Sparrow stumbled away from the post raid party. She hadn't stayed long, much like the raid. As soon as she engaged in a fight and realized that it also felt like nothing she left the fight. She didn't know what to do to feel anymore, but fighting wasn't it. Drinking wasn't either, but at least a dull mind passed the hours faster than sitting sober in the apathetic void.

She knew when she had stopped feeling, when she had broken. Recluse. As much as she wouldn't normally love to admit their relation, her best lead would be Sirius. Maybe if she got to the bottom of it- avenged Recluse- she'd start feeling again.

So she sought him out, her blurry mind sharpening just a bit as she followed his battered scent post raid. She made no effort to hide her trailing him. He'd know she wasn't here for a fight and even if he didn't, the bottle in her maw would make it impossible. Whenever she was in close enough range, she sighed loud enough to get his attention, but hopefully not anyone else's. She needed to speak to him alone.

The Warlord was waiting until all his warriors were off the field, before they grabbed the supplies that was their loot for winning the raid. Before he could do any of those things, he caught a familiar scent, and saw that Sparrow was trailing him. He turned to her, and saw that she looked even worse than he had first realised. In the heat of battle, he hadn’t gotten the chance to examine her closely. He turned, and indicated for Keahi to go ahead of him, and get started on things.

Alone. hHe turned back to Sparrow, and closed the distance between them. He didn’t know if she was gearing for a fight, but she… didn’t look as if she was. She didn’t look like she could fight a drunk raccoon, the state she was in. He could guess, and as he stopped before it, he said as much. “Galho said that you were the one who found her.” That was the Potoo that had come to him, and given him the news.


"Speech"

Sirius turned to her and motioned for the other to leave. Sparrow stood silent like a shadow, her eyes steady on his despite their glassy glaze. It had been a while, and surely now with all the sharpness of her body from the lost weight and close-cropped fur, she looked less the jolly troublemaker than ever. Her expression held no glint, no semblance of the floppy smile that once remained plastered to it.

She didn't have any expectations and yet when Sirius opened his maw, her world spun. "You were the one that found her," was all it took, and Sparrow was back there again. Her paws holding the cooling body of the ghastly woman, her face pressed into her cheek. She could still smell her, her scent mixed with the overwhelming metallic odor of her own blood. There was so much blood. Sparrow was no stranger to blood, but not this much from someone she loved. She wanted to scoop it all up and somehow shove it all back where it belonged. She stayed with the woman until her body had gone cold and stiff and someone had pulled her away. She didn't remember now. She only remembered the smell and the cooling damp fur against her face.

Several moment passed as Sparrow was in another world. She stood on locked legs, her eyes looking somewhere in a different time and place. She stilled, frozen in time and unaware to the happenings around her for some time. Then, eventually, something in her stirred and she managed a cracked, "Yes," that was barely a whisper. She hadn't come back mentally yet, not fully, so she repeated, "Yes," unsure if she had already said it. She did this a few more times over the course of several minutes, unsure if she was saying it or if Seer had heard her each time. But each time, she said it a little louder and a little more steady as she slowly pulled herself back to the present.

Finally, she blinked and felt her stomach lurch, physically doubling to keep it from spilling its contents. She kept herself there for a moment, scared it would happen again and scared more to know someone else was seeing her. "I found her," Sparrow rasped against a ragged breath. "I held her." Her brow knitted. She wanted to feel again, but not like this. Every time she slept she saw this, she felt this. She took a swig of her alcoholic crutch and leveled at Seer once again and not without effort. "What. do. you. know?"

He knew he was right. The second he said it, he could see it across her face. She looked dizzy, and a little bit sick. He took a step closer, uncertain why exactly. To comfort her, his old nemesis, now broken? He didn’t close that last gap of distance between them. They were held together by who they had lost, but he did not easily forget who she was, either.

He could see how much pain she was in, as she repeated time and time again the same answer. He knew exactly what it felt like, to see the one you loved bleed out in front of you. To hold their body as it grew cold. To watch their eyes grow glassy, and everything you loved about them to vanish. He closed his own eyes, suppressing a feeling of dizziness. He didn’t like to see the loss in Sparrow’s face. To know it mirrored his own. Zee.

Finally, at last, he stepped closer, and he placed a paw about her shoulders, assuming she didn’t immediately shrug him off. “I know that her companion sought me out, to deliver the news. The Potoo told me that Recluse’s kids were held captive in Insomnia, and that a wolf, a female, had murdered Recluse. The Potoo did not recognise the wolf. I took Galho, and I went to Insomnia, where Medusa told me she had already let Recluse’s children go. She was… happy, about the news.” His mouth sat in a thin line. There was more, though he did not have much. “One of her kids, Nirah, came to my pack. I made a deal with him. He was hunting his mothers killer, and I would train him to fight in the condition he kept me apprised of anything he finds. There's been no news yet. Recluse was my family, Sparrow.” He said, his voice soft here. The lack of news grated on him. “And I would like to pay my wishes, if I may” He did not know where she had been laid to rest.


"Speech"

Sparrow, blinded by her own suffering, hadn't noticed Sirius in his. She didn't know how to get over things. She didn't mourn, she didn't have any coping mechanisms other than ignoring an issue at hand and pretending everything was fun and games. The paw on her shoulder was grounding and she hated herself a little for it. Her, finding comfort at the paws of her nemesis? Ridiculous. Still, she didn't move. They were bound, somehow, in a way they'd always been- over some woman Sparrow had fallen in love with. Twice over now.

Seer spoke, and it took all the energy Sparrow had to listen. A female was all they knew. A female? Just any female. Great, that at least narrowed the population to half. Her brow remained tight knitted, she found herself shrugging her shoulder and tilting her head to give Sirius' paw a little squeeze after he mentioned Medusa. "I should have killed that bitch," she said, as if that would have changed anything. "Keep training Nirah, but if I find the woman first, I will rip her limb from limb and drag her bloodied body through every pack. She won't know the peace of death, not for a long time." Sparrow's voice was dark, her ambitions lofty but serious. She had once only wished for a good time, and now she only wished for someone's suffering. It wouldn't change anything, but she was sure somehow it would feel good.

Seer asked where he could pay respects and Sparrow spared him a look, "She's [REDACTED]... I thought it would be... nice." She didn't think it would be nice. It was all terrible. Sparrow took a breath and another swig of alcohol and willed her numbness to take over again, trying to think of some way to move forward. "I will find her," was all Sparrow managed to say.

He was surprised when she not only did not shrug his paw off, but reached over and squeezed it gently. He returned the gesture, clawless and friendly. Comforting his enemy, as he had been comforted in the wake of his loss. Sparrow looked so alone. From the moment he had seen her on the field at the raid, she had looked lost. He didn’t disagree with her sentiment. He had come to Medusa with great loss, and she had laughed in his face. Any who loved Recluse would feel the same way.

“If you find her, there will be many who want a piece of her. Myself included. I will tell you this, if myself or Nirah find out anything more, I will call you. I will give you a chance to join the hunt.” He swore. Her pain deserved that much.

“Thank you.” Was all he said when Sparrow told her the final resting place of Recluse. He said nothing about her repeated swings from the bottle. They each had their ways of coping. “If you want to come to the Armada and talk to Nirah yourself, I will extend an invitation for you to do so. Don’t let me regret it, Pirate.”


"Speech"