Starling worried, worried and worried and worried and he paced. He paced until he paws grew sore, and stopped to sit for a while, his mind reeling and pacing and racing. He couldn't stop, couldn't calm down. He was a flurry, a wild beast of thoughts and feelings and he just wanted it all to stop. Even herb hunting had done nothing for him, and he couldn't stop. Couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop seeing her. She haunted his nightmares, her twitching form, on the cusp of death and destruction. His frail, beloved little sister... He couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking about it. He felt like he was going mad! He felt like he was going to expload. The rage that filled him was unlike anything he had every experianced. He had never been angry, never felt a fire this strong before, but all he wanted to do was find who had done this to her and take from them what they almost took from him. From him and his entire family. They had been so close to looking Finch that day, he couldn't stand it. What would he ever do if they did lose her? What could he do? He had to learn more...had to know more about poisons so this would never happen again, so he wasn't so blind to it. He had to...he had to find whoever done it to her and take them down. He paced further, nearly drawing a line into the earth before her den before he sighed and looked towards his. Finch, his beloved little sister... A soft whine pulled from his throat before he finally turned, stepping towards her. He hadn't really spent much time with her since. Sure, he had brought her herbs, checked on her condition, but he had always done that as his role as a healer. He had never done so...as a brother. He had paced and barely left her den site, but he hadn't really spent much time with her otherwise. Perhaps he was anxious, perhaps he was terrified of the guilt that settled in his stomach. If he had only been quicker, if he had only known more... If he hadn't have left... "Finch?" He whispered at the entrance to her den, peering inside and wondering if she was awake. A small part of him hoped she wasn't so he didn't have to see her, but another part just wanted to talk to her, make sure she really was okay.. "Talk"" | "Italian"

She let out a whine as the nightmares tried to claim her mind again, still the darkness would not leave her. It haunted her every moment, threatening to drag her down again and again. And that wasn't the only thing that still bothered her. Even when her eyes were open she still saw things that weren't there, everything was painted in an odd blue, sometimes green light. Finch was always dizzy and she felt like her heart was beating too fast, but she was still here. Still alive. Her shoulder ached as hard as her heart, and there was times when she wished that the darkness had just claimed her. But no, she was still here, still kicking. And it was all thanks to Starling, Sparrow, Lillie... there were a lot of them there, she had been told. Even a stranger from Imperium showed up with Sparrow to help. It had made her feel important, like she really mattered. It did not, however, help her with the shadows that tried to coil around her frame. No matter how hard she tried to shake it, they still whispered dark secrets to her, clawing at her very soul. Finch wished that they would just go away, she just wanted to get better! At the sound of her name being called she let out a yelp as she jumped to her paws, pale blue eyes wide as she began to pant. Looking around her den in fear she tried to see what had called to her, and saw her shadow dance at her paws. It jumped and sputtered around her, letting out a laugh as it pulled at her fur. Finch whimpered and backed up until her rump hit the den, her white and gray tail curling between her legs as it hung at her belly. "G-go away! L-leave me alone!" she called to the shadow, her head shaking back and forth. She tried to bare her teeth but her lips just quivered, the growl she tried to let out dying into another whine. It was then that Civetta woke up, her tiny feathered head looking over to the panicked wolf. She let out a chirp, but the girl didn't hear her. The finch saw that it had been Starling that had called out to Finch, not whatever was making her back into a corner. Blinking her beady eyes she hopped over to the entrance of the den, looking at Finch's brother. "Starling! She's freaking out, she keeps looking at the ground and whining. I think that she is seeing something that isn't there..." the bird said softly, hoping that the brown and white brute would know how to help her. "SPEAK!" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by Evelyn

It wasn't that he wasn't expecting it, no. He knew she was still a bit out of it, but he had hoped it would have faded by now. So when she jumped and started to panic, he, too, jumped and became nervous but for entirely different reasons. Was this going to be a permanent thing? Did she have permanent damage that he couldn't see? His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her with wide blue eyes, feeling them prick with tears. It looked like...brother time would have to wait. Slowly he took in a deep breath before letting it out again. He felt the calm enter his body as he took the second for himself, listening to the little bird speak. And with that, he entered that state he managed to get whenever healing was necessary. Slowly he stepped towards her. "Sorella, va bene. Sono io, Starling." He whispered softly, hoping that the italian may help her recognize the reality instead of the shadows. He took another step before stopping, giving her enough room so she wouldn't feel threatened or caged. He didn't like this, he didn't like this one bit.  "Sorella, mio dolce Finch. Che cosa è che si vede?" He cooed softly, slowly reclining on his haunches before stretching out, as if he were laying down, and reaching a paw out to gently touch hers. He needed to get through to her, to understand what was happening. "Talk"" | "Italian"

There were more and more shadows, they came at her and tugged at her pale fur. She let out a whine, and then a sharp bark as she snapped her jaws together. Fear was making her react out of instinct, but she only closed down on thin air. There was a larger beast that came towards her, and her unseeing blue eyes snapped up towards it. It was covered in teeth and dirt, like a dead thing that had risen just to take her back to its cold grave. Finch's body tried to move further back, but her rump was already against the wall. She moved to bite into the beast, when that voice sounded. She shook her head, trying to focus. Her pupils contracted and as her eyes tried to see what was really there, flashes of her brother coming through. She heard the Italian, and her body shook as her legs gave out, her body falling to the earth. Finch's breath left her mouth in big gasps, her head pounding as she tried so hard to focus. "F-Fratello?" she asked into the darkness, groaning. Her head shook back and forth, until finally, finally his face appeared. The girl blinked softly, her body relaxing on the ground. "L-loro sono ovunque. Le o-ombre, tirano verso di me. Mi v-vogliono, fratello." The girl whispered, her grey and white tail curling around her form. Finch's body scooted forward slightly, her right front paw raising up to try and touch Starling's face. He was on the earth as well, his paws stretching out towards her. Her left paw touched his right paw, longing to feel his heat on her cold form. "I'm so s-scared, Starling. W-what's wrong with m-me?" she asked with a whine. Even though she was trying to focus on him, his usually brown and white fur was tainted blue, like he got dipped into a puddle of colour. It was too hard, so she just closed her pale blue eyes and rested her head on her extended legs, letting out a deep sigh. "It all hurts s-so much..." "SPEAK!" "Italian" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by Evelyn

Starling had to hold his breath as he tried to get through to her, eyes so wide and fearful. She had to be okay, she would get through this. She would...and who ever had done it would pay. They would, and then everything would be okay again. His jaw clenched before Italian flowed through her stuttering voice. His own caught, surprise coloring his face as she called for him. "Sono qui Finch." He called to her. Italian seemed to get through this...this nightmare, something they shared and recognized so easily. He would reach out to her, slowly. "Essi non sono reali, Finch. Stai bene, stai bene, io sono qui." He tried to comfort her, tried his very best. When she scooted closer to touch him, he took that as a sign and gently shuffled forward to try and gather the smaller girl in his arms. He needed to comfort her, needed to know that she was okay. "Y-you're okay, sister." He whispered in as best of a voice as he could. He did believe it, that should would be fine...she just...just had to work it all out of her system. "Y-you are something...you sh-shouldn't have.." He whispered, pressing soft kisses under her ear and along her cheek. "B-but y-you're o-okay now. I-it's o-okay, i-it'll all b-be over soon." It would be, it just had to be, he couldn't imagine what life would be like if she was always this way. What if he had failed her... "I-it's okay t-to be scared. B-but I'm h-here Finch. W-we all a-are. W-we wont l-let an-anything h-happen to you." He whispered softly, looking down at his sister. His brows were furrowed as he tried to keep the tears at bay. He needed to comfort her, to help her through this. She had to get through this, she just had too. "SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN"

Her brothers steady voice cut through it all, even though it sounded like he was on the other end of a tunnel. He called to her, telling her that he was here. Her breathing hitched painfully in her throat, her heart skipping a beat as she tried to calm herself down. Starling told her that they weren't real, and that he was here. She blinked rapidly, and slowly the shadows vanished. Her own shadow became her own once again, and she could finally see Starling in front of her. Her limbs shaky, she was unable to hold herself up anymore. As she stretched towards her brother, he came forward and wrapped her in his arms. A shaky sigh left Finch's throat, tears gathering in her pale blue eyes. A broken sob left her mouth as she buried her face into his soft brown and white fur. She breathed in his scent greedily, as if the earth scent of him would drag her back down to the ground. It took a moment for her to fully calm down, her sobs turning into sniffles. Finch hiccuped, listening to his stuttering voice as he tried to settle her down. Slowly she nodded her head, but she wasn't sure if she could believe his words. She just wanted to be normal again, for all of this to be over. "Che cosa è successo là f-fuori?" She asked, feeling more comfortable with Italian at the moment. Pulling her head back, she searched Starling's face like he held all the answers, and could save her from the blank spaces in her memory. She had been trying to hard to focus on all of it, but there were parts that were still pretty fussy. She just wanted to know what happened after it all, and how the heck she had even gotten home. The last thing she remembered was the twisting path of the tunnels, the sting in her shoulder as the toothy beast cut into her flesh. Shuttering at the memory, her face found its way back into Starling's fur. "C-come sono arrivato a c-casa?" "SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"