(set before Starling leaves) Starling...had been oddly lazy. There wasn't much a healer could do during winter, and his training wasn't untill spring. He had spent a great deal of time with Motif training his fighting stance, and his body, before it got too much for her. It wasn't very obvious. Starling, as always, was very clumsy, but not nearly so much as he had been. He still tripped over his own paws every so often, but not as much any more. But now spring was on the air, he could taste it! That meant all his pretty flowers would be out very soon! Did that mean he would have to put his fight training to the side? It was probably best after all...starling was no fighter. He would never be like his big brother Lark. With a gentle sigh he'd shake his head, trotting along the plains and searching for something to do. He didn't want to bother Motif with her new baby, and Bass had gone on the journey with Finch. He was...very lonely. Slowly he'd move, trying to be careful of the snakes that were busy getting ready for the spring season. Paws would shift through the long grasses, moving him who knows were at a very slow and bored pass. He hoped Arian would arrive soon, he needed to keep learning. He wanted to become a master healer by the time his father came home. Maybe then, Starling would be something to be proud of. "Talk""Italian"

Shrike was uneasy. He felt oddly unstable, at a loss of what to do with his father gone. Fight training had been called and the boy hadn’t gone to it. He had ignored the very call of his teachers and friends. But the boy couldn’t help the feeling in his heart. He felt... Misguide. Lost. Something wasn’t right, what with his father and sisters away. So Shrike stayed mainly to himself, floating about Abaven with little thought in mind other than finding out what ailed him. He’d breath in, shuddering some as he looked upon the earth.

The snakes were beginning to move in, preparing their nests. Shrike was mindful of them now, far more than he had been as a child, as he wandered the plains. His thoughts were a mess. Truth be told he was drastically missing Finch. She had been the sibling he was always closest to, followed by Star. So that was whom he was seeking out now, hoping his brother might be able to cheer him up as he often did.

Shrike would lift his gaze, a smile on his lips when he saw his brother out on the plains as well. Tail would begin to wag, his gaze brighter as he barked out to his brother. “Ciao a fratello !”

"Speech,"
'Thoughts'
"Italian"

Table by:: Eve

Starling would jolt at the sound of his brother's voice, enough to distract him from where he was placing his paws. And just like that he'd trip, as usual, his toes getting caught in a small burrow. "Oof!" He'd huff as the wind rushed from his lungs as his body collapsed and nearly disappeared in the long grasses. He had grown a lot since they were children, avoiding the snake nests so neither would be bitten. He was nearly full grown now, even if his legs still seemed far too long and his body far to gawky. As the days wore on he lost the hope he'd ever fill out and look more natural. So he laid in the grass, his forepaws stretched out infront of him as he stared blankly at the ground. A year old, and he was still falling on his face. It was almost pathetic. "Non potrò mai imparare a non cadere, sarà vero?" He whimpered before he managed to push himself to a sitting position, his bright blue eyes lifting to his brother as he smiled up at him. "Buongiorno, fratello ." He would smile nice and wide then, noticing his brother had spoken in Italian. Shrike always seemed to avoid the language, because he couldn't seem to wrap his tongue around it as well as Starling seemed too. "Il tuo italiano sta venendo ! Sono fiero di te." He would shift to step towards his brother, to tap his nose on Shrike's forehead, a small happy laugh on his breath. He was proud of his brother! It made parting so much more difficult. Who would help Shrike with the language with Starling gone? "Burn Baby Burn" | "Italian"

Starling would suddenly trip, and Shrike would flinch as he watched his brother go down. It was strange how even as they aged certain aspects of their personalities remained in tact. For Shrike it was his boundless energy, whereas for Starling, well, it seemed it was his knack for falling on his face. Shrike tried not to say anything though, not wanting to hurt his brother’s feelings. Instead he would wait until Starling pushed himself into a sitting position, coming closer to his slightly larger brother. At the compliment Shrike would wag his tail a bit. He had been trying hard, practicing since the conversation he had with his brother. Sure it was embarrassing hearing himself trip over the words, but at least in private he could mess up as much as he needed and no one would care. “I’ve been practicing a little.” Shrike would grin, nuzzling his brother back. “How have you been holding up? Missing the others at all?” He would ask, shifting a paw in the dirt. “I know I have...” "Listen to me talk," 'and know my thoughts.'