Jayne groaned as she pulled herself out of the den and stretched her sore muscles. She felt like she hadn't seen the sunlight in so long. She was pretty sure being sick sucked worse than anything in the whole world. But she was starting to feel a little better, especially with Momma Ama's help and medicines. Everything just felt so achey still. She shook out her fur and slowly made her way over to one of the many streams of water that wiggled around the Mangroves. She could have sworn it was closer to her den than this... Was it farther away or was she just tired? No, she was pretty sure it was farther away... or smaller anyway. Maybe that's what it was. She lapped up some of the cool water first before she dipped her face into it, gently rubbing at her face with one of her forepaws to clean off all the yucky gunk that had built up around her eyes. She popped her head back up and shook off the water with a contented sigh. That was better. Now the next order of business was to find someone to hang out with! Diana of course was her first choice, but she hadn't seen any of her relatives in so long she was ready to see any of them! "Talk" "You" Think

Diana too had been feeling sick, though more unwell in the head. Mentally drained. Did it count as an illness? It sure felt like one. Her head sometimes spun. Sometimes she caught her heart in her throat. Sometimes she got stress attacks. And other days she just felt so exhausted, like she couldn't find the energy or willpower to do anything. It was like a black cloud hovering over her thoughts. And she was just dying to talk to her sister. In the absence of activity, the contact of others, she eventually desired the company of others. The silence was deafening. To her fortunate, her emerald gaze came across the ashen girl taking a drink from the mangrove's waters. "Jay Jay!" she called out to her, taking a few strides over, surprised by the shout in her voice. It was probably the loudest she had ever gone, and that was so un-Diana-like. "Talk" "You" Think

Jayne's ears perked and her head snapped up with surprise when she heard her sister's voice. She was pretty sure that was the loudest Diana had ever been in their whole lives and it caught her off guard. She spotted her sister's smaller form a short distance away and she gave her a huge grin. "Where'd that voice come from?!" she called over teasingly as she turned to trot over to her sister. She pressed her face into Diana's fur as soon as she got over to her, her pale tail wagging happily behind her. She had missed her sister so much. "I'm so glad to see you, Di Di," she said, nuzzling her neck as she sat down on her haunches. "Being sick sucks." She lifted her head so that their blue gazes could meet, giving Di another grin. "How have you been? Better than me I hope." "Talk" "You" Think

She could hear the undertones of surprise in her sister's words, and at the mere thought, she pulled her ears back to her skull as she approached the ashen girl. A reddish hue blossomed to her cheeks - fortunately hidden by her ivory coat. She hadn't meant to shout - well, she had, but not that loud. And now it seemed embarrassing to her. It wasn't her fault she startled everyone whenever she raised her voice, like it was a rare occurrence, while her sister could shout all she want and no-one would bat an eye. "Me too," she added, at a more normal volume though definitely feeling more confident and comfortable around her sister. She settled beside her, emeralds meeting sapphires. Her head was quick to droop, however. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'm not doing much lately." And that was another embarrassing thought. Would she ever stop being hard on herself? "Talk" "You" Think

Jayne frowned a bit when Diana insisted that she hadn't been doing much lately and drooped over it. She didn't like that Diana was always so hard on herself and so easily upset. She wished she could give some of her out going nature to her. Maybe if they split it they could both be moderately confident. She dipped her nose and used her muzzle to gently nudge her sisters head back up, giving Di a smile. "Well that's no good. We'll have to do something then." She stood up so she could give herself a shake. Her fur still felt kind of pressed down in weird spots and dusty from all the time she had spent in her den being sick. She was sure this weird grimy feeling would wear off the more she walked around in the clean air. "Wanna walk around with me a little bit? I need to get this congestion and stuff to clear out. Maybe I can find water pool deep enough to wash up in too." "Talk" "You" Think

She didn't think of it as being hard on herself. It was the truth, in her opinion. While the pack spun around her in a flourishing bloom, she watched the time slip from her paws, sitting on her rear. It was funny how fast the time flew when she wasn't doing anything. Heck, she had almost missed a meeting because of her dawdling and daydreaming and shying from the rest of the world. That's where her sister came in handy. It was in moments like these that she was most grateful to have a sister, her confidant and best friend. She mimicked the ashen girl's actions - rising to her ebony paws and giving her own cream coat a bit of a ruffle. It wasn't as matted as her sister's, but she didn't want to stand around awkwardly. "Sure," she chirped, following alongside her as they began to make their way to a nearby water source. She wasn't one for the whole dipping-into-water-and-somehow-having-fun, but she'd worry about that when they got to it. "Say, what's congestion?" "Talk" "You" Think

Jayne padded along next to her sister while they slowly made their way through the mangroves. It looked like the recent lack of rain had really done a number on the usually wet mangrove forest so she wasn't too sure that they'd find any water source deep enough to actually be submerged in without going to the falls or the hot springs. Actually, now that she thought about it, the hot springs didn't sound like too bad of an idea. Maybe the steam and heat from the water would help too... or it could make it worse. Who knew? She definitely wasn't a healer and she didn't really want to be. At least she didn't think so. She wasn't entirely sure what she liked to do yet. Her slate blue-tipped ears perked at her sister's voice when she asked about what congestion was and her head tipped slightly to the side as she thought about how to explain it. "It's like... snot and gross stuff. It's all like stopped up in my nose and stuff. Well, it was. It's a little better now. Now I just have a little sniffle." Was that a good explanation? "I heard Momma Ama say it one time I think. I'm sure she's dealt with a lot of congestion and runny noses before, huh?" She chuckled softly before stopping for a moment to get a quick drink of water from one of the water puddles near them. She lifted her head with a satisfied sigh and started walking again. "Do you know what kind of stuff you wanna do yet? Like how Mother is a fighter and Momma is a healer? I can't decide what I wanna do." "Talk" "You" Think

She didn't mind the recent lack of rain and how the mangrove had slightly dried up. She had always been a little uncertain of the pools and streams that looked so deep that she could fully submerge herself. Which she didn't like, no, was intimidated by. How could one enjoy being fully underwater, being pulled down by the pressure and not being able to breathe? Whatever enjoyment other wolves found in it, Diana couldn't find it. Smaller ponds or puddles were okay - just enough for her to get her paws wet. But no more, no more than that. Hopefully her sister wouldn't insist on her joining; she was fine with sitting to the side and observing. She preferred it that way. And that was only if she found water deep enough. Besides, she had no reason to go for a swim. Unlike her sister, she didn't have this congestion. Her nose felt alright, and just to check, she gave a little sniff. Only a little bit of snot, but that wasn't congestion, right? Her nose wasn't blocked or anything. Maybe she wasn't meant to have that snot in there at all. Oh dear, now she was growing self-conscious over her nose. "I like healing," she began with another irritated sniff, "and I like hunting too. But not fighting. Is there something in between? Like a healer-hunter?" Oh, she should know this too, but she didn't. "Talk" "You" Think