and if they weren't, she'd make them her friend. It was all so very fun and games, then. A sigh left her, and it was a mixture of several things. A longing, almost, for the simplicity of those days; a sadness, for what was lost - her siblings, her mother, her pack; a satisfaction, for she has grown as a wolf, and saw it, and was mostly satisfied with what she saw. It was a unique mixture.

Her eyes closed when a weight settled on her head - as she was using his paws as a pillow of sorts, he decided to use her head. Well, that worked. Might be a bit bony, but hey, also fluffy! She had an annoying amount of fluff on her head. His words were soothing, though she could still not shake the feeling - how could she? "Logic agrees with your words, but I'm afraid my heart does not," she whispered. She truly did agree; what would it have changed? If it did not happen that day, that moment, it would have happened another. Fate has a funny way of making sure all things stuck to course. "What about you, though, Bass? I can't imagine you feel blameless in all of this." If she knew him at all, then he felt as guilty, if not more so than her.

"Speech"

At Vali's words he let out a heavy sigh, looking up to the stars above them. Taking his head off of hers, his eyes roamed around the expansion of his territory. It was almost pitch black now, save for the moonlight that covered everything in a silvery glow. She was right, and he knew that. Glancing down at her as best as he could, he offered her a small smile. "You know me too well," he whispered. Looking back at the horizon, he thought back to when he first claimed these lands. "You know, I was just a kid when I started this pack. I can't even remember why I started it, but I do know that it wasn't to protect my family and keep them close. I didn't think that so many would come and go through the years, or that I would even have children. Now I have seven, and I want to badly to lock them in the borders. But I can't do that, I can't keep them from the world, but gods how I wish I could. I wish I could keep them all in the den, and stop them from leaving my side. But even my most shy of children wandered away and got hurt, and I wish I could have been there. I blame myself for not looking for her harder, or for sending out more search parties. I hate that she was hurt, and I doubt those mental scars will ever leave her. I blame myself for her mother not being here for her. There is so much I blame myself for, that is only the tip of the iceberg." He said softly. His eyes squeezed shut tightly, trying to contain his inner turmoil.

"Speech"
'thoughts'