Arcus had taken off at the border and as much as she wanted to run after her friend she understood he needed some time. Her Arcus was going through a lot at the moment, but he would make it through to the other end, and when he did he would find her again. She knew that like she knew how to breath, she had utter faith in her friend. So with a sigh she left him be and instead turned further into Abaven territory and started to track. She wasn't as good as hunting as she was with healing so it took her some time before she found her prey and even then, she jumped to early, startled it, and it took of. Finally, just because she wanted to hurry up and check on Finch, make sure she was ok, she finally enlisted the help of her friend. That made finding prey a little easier and this time she was more patient in hunting the squirrel, sneaking up on where it hunted at the base of a tree. She sprang at it, and caught it, it fought her and a claw got her in the lip before she managed to kill it. She shook out her disheveled coat, picked up her prey and quickly made her way over to her Auncle's den. “Finch?” she said “I've got a present for you” "speech"

*Home Turf -- Serpent Plains

Finch as curled in the middle of the den, ears quivering at the sound of another wolf's voice. Lifting her head she blinked her sleepy eyes at the mouth of the earthen den, spotting her cousin with some prey in her mouth. Huffing, she turned away from the entrance and curled into a tight ball. She wasn't in the mood to play, and she didn't feel like eating. "N-no!" she called out grumpily, curling her tail around her and hiding her face within the soft fur there. Finch didn't care if the girl had gone hunting for her, she didn't want to do anything right now. She just wanted to stay here and sleep, and maybe go out and check on her collection piles later. But now? Nope. Nothing. "G-go a-a-away." The girl grumbled, wrapping herself tighter yet. She was in no mood to deal with anything, and just wanted the darker girl to go away. Ever since Finch had come back from the trip with her family, she had developed a stutter from not talking on the whole adventure. She didn't want to talk, she didn't care to. There were too many wolves everywhere, always poking and prodding at her and wanting to hear about her life, and what she wanted to do. Because of this she had vanished even more into her hiding hole. So at the moment, she was in no state of mind for anything at all. "SPEAK!"

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Shaye shuffled on her feet, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of the cave as she looked in. She hadn't had much interaction with Finch growing up, but she was certain this behavior wasn't common for her. She placed the squirrel on the ground at the cave entrance and took a step back before sitting on her rump, then with a sigh shifting until she was laying in the earth before the cave. Shuffling her butt until she was on her back looking up at the sky where she would remain still and silent for a moment. “There's some really pretty clouds today Finch, that one looks like a long thin dragon snaking its way across the sky. That one looks like a salamander, have you seen the salamanders by the stream Finch? There really hard to catch but there's a nack to it, that Rhythm taught me. I could teach you... if you want” she offered softly, her words where gentle, questioning, it was clear she wasn't going to force Finch into anything but there where suggestions there, fun things they could do if she only came out of the darkness and into the day to enjoy them. "speech"

It would seem that Shaye wasn't going to leave any time soon, and the girls mismatched ears folded against her skull. She listened carefully as the other girl flopped down and rolled over, and she thought that she was going to take a nap. Until her soft voice broke through the silence. She spoke of the clouds, and then moved on to salamanders. Wait, what were those? Against her better judgement she felt her ears perking up, head lifting to look at the bright entrance to her safe den. She was willing to show her how to catch them? Ever so slowly she pulled herself to her paws, shuffling towards Shaye. She paused as she peered out of the darkness, pale blue eyes blinking furiously at the harsh light. She said nothing as she just eyed the girl for awhile, looking at her gazing up at the clouds. "S-sala-salamander?" she stuttered, struggling with the long, foreign word. Brows knitted together as she slowly sat down on the hard packed earth. That did sound like fun, whatever they were. When she was at the river, she was generally looking for rocks and other pretty things. Not... those things. She couldn't help but feel curious, to see what these critters were any why they were so hard to catch. "SPEAK!"

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Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, but she didn't glance over or show any indication that she knew Finch was moving. She patiently waited, letting the girl do things on her own time, afraid of scaring her back into her den again. It wasn't until the girl beside her stuttered that Shaye looked up at her from her position in the earth. She grinned at Finch, a giggle falling easily from her lips. “I use to call them Salsamanders until I got use to the word” she admitted. Shaye stretched and pulled herself to her feet. “There like little colorful lizards there really quick and good at hiding so it takes patience to catch them, but its fun!” she explained, already moving and heading towards Monumental Rapids, turning back and grinning invitingly to Finch "speech"

Her different coloured ears just flicked when Shaye told her what she used to call them, it was a rather strange word. She wondered if Starling knew what those things were, and if her father could teach her the Italian word for them. She didn't use the language much, generally only when she communicated with her family. It was pretty cool, like their own little secret language. Her pale gaze focus on the girl once more as she stood to her paws and shook herself, blinking slowly. Were they going now? Finch lifted a paw in her uncertainty, ears pulling flat against her head at the thought of leaving the family den. Whining softly, she didn't move for several moments. It did sound like fun, her cousin had said that they were fast and hard to catch. And that they were colourful too, and she did like the sound of that. Shaking herself slightly, she padded very carefully out of the den and after Shaye, her steps slow and measured. It was all the way in their other territory, and it was quite far away from her den. Finch looked over her shoulder several times, her steps becoming slower and slower the further away she got from her safety net. It was a little late to race back though, now that she was this far away. Taking a deep breath, she puffed up her chest and tried to look more confident. "SPEAK!"

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With very little coaxing her friend would slip from her den and follow after Shaye, and the dark colored girl was pause to grin over her shoulder at Finch before she skipped along to the stream that ran through a decent portion of their territory. She noticed Finch's hesitation and slowed to match her pace to her cousin so they where side by side. Shaye would nudge the other girl with her shoulder gently and smile at her. “Has anyone ever told you your eyes are really pretty?” she asked, and winked then, Shaye's own eyes where similar in tone through they where perhaps a touch darker then the other girls. They where nearing the stream then and Shaye lifted her head high and looked side to side, humming softly under her breath as she decided the perfect place to approach. Choosing, she moved left down the stream and towards a few rocks that littered the ground beside it. She lowered her head and nosed at a rock, gently pushing it over, and lo and behold! To her surprise she would find what she was looking for on the first try. "Finch, finch!” she cried softly, nodding her nose in the direction of the Salamander as it began to scuttle to a new hiding spot. "speech"

Shaye matched Finch's pace paw for paw, and she leaned against her cousins shoulder. She had to admit that she was glad that she was trying to get her out of the den, it wasn't often that she had someone who tried. Only Starling and Lillie really came to see her, so having a new face was... fresh. When she made a statement about her eyes, Finch looked at her cousin and giggled, poking her nose against her cheek. "T-they are j-just l-like y-yours!" She squealed, her tail wiggling slightly at the girls tone. She watched Shaye's posture change, ears pulled forward curiously. What was she doing? Taking a careful step forward, she nearly jumped out of her skin as the black and white girl called her name. Too slow to react, she saw a flash of colour before it scampered under another rock. Whining softly she pawed at the stone, it was far too large for her to flip over like her cousin had done. Looking up at her, she pouted, pawing carefully at the stone. She had lost the salamander! Oh no, was Shaye going to hate her now? "SPEAK!"

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