She was... not as wounded as she thought she would be coming from the siege. The war. But then again, she also wasn't expecting Evangeline to assist her. It still confused her, to a degree, though the girl was less prone to dwell on it now - no point in doing so, it's not like she'd ever get a straight answer. No, instead she focused on the land that Bass had claimed for Abaven - the Rustling Thickets. It was indeed very rustling. So many birds; she couldn't even see them, which moderately annoyed her. Of course, most of the time the grass towered well over her head and she couldn't see very much. This time, going through the thickets, she stayed to the areas her back cleared the grasses. Why? Because she had a tiny child clinging to her back; a mere kitten, who was quite delighted with the back-ride. Lillianna would laugh softly, grinning happily to herself as she purposefully bounced, leaping a few feet into a patch of grass at the edge of the territory bordering the Serpent Plains. A soft laugh would come from the creature, and she would wriggle all over - her signal to the kitten that he ought to slide off her back. Farrym did so with little trouble, and she had him sit in between her paws. That was when her head tipped back and she called for Finch - Finch had a new friend to meet, and Finch's companion did as well. Walk, "Talk" Think

Her head rose at Lilli's call, ears pulling forward. She hadn't seen the girl since the pack had come back, Imperium had called a feast not long after. Finch had opted to stay home, not too keen on huge crowds. Plus, someone had to stay back, right? At least, that is what she kept telling herself. Civetta was standing in between her shoulder blades as she made her way to the thickets, still a tad bit unsure about this new land. Sure, her father had claimed the land, but there could still be unknown things in there. She was much more comfortable in the plains and rapids, but could not deny an audience with her friend. So she took a deep breath, pushing her body into the tall grasses. It was very disorienting, she couldn't see anything beyond the thick blades of grass. It would be very easy to get lost here, but thankfully she was able to find Lillianna's scent and follow it. Pushing herself out of the large patch of grasses, she quickly saw her darker form among all the green. She bounded over, but was stopped short by Civetta's high pitched scream. Confused, she looked down at Lillie's paws to see a tiny kitten standing there, something that sent the finch into a nearby tree. Blinking in her confusion, her head shot from the bird to the cat, gaze lingering on each creature with raised brows. "It's going to eat me!" the bird wailed, the only thing breaking the silence. Finch was much to stunned to say anything at all. "SPEAK!" ”CIVETTA SPEAKS”

Art by Evelyn

Lillianna would wait patiently for her friend to arrive, instead preoccupying herself with Farrym, who was trying to bat at her nose with a paw. She growled lightly, playfully, nosing him over; he squeaked and she just had to laugh at it. It was utterly adorable, as adorable as when he actually spoke, which was quite rare.

Rustling of grasses would grab her attention, and she would snap her head up, staring intently at the grass - and then Finch! Finch would emerge, and Lillianna's tail beat against the ground, woofing softly and wordlessly in greeting. She had to admit to herself she was a bit scared that Finch would not come, which was silly, but...

Her smile dropped off her face at the scream, the extremely birdlike scream. Farrym shrank against her paws, hissing and Lillianna crouched down around the kitten, a low growl in her throat as her head whipped around. A wail, a wail with words, and Lillianna's head snapped around to stare at the bird. The low growl stopped, but the glare did not. "Farrym is not going to eat you," she growled even as the kitten fought from between her paws and bounced towards Finch, sniffing the much bigger creature's paws. Lillianna watched the kitten quietly, waiting for the damn bird to stop her screeching.

""

Seemingly to finally snap out of her trance, Finch shot her gaze up to Civetta, ears pinning as she heard Lillie's growled words. "C-calm down C-civetta!" She said softly, hearing the birds frantic breaths. She couldn't really blame her friend, she was such a tiny bird and could easily be taken out by a kitten like that. And Finch was a bit of a fear reactor too. It hurt a bit that Lillie was so mad, and she didn't look up to meet her friends gaze. Could the wolf really blame a small bird for being afraid of her natural predator? Finch took a step back, head low, when she heard a small sniffing sound. Looking down, she saw the very kitten that had scared her bird so badly. Not daring to move, Finch allowed the tiny critter to smell her, a hesitant smile touching her lips. She bent down as well, having a sniff at the odd cat. Where on earth had Lillie found this little guy? She didn't dare to ask right now though, still upset at the smaller girl's reaction to Civetta. Glancing up at where the owl-finch had landed, she saw that she had left, and Finch's shoulders sagged. She didn't even hear her feathered friend take off, and it upset her that she couldn't go and comfort her. Ears pinned against her pale head, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. "S-sorry to bother y-you, Lillie." She said at last, her voice betraying how she felt. Disappointed, upset. She just wanted to go now, to crawl back into her den. But with the kitten at her paws she was more scared to go, she didn't want to cause any more panic than what had already transpired. "SPEAK!" ”CIVETTA SPEAKS”

Art by Evelyn