Lark had put off reaching out to Sparrow for as long as he possibly could. The story that Lillianna had told him, about how Sparrow had acted afraid of her and had ran away, then when confronted, she had gotten more aggressive, was all just.. strange. It didn't sound like his sister at all, even as little as he knew her. His frown deepened slightly as he mulled over what he knew, catching hold of Sparrow's scent and trailing after it. He knew he couldn't put it off forever, lest Lillie pestered him about it and got upset with him over it. It seemed to be bugging her a great deal, after all. He hardly tried to force his expression to lighten as he went, traversing the plains with ease. He knew this place as well as the pack of his own paw, and it took little mindpower to track down Sparrow's scent across the terrain. Only when he got within a few dozen yards of her, or so it seemed judging by how strong her scent was, did his pace slow, and he lifted his head to let out a loud bark of greeting for her.

Sparrow had found Pere and Ash, or rather, they had found her. She was so confused and angry at first, but then the happiness sank in. If those two were back around, then maybe things were starting to look up.

Sparrow hadn't heard from Lillianna since that day. She also hadn't heard from Lark or her father. She had mostly forgotten about the incident and all that remained was a tiny glimmer of hope that Lillianna would be scared of her enough to leave her family alone. Maybe she'd jump packs and end up somewhere else.

She wasn't thinking at all about Lillianna when Lark called to her. She was preoccupied by the thought of her out of pack friends, still a bit giddy from the encounters. When her brother called for her, she answered eagerly, coming jogging up to seek him out.

"Lark! How are you?" she called, her tail swooping back and forth behind her. She aimed to close the gap between them and nuzzle his cheek, "Heard from Dad lately? He's been pretty wrapped up with the pack's new pups, so I haven't- uh-" bothered him, she thought. "-really had a chance to talk to him."

Though he'd been hoping Sparrow would reply to his call, and that her scent trail might not be too old, he still felt his stomach tense with dread when he heard her approach. Not that he didn't want to see her, no, that was far from how he felt; but he had been dreading this conversation for awhile. She didn't seem to have any idea what he wanted, and Lark wasn't sure whether to be grateful for that lack of realization or not. She still seemed happy to see him, and he returned her enthusiasm with a rare wide grin of his own. "I'm fine, I guess," he admitted, hoping his voice didn't betray the uncertainty he felt about that statement. He was glad to return the affection to his sister, though, leaning to nuzzle her neck lightly as she pulled away. Had he heard from Dad? Honestly, no, not in awhile, not since Bass had spoken to him about the puppies he had taken in to Abaven and had sort of been watching over. "Not really," he said, shrugging his wide shoulders. "I spoke to him about that briefly, but it was awhile back. He wanted to make sure it wasn't weird for him to be taking care of them. Like, we wouldn't feel.. replaced, I guess?" Lark shrugged slightly again - he hadn't felt like that at all. But now he found himself wondering if maybe he should feel like that, if it meant not seeing their dad hardly at all anymore.

Lark said he was fine- he guessed. Sparrow snorted. "I guess," she repeated after him, a smile on her lips. "It's a little sad when you can't even pinpoint how you feel, huh?"

He returned all of her affections and Sparrow was glad to receive them. She felt like she had gotten closer to Lark in the past year than she had been in her entire life, even if they didn't talk every day.

"I spoke to him about that briefly, but it was awhile back. He wanted to make sure it wasn't weird for him to be taking care of them. Like, we wouldn't feel.. replaced, I guess?"

Sparrow hummed then spoke, "He didn't talk to me about that." She laughed, but it was too dry and humorless. Her smile faltered, "I do feel replaced though. In a way. I feel like- or, I wonder rather, 'Is he trying to make up for his mistakes with us?' Maybe he wants to raise them and maybe they won't all wander off like we did, maybe? Maybe he thinks it's a second chance?"

Sparrow huffed, shaking her coat. She didn't need to be like this now, did she? It wasn't all her dad's fault, "When I was younger, I felt like he was too busy being alpha, so I pulled away. I didn't want to bother him. Mom was gone. I felt like I was always in Starling's shadow- that no one took me seriously. When I left the first time, I just wanted to see the world, see the other packs, but he almost acted like I had slapped him in the face by wanting to go." Sparrow laughed a little, but it was still too dry. It was awkward. She looked at Lark, then away again.

"Somehow that made me want to leave more. I wanted to find something, but even now I don't know what. So I came back and tried my best to settle here, then he just... I don't know, 'I'm glad you're home, and wherever you go, this will always be your home.'" Sparrow did her best dad impression, complete with a furrowed brow.

"He just accepted my traveling suddenly- after I decide to come home. Since then I feel like he doesn't talk to me. He doesn't trust me when I talk to him. Now he has a new litter to look after and- and I wonder if it's some sort of punishment."

Sparrows frown sank further as she spoke, but she tried to brush it off. She was rambling, wasn't she? She always rambled like this when she was nervous.

"I'm just being silly, I think. Sometimes it's hard to tell your brain otherwise sometimes, though."

Sparrow was finally able to bring a small smile to the corners of her lips, but it was sad and wistful. "I remember when all I wanted was more pups in this pack. I always hoped that one day I'd have mine here too."

Ah, shit. She'd caught on to his tone, and he found himself shrugging in initial response. "Sounds like you can relate," he breathed gently, partially glad that she seemed to express similar sentiments. Not being able to pinpoint perfectly how you felt definitely sucked sometimes, and he was no stranger to feeling lost about his own feelings. His ears twitched as she spoke. She almost sounded.. envious, maybe, that he hadn't talked to her about Storm's pups? Maybe not envious as much as.. left-out. He didn't blame her - he would've felt the exact same way. Lark wondered if her words had a grain of truth. Was their dad trying to have a sort of.. second chance with them? It made sense, even if it was a bit odd.  "Eh, you might be a little right," he admitted after a moment of thinking. "I can't blame him too much, though. It would really suck to see your kids.. not all want to be in the same place, I'd imagine." He had his own host of abandonment issues, even if he didn't like admitting it, with so many of his siblings coming and going so often. Maybe Bass did feel like he'd failed as a father... but then why the hell was he pulling away from them so much? But.. he didn't blame Sparrow. Or Starling. Or even his dad, not fully. "Eh, you were old enough to make your own choices. It sucks, but.." Lark found himself shrugging his shoulders again. "I'm kind of jealous, in a way. I never really got to know anyone outside of Abaven. And half of the friends I made here have left anyway." Briefly, he thought of Tinaro, and then Calypsei. "It's pretty neat you've gotten to explore so much and meet new people." Though he was a bit envious, he didn't really want to leave. Everyone he needed was here - well, most of them; some were far away but he figured the family that had left probably didn't want to be found anyway. Her impression of their dad did make him laugh, as much as he didn't want to. A snort echoed in his throat. "I doubt he's thinking of it like that, Sparrow." Their dad wasn't like that. Right? His nose wrinkled a bit in thought. Maybe he was punishing Lark, too, for not stepping up and taking the initiative to want to have Abaven as his own pack someday. He stifled a sigh, plopping down to his haunches with a huff. It was surprising to hear her talk about pups. He hadn't thought much about kids. Half the time he still felt too young to even consider such a thing, but he was pretty sure he was older now than his dad had been when he'd started Abaven and had his first litter. "What, you think you'll have pups someday?" Lark asked after a second, glancing up at her curiously. Now that was something he'd definitely never talked to Sparrow about.

Lark- thank god- could relate to her. He confirmed her thoughts and said even that maybe she was right about him trying to replace them in a way. He said it would suck to have your kids scattered. Sparrow shrugged, "From what I've heard, it's common once kids get older. I think maybe we were just kind of... raised to not think that. We WERE the only pups in the pack growing up, more or less."

Lark was... kind of jealous. Sparrow never expected that from her brother. She was surprised and her face showed it. Her brother, regretting not exploring? Even just a little. She understood friends leaving, that was for sure. Just the thought that her brother was open to exploring made a wide smile appear on her face. She shoved her face into her brother's shoulder, "Next time, come with me! We don't have to go far. Finch too- if she wants to. It can be a sibling escape!"

Sparrow pulled back a little, "We'd have to tell Dad, though, or he'd go crazy." Sparrow laughed imagining her dad going crazy and scrambling into the woods. He was usually pretty sullen and composed so the image was funny even if the circumstances weren't.

He scolded her lightly, saying their dad wasn't like that. Wasn't he though? Maybe he was, Sparrow wasn't sure anymore.

Than Lark asked about pups. Now it was Sparrow's turn to shrug, "I used to want nothing more than to have pups. I visited Rhythm so often in Imperium. I just... pups were my favorite. I thought our family was so close and perfect and I wanted my own. Now... I'm not so sure at all. I don't know what I want or how I'm going to get there."