She'd finally given up. She'd given up the thought that her family would return. That they would come back for her. That they would suddenly come out of hiding and say "hey here we are!" but no. It'd been over a season, and she left alone during the whole of winter, and probably for the other winters to come. She couldn't cry anymore, her tears were dried up. She was tired of crying, tired of shaking and tired of being on her own. She was nearing a year old now, did yearlings still cry? She sighed, her bones hurt from the cold and the mud and the dampness of the earth. She had been so depressed that she had barely eaten the last couple of weeks, and even now she was sure she was getting sick. As if to confirm that, she let loose a series of sneezes that made her head pound worse and worse with each one. God was she tired. Sniffling, she stood and left the shelter of the rock, her old den flooded now thanks to the river. Mud clung to her small frame, the frailness of her body obvious with her lack of care as her steps were wobbly. Why hadn't she just...died yet? Why hadn't a hawk or something just come and pick her off? Maybe an owl would tonight...the moon hung in full, casting shadows across the ground. Her own blending with them, her midnight toned body fading into the backdrop. A whimper escaped her, more because she was feeling yucky then anything else. She was tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep and never wake up. Maybe...just maybe she could walk herself to death. "SPEAK"

Cathy...no, dolce...no, no, no matter what he couldn't think of a good nickname for him. Did he really have to have such a complicated name? He sighed softly, a small smile twitching on his lips. Fiore, that was perfect! He nearly grinned from ear to ear, bouncing slightly in his step and looking happy and comfortable for the first time, really, since he came home. He couldn't wait to see him again! Share with him his nickname. He was so excited to see the look on Cath's face, and only Starling would know what it meant. Even if it wasn't very brilliant. Flower, what a unique nickname. But it seemed almost perfect. He blinked as he suddenly stopped, tilting his head to the side as he returned to reality. What...was that? He blinked again, surprise when it suddenly clicked. He quickly looked around, searching for the air for some sign of someone near by. He didn't really recognize the scent, but he had only seen her when she was born. He watched her for a moment, clenching his jaw as he fought the urge to go to her, but it won. "H-hey!" He called hesitantly before padding up to catch up with the young girl. "A-are you okay?" He whispered softly, knowing that when he wasn't in a good mood he didn't want to bring too much attention too it. But she certainly didn't seem too...happy. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Lonely. That was all she had felt since her family disappeared. She sneezed again, sighing as she walked without purpose. It wasn't until a voice caught her that she stopped. The voice wasn't familiar, and when she turned to face him, he looked as unrecognizable as his voice. There was no enthusiasm or happiness in her gaze. Crimson optics showed nothing but emptiness, depression, sadness, lost. She did not smile, but she did offer a weak tail wag...right. As if that would say she was fine. Pfft. Still, she was so tired of it all, she didn't want to burden others with her problems. They were all taking care of her, and what was she doing? Giving up. That's what. She was giving up on herself. Giving up on the thoughts that her family would come back for her. She didn't want to feel like a burden anymore. "I'm f-fine.." She would murmur unenthusiastically. She was sick, a cold she guessed, but she would say otherwise. "SPEAK"

Starling would stare at the young girl, his gaze level and equal. He was rather unimpressed by her sneezing, and he gathered rather quickly that she wasn't well. When she stuttered out a rather unconvincing "fine". Out of every word in her young vocabulary, "fine" was probably the worst descriptive word for how she was. "N-no y-you're not." He said matter of factly before sighing. Children. He remembered being that old. Slowly his smile would lift the corners of his mouth as he dipped his head a bit, looking at her. "N-neither am I." He whispered softly, as if admitting his biggest secret to the girl. "B-but I c-can tell you what I a-am. My name i-is Starling. W-what's yours?" He asked softly, almost shyly as he smiled so gently at her. He wanted to figure out what was bugging her, his curiousity really got a hold of him here. She was so young, and she certainly seemed sick. Maybe she wasn't used too all the water? He could understand it. He might have to order immunity boosters for all the young ones in Abaven if it keeps up like this. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

She wasn't? Was she that easy to see through? She looked down at her paws when he said that she wasn't. Subconsciously, she knew she wasn't, but to the world? She would try to appear like she was. No matter how shattered she felt inside, she would continue to try and smile for the world to see. That's how most of her life had been since her parents left over a season ago. That was how the world worked too, wasn't it? To pretend you were okay, even when you were dying inside. While she was tired of fighting, she didn't want others to see that. Neither am I. Soft words would bring her to look up. Crimson eyes meeting a soft smile and a kind look in the older boys eyes. Starling? It was a pretty name. A cute name. She liked it. She looked down again when he asked for her name, the girl shyly drawing a small circle in the mud. "Q-Quake..." She replied softly. He seemed nice...and while she didn't know who he was up until now, she found herself looking up at his soft features once more. Starling...could she trust him? She was sure he saw through her ruse, through her "fine" guise. What she didn't want to admit though, was that she was weak. That she was frightened. That she felt alone and insecure and just...didn't want to be alone. She sneezed again, her head throbbed as she fell back on her haunches almost daintily. She felt so gross, so icky and in pain and stuffy. "I-I'm not feeling s-so g-good..." Definitely not...tired eyes cast back to the ground as she wiped her nose with her paw. God...she felt like such a mess both inside and out. "SPEAK"

A small smile would twitch on his face again as she looked at her paws, and really, it was all the confirmation he needed. There was something wrong, and hopefully it was just the cold that was causing it. That was an easy fix. He watched as she pawed at the mud, and he couldn't help but feel sympathy. He could tell she was feeling shy, and her stutter continued. She was a lot like him, he could already tell. "Th-that's a beautiful name." He said softly, smiling at her as she sniffled again. Yup, there certainly seemed to be a cold. He couldn't help the small, short giggle as she sneezed and plopped down in the mud. "Wh-why don't y-you come with m-me." He said softly, stepping forward to help her up if she needed. He really liked this girl, and maybe she'd be interested in what he had to do. If not, at least he could help her little cold and maybe be a sound board for any other problems she might have. "I c-can get r-rid of th-those sniffles f-for you." He said softly, blue eyes shining as he smiled so gently to her. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

"Th-that's a beautiful name." Almost instantly her ears fell back in shyness and embarrassment. Heat rushing to her face as she tried to peek at him, but failed. Nobody had said her name was pretty, or beautiful, or nice or anything. Perhaps though, it was because she had such huge confidence issues and the fact her parents didn't stick around long enough to tell her those things. So when someone else said it, she didn't know what to make of it. Instead, she forced herself to look up shyly, crimson clashing with blue. "T-t-thank y-you.." Oh gods...embarrassment and shyness were making her stutter worse. Generally when she was calm, she didn't do it as much. But when she was shy, or upset, nervous, scared, or anything else but happy, it tended to get worse. She would inwardly groan as her head pounded and her sneezing continued. And her groaning grew worse when he started to giggle, but she wasn't mad. Maybe she looked silly sitting in the mud like this, and through tired eyes she watched and listened when he offered for her to go with him. Nodding, she picked herself up with his help, and when another sneeze threatened to take her, he said he could get rid of her sniffles. She would bite her tongue, holding the sneeze in before she made a fool of herself. It only worked for so long though, before it came bursting out and almost threatened to return her to her previous seat on the ground. "C-can you do that? I-it's making m-m-my head hurt.." "SPEAK"

Starling couldn't help his smile at her embarassment. He was really starting to like this young girl, she really reminded him of himself. Not that...that was a very good thing. At all, really. He knew how hard it was to feel awkward. He could practically read her like a book, because he knew every word first hand. So with a gentle smile, he would tilt his head to her. "Y-you're welcome Quake." He said softly, smiling down at her. Fear and sadness generally made his stutter worse, but he could tell she wasn't scared of him...not a lot, anyways. His anxiety wasn't entirely social. He could hold a conversation with strangers easily, his was more in himself. "Y-you also h-have a pretty v-voice." He said softly, trying to put a positive to that stutter of hers. He was always ashamed of his, and he didn't want her to feel that way as well. He would smile warmly as she stood and sneezed, again. He wondered if she was allergic to something, or just had some bad sniffles. "Y-yeah, I'm positive I c-can." He said softly. Colds were easy, he has had to deal with way worse in his short life. He could get rid of her sniffles easily. "L-lets g-get you some m-medicine b-before that cold g-gets worse." He said softly, turning to motion her to follow. He would lead her along the territories to his little burrow, where he had been restocking his herb collection. It oddly enough wasn't all that wet. All he had had to do was dry out his furs, and it was far enough from the rapids that the earth wasn't full of water. "S-sit down and g-get comfy, I'll g-get something f-for you." He said warmly before ducking into his store. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Ugh why! She felt so gross and icky, and when he said she had a pretty voice she squeezed her eyes shut as another sneeze begged for release. When it passed after a few seconds, she shook her head and peered up at him. "N-not with my p-problem...m-my brother doesn't s-stutter like I do...I hate it!" She whined. She knew he was probably trying to make her feel better, but with the insecurity she had gotten after being abandoned by her parents made her feel small and insignificant in the world. Like she didn't matter. The pack had been taking care of her, and she was grateful. But she wished there was something she could do to return their kindness... At the mention of getting something to ease her cold, she nodded and proceeded to follow him. She didn't think she had ever seen his den before, but then again she wasn't one to go around and bother anyone. Usually, she stayed in her own den and sometimes wandered around the territory. But that was usually it. When they arrived, she stared curiously at his den, the strong scent of different herbs wafting towards her. She sat down as he instructed, stretching her neck to try and get a better look when he disappeared inside. "Y-you have a lot of herbs!" The tip of her tail wagged a little as her mood brightened up a little. She was interested without a doubt. Maybe she could get him to teach her about medicine... "SPEAK"