With his family home Shrike was in a far better mood. Yes, the boy was getting back into his old habits, his whole demeanor once more full of energy. He was running all over the place, once more sounding like a herd of stampeding elephants. He couldn't help it! He was just so very excited! The young man would run like an idiot, searching for his family. There was one member in particular whom he hadn't seen in a while and, truthfully, Shrike had forgotten that Starling was away training. {Something he should have been doing himself.} The boy was in such good spirits as he ran along the rapids, the cool water splashing up at his side. His tail was wagging wildly back and forth until...! FLOP! Down Shrike went, hitting the ground hard. He would feel a sharp snap of pain, a yelp escaping his mouth as his paw crunched under him. Pain ignited in his left forepaw, and the boy would lay where he fell on his left side. Tears would begin to form in his eyes as he tried to shift the paw, feeling the pain worsen. Oh Gods, what had he done!? "Listen to me talk," 'and know my thoughts.'

(Set during Starling's "visit") Starling laid upon one of the rocks of the rapids, stretched out with his paw splashing into the water beneath him. He was being lazy for a moment, which was a weird thing to be while taking a very short vacation. But perhaps it was because he was so reluctant to go back, and relaxing seemed to make the hours stretch on. His eyes stared down at the water, unseeing as he gazed. All of a sudden a flurry of sound and...energy burst into his quiet time, and he blinked, lifting his head to watch his brother. He smiled weakly, tilting his head just slightly as he laid there, amused. He was quiet as he watched his brother tenderly, missing the energetic...energy Shrike often had. But when Shrike fell, his yelp loud, slicing through the air, he was up on his feet in a moment. He leapt from his rock, quickly trotting towards him before he was standing over his brother. "si guarda come me.." He said with a serious face as he quickly stepped around, ducking down to inspect his paw in the water. Blue eyes narrowed slightly before he sighed. "W-we need to g-get you out of the w-water. Come, c-can you make it to sh-shore?" He wouldn't be able to carry Shrike but he might have to drag him if Shrike couldn't muster up the strength to get onto his other paws and hobble to the side. "Almeno non è serpenti..." "Burn Baby Burn" "Italian"

Shrike would breathe in, shuddering some. He was afraid. What have he done? He would lay in the water, shaking as he looked around. In a moment Starling was over him, speaking in Italian. Shrike would breathe in shakily. "Starling... I... I think I did something to my paw. It hurts bad." The boy would whine. He would try to get on his three legs, favoring his injured one. It was a sprain, luckily nothing too bad, but it would definitely end up giving him a bit of trouble for a little while. "Yeah..." Shrike would carefully make it to the shore, sitting on his rump with his injured paw still up in the air. He was still shaky, his ears lowered down to the sides. "Do... do you think you can look at my paw Star?" The boy would ask. "I'd feel better if you were the one who took care of it." "Listen to me talk," 'and know my thoughts.'

Starling would smile warmly to Shrike as he move to stand, nodding his head as Shrike explained how badly it hurt. But he wouldn't say anything, his mind already calculating just what happened and what damage could have been done. Worst case, it was a broken bone and Star didn't quite know how to deal with those. Best case, it was a small sprain, and it would require nothing more than a few pain killers and the energetic Shrike to stay off of it for a while. Oh that'd be fun. He helped his brother cross, using his shoulder if it was needed before he directed him to sit down. "I-it's okay, Shrike." He said softly, warmly as he sat infront of him. "I a-always told you. I-if you g-got hurt, I would h-have to h-heal you." He said with a gentle smile, warmth in his eyes as he gazed at his brother. He didn't expect this during his vacation, but it was bonding nonetheless. So with a delicate touch, Starling would lift his own paw to gently touch Shrike's, lifting it and leaning in to inspect swelling. "C-can you p-put it down, a-and p-put a little pressure o-on it? T-try flexing y-your toes a-against the ground f-for me. I-it'll hurt, but t-try okay?" He said softly, already mapping out where he would go find the pain killers for his brother and how much he should take a day. "Burn Baby Burn" "Italian"

It was okay. That was what Starling told him, and how Shrike wanted to believe him. He would give a small nod, swallowing hard. His brother was right. If he got hurt, it would be Star who’d have to heal him. Bicolored eyes were frightened, but Shrike would be alright. He would have to be. He was certain that Starling would make him better, even if it took some time. He would wince as Starling began to expect his paw, listening to the instructions that his brother had. He would flick his ears back, hardly keen on doing what was asked, but it would be alright. Starling wouldn’t have him do anything that would hurt him worse. So Shrike would lower his paw to the ground, gritting his teeth with a grunt as he applied pressure upon his paw. He could still flex his toes, so it didn’t seem like anything was broken. “What’s wrong with it?” "Listen to me talk," 'and know my thoughts.'

Starling's eyes would narrow slightly as he watched Shrike flex against the ground, searching for anything that would pinpoint it to a break or a major tear. When his toes touched the ground fully without a sound, a yelp, and the moment appeared normal, he would sigh a breath of relief. There was slight swelling already but that was okay if it didn't get any worse. Instead he would look up at Shrike and offer him a gentle, soothing smile. "J-just a sprain." He said gently before glancing around, sky blue eyes searching around before he spotted a few of the bright yellow flowers he was looking for. Without a word he quickly turned, trotting towards the Dandelion and digging them carefully and effortlessly from the soil. With two in his jaws he would move back towards the rapids and carefully dip them in the water to remove the soil, before moving back towards Shrike. He bit through the stem then, cutting the roots from the plant and putting it before his brother. "E-eat those for the p-pain, Dandelion Root. Ch-chew thoroughly." He said in a commanding tone before turning away again and trotting to the rapids. He would dip his paw into a standing pool, before moving on to another part of the water, and again and again. Each time he would dip alternating paws in the water before he smiled at the last spot he stood before. "L-limp o-over here and pl-place your p-paw in the water." He said the, looking towards his brother. "Th-the cold water w-will h-help with th-the swelling." "Burn Baby Burn" "Italian"

Just a sprain. Good, that wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t a break or anything at least. Shrike would glance down at his foot. It was swelling up... Gross. Shrike would wrinkle his nose as he made his own assessment of the damage. Gross and stupid. He had never thought he’d get hurt simply by running. Especially when he did it all the time! But careless as he was, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Shrike would let his gaze turn back to Starling, watching as he walked over to some plant and grabbed it up for him. Shrike would make a bit of a face. Oh joy... Herbs. Shrike would give a soft sigh. He would give a small nod and lower his head, lapping them up. Not the tastiest of things, but hey, if he didn’t want to hurt it was eat them or shut up, right? When he lifted his head Starling had moved again, testing the water of the rapids. Shrike would watch his brother curiously, head tilted to the side and ears twitching some. He’d frown deeply, a thought on his mind. But he’d do as his brother suggested, favoring his injured leg as he crossed over to the rapids and carefully stuck the paw within the moving waters. “Thanks Star.” The brute would say quietly. “Hey Star? Can I ask a favor of you when I get better?” The boy would pause. “...actually no, nevermind.” Shrike would shake his head, giving a soft laugh. “Let’s just take things one step at a time.” "Listen to me talk," 'and know my thoughts.'

Starling would step forward to help his poor hobbling brother to the coolest pool he could find, making sure he didn't hurt his ankle any worse as he reclined on the shore. It was a miracle that Shrike had only hurt himself this once, but Starling didn't want to count his blessings just yet. Just because it was a sprain doesn't mean it wouldn't get worse if his brother wasn't careful. He just sighed softly and shifted to lay beside his brother, folding his forelegs together and moving to lay his chin on Shrike's back. A soft sigh slipped from him as he closed his eyes before Shrike spoke of a favor. He hummed lightly and shook his head when he said nevermind. "Sh-shrike, I wi-will b-be going back t-to Sonticus f-for a while. S-so while w-we're here, together, y-you can ask me a-anything, okay?" He said softly, opening his eyes slowly and looking passed them, watching the water cut through the territory. "What do y-you need Shrike? A-anything you want, I'll h-help." He said with a small smile, closing his eyes again and just enjoying having his brother close to him. "Burn Baby Burn" "Italian"