Sitri had wasted no time after dropping Dusk off in the castle and making sure she was going to be okay before he turned back around and went back the way he came to find Dusk's prized weapon. As he loped across the plains and through the God's Garden toward the woods, it occurred to him that nothing was making him do any of this besides maybe the honor and empathy his parents had instilled into him from the day that he and his siblings were born, but then he thought about the way Dusk looked at him when he woke her up in the hollow of that tree and again when she looked at him back in the infirmary and asked him about Whisper. Those fiery eyes were so hard to say no to–not that he would have regardless, but they were certainly a motivator.

He followed his tracks back through the trees, hoping that his memory retained at least enough of the path he had taken in his panic to find his way back. It did take him a bit of searching, but eventually he found the bloodied scene of the fight that had led him to Dusk in the first place. The sky was beginning to lighten and it gave him a bit more light to see by than when he originally came across all of this and it really hit him just how much blood and how many bodies were laying around. Dusk really hadn't been exaggerating that much when she said she killed all of them. He found the tree where he had found her and searched there first for Whisper, but came up short. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for since he had only ever seen parts of the bladed weapon in among the long strands of fur on her tail, but he knew he'd know it when he saw it.

Slowly he retraced Dusk's steps between the tree that had been her hiding spot and where the bulk of the fight seemed to take place and eventually he spotted a gleam off of a piece of metal in the grass about half way between. It must have gotten knocked loose sometime during the fight and fallen off during her retreat. He pulled the weapon out of the grass, inspecting it briefly to make sure it didn't look like any pieces had fallen off. Glad to finally have it and for it to look like it was fully intact he found a place he could hold it without cutting himself and began to make his way back toward the Hallows with his prize in tow. By the time he made it back to the castle it was well into the early morning and some other wolves around the pack were beginning to stir.

Since he didn't have the frantic emergency that was Dusk being injured as an excuse, he made sure to follow proper manners this time around and howled at the border for Artorias. While he waited at the border it finally started to hit him how tired he was from staying up pretty much all night and running back and forth across Auster. Still, he wanted to see this through before he took a break. The alpha didn't come to let him in himself this time, but instead Dusk's mother–who introduced herself as Briar–came to greet him and lead him back to the castle. She seemed nicer and more calm now so Sitri assumed that meant that Dusk was in the clear. That assumption was confirmed for him as she brought him to the infirmary where he had left her and he found her resting on the cot all bandaged up. Of course she was still going to look a little rough, but she looked a far sight better than how he had first found her.

Briar surprised him a bit as she ushered Artorias out of the room, leaving the two of them alone in the infirmary for a moment. He smiled a bit around Whisper that dangled from his jaws as he approached her, carefully laying the weapon on the edge of her bed. "You did certainly leave a mess back there," he told her with a chuckle as he settled onto his haunches, definitely relieved and happy to be sitting for a while. "How're you feeling?" In a way it felt like a silly question to ask since she was bound to still be hurting and worn out from the whole ordeal, but he still had to ask regardless.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

The road to recovery had been riddled with potholes. Dusk had drifted in and out of consciousness, her body forcing her to sleep so that she could heal more quickly. The woman's fever came and went and came and went again. Sometimes she spoke in a garbled mix of common speech and Romanian. Often she mentioned Whisper and wondered when Sitri would return. The red man's name kept finding its way to her lips, muttered here and there, but it was obvious to those around her that he was on her mind.

When the fever broke and Dusk had a moment of clarity, she asked after Sitri but he had yet to return. And so she waited because... what else could she do? The obsidian fae's shoulder and neck were bandaged and she was so sore that mobility was an issue. Aunt Gwyn assured her that she would heal, but she was going to be stiff for quite a while. Dusk was thankful that her aunt was so skilled and made a mental note to bring her a gift when she was healed enough to walk.

As Dusk lay here on the fur covered cot, the door the the infirmary opened. Her parents had been sitting with her and her mother quickly ushered her father out of the room. Fire opal eyes caught sight of Sitri and Dusk shot him a smile. She would have wagged but everything hurt. As he drew near, she noted that Whisper was clutched gently between his teeth. The red brute placed the weapon aside and complemented her on the mess that she'd left. At least she thought it was a complement.

Sitri asked how she felt and Dusk gave a very gentle chuckle. Her voice was low and soft with her throat being so sore. "I'll be okay," she assured him, not wanting to tell him the truth; it felt like she'd been trampled in a stampede of bison. Dusk searched the man's face and suddenly an urge came over her. He had gone out of his way to bring Whisper back to her. Sitri had fulfilled his promise to her. Lifting one paw, Dusk motioned the man forward as though she needed him to get closer so that she could whisper a secret to him. When he had leaned in, Dusk's dark pads rested lightly on Sitri's chin. She used that paw to lead him forward until her lips could press against his own. It was a chaste kiss by Carpathian standards, but Dusk poured her appreciation into that kiss. "Thank you," she whispered against the man's lips. "You saved my life and you returned Whisper to me." The dark fae's vibrant gaze bore into those of the man that was oh so close to her. "I owe you a great debt, Sitri."

"Dusk Carpathius"

Sitri relaxed a bit and gave a small nod when Dusk assured him that she'd be alright. Even if she had a lot of recovery ahead of her, he still felt relieved that she'd be okay in the end. It made every bit of the panic he felt rushing her back here to get help worth it. "Good, I'm glad," he replied with a genuine smile. "I was worried." It felt silly to be so worried about someone he had only met one other time, but he just told himself it was the care and concern for others that his parents had instilled in him coming to the surface. She had been in really rough shape–to put it lightly–when he found her so of course he was going to be worried about her wellbeing. It wasn't as if he had to be close to someone to be worried about them... But somehow it still felt like it was more than just a general concern for other wolves even if he couldn't quite put his paw on it.

He looked to her curiously as she lifted a paw and motioned him closer. He thought nothing of it, just assuming it was difficult for her to speak over a whisper, and he leaned down toward her to listen more closely. Instead, she caught him off guard with her soft paw pads catching his chin gently, pulling his muzzle closer to hers before he could even process what was happening. The feeling of her lips on his instantly fried any conscious thought that might have been in his brain, his blue and lavender gaze going wide with shock and blinking with surprise as she released him, leaving him sitting there like a stunned idiot, his heart immediately kicked into overdrive and his cheeks burning hot. As she thanked him for his help he slowly came back to reality and a silly, lopsided grin spread across his face, his tail wagging wildly behind him. "Oh, uh... It... It was nothing," he stammered quietly with a chuckle, his ears flicking back shyly.

He had flirted and teased girls more than a few times and certainly appreciated them plenty in his travels, but none of them had really stuck in his mind the way Dusk had and he had certainly never kissed any of them. He hadn't expected or wanted anything in return for everything he had done for her, but this was a very, very nice surprise. Still grinning a giddy, goofy grin, he leaned back again as he cleared his throat a bit. "If it's okay with you I'll stay around here for a while... Just till you're back on your paws, you know. I don't have anywhere to be so I can keep you company till you're feeling better. If you want, of course." Very cool, yes. Very smooth.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"