With a Whimper

Sparrow couldn't hide the fact that she was proud of the yearlings. They were taking their first steps into adulthood. As she had said at the meeting, these wolves were the future of Abaven. Now, she could only hope that their futures shone brighter than hers had.

Sparrow was surprised, however, that Lark had approached her and told her that Lillianna had been sick for some time. He said that nothing they tried had worked and asked her to help. She understood that asking for help on behalf of his mate had put Lark in a tough position given their past, but he was still family and Sparrow would help Lillianna for his sake.

The frequent storms in Abaven had drowned several species of herbs so Sparrow had invited Lark to help her look for a fresh source to cure Lillianna with. He had agreed and the journey thus far had been pleasant. The two hadn't really had a lot of time to catch up these days, but Sparrow was glad to have a moment to catch up.

She told her brother about her struggles and failings as an alpha. She even touched on her once-crush on Peregrine and Ashmedai. She was a little old for crushes now and had all but given up hope on finding love or starting a family. She admitted that her happiest days were the ones she spent outside of the pack and that she envied Lark for finding someone within the pack.

It almost felt like the first real talk they had had as adults.

As the two drew near the Stone Steppe, Sparrow slowed.

"So I think that we might be able to find some fungi and things here," she said in Italian. "If not, we can move upland a bit. Surely the rains drained from there quickly and we can find the herbs we need."