Everything had been really tense back at home, and Finch found herself away from the plains more than she was there. Sometimes she was looking for Starling, sometimes just wandering to see the world that she had been so afraid of at one point. And today she set out for a rather specific destination, her leaf necklace swinging around her furry neck. Civetta was flying overhead, sending out little shrill calls now and then. She was glad to be on the move, and away from Abaven for the moment. It had been a safe haven for her her entire life, it was where she hid away from everything else and stuck close with her mother, and later her father and Starling. But not both her mother and brother were gone, and she was very confused at what was transpiring between Lark and Lillie. She cared for both wolves dearly, but she didn't think that she would have to share them with each other. Her white and tan ears pinned against her skull, and she quickly shook her head to scatter the thoughts. Quickly she broke out into a lope, the barred finch above her letting out a soft call as she too, flew faster. Finch was running away from her problems, but that was all she knew to do. As the pale woman reached the boundary of Sunset Falls, she skid to a stop as a scent marker hit her right in the face. She stood, completely stunned, as her companion settled on her head, a sad whistle passing her beak.  "What's wrong, Finch?" the bird asked softly, confused at what had stopped her furry friend. "It's... it's claimed. Fiori has taken the falls..." she whispered, feeling as if her heart had broke. Last time she had been her, she had explored it with Tib, and she had been looking forward to this trip for weeks. She was so thrown off that she stood there, completely stunned, panting from her short burst to get here. She had not crossed the border, her white toes just teasing the invisible line. Ever so slowly, her hindquarters dropped to the earth as her bright blue eyes looked blankly ahead of her. Just like everything else in her life, this too, had been taken away from her. Finch felt as if she was about to burst into tears. Time after time, when she built up the courage to go out and do something, it got ripped away from her. Last time, she had that run in with the spotted woman, and now... Her body quivered as she held back a sob, her ears flat against her head. She had been looking forward to hearing the rushing water, and go to back and look for some more pretty rocks. And perhaps -- just maybe -- she had been hoping to see that gentle giant once more. He had been so kind to her, and she couldn't deny that she had felt attraction towards the Fiori wolf. Since seeing him at the festival in the North, he had always been a passing thought in her mind. She wanted to ask about his mothers, and his siblings. Last time they had talked the day had just flown by, which was a rare occurrence for her. She felt alone right now, and had been hoping that she would meet him here. There was still a chance, after all his pack now owned this land, but it wasn't the same. The sound of rushing water teased her ears, the pounding sun on her back taunting her. She wouldn't be able to scale the falls, or cool off in the shallow pools. It was gone, just like her mother, just like her brother. Was her life every going to turn around? Was she ever truly going to fit into this world, and not just the one she created inside her mind? --

It seemed like all he did these days was sit at the top of the falls and stare out over the rushing water at the world below. He liked how the view spanned the whole of the area and even looked out over the Mangroves in the distance. It at least made for a pretty view for him to take in while he pondered his life and all of his thoughts. He hadn't really let himself leave Fiori's borders much, especially not recently since Ama was gone on a trip. He didn't like leaving his mothers alone for too long anyway, but he felt especially protective of her while his other mother was gone. That did cause some problems for him though since everything he wanted to be doing and seeing weren't here. He kept thinking back about the last times he had seen most of his brothers, about the few memories he had with his father, about the bitter memories Arivae had left him with. He hated that those things distracted him from the here and now, from his mothers and his sisters, from Fiori. But they did. The one good thing about this spot was when he got too overwhelmed thinking about those other things he could think about the day he had spent here with Finch and that made him smile. He didn't know how a girl that he had seen twice now could make him smile so much, but that day was up there in his favorite memories. The pretty, shy girl and her overly enthusiastic bird friend... Just thinking about her now brought a small smile to his lips. Maybe he should go see about visiting her... He knew roughly where Abaven, it probably wouldn't be that hard to find it. He'd have to wait for Ama to get back of course, but as soon as she came back he could go and see her. He hoped she wouldn't mind him dropping in- His train of thought cut off when he realized all the sudden that he could faintly smell Finch's scent. His dark ears perked with surprise and he hurriedly got to his paws. He paused to make sure he wasn't imagining it, but as soon as he was sure he turned toward it and hurried to go find her. He realized she was probably at the border and sure enough he spotted her small, pale form sitting there at the invisible line that separated the rest of the world from Fiori. His tail started wagging as soon as he spotted her, a smile pulling across his lips. "Finch!" he called happily as he got closer, but his smile faltered when he realized how upset she looked. "What's wrong?" he asked as he stopped in front of her, sitting on his haunches and dipping his head down so that he could be in her eye line, his mismatched eyes searching her face and even glancing up at her friend for clues. Speak Thought Others

Those soul crushing thoughts kept circulating though her mind as she sat there, stunned into complete and utter silence. She didn't even realize that the man she had been thinking of came running, and Civetta flew over to him before he even reached her. Standing by the tall man's ear, she pulled on some fur to get his attention. Even as he called out of Finch, who still stood there without moving, she knew that something was very wrong with her friend. "She just stopped there like that when she smelled the border marker. She hasn't been in a good mood for a long time," the bird said softly, rubbing her beak along the rim of Tib's ear. Opening her wings, she flew over to Finch's head and landed just in front of her face, right on the bridge of her nose. Letting out a soft tweet, she leaned down and poked her beak between her eyes. When Finch still stood still, she grabbed some fur and pulled, not as softly as she had with Tiburtius either. It was that that finally brought the pale girl out of her head. Letting out a loud squeak, Finch shook her head to toss of Civetta, her eyes still misty as she focused on everything around her. It was then that she noticed that there was someone standing in front of her. She blinked rapidly, and then she quickly stood up on her paws and took a few steps back. "I... I..." she stuttered, a flush rushing to her cheeks. How could she be so stupid! What was wrong with her, here she was acting like a fool while Tiburtius was looking at her with concern in his eyes. Ugh, she just wanted the earth to swallow her up and hide her away forever. Her ears were flat against her head, her gaze looking at everything but him. Oh look! That branch was super interesting. All stick like... The girl sighed, knowing that she couldn't just stand here and ignore him. She slowly looked up at his features, a rather sheepish look on her face. "I was just looking forward to seeing the waterfalls, that's all," she whispered, falling to her rump as she felt defeated. She wanted to say more, about how this just felt like the rest of her life, she didn't. They didn't know each other too well, and she didn't want him to run away screaming when he found out just how crazy she was. It was far too early for her to speak her darker thoughts, and everything that had happened in her life. Unsure what else to say, and already feeling like a fool, she fell silent.

Tiburtius realized Civetta had flown over to his own head when he felt the small bird tug on the fur around his ear. The companion's words didn't do much to ease his concern. If anything it just solidified it. His eyes followed Civetta as she flew off from the top of his head and back to the bridge of Finch's nose. A frown tugged at his lips while he watched the little bird try to break Finch's daze, resorting to giving some of her fur a sharp tug. Finally he saw Finch's eyes focus again with a shake of her head and his ears flicked back for a moment as she staggered back a few steps. He waited till she finally brought her blue gaze to his and offered an explanation for her discontent, but he didn't believe a word of it. Even if Civetta hadn't told him that she had been upset for a while now, he could see that this was something much more than just missing the view of the falls. "Come on," he instructed with a small, kind smile. He motioned with his head toward the falls that were a short distance away behind him. "I'm sure Uncle Leo won't mind you being here. Any friend of family is a friend of his." He made sure she was going to come with him before he turned toward the falls and padded back the way he had come. He kept his pace on the slower side, knowing that his long legs moved him a long at a quicker pace than hers would. He had learned that quickly from living with Momma Ama and then Arivae. He lead the way to the spot at the top of the falls where they had first met and settled down on his haunches. He offered her a warm smile, letting her sit next to him if she wished. All of his past and worries was forgotten for the time being, instead having his entire focus set on Finch and whatever seemed to be eating her up. This was what he was good at. Focusing on others and their problems. He didn't like to think about his own concerns. He liked to care for others. "Will you tell me what's going on?" he asked, giving her a playful glare and adding, "What's really going on?" He didn't want to pressure her too much if she really didn't want to talk about it, but he wanted her to know that if she needed to talk about it he was an open ear. Speak Thought Others

Finch blinked up at him through her damp lashes when he told her that she could cross the borders. She just stood there when he walked away, unsure about it all. Tiburtius wasn't the alpha, and even though he said that his uncle would be okay with it, she still didn't know. Her father had nailed it pretty into her to never cross a border and it just felt... wrong. He turned back and looked at her, and she scrambled up to her paws, taking a few tentative steps towards him. She hesitated at the border again, but Tib kept walking away. Letting out a little squeak, she took off after him. Her head turned back and forth as she looked around her, feeling like she was being watched all of the sudden. While she had been in this land before, it felt different now that it belonged to a pack. It was... bad. Finch wasn't really one to get her kicks out of doing things against the rules, but if the large blue man was so sure that it would be fine... well it was better than standing at the borders. She stuck to the lower half of his body, her head parallel with his hip on his left side. She kept up quite well, but she had a feeling that he was used to walking with such smaller wolves. Besides, one of his mothers was a tiny little thing, smaller than even herself! It was crazy to see a wolf that small. Walking up to the peak of the waterfalls where they had met last time, Finch still couldn't shake her feeling of uneasy. The smell of Fiori was all around her, and it kind of felt like she was cheating on Abaven. Tiburtius' scent was also very strong up here, and she glanced over at the taller male. Just how much time had he been spending up here? Licking her lips, she slowly lowered herself to her rump, but her muscles were still tense. She was pretty much ready to flee at any given moment, so when Tib spoke and broke the silence she nearly jumped out of her fur. Shaking herself slightly, her fur on end, Finch looked over to him with a sheepish look on her face. He wanted to know what was really going on, obviously not taking the excuse of the falls being claimed. Letting out a sigh, she turned her head to look straight out, getting a pretty good view from up here. She remembered the first time they were here, and Finch dragged the giant from fall to fall, exploring for caves and looking for pretty rocks. Now... it was much different. Shifting her weight across her paws, she finally peeked back at her friend. "If I told you, you might think I'm crazy..." she whispered, feeling Civetta press further into her fur along her shoulders. Her life was not a simple story to tell, and there was a lot of dark things that had happened to the quiet girl.

Tiburtius didn't press Finch at all for an answer after he had spoken. He was willing to sit in complete silence until night fell if that's what she wanted. He'd just keep rambling on about whatever came to mind just to break the silence if she wanted him to. He didn't care. He just wasn't alone anymore and that's what he really liked. Even more than that, he was with Finch again. He knew that logically it didn't make since for him to want her company so much, but he couldn't deny it either. He knew they had only seen each other twice. Logically they should have just been good acquaintances at best, but... She had just made such an impression on him that first time they had met in this same exact spot. When she had accidentally began singing and her voice was just so pretty and then their time just exploring the falls together... Finally she spoke and her voice broke his train of thought. His two-toned gaze focused on her again and his head tipped to the side slightly at her response. It made him even more curious. Not necessarily because it was vague and mysterious, but it was the kind of statement he had thought time after time when he thought about his life. He could tell from what little interaction he had with her that she had an interesting life as well, but it made him even more curious about just how far that went. "Try me," he replied simply with a small smile. She couldn't say anything at this point that would scare him away anyway. He was too invested in this little cream-colored wolf now to do that. Speak Thought Others

He tilted his head towards her, telling her to try him. She took a deep breath, looking down at Civetta as she settled on her paw. Her little feathered friend just ruffled herself, not saying anything. From the way that he was looking at her, it was hard to say no. He seemed like he was really interested on what he had to share, but still she hesitated. Just how much of her past did she want to share with someone that she hardly knew? It could be a dangerous thing, she was the daughter of an alpha and he the nephew. They both had connections to people in power, and it wouldn't be hard for him to twist her words to his advantage. Tiburtius didn't really strike her as a man that would do such a thing, but it wouldn't be the first time that Finch would be fooled by a pretty face. It was a risky thing to do, and she would be putting a lot of faith in someone who was pretty much a stranger to her. She thought back to the first time that they met, on this very hill atop fall after fall. He had shown concern for her when she slipped, and urged her on with his gentle tones. The look and the jump forward to grab her was not something that could be faked, it had been an instinct for him to try and save her. Looking back up and searching his face, Finch let out a heavy sigh. "Qui va niente ..." she whispered under her breath. Steeling herself as best she could, which was hard for the tender hearted girl, she took in big breath in and readied herself. "Well... It's hard to know where to start. Having an alpha for a father was hard, but what made it worse was that our mother was never around. Dad tried the best that he could, but... it was hard for him to balance us all I think. Dealing with an absent mate, and trying to raise five pups wasn't easy. But we had each other. It grew more difficult when it came to girl stuff... Dad wasn't too good at that. There are just some things that only a mother knows," she paused, blinking her bright blue eyes to hide the tears that gathered there. Sniffing loudly, she went on, pushing passed it quickly. If she stopped now, she wouldn't finish. "I was even more shy as a pup, I hardly went out at all and stuck close to the den. I went with my dad on a trip to see our family, but it was horrid. I didn't speak to anyone and I just sat there... I came back with an even worse stutter and I was even more jumpy. But then I tried to be brave, and it took awhile but I finally went off on my own. I ran into a bad storm though and got lost, when this nice lady found me. At least... I thought she was nice," Finch paused for awhile, looking down at Civetta who nuzzled into her paw. "She led me around, and when I started showing signs of a cold she gave me this herb, and then led me into the caves. That's when it all got wonky, and it's still hard to remember exactly what happened. Starling told me that my shoulder was all bitten and I was convulsing, apparently it was something that I ate. I don't know if it was what the spotted wolf gave me or not... there is really no solid proof of it since I blacked out. My brothers bird found me, Civetta had gotten lost in the storm as well. I was really sick for awhile... it took quite a long time for the dreams and hallicinations to wear off. I didn't leave the pack lands for quite some time after that..." She felt her friend shudder on her paw, and she leaned down to give her a gentle lick. Huffing, she turned back up to Tib, she wasn't done just yet. "After that my mother showed up in the middle of the meeting, let's just say it didn't go well... I... I saw her and snapped. I had never been so angry before. But she slunk off and we haven't seen her since. As much as I am still angry with her for leaving us like that... I miss her. I miss her all the time, Tib. I want to be able to have girl talk with her and just... well have a mother. Me and my sister were never very close, but we have started to talk more now. But it's just not the same. And now my dad...." she broke off there, biting her lip and peering up at Tiburtius. She shouldn't be sharing the state of the Abaven alpha, not with a wolf from another pack. "He's tired, is all." Finch finished off lamely. It wouldn't be right to talk about him in that matter. She was pretty sure that Tib would never use it against her, but it still didn't feel right. It wasn't really something that wolves outside Abaven should know. Taking an even longer pause, she shuffled on her paws before peeking up at Tib through her lashes. "Are ya going to run away now?" she asked in a soft voice, mostly kidding.

Tiburtius listened quietly while Finch spoke and told her tale. He knew this was probably hard enough for her without him interrupting so he just kept his mouth shut for now. He prided himself on his listening skills and it seemed they would finally come in handy now. She told him about her father and absent mother, about her shyness, about an unfortunate run in with a seemingly nice wolf, her illness that sounded a lot more like poisoning... He learned so much about her in the span of just minutes. It explained a lot about her demeanor and how she had been the few times they had been together so far. It broke his heart listening to her and seeing those tears form in her eyes. Deep down he was a protector and that's what he wanted to do for Finch. He wanted to keep her away from any more threats or dangers even though it was far from his place to do so. Yet, somehow, he felt like all of this pulled him even closer to her. There were some similarities to their stories. Maybe that just came with the territory of being the children of an alpha and a former alpha. When she finally looked up at him again and asked if he was going to run now he just smiled at her softly and gently shook his head. "No... In fact, you're going to be lucky if you get away from me now," he commented with a little chuckle. His first instinct was to hug or nuzzle her, but he knew that was probably weird for him to do at this point. Who just started hugging wolves the third time they saw them? That was definitely the Momma Ama coming out in him. Instead, he lifted his front paw and offered her the space against his chest between his front legs. "Hug?" he offered with a smile, hoping that maybe he could lighten the mood a bit and still give her some comfort. Speak Thought Others

Finch was glad that Tiburtius was quiet while she was talking, although she was worried what he thought of all of this. When she was done saying all she could, she looked down at her pale paws and just waited. She was expecting him to laugh, to scoff and just walk away. Would he call her crazy, and say that he didn't want to hang out with her anymore. Oh no... he could get her in a lot of trouble if he wanted to! She was in pack lands after all. But all he did was look at her and smile, telling her that she wasn't, and that she wouldn't be able to get away from him. A warm flush rushed up to her cheeks, and her shoulders rolled forward slightly as she grew bashful. "W-what do you mean?" she stuttered out in an innocent voice. She was so worried what he was going to stay to her that she couldn't really put two and two together at the moment. When he lifted his front paw, she blinked and stared at it, unsure what he was trying to do. But when he asked if she wanted a hug, Finch slowly nodded her head. She stood and took a tentitive step towards him, her heart racing in her chest. It was silly to be this nervous, it was just a hug! Her dad hugged her all the time, her and Starling used to cuddle all the time. But this felt different... Closing the small distance between them, she pressed her smaller chest against him, the right side of her face moving up to nestle under his neck. She was tense, but it only took a few moments for her body to relax into his, his warmth enticing her. A sigh left her maw, and all was silent for awhile. That was, until she heard the flapping of wings. Civetta let out a tweet, flying up and wiggling herself into Tib's ear. "Me too, me too!" she called, bringing a bubbling laugh from Finch's maw. What would she do without her little feathered friend?

He chuckled softly again at her sweet voice when she questioned what he meant by his statement, his shoulders shrugging a little in response. "I guess I'm just care too much to just let you deal with all that on your own. So I'm gonna stick with you as long as you want me to and help you through it," he explained. It felt a lot deeper than that, but that was the best he could do to explain how he felt when he looked at her now that she had told him all about her troubles. He was a protector, it was what he did. He couldn't even consider leave Finch alone after that and it worried him a little that she could even think that was a possibility. He smiled again when she nodded at his offer and he let her settle in against his chest. It wasn't really until that moment that he realized why she looked so nervous about a hug and he could feel his face warm up as he blushed. He was kind of glad most of his fur was dark enough to hide his blush as he settled his foreleg around her and felt her head lean into his chest. He tipped his head to look down at her, suddenly feeling very self concious of how fast his heart was beating. No one had really been close to him like this since Arivae and while he wasn't ever really a shy wolf he couldn't help the nervous flutters that popped up in his stomach. Luckily, Finch's friend fluttered in just in time to keep him from making it any more awkward. He felt Civetta snuggle onto his head and he laughed with Finch, grinning down at her happily. He squeezed Finch tighter and lightly booped the top of her head with another chuckle. It hit him out of the blue that he was happy and it was probably the happiest he had been in a really long time. Not even probably. It was the happiest he had been in a really long time. Speak Thought Others

She didn’t know this man very well, they had met about three times now. But here he was, saying that he was going to stick around and help her out because of what she had said. Without realizing it, her eyes misted up. Quickly ducking her head to hide her tears, she struggled to find the right words to say to him. She hadn’t had many friends outside of her family, but she had quickly bonded with this gentle giant and his sweet temperament. A choked laugh left her lips as she tucked against his chest, and after her hesitation wasted away she hid her face in his soft blue fur. Her tears rolled into his coat, but she didn’t even care. It would have been very awkward but she heard Civetta join in, and the girl let out another laugh before pulling back. Her cheeks were burning under her soft fur, her ears folding downward slightly. ”That is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me. Thank you Tib, thanks so much...” she said softly, leaning down to rub her now itchy face on her front legs. Looking up, she saw that her feathered friend had made herself quite cozy on top of the large man’s head. Smiling at that, she turned her features to gaze at the waterfalls down below them. ”So, what now?” she asked after a small pause. Finch just wanted to move on from the sadness that lingered over their conversation, and she didn’t know how long her stay would be extended for. If his uncle came by and saw her, just how much trouble would the Fiori wolf get into? A sly smirk crossed her lips, and she looked down the hill at the series of waterfalls below. ”What do you think your uncle will do if I run to him and tell him you forced me to enter pack lands?” she asked as she stood. Without waiting for an answer, she took off at a run with a wild giggle leaving her lips. She raced down the slope, careful at some points not to slip down the steep slope. She was afraid to look behind her, but with his long legs it wouldn’t take long at all for him to catch up to her. Finch’s golden leaf necklace flipped around and streamed behind her neck, laughter following each racing step she took.

Tib didn't try to shift away or stop her from crying on his chest. He just smiled down at her softly and held her in his hug. She was so petite compared to his own form that she fit perfectly against his chest. How was it that he kept ending up with so many small women in his life? Between Amalia and Arivae and now Finch. Even one of his sisters was fairly small as well. There was certainly a trend here and it just made him feel like even more of a giant. He didn't mind too much though. He was used to being larger than most by now and it came in handy in moments like these when someone needed a good hug or cuddle. She looked up at him and her words surprised him, but still made him smile. He wondered how that could be the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Even sweeter than anything her family had ever told her? Or maybe she was exaggerating in the moment. Either way he was glad he had been able to make her smile. Tib watched Finch as she looked out over the waterfalls and asked what was next and he just shrugged in response with a soft chuckle. He really hadn't had any kind of plan for all of this. His only concerns were to calm her down and make her happy and now that those things had been accomplished he didn't know what to do next. One of his brows raised with curiosity when he noticed a smirk form on her features and he had a sneaking suspicion she had something up her sleeve. At her outrageous question his eyes went wide and before he could respond she darted off down the hill. "Hey!" he called after her, scrambling to his paws to chase after her. A huge grin spread across his lips when he heard her giggle and as he started carefully making his way down the incline after her. She was small and fast, but he still had longer strides on his side. He knew he'd catch her eventually, but he kind of wanted to let her get away. Or at least he didn't want to go catching her right away. "Hey now! Don't go getting me in trouble! he called after her, laughing as well as he said it. Speak Thought Others

Leo was making his way up toward the falls, heading up to the border to begin his patrol for the evening. He liked to start his patrols at different points to switch things up and make it so wolves couldn't predict exactly where he would be at a certain time. However, he caught a couple of wolves scents on the breeze as he crossed over from the mangroves into the area near the falls and that caught his attention, distracting him a bit from the task at hand. He recognized one of them easily as Tibutius so that was no surprise. The boy had been spotted in the falls frequently since they staked their claim on this area. However, a scent that was distinctly Abaven in nature worried him a bit. Fiori and Abaven were on good terms as far as he knew so he wasn't overly concerned, but it was still unsettling to have someone from another pack within their borders without his permission. He picked up the pace and hurried faster toward the falls. Moments later he looked up and spotted a small, pale girl racing down the incline with Tiburtius' large, blue hued form chasing after her. For a brief moment he jumped to the conclusion that this young woman had been trespassing and Tib was trying to stop her, but as soon as he thought that he caught the tail end of Tib's words and heard the boy's laughter. The pieces fell into place fairly easily after that and all he could do was grin and shake his head. Now that he thought about it he was pretty sure he remembered seeing those two together at the festival that Ivalice held. He padded toward them, sure that at least the girl would see him and would stop. He gave Tiburtius a stern look, but he couldn't completely keep the grin off his face. "Tib, you know better," he commented when he got closer to them. "Talk" "You" Think

The tan marked woman heard him call after her, but she was already long gone. He may eat up more ground with each stride, but she was much more nimble and got down the cliffs with ease. She was just about at the bottom of the falls when an orange form was seen. Her eyes grew wide as her paws dug into the earth, slowing down until she came to a panting halt in front of him. By the way that he looked at Tib and told him that he knew better, she had a feeling that this was Leo. A sly smile spread across her lips, but she tired her best to hide it. "Are you mister Leo?" she asked, acting on her best behavior. Just because she wasn't a member of this pack didn't mean that the alpha needed to be treated without respect. His position commanded it, and they were in good standings from what she had heard with her fathers pack. Panting, her pink tongue hanging from her maw, she looked back at the big blue wolf and winked. He was so getting into trouble for this. "I am so sorry for being in your land without howling, but Tiburtius said that you wouldn't mind if I just came in. I hesitated but he told me it was fine, so I am really sorry!" Her big blue eyes grew wide, effectively giving Leo the best puppy eyes that she could. Apparently, Finch had never really grown up. Her mix coloured ears twitched when she heard the flapping of small wings, alerting her to the fact that Civetta had caught up. She stayed still, knowing that the bird was about to settle on the top of her head. The girl almost flinched, it was always bad when the tiny finch showed up. There was no way to tell what she was going to say. Sure enough, the tiny bird hopped down her muzzle and eyed the orange man. "But Tibby helped Finchy feel better! He did!" she chirped, not quite understanding Finch's game.

Tiburtius noticed that Finch stopped before he saw Leo standing there in front of her. He had to skid to a ungraceful halt next to Finch, panting from the sudden sprint down the hill. His ears flicked back against his head at Leo's stern look, but he knew his uncle too well and knew that he couldn't be really mad at him. He still felt bad for breaking the rules though and his head drooped apologetically. He glanced at Finch when she winked at him and he glared at her with a mix of playfulness and suspicion. What did she have up her sleeve? He glanced back and forth between Finch and Leo while she spoke and gave his uncle a huge pair of puppy eyes, trying his hardest to keep the smirk from showing up on his lips. He knew exactly what she was doing. Then Civetta decided to jump in, giving Leo a more earnest attempt at earning Leo's forgiveness. Tib had to smile a little at her little bird friend for that, unable to keep the slight curve of his lips away as he watched Finch and Civetta together. They were quite the pair, that was for sure. "I really am sorry, Uncle Leo," he added, bringing his attention back toward Leo. He gave his uncle an apologetic look with a smile that said "I am legitimately sorry, but, I mean, how could I say no to her?" Speak Thought Others