Starling was spending a big portion of his "vacation" helping a girl who was practically a stranger. Well, it made sense. He could never really turn down someone that needed help, now could he. But she seemed to get on his nerves a bit, or perhaps that was his anxiety talking. Whatever it was, though, made the young healer wonder why he was doing this. But another part of him wondered why he was annoyed by her. It was just the situation, he reminded himself. He had never really felt annoyance, aside from what came hand in hand with his sheer embarrasment at constantly tripping. With a sigh he'd glance over at her, as he had done several times during their walk. The thicket wasn't very far from the plains, and for that he was happy. Here they would find their meadowsweet, which would help the healing pain he know was bound to happen. When muscles and ligaments grew back, it hurt and throbbed, and being so close to many nerve endings it was bound to give her migrains and many aches. "Se dico mi dispiace, vuoi ascoltare ?" He whispered softly, glancing towards her as apology crosses his face. "I-i'm sorry.." He said softly as the grass changed and trees began to dot the area. "I-if I-i hurt y-your feelings...a-at all. I...d-didn't m-mean i-it." He would offer the smallest of smiles then before sighing and glancing around for the tell tale flowers. Only a small amount of silence would settle before he had to speak again, feeling awkward with what he just said. Clearing his throat he'd smile towards her. "Wh-what's y-your passion. M-Mine is h-healing, obviously? A-and learning, r-really an-nyth-thing. A-aunt Mot-tif was t-teaching me h-how to fight bef-fore V-vail was born. N-not that I'm an-ny good...I-i trip ov-ver my own p-paws....l-like all the t-time. E-even when I'm standing s-still." He laughed, feeling his cheeks heat up just so but thankfully covered with liver colored fur, his eyes quickly darting away. "Talk""Italian"

rustling thicket

Lillie trailed behind, feeling a little awkward and a little in pain. Why was he even helping her? He wondered why he was helping her; Lillie did the same - it didn't even make sense. She was a stranger to him, a foreigner to Abaven. Why help? Still, she'd keep her mouth shut. There was... no point in arguing. She knew healers, and she knew their stubbornness, and she knew they cared even when they shouldn't, like Shaye. A small smile curved her lips at the thought of Shaye; the other girl was just... so sweet.

Words, foreign, but like music to her ears, softly reached out to her. Ears strained against her cranium, whereas before they were simply relaxed. She, of course, didn't understand them, but she could tell by the voice. Apologetic. The annoyance, the frustration, it dissipated, as if never having been. It wasn't forgotten, but it was clear by the brightening of her eyes before she even spoke that it was forgiven. "I don't even know what you said," she said simply, though a small smile was on her face as she pointed that fact out. "Of course it's forgiven." Of course, she also would bet what he had said that one time wasn't good but... it was true; she did not know his words. Her tail wagged briefly, green eye focused on him. "Thank you. I apologize for...doing whatever I did to annoy you." A slight grin twisted her lips as she spoke; she was thoroughly amused with herself. Despite this amusement, her tone wasn't grudging, or sarcastic; it was sincere, and she meant it. She didn't know what she had done, but that was okay too - although she did wish she knew; she was equally as guilty a party in this, and the knowledge was clear in her very attitude.

Her ears flicked back at his question, though they perked back up at his own interests. She grimaced, slightly, at the mention of Motif; she was not a fan of the woman at the moment, though that would have to wait. She laughed lightly at his last words. "I do the same. I'm a walking disaster," she laughed with him. As if to prove her point, her paw got caught on a stick she didn't see, and she stumbled; barely catching herself before her jaw smashed into the ground. Wincing at the close call, she pushed herself back up, giving Starling a look, one of grievance and understanding... and yes, just a bit of humor. "I generally... well, I was going to be a messenger before all this. I was hoping to, at some point, achieve a diplomatic role in Abaven, in dealing with other packs... but I do not believe that would work very well with these injuries," she admitted, having to take a deep breath before admitting the last bit. Her ears had flattened while she spoke; her eyes studied the vegetation instead of looking at the brown form. Yeah, she wasn't too comfortable right now.

"Speech"

Starling would continue to walk as the trees began to thicken now, on alart for meadowsweet or elderberry. He couldnt remember which grew here, but he knew one of them did. As she spoke he smiled lightly, glancing to her. "Mo-most people d-dont even h-hear me...i-ill take i-it as a b-blessing th-that you c-cant unders-stand me...c-cause that me-means you were at least t-trying to listen." He said softly, a gentle smile on his maw. It seemed to.more comfortable or confindent he was around a person the less he stuttered. "You a-annoyed me c-cause you d-didnt l-listen...a-and th-then y-you q-questioned m-me...w-without e-even knowing w-what i said..." So with a sigh he'd look forward, blinking as she discussed her dreams and aspirations and how they didnt seem to be coming true. He couldnt understand it. Starling had been born for healing amd his determination hadnt allowed himself to stray off path, even when he tried to learn sparring. "w-well if you could get a-along with o-other so th-they dont e-eat your f-face, it c-could work." He said softly, a mix of joke and hard truth. Hed look at her then, humming. "L-Lillianna..wh-why d-do you th-think i-it wont w-work anymore. I-if you f-follow what i s-say you sh-should heal up j-just fine." He said with a gentle smile, trying to comfort her. "If you were l-listening that is..."

Sadness flashed through her eyes when he spoke; really? No one really listened to him? That was... not pitying, but really saddening. Why wouldn't they? He proved to be quite intelligent. She'd understand if he wasn't smart or something, but... he had intelligence. He knew what he spoke of. Her tail wagged softly as she gazed at him, heart in her eyes. The sadness dissipated, turning into amusement and gratitude as he continued speaking, and she laughed softly, nodding. "I'm sorry," she said again, easily, a smile still on her face. His own bluntness inspired her to be rather truthful herself, and so she carried on. "Truth be told, I was distracted because of the language you spoke; I'd never heard of anything like it, and so I only heard half of what you were saying in English after that. It sounds beautiful, and my thoughts were on how I'd love to learn it." She snorted again as he went on. "Well.... yeah. I think it's too late to get along with the one that did this, but I'll try not to piss anyone else off." Her own tone mirrored his; a mix of teasing and brutal honesty. The smile slipped as he addressed what she said later, and she winced. "Scars like the ones I'll have would cause someone to be initially mistrustful, instead of just wary. " She shrugged to the rest of the words. "You said to..." she paused, eyes floating to the right as she thought back. "To... eat this kind of berry for... immune system, I believe it was, and this leaf - I can't remember the name - for pain. And that I should flex my jaw so it doesn't heal stiffly. Right?" her words grew more confident as she spoke and remembered, and she finished firmly, eye fixed on the brown form of the elder boy. A thought came to mind, perhaps one that would... have more camaraderie? More companionship? The words escaped her. Either way, she'd say what she was thinking: "What were those names again? You gave a warning, too... don't have too much of something, but I forget what you said that to." So she was sort of listening, okay, only half, but she got more than she honestly thought she would.

"Speech"

Starling continued to glance around, searching for the tell tale white flowers or blue berries. Either would be lovely to find so that he could go and find the next one and take Lillianna back. It wasn't so much that he wasn't enjoying her company, because in a way he was, it was more that he only had so much time before he should head back, and he didn't want to waste it. ...Not that this was entirely a waste. He'd hum lightly as she made her excuse, and he'd smile softly. The language really was pretty, wasn't it. "I-it's Italian. M-my father taught m-me and my siblings." He said lightly, smiling fondly. "S-some of them d-don't like it, but I-i find it's easier to t-talk...when n-noone can understand you." He said softly, his voice tender. When she continued he'd shrug his shoulder slightly, sky blue eyes shifting back at her to stare at her rather pointedly. "L-lillianna, n-no one is a l-lost cause. And f-from what I g-gather, y-you started it. A-an apology can go a v-very long way." He tried to get his point across. Here, this whole situation, could have escalated into a weird miscommunication problem if he had never apologized. "Y-you don't want to burn b-bridges. Y-you might need someone l-like her in the f-future on your side. I-it's better to have someone that c-can eat faces on y-your side, rather than against you." He would turn back then, glancing around and squinting his eyes for the white petals he was looking for. "A-and a s-scar doesn't t-tell a story, j-just like a s-smile doesn't. E-even a grinning wolf have t-teeth to bite, a-and even a b-beat up wolf has k-knowledge to share. J-just means y-you have f-faced a battle a-and now y-you're wiser...Y-you probably wont go antagonizing w-wolves to t-the point w-where th-they'll eat th-the other side of your face, will you?" He said with a teasing smile, his head tilted slightly. "D-don't give up o-on yourself, e-even if your reflection...i-is not quite a-as it used to be." When she tried to remember what he said, he couldn't help but smile at her attempt. At least she had tried to listen, it seemed. "Elderberry" He corrected her softly whens he said 'berry'. "Flower, Meadowsweet.." He said again, when she stumbled on the leaf she needed. He nodded slightly. "In about a-a week y-you should d-do jaw e-excersizes, s-so the h-healing m-muscles d-don't heal s-stiffly. Y-you w-want to be able t-to bite wolves i-if they tr-try to scar th-the rest of you, r-right?" He said with a gentle smile, soothing as he tried to teach her. "Y-you never w-want to eat too m-many herbs. Y-you can get a-addicted to the p-pain relief, or d-develop an immunity. I-i'll tell you exactly how m-much you should have a d-day. And when I c-come home at the end o-of the summer, I w-want you t-to let me k-know how y-your healing went." He'd continue to look around then before his smile spread so wide. "Finalmente! prato dolce." He said smoothly, trotting quickly towards the precious bush of beautiful white flowers. He began to set to work, delicately digging and tugging on the stems to pull them by the root. They lasted longer, and were easier to carry that way. "Talk" | "Italian"

"Italian," she echoed him, head tilting to the side. Oh, so the family knew it? A gentle smile graced her maw; tail wagged lightly behind her. Yeah, it definitely was easier to speak when no one could understand you. She often wished she knew another language for just that purpose, and... well, learning something like that she felt would be enjoyable. "W-would you teach me?" she asked, hesitantly, her tone having a slight edge of fear  fear of the answer being no.

Her ears flattened when he gave her that look, and she shifted uncomfortably. She had to admit, he had a point, but the thought of apologizing to that... to that bitch filled her with utter repulsion. And he was right about her starting it, sort of. They kinda both started it at the same time. Of course, that argument would have absolutely no effect on the boy at all, she already knew it. So she kept her mouth shut, just nodding wordlessly. She couldn't resist a snort at the last bit. That was true, she definitely wanted face-eaters on her team. They weren't fun to fight against. It was worth considering, at least.

Her ears raised back up as he continued, her uncomfortable feeling fading as he continued speaking. Another laugh emerged from the teasing question. "I'll probably avoid that for now on," she agreed. The smile then faded, replaced by a rather serious expression, and she nodded silently. She didn't have much a response for that - other than maybe appreciation .

She nodded at the correction, muttering it under her breath to try to commit it to memory. And she needed a flower, not a leaf? Okay. Meadow sweet. She could.. try to remember that. She liked meadows, right? Meadows are sweet? She couldn't even think of something to remember it with. She nodded at the instruction to flex her jaw, she'd remember. Especially after that scolding. She nodded more as he added on, before opening her mouth to repeat the information back to him - to make sure she got it right - when his smile widened, spoke Italian, and he darted away. She followed more slowly, head tilting as she looked down at the white flowers. "Finalment?" she questioned, butchering the pronunciation rather gruesomely. "Does that mean finally?" It sort of sounded like it did... and, well, she was curious. "And is that meadowsweet?" There weren't berries, so she figured it couldn't be elderberries because... berries.

"Speech"

Starling would continue his digging, a bright grin on his face as he did. He barely heard her question, his entire focus shifting to just getting these herbs extracted and safely. He dug gently, circling around the bush here and there to very carefully dig out each root and each stem. He would lay them so delicately to the side before continueing his work. Each flower was precious, and they were meant to be preserved. He would tilt his head then, realizing he maybe missed something she said and he's quickly look at her, nose dusted with dirt. Blue eyes were wide as he thought back, trying to find her words before he smiled sheepishly. "Th-this is meadowsweet." He said then, picking up one of the flowers and placing it at her paws. His own smoothed a petal down just slightly. "Th-the p-petals are often w-white, and th-there's many f-flowers on each b-branch..." He said with a gentle smile, trying to explain it to her incase she had to come out and find some more. Not that she should, this much meadowsweet would be enough to last her and then some. He might as well take some with him. "Y-you chew on a flower or two and i-ingest it. I-it h-helps n-numb pain." He'd explain, glancing up at her with his bright blue eyes, a small smile on his face. "I-in Italian it is called prato dolce" He said softly, moving to put it back in the pile and continue to extract the flowers from the earth, leaving a few with their roots in tact so they may flourish again. "Talk" | "Italian"

Wide eyes stared at the flowers, and she sniffed them. They smelled... sweet, like the name would suggest. And they were found in a meadow thing. Huh, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to remember, she hoped. Her ears flicked at his words, and she looked down, uneasiness crossing her mind. "And I have to somehow only eat two flowers on a branch?" she asked, her uneasiness shown in her voice - and the fear that she'd get the amount wrong and hurt herself. She didn't realize that the whole branch was the 'flower' and she'd have about two branches of that size - nope, not at all. Her eyes widened as he spoke it in Italian, and she grinned. "P-prato d-dulce?" she repeated, stuttering through the unfamiliar words but... surprisingly getting close to the pronounciation, though, despite the stuttering.

"Speech"

Starling would carefully pull the flowers together, gathering all the stems with odd elegance as he sighed at her question. A small smile touched his lips as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "sciocca ragazza" He said with a fond smile, shaking his head slightly. "D-don't worry. B-before I l-leave, I'll h-have them all s-seperated f-for you. A-all y-you'll h-have to d-do is eat th-them..if th-that's not t-too difficult." He said with a cheeky grin as he gathered the herbs in his jaws and stepped back towards her. He nodded his head as she repeated his words as he placed his bundle back down, using his paw to keep them delicately in place. "G-good job." He said softly as he pet the flowers into place, his usually clumsy paws were gentle as he handled the plants, like they were the most fragile things in the world. "W-we just n-need t-to gather th-the berries now....A-all we h-have to do is c-cross the r-river to the n-next territory. Th-they shouldn't b-be hard to f-find along th-the river." He said softly before he gathered up his bundle again and moved to step away from her, trotting towards the neighboring territory. "Talk" | "Italian"

Her head tilted at his words, though she gave a crooked smile of her own in turn. She was curious as to what he said, but she was just pleased he was teaching her at all. He didn't have to, she was pretty sure he had been annoyed with her but then.... he continued on anyways. Then his next words, and she gave him a look of faux outrage. She snorted; with a toss of her head and a small "Hmph!" Still, that smile remained. That grin did change, though, as the boy spoke again: one of pure delight, followed by frantic movement of her tail. Yaay, she pronounced it right. That made her... quite happy. She nodded again, trotting along beside him as he led the way.

-exit-
"Speech"