When she heard the call, her mind felt numb. She was scared and angry and how dare Peregrine not tell her she was going to come and challenge for a pack? Had she told anyone else? Did she even know any healers?

Sparrow ran around frantically pulling plants out of the ground and searching for cobwebs. What if she got seriously injured? Sparrow felt her heart drop. No, Peregrine was going to be fine. She was definitely going to be okay- until Sparrow got to her.

In the moment, Sparrow felt a lot bigger than she was. She felt betrayed. In the middle of carrying her herbs, she realized she was crushing them between her clenched teeth. She needed to calm down. She needed her heart to slow down and the tears to stop wobbling at the edges of her eyes. She needed to drain the heat from her face and the numbness from her paws.

She needed to breathe.

Since when was this such a big deal? Her whole pack had gone to war, her siblings, her friend, his family- all of them. She remembered how she felt then, but the anger was different then. She was angry then because she didn't support the cause. She didn't want to see her pack, or her friends hurt because someone waged a stupid war.

This was different.

She supported this cause.

She was hurt because some part of her wanted to be a part of that.

"Dannazione tutto, Peregrine."

Sparrow took a deep breath and continued to the battle field. She had seen scattering wolves, but she didn't really see them. She didn't hear them. She refused to. What if they said Peregrine was hurt? What if she lost?

Then, sticking out as if she was the only wolf on the planet, Peregrine stood, and suddenly Sparrow couldn't bring herself to move. She didn't know if she should scream or cry or run to her. She didn't know anything. Her mind was void of all thoughts except for one.

"Peregrine..."

Peregrine met Sparrow on the border and almost turned tail then and there. The anger in her eyes had lit the emeralds ablaze with fire from deep within the earth, and in that instant Pere considered fleeing back the way she'd come. But there were other things there, that same strange concern that seemed to have kept the oddball fae in he orbit for the past few moons. She let out a nervous laugh and (though she would not admit it in the future) took a tiny step back. "S-Sparrow! You look, uh..." She stumbled over her words. Actually stumbled. "Er, mad," she finished lamely. Well, it was true! And dammit all, Peregrine was a tiny but scared, even given all she'd just gone through. "It's no big deal, really!" she tried to justify to the woman. It was then that she realized all the things the somewhat older dame had brought along, and her eyes widened in distracted interest. "Whatcha got there?" She was a bit of a magpie herself, Wolf seemed to have rubbed off on her a bit. It wasn't as though she'd forgotten about Sparrow's... well, the weird look on her face, honestly, but what had she been doing before that had kept her from coming to see? It must have been important, but the pieces weren't really fitting in together. "Talk" "You" Think "Tsiry"

Peregrine addressed her by name, "Oh, so you refemfr my name, hah?" Well, good, because Sparrow could have sworn she didn't hear her name being called before the fight. Sparrow came closer, despite the taller girl's step back.

"Do I luk mad? Really? Try cazzo incazzato." Sparrow was nearly under Peregrine's chin when the other noticed her pouch. When she pointed it out, Sparrow remembered she had been scrambling around looking for herbs for this-

This-

"IDIOTA!" Sparrow spat the pouch onto the ground, beginning to stomp closely around Peregrine to look for injuries, threatening to crush Peregrine's toes under her tiny feet with every step. When they were shoulder to shoulder, she motioned to the bag with her tail.

"What do you think it is, huh? Maybe it's some COMMON SENSE for you!"

Sparrow tossed her head back to where she was almost yelling in Peregrine's ear, "Did you just wake up and think, 'Oh hey, it's a wonderful day to fight someone for their pack and not tell anyone,' or did you just want to leave me out of this on purpose? Were you afraid I'd run away?" Sparrow's voice cracked and she fell silent for a moment, trying to blink away her tears. She was trying to look threatening, dammit.

"Did you think maybe someone would have liked to have stuff to treat you in case you got hurt and would spend the whole fight looking for herbs instead of being able to be here and cheer you on? Didn't you ever think- oh, I don't know- that maybe someone would WORRY about you, Pere?"

Oops. There it was. Sparrow spun around, her minty eyes wide. She stammered over several syllables trying to think about what to say to cover up her emotions, but her mind blanked and she was left just staring at Peregrine's face.

Uh oh, Sparrow was speaking in another language, that wasn't good! Peregrine wasn't sure which way to run but her indecision would become her downfall. Before she knew it the smaller female was all in her space and the moment was lost. Wow, she was really mad, huh? Peregrine supposed in retrospect it made at least a bit of sense. It might have been smart to make sure there was someone there to back her up before letting loose a war cry but if there was anyone one this planet suited to live in the moment it was Peregrine. She opened and closed her mouth, fighting to get a word in edgewise, but it wasn't until the older fae's voice cracked that Peregrine got a chance. Oh. Oh no. Guilt swarmed her, pummeled her, and Peregrine was not exactly the consoling type. She took a half step closer, wincing as she did. How could she explain that she'd just... done it? There didn't seem to be a nice way to say 'You just weren't on my mind' but the truth was... well, she'd been thinking about very different things. "Sparrow, I-" she began, but her thoughts would not find order. Mind racing, she was lost among Sparrow's rant, all until she asked, "Didn't you ever think- oh, I don't know- that maybe someone would WORRY about you, Pere?" Peregrine's jaw dropped open, forced open by the wind leaving her lungs. She hadn't... really realized that it was like that. She sputtered, searching for and kind of traction or excuse. "Well, I guess I... I mean, I was just hoping that I'd bounce back if anything happened," she said weakly. "You know, like I always do." She had an impressive track record of narrowly escaping various situations, and it'd worked for her so far! She never really needed someone else to look after her, but since coming to Boreas she'd appreciated having friends around. Was that the same thing? She let out another held breath. "Look Sparrow, I'm really sorry... Let me make it up to you?" Her smile was small, merely a bud waiting for the shining of her approval before daring to blossom any further. Somehow she didn't think she'd be let off the hook that easily... She just hoped Sparrow would at least let her wait until she'd recovered. "Talk" "You" Think

Sparrow didn't let Peregrine speak until she was finished- sort of. She didn't mean for her voice to crack. When Peregrine mentioned that she just hoped she'd bounce back if anything happened, Sparrow almost screamed.

"You were just hoping? Oh my go- no, you know what? What if you didn't?" Her voice got softer as she spoke. She walked back around to face Peregrine as the tall woman proposed making it up to her. Sparrow drew close, her brows knit together, "Oh? Oh yeah? You're gonna make it up to me? How? Are you gonna, what, go give the pack back- since I'm assuming you  won, you better have won- and ask to make amends? Say 'just kidding' and walk away?"

Sparrow couldn't help but think of the war between the pack that had crossed her family. They had gotten Imperium involved. Ashmedai had told her the details, talking about who all had gotten maimed. Sparrow couldn't imagine- didn't want to imagine something like that happening to Peregrine.

"What if they come after you now," she said, her voice small. "What if they have allies and wage war on you? I've seen it happen. I've participated in it."

Sparrow shook her head, "Make it up to me by thinking a little bit next time, maybe- I dunno- ask a friend."

The chocolate and cream girl turned and gathered her pouch of herbs. While she was turned away, she spoke, "It doesn't have to be me, or anything, Pere. Just someone that cares about you."

Sparrow turned back around, "Cause I don't wanna see you hurt, okay? Got it? Not in a weird way or anything. I mean- like, yeah- sure- I care about you- but I mean it's natural for a healer, right? It's not anything odd or anything." Sparrow stammered through her speech as she got ready to try and heal Peregrine, her face becoming hot.

She needed to get a hold of her life. This girl was making her absolutely crazy.

"Just... Forget what I said. Tell me where you're hurt, okay?"