*Navigation -- Redbud Nook

New buds were staring to grow all over the young trees, it was hard for the woman to walk with her head down as she inspected the new growth. The monotone girl had already almost walked into a tree or two while doing so, but it was so hard not too! It was just so pretty, seeing all the new things growing after the harshness of winter. It was like a blessing, every time spring rolled around and the new life sprung up from the ashes. Her dual toned gaze rested on one certain bud, one that looked like it was about to bloom. Walking over to the tree, she stood up on her hind legs, front paws resting on the trunk. Her bells rang as she stretched up, tail wagging behind her as she tried to get a closer look. The bud had just a touch of pink, starting to spread out. It was about to crack with a beautiful flower! Jay grinned, a soft chuckle leaving her maw. It was so pretty, she wanted to take it with her. But she knew that if she pulled it off the branch, that it would kill it and its chances of ever fulfilling its destiny. Plus what would that do to her karma, killing an innocent flower with no way of fighting back? It was going to bite her in the ass one way or another. Jaelle removed herself from the trunk, placing herself on all fours once more as she kept walking through the young forest. She was rarely alone, this was one of those rare times that she had wandered away from her troupe. The woman was just telling herself that she was out to look for something, to see if she could find a place that the spirits had left their mark. But the nagging feeling of loneliness was already starting to tug on her coat. Shuffling on her paws, she turned her head and adjusted the scarf around her neck. She needed to move, to keep herself busy. So without further thought, she started to run. She raced around the base of the trees, her bells ringing with every step and every twitch of her tail. Her chiming song rang through the whole forest, making her smile as she ran. "SPEAK"

Starling didn't much like being at home lately. He felt so ashamed of himself, and so...well, selfish. He loved his sister so dearly, and he never wanted to make it seem like it was about him. So he made it his mission to stay busy, to try and stay out of his head. The more time he spent there, in his head, the less sense he seemed to make to himself. It was almost obsessive, and he was clearly getting sick of it, but no matter how he tried he couldn't stop. When something entered his mind, it was really hard to shake it out again, and he seemed to dwell on it until his heart was racing and there was a large hole in his chest. It was the reason he kept busy, the reason he reacted so strongly all the time. And no one seemed to understand. He took a deep breath, shaking the thought from his head. No! Bad Star. They all cared....right? Ugh, see. He groaned softly, lifting blue eyes to look up at the familiare red trees, his brows furrowed and his ears pulled back. Why was this all so hard. His mind reeled, spun, and he suddenly stared to feel dizzy and light headed. All of a sudden a soft jingle woke him from his thoughts and he was suddenly...free. Blue eyes grew wide as he looked around, lips parted in surprise. He took a deep breath, unrestricted and...easy. There was silence around him, and he wondered if maybe that sound was all in his head, when suddenly it started again. A soft gasp pulled from his chest as he mindlessly followed the sound, moving on large paws to search for it. It was a soft jingling, a sound he had never heard. So fresh, so clear...He panted in tune to it, before he saw her.  "H-hey!" He called, frantically. She was gorgeous, furs covered in different degrees of greys, spotted and speckled along her form. She looked a lot like him, lanky but...he had to look far more clumsy than she did! And that ringing...it came from her. "Hey w-wait!" He called out again, frantically. It was like it just filled his head, that ringing, and made everything clear and he had to know why. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

She just kept running, her tongue lolling from her mouth. She was surprised that she hadn't tripped and fallen yet, she generally didn't make it far without tripping over her own paws. Her ears perked when she heard someone calling after her, but she ignored the first words. And then she heard him pounding after her. Jay's heart skipped a beat, fear being the first thing that rose in her mind. Why was this stranger running after her? She hadn't done anything! It had been awhile since she took something from another wolf, so he couldn't be after her for that. Her head spun as she raced on, her bells ringing more frantically as she ran as fast as her lanky body could take her. Usually she liked a good game of chase, but that was with wolves that she knew. Not strangers! A quiet whine left her mouth, and she turned around to look over her shoulder at her attacker. That was her first mistake. As soon as she turned, her front paws tripped over each other. With so much momentum going on she hit the ground on her left side, sliding across the earth in a heap of limbs and fur. She flinched at the pain, feeling a bit dizzy from the impact. Blue and brown eyes looked up at him, until she realized that he was still running after her. Oh crap... Jaelle's eyes grew wide, and she tried to scramble to her paws. Being as uncoordinated as she was though, she just fell back down again. "Wait, stop!" she called, the bells on her tail crying out as she lashed it out. "SPEAK"

Those bells...they kept jingling, calling out to him, but when they seemed to grow more frantic he couldn't help but grow concerned. His breath caught in his throat as he lifted his gaze to look up at her, seeing the fear. Wait! No! "N-No, w-wait! I j-just w-want to ask y-you something!" He stuttered frantically. He couldn't let that sound leave, the song that seemed to clear away his thoughts. He panted as he chased her, watching as she sped up. No! No! He almost wanted to cry, watching as the one thing that seemed to work run away. "W-wait!" He called again, feeling his eyes burning but was unsure if it was because of the wind as he moved, or he was going to cry. And then... She fell. Twice. A loud gasp pulled from his chest as he tried to skid to a stop, hearing her frantic call to stop. His eyes were...rather comically wide as he tried to slow his momentum, but Starling was not as graceful as most wolves. His paws somehow got tangled, and before he could even take another breath he felt himself crash right into her. A cry of pain burst from his lungs as he laid where he landed, half sprawled. "I-I'm so sorry!" He yelped as he tried to get up onto his paws, and off of her, large blue eyes searching for any sign of injury. "Mi dispiace, mi dispiace tanto! Sono così goffa" He panted, his words coming out so fast and jumbled as he tried to get a good look at her. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Everything happened so fast that there was hardly time to comment on it, but at the same time she felt like she was watching it all in slow motion. He tried to stop but did the same thing she did, tripping over his paws and sprawling on top of her. The air rushed out of her lungs, monotone sides flaring outwards as she desperately tried to draw in a breath. Her gray jaws gaped open, eyes wide until at last she was able to breath. Jay sucked in a deep breath of air as the boy scrambled off of her, while looking her over. Jaelle was silent for a moment, just looking up and blinking at this stranger. And then it happened. She snorted at first, and then her throat croaked as a huge burst of laughter left her. Her head fell back to the ground, her entire body convulsing with the force of her laughter. It took her quite awhile to calm down, trying to taking deep, calming breaths. When at last she was able to regain a hold of herself, she was surprised to hear the boy speak in Italian. She blinked up at him slowly, raising herself to her paws and shaking her aching body. Her bells sang out once again, and Jay dipped down to fix the scarf around her neck. "Va bene, ho solo come goffa." Her Italian was far from broken, her words slow and... well not very proper. But it was a language that she only knew a little about, she excelled in Dutch above all others. It was very interesting for her to hear another wolf use Italian though, it was for sure a language that she wanted to learn more about. The monotone dame was greedy when it came to other spoken tongues, she wanted to absorb as much of it as she could. "I'm sorry I freaked out... and then laughed," she started, drawing circles on the ground like a pup admitting they had done something wrong. Bi-coloured eyes looked downwards, her head hanging slightly. "but that was just too perfect." Jaelle said with another giggle, looking up with a new sparkle in her eyes. She was generally a lot more cautious with strangers, but they seemed to be passed that now. After all, he had been on top of her already. The woman laughed at her own mental dirty joke, her tail wagging behind her. As she did so, the bells around her tail sang out once again, softer with the steady rhythm of her tail. "I'm Jaelle Rosemary Canirai, but you can call me Jay." She said with a playful wink, taking a step away from the male to look herself over. There was a few scrapes on her left side, but nothing too bad. She was just mostly covered in earth, which didn't bother her too much. Looking up to give him a once over, she noticed the bag around his back. Eyes grew wide, and she took a few dancing steps towards him, poking the fabric with her nose. "Woah, cool bag! I bet you could fit tons of things in there!" she exclaimed, noticing that the bag smelled a lot like plants. Eww, don't say that he used it all for icky herbs! What a waste... "SPEAK" "SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGE"

Starling was pulling himself up and onto his feet when she began to laugh. Quickly he looked at her, ears pulled back and for a moment he was...scared. Was she laughing at him? At his stutter? At his clumsyness? But there was something so bright, so...free about her laughter. And as he pulled his forepaw back to himself, he couldn't help but stare. The first soft, almost soundless chuckle almost made him jump, before he realized it had come from himself. And before he knew it, he was laughing with her. His eyes close tightly as he laughed, almost unable to catch his breath and tears pricking at the edges of his eyes. He had never felt like this! It felt so..rehabilitating. He laughed, stumbling back and opening one blue eye as she began to settle down, and he did too with gentle chuckles. The crescendo settled to a soft hum, and he was left catching his breath and looking at her with large but happy blue eyes. She spoke italian, and he had to swallow at the rising elation. It was smooth, not choppy but not...perfect either, and he felt himself grow more and more at peace. "Así é o seu italiano." He said with a gentle smile, to try and show that it was entirely a joke. "That's okay!" He said loudly, leaning forward on his two forepaws as if trying to get a better look at her before he paused. His eyes grew wider as his jaws parted. Wait.. "That's...th-that's...it's okay.." He whispered, looking to the side as one brow rose slightly and he stared at the ground in odd confusion. Perfect? He looked up at her again, ears pulling forward as he turned his confusion to her. Well, yes...it...it was odd, scary even, how amazing it all felt. At her bright smile, shining eyes, he couldn't help but relax again as the small, shy smile touched his lips. "M-my name is Starling Destruction. But, u-um...Y-you can call me Star." He said softly, the words flowing more smoothly than usual which caused him to pull back again and just stare at her, feeling his mind reel, trying to get a handle on what was happening. But all that he could hear was the gentle jingle as she swayed her tail. He took a breath in time with the gentle tempo, and before he knew it she was...quite close to his personal space. He turned towards her, as she poked at the fabric, and he couldn't help but feel the heat pool on his cheeks. "Y-yeah, it fits a lot.." He said softly, looking at the ground. "I ah, am a h-healer. So I needed to figure o-out how to c-carry all my herbs around." He murmured, looking back up at her. "Y-you have some neat things too...What're you w-wearing around your neck?" "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

She was so glad when the brute started to laugh along with her. It must be hard not to though, laughter was so infectious! It was strange how at ease she felt with this stranger now, even though she didn't know anything about him. Maybe it was because he had already been on top of her... Jay snorted at her own dirty joke, finally calming down enough to stand up. Wait, did she already make that joke? Oh well! What a day! She was generally so reserved with strangers, wary of them even. That is why she had assumed that he had been chasing her, now that she thought about it. But she had to admit, he was pretty cute. He was looking at her with those wide blue eyes, his baritone of laughter joining her own. Or it had. They were both somewhat normal now, although Jaelle felt like she was going to get the hiccups from laughing so hard. When they both discovered that they spoke Italian, there seemed to be an even further connection between them. He insulted her lack of knowledge, t other which she just stuck her tongue out at him, wagging it back and forth. "Hey, it's not the only language I know! I only know a bit of Italian and French, just enough to get by with sloppy words," she said, making fun of her broken speaking as well. Another jingle of laughter left her, tail swaying to the beat of her bells. Or was it the other way around? "But I am totally fluent in Dutch!" He said it was okay, and then stuttered on the words again. Her brows rose, head tilting to the side to try and follow his gaze. In fact she tried to stick her face directly in his line of view again, very comically leaning over to do so. Her head was at an angle, and she winked her brown eyes at him again. Aww, was he embarrassed by something? Her ears flickered as she smiled at him, she didn't remember saying anything embarrassing. Or was he trying to figure it out? There were so many possibilities! She could think all she wanted, but there would be no answer. Finally he looked back up to her, still looking... oh! Confused! She righted herself, giggling softly at him. "It's okay, I usually don't hit it off with strangers. It's okay to think it's odd, but it's still so wonderful!" Her voice was mystified, a few soft notes leaving her maw as she gave a little hum after her words. It really was amazing, how each encounter could be so different. He introduced himself as Starling Destruction, and she eyed him thoughtfully. Jay was fond of giving others nicknames, but Star was far too obvious. No, he needed something better. Humming to herself, her eyes roamed around his form once more as she thought. Well, his bag thing -- Oh a bag! -- had flowers on it, and he smelled all earthy. "How about I call you Flower Child?" she suggested, testing the name out loud. "Mmm, not my best nickname. Maybe I will come up with a better one later. But for know, you are Flower Child!" she exclaimed, nodding her head. It was offical! Now, back to that bag! Dancing over to inspect it, she could practically feel the heat pooling off of him as she got closer. Aww, was she getting all flushed cause she was so close? Jay let out a chime of laughter, but did not give him his space. Instead she stuck her nose right into one of the pockets, inhaling a whole bunch of... eww what was that smell? Her head reared back, nose wrinkling. Then, suddenly, a huge sneeze erupted from her body, bells clamoring in alarm. Okay, she wasn't going to do that again... Her bicolored eyes looked to his face as he explained that he was a healer, and needed to carry his herbs. Oh! Turning so that her left side faced him, she showed him her scratches that were all covered in dirt. "Do those need healing, Flower Child?" Oh, her nickname was so much more fitting now! Starling was quick to turn the attention back to her, saying that she had interesting things too. Well of course she did! Her chest puffed out with pride when he asked what was around her neck. "Its called a scarf. I wear it around my neck sometimes, other times I tie it around the base of my tail, or even one of my hind legs." she explained, obvious pride in her voice. She did a little slow spin, bells ringing out softly. "And my bangles, now they are something special! My bells are the best part of all, although I have to take them off if I want to hunt. Can't really stall prey with all that ringing!" she said with a giggle. But that isn't the only reason why they were special. Because of the sound they made, and the fact that she hadn't been able to find them anywhere else, Jaelle believed that there were spirits that lived in her bells. How else could they make that beautiful of a sound? She kept this from Starling though, even though she felt connected to him. They weren't that close, not just yet. "SPEAK" "SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGE"

Starling would look at her with joyful surprise when she so happily announced that she knew more languages than the two they spoke to each other with. His smile couldn't be any bigger as he looked so brightly at her. This was weird, strange even. He had never felt this happy meeting a stranger before. Even Cathaoir has been met with Starling's usual quiet anxiety and nervous, and he and Lillie had growled at each other when they met. But..had they ever stopped growling at each other? That first moment had certainly set the standard for their friendship. But this, this was easy and freeing. It was like they were kindered spirits and they had been destined to meet. Never had he really thought of destiny or what it meant but it certainly felt like they were supposed to meet. "I-I only know Italian, but I-it's my easier language." He said softly, his nose scrunching slightly as if his tongue just refused to stutter. Not that he was complaining! He just couldn't understand it. "I...I'm n-not...really stuttering.." He said softly, one brow risen in his confusion before the soft jingle had cleared his mind again and he stared up at her. It was the bells! He stared at the little bangles on her paws intently. "I'd like to...l-learn more...though." He said absently. And then she said his thoughts, and he stared back up at her face with surprise before he smiled wide again and quickly nodded. Yes, it was wonderful! Liberating! Uh...he blinked at her then. Flower child? That was a weird nickname. Appropriate, but weird. "Um, okay." He said softly, nodding again. She could call him whatever, really. He'd be happy. But...well, it was a peculiar nickname wasn't it? He'd just sit where he was, chuckling as she stuck her nose in his bag and practically reeled at the scent. "It's an...a-acquired scent." He said with small grin that showed just the hint of teeth. He was happy, he was ecstatic, and soon enough it was all going to go wrong. He just knew it, it always did. And then her bells rang again, singing a song that made those thoughts flee in a way that nothing had ever been able too. He'd lean forward to inspect her scrapes, his doctor face instantly settling in before he shook his head. "No, th-they're just scrapes. Won't scar, aren't bleeding. I-I've seen worse." His tone was smooth as he looked up to smile a playful smile at her. "We might have to cut it off though. You're entire side." He said grimely before he chuckled, to show it was a really lame excuse for a joke. He nodded gently at her scarf, smiling his little smile. It was pretty, sure, but he probably wouldn't be able to wear something like that himself. And then she'd explain her bangles and he'd look at them now, more intently since he had permission.  "Theyre r-really...calming." He said softly, searching for the word that could bear the weight of what he was feeling. Was it really that simple? A bell? Maybe...maybe it was her and the song she came with. Maybe he had finally lost his mind. Or maybe it was really that simple, and he was just looking for the complicated, for the downside to all of this. Because there was always a downside. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"