serpent plains

She had pretties. Two, to be precise. One was a simply a small blue flower... the other was held delicately in her jaws, for it was as delicate as the person who it would be given to. It was a beautiful golden color, similar to the recipient's tan bits, and it was every bit as stunning. It was shaped like a leaf, but one that had been eaten by a caterpillar. And it shimmered so brightly in the sun! It sparkled and was easy to wash, just dip it in water.

Dropping it out of her mouth and carefully dragging it through the grass to dry it, the girl then peered at the den in front of her. "Finch?" she called, tail wagging as she maneuvered her paw to hide both flower and necklace. It was obvious she was hiding something but... it was the best she could do.

"Speech" "Language"

*Home Turf -- Serpent Plains

Finch was curled up in her den, excitement causing her to roll around and wiggle on her back. She could hardly believe the news that her mother had shared with her. It wouldn't be that long, she had been told, and was the reason why her mother had smelled so different. She jumped up to her paws and was about to go out and find Starling when she heard her name being called. Mismatched ears pulled upwards as she peeked out, blue eyes landing on Lillie standing there. Her head tilted, it wasn't hard to see that the slightly younger girl was hiding something. A delicate brow rose as she stepped out further, peeking around both sides of the darker girl to try and pick out what was hidden. She didn't see anything at all, and let out a soft huff as she turned her attention back to Lillie. "W-hat y-you g-g-got?" she stuttered out softly, her gray marked tail wagging slightly behind her. Was it a gift for her? Oh boy! "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

The moment the tan marked girl appeared, Lillie's tail whirled behind her with a fury unmatched. She giggled as Finch tried t see around her paw, twisting said paw just so the girl couldn't see. By the time Finch spoke, Lillie was practically wriggling her whole body in excitement. First, she pushed her paw forward, teeth snipping at the flower to pick it up gently. She dropped it in front of Finch, smiling. "First gift," she announced proudly, eyes twinkling. She knew the girl would pick up on the 'first' bit, and had no shame in teasing her about a second gift.

"Speech" "Language"

When the girl presented her with a pretty blue flower, almost as bright as her eyes, she gave a little bark of glee and bent down, picking it up carefully with her teeth. It was so pretty, she loved it! Eyes were bright as she turned back around, stretching up to place the flower on the top of the stone covered den. It was flat up there, and was often where her father called meetings or just sat on it. And now her new flower would be proudly shown for all to see! Wiggling as she admired the pedals, she leaned forward and drank in its sweet scent. But it was then that she realized that Lillie had said 'first' gift. Pausing, she slowly turned around and peeked at her new friend with slightly narrowed eyes. First? She had something else hiding in there? Turning around and dropping into a play bow pose, she pawed at the others front paws, her nose trying to dig under her plush pads. She wanted to see what else she had! It didn't smell like another flower, but she couldn't smell much around the earth scent that clung to her nostrils. She needed to see it! Letting out an impatient bark her tail curled around her back, rump wiggling in the air. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

Tail beat the air, and a grin that made her jaw hurt was on her face. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth goofily, and she made no move to stop it. Of course... part of her joy was amusement from the fact Finch hadn't realized she said - oh. She spoke to soon. The girl giggled as Finch turned around and stared at her... and promptly started attacking her paws. "Nooo!" Lillie protested, laughing helplessly as she curled her paw around the gift, keeping it out of site and hidden. She giggled more as Finch barked impatiently, and she caved. "Okay, okay, I'll show you!" She laughed some more, eyes glittering with happiness as she edged backwards a bit, her nose dipping down to grasp the gift by the gold chain. Held delicately between her jaws, she let it dangle from her tooth. The gold glittered from the chain down, but it truly shimmered on that leaf. Giggles had faded, instead, an almost fearful look replaced it. Would Finch like it? She liked the flower but this was unlike anything Finch had and would she still like it? It frightened the girl, that her gift would go unliked.

"Speech" "Language"

The younger girl protested against her digging, but Finch didn't let up. She dug and pawed at her, dirt entering her nostrils as she tried to shove it under Lillie. But the girl would not let up, even though Finch continued to yip and bark so that she would be able to see it. Finally, at last, she gave in. Finch stood up straight, backing up slightly to give the darker girl room to lift herself up. Tail wiggling so hard that her rump moved with it, Finch finally froze and stood stalk still as the delicate chain reflected in the sunlight. The leaf looked like it had been eaten away at the end of the chain, leaving only the inner workings of it. Veins flowed from the center stem, a pattern of lines that crossed over one another. She didn't even see the fearful look in Lillie's eyes, too focused on what was clasped in her jaws. Totally awestruck, nothing left her mouth at all as she just stood there and stared at it, pale blue eyes wide. And then the girl moved forward, her nose brushing up softly against the leaf that dangled in the air. It looked so real, even though it was made from gold. "F-for me?" she asked, hardly stuttering as her eyes finally moved to Lillie. Tears brimmed her bright eyes, sniffling softly. No one had ever gotten her a gift like this before, and she couldn't believe it. Blinking slowly a grin started to spread across her lips, tail moving slowly behind her. How could she have ever done something to deserve an amazing gift like this. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

Fear struck her even more feircely as the girl fell silent, ears flicking back in that fear. She nearly whined, until her eyes darted up and saw the look in Finch's eyes. Surprise... no? Wonder, maybe. Ears slowly raised and tail started to wag behind her. It was then the girl stepped forward, nosing Lillie's gift ever so delicately, as if it were precious. It melted the younger girl's heart, and her own soft smile formed as she nodded to Finch's question. "Yes, for you. Only for you." It was muffled, for it was hard to talk between a necklace, but she did so anyways. She stepped forward, half rearing to drop the necklace on Finch. It dropped, alright, but not around the girl's neck; one dropped around her ear and the of the necklace dangled around her muzzle. Lillie giggled, reaching her head grasp the chain that dangled near Finch's cheek and drag it up, up and over the other ear so it would lay on Finch's chest delicately. She would then, her own rump wiggling, nuzzle the older girl, her own tears - of happiness - glittering in her eyes.

"Speech" "Language"

Lillie told her that this was for her, for only her and no one else. A delicate whine left her lips as she stayed very still, watching the girl lean forward and try to drape it around her neck. She blinked slowly as it clung to the side of her face, not fully making it over one of her ears. She giggled along with the other, but was very careful not to move and cause the beautiful necklace to drop to the earth. Finally Lillie got it over her other ear, causing it to flick when the cold metal caught on a few sensitive hairs. She felt its little weight against her pale chest, and rose her head high to try and inspect it. The chain rippled along her fur, so thin that it pretty much vanished on the top of her neck. But that leaf, it shone and glimmered at her throat, and she let out a pleased rumble before stepping forward, nuzzling her damp nose into Lillie's scruff. She loved it so much, and was fighting for the right words to say. "T-thank you, s-so m-much." She said at last, a soft whisper as her new pendant bounced from chest to chest. Finch held her friend close, pressing a tiny lick between her shoulder blades. How was she ever going to repay her for this? She needed to do something, anything, to show her just how much she liked this gift. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

A grin emerged on the woman's face when Finch reared back and tried to look at it; she laughed softly. "You already saw it, silly," she teased affectionately. She had definitely made the right decision with this gift, and though the gift was beautiful and she would have loved it as well - that didn't matter, no, this was so much more better, so much more satisfying, so much more wonderful. It near made her purr, if she had been a cat. As it was, her joy was shown through the gentle waving of her tail. There was no longer any wriggling in childlike joy, but rather a movement that spoke of a gentle joy, a fierce satisfaction. Her eyes were half closed, a rumble of her own mirroring Finch's. Lillie would return the return nuzzles, including tiny licks on Finch's muzzle and a little on her ears; her head rubbed against the taller girl's shoulder. "Of course," she whispered, a smile on her face. Oh, she could not be more pleased; her heart soared with the happiness of Finch - she could not recall a time when she had felt so pleased in such a way. It was a glow, a glow of pride, of happiness, of pleasure at seeing another's pleasure... it was completely, and utterly, unique to this experience. "You deserve it," the girl murmured into Finch's neck, in between the collar bone and the shoulder.

"Speech" "Language"

Lillie teased her that she had seen it already, but this was different! She hasn't seen it on yet, and that was very different! She still couldn't believe it though, that she was special enough to get a gift like this. Never before had she imagined having something this pretty, and Lillie had found it just for her. Sniffling slightly, she really didn't know what to say. She was already a girl of very few words, and now she struggled even more to find the right ones. She cuddled into her friend, blinking rapidly at the tears that formed in her pale blue eyes. She really had found a great friend in Lillie. Pulling back slightly, she blinked those big doe eyes at the girl as her tail wagged behind her softly, her kind words adding even more joy to the yearling. Licking the darker woman's cheek, she let out a soft giggle before pushing forward and going right back into hugging her. She was so, so lucky... "W-we s-should g-g-go d-do s-something." she suggested softly, burying her face into her soft fur. "SPEAK" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

The contact made Lillie feel... happy. It was a joyful, sweet sensation, and it filled her with an emotion of the same depth, of the same... something. She wasn't even sure, but she loved it. At the sniffling, her eyes would open and she'd glance down, lifting her head somewhat to look at the girl. She'd lick her ears in a comforting way, a soft, wordless murmur coming from her mouth. She wasn't worried, though, Finch had seemed... way too happy to be sad; these were happy tears if they were tears. When Finch stepped back and licked her cheek, the darker girl's eyes have-closed in a sort of bliss, and she'd happily go to more cuddles and hugs when Finch wriggled back closer. Her tail was no longer a blur behind her, but a gentle waving, a gentle pleasure. It was not frantic, it was not passionate. It was soft, warm. When Finch spoke, it would cause her ears to prick, and she'd murmur into Finch's fur, "That or we could cuddle in the den." Both options were okay with her, especially the cuddles. She cuddled with Shaye that one time, and it had been fantastic. Walk, "Talk" Think