A soft call - perhaps a harsh one? - caught her attention after the meeting. Although... it wasn't really the end of it. Merely the end of the Abaven only wolves; they were awaiting for Imperium to arrive. Lillianna felt strange, almost foreign in her own fur; when Bass asked who would fight beside him, she had stepped forward, calm, certain, almost an entirely different wolf. She had only paused to nuzzle Finch in love and comfort. There was no hesitation in her support, and no questions in her blazing eyes. She would fight, beside her pack, beside her family. She would fight beside all those who volunteered, and would return home, victorious, to the prepared healers who would be waiting.

This call, this soft word that consisted only of her name caught her attention for it breaking her reverie; she was standing, caught her attention, and she turned her head from where she had been sitting with Finch. She would stand and nuzzle the Pera, whispering words of care and assurances she'll return in a second. EYes flicked to the bird, a silent message, a clear one of: comfort her. It was then, and only then did the Gison step away to Lark, a silent question in her eyes as she regarded him silently.

ooc. permission granted to powerplay all powerplayed thingers by all parties involved <3

"Speech" "Language"

It wasn't at all surprising to him that most of Abaven was eager to fight. These wolves had taken a pack from his family, and however distant they might be, it felt like a betrayal to him. Lark was beyond ready to prove himself to all of Abaven.. but most importantly, to his father. There was nothing he wouldn't do for them, and he wanted all of them to know how deep his loyalties ran. Even some of his siblings would fight, a fact that surprised him, and the few that wouldn't would be attending to the injuries and watching over the wolves that would not be joining them. Before he pulled away from the rest, he would search for a few wolves to assess their reactions - the few friends he had made outside of his own family, like Tinaro and Calypsei and Lillianna. They would fight together, they would defend their home and Sin and his wolves would regret ever so much as looking at a Destruction - Lark had never been more certain of anything in his life. He was surprised at the new friendship that had formed between Lillianna and his sister. He felt a strange anxiety forming in the pit of his stomach over it. Finch was delicate and pure; Lillie was stubborn and foul-mouthed, a fighter at heart, or that was the kind of aura he'd gathered from her. The very thought of her tainting that goodness felt wrong, and though he knew he couldn't watch over Finch constantly, he felt a responsibility to her that he could not shake. Without thinking much, perhaps impulsively, he would call out to Lillie. He didn't even really now why, but he felt like he should speak to her. His brows would pull together when she approached, his stare quizzical as he regarded her. "So.." he'd began slowly. "It's too bad we're not fighting Imperium, huh," he half-joked, a small hint of a smile tugging at his lips before it faded again, replaced by a sullen stare.

It was that same protectiveness that Lark had over his sister that had Lillie glancing back at the older girl, as if double checking she'd be alright. Civetta was with Finch, comforting her no doubt as Lillie had silently requested, but Lillie did feel her paws aching to return over there, over to her sweet, innocent friend. Worry was still in her gaze when her head turned back to Lark, and the girl would crack a smile at his words, a light chuckle emerging.

"Indeed," she murmured, amusement in her gaze. "Although, we do get to fight beside them." It was something, at least, and it honestly made Lillie wonder if Evangeline would appear. She was a healer, yet a fighter as well - a weird mix, honestly. Another smile appeared on her face as she thought of something: "It's better to have someone that can eat faces on your side, rather than against you,'" she quoted, another chuckle. "Starling said that to me, when we first met; he had seen my wounds and insisted on helping." She fell silent, surveying the wolves, the healers, the fighters... and Finch. Excitement, so much excitement in the air, and confidence as well - but that was not all; some people were worried. She was worried. She had no problems with fighting Sin, despite his assistance with Allen, but... some of his wolves were ruthless. And seeing her pack hurt, imagining it made her cringe.

The amusement would fade from her expression, and she felt the first tingles of that battle energy, the anticipation flowing through her. Determination gave a spark to her gaze, and she'd feel the flames burning inside of her. Sin would regret breaking apart Threar. And yet, that energy was tainted, tainted by a fear. "I worry, though. Not about our fighting ability, but... Sin's wolves are ruthless. And I worry about Finch." When she opened her mouth, those were not the words she expected to come out, not at all. Her eyes widened in surprise; why had she said that? And yet, more words came from her. "She's not fighting, she's a messenger, but I still worry. I don't want her to see those she loves wounded. She hates fighting." A soft growl, of frustration, left her. Finch had not been happy when Lillie first met her - her wounds, they caused Finch to utter, stubbornly, that fighting was not good. And now Finch was having to watch her, Lark, her father, all go to fight. It made her feel terrible, but she had to fight. Abaven was her pack; how could she not? But who would be there with Finch? Civetta would, but who else? That was what drained that sparking energy, what disrupted it, what took control of her very words.

"Speech" "Language"

For the most part, he felt like he understood what this siege really meant. It wasn't at all like a training fight. There would be no rules, and no limits. He could be fighting anyone.. even someone who had years of actual fighting experience. The reality of the situation hit him quite soon after his dad had finished speaking, and while he would admit it was quite daunting to know his friends and family could get severely hurt, or even die, this was necessary. They couldn't sit around while Sin and his pack decided to target Abaven next. He didn't really care that much about Imperim. His aunt that had betrayed them lived there, and someone had attacked Lillie that lived there, so his gut feeling about them wasn't great.. but if his dad trusted them to help, they had to be alright. Her comment about eating faces elicited a soft chuckle from him, and given that it was rare to hear him laugh so openly, there was no doubt it was genuine.  "True," he commented in return. It wasn't a surprise that Starling had helped tend to her wounds. His own worries came from the same place as hers. What would he do if his dad was hurt? Or any of his siblings? He didn't care so much about getting hurt himself. He could deal with the pain, and he knew Starling was an incredible healer now that he'd taken time away to study more. As far as Lark was concerned, he could care for all of Abaven and he would trust him to fully. But.. the topic switched to Finch. Her words were true, but he felt his chest clench slightly. It was his job to worry about her, not Lillie's. "Oh, is she?" he'd retort a bit too sharply, his brows pulling together as visible frustration washed over his youthful features. No shit, he thought silently to himself.   "I know more about Finch than you do. You don't have to explain to me how she feels. I am her brother, in case you forgot." Her trying to explain to him that Finch hated fighting seemed silly to him.. it'd be like trying to explain that Starling liked healing. It was obvious, and the fact that she felt the need to even bring it up made him inexplicably annoyed, even if his feelings were entirely unwarranted. "You don't have to worry about her, though. We will take care of her." He wasn't used to feeling possessive and yet suddenly he felt uncomfortable at the thought of someone else caring for Finch instead of him. As though expecting it to wash over him, he stood silently, jaw clenched as he stared at Lillie still.

Lillie blinked. Huh, she got a laugh from him. She had a very distinct feeling that it was rare for the stoic boy, so quiet and responding minimally to things. She felt pleased with herself; she had the feeling Star - her other dear friend besides Finch - would be quite impressed, her actually being... sociable being him and Finch. If he had even caught on to that; it was all up in the air.

That caused her gaze to be drawn to Star, who was a little ways away, not too far, but certainly too far to hear Lark's and hers conversation... close enough to notice it, though. A quick smile would appear, fading in an instant as she turned her attention back to Lark. She instantly regretted it.

Her ears flattened at his words initially, although she forced them up in an attempt to hide the... disagreement going on her. Still, her ear flickered every now and then. What was much more prominent was the sudden anger flaring up in her eyes, completely visible as Lark kept going. A low growl, very audible, rumbled deep in her chest. How dare he snap at her for caring about Finch? How dare he have... have that attitude? She wasn't speaking because she thought he didn't know, she was speaking because she was worried. She knew he would know, but she was simply rambling... and apparently being worried was a bad thing.

She stepped forward, closer to him, ignoring the fact he was much, much bigger than her. She did not care. No, she glared down at him, not because she was bigger, but because mentally that was her intention. Her voice was low and angry when she spoke. "I will care about her if I want to, Lark." His name emerged as a growl. "And I very much want to. You can take care of her, but damn you if you think I won't help." Her tail had curved over her back, ears pricking completely upright in not just a posture of dominance, but the very attitude of try me.

"Speech" "Language"

The light-hearted moment was extremely short lived. Quickly Lark felt his demeanor shift, his smile fading as a frown overtook his features and his heart sank in his chest. He liked Lillianna, but knowing she was so close to Finch was something different entirely. The meeting had already riled him up some, especially with the few wolves that had questioned his own father's judgement, even so much as implying he was calling this siege for personal reasons. He felt the anger build inside of him, spreading like fire through his veins, threatening to spill. Lark would mimic her growl with a low one of his own, rumbling from deep within his chest, fading as it spilled from his slightly parted lips. He'd never felt possessive before - probably because he'd never had a need to - and suddenly he found the urge to protect Finch from the world growing strong within him. Though he liked Lillie, there was no way she was a good companion for his sweet sister. She was rough around the edges and far too explosive for her. He didn't flinch when she pulled up to him, glaring at him; she was fearless, that was obvious, but so was he. He felt his lips curling in a silent sneer.  "Her family will take care of her," he reiterated coldly. Despite his sudden anger, he had no interest in fighting.. already he could see how disappointed his father would be in him, to start such commotion right before a war. Lark simply couldn't risk it, no matter how tempting it was to lash out at her.

The growl was... mildly scary coming from a creature who outweighed her by probably a hundred pounds. Yet... Lillie found she was uncaring. She was more focused on his words, and those caused a slightly more violent growl, but also a flash of pain in her eyes, obvious with green eyes meeting green eyes. It was then the growl faded, and she'd take a step back, looking at him. How? How could he be so possessive? And yet, she was as well in a way. She did not want to share Finch, she did not want to share Starling. That was with outsiders, though, not family. Even if they were not her family; she would not begrudge them Finch's love and company.

"And she is the closest thing I have to family," she suddenly hissed, ears flattening on her head. She did not expect those words to come out, but the pain warred with the anger and caused an odd mix. "Do you expect me to give up the single person I would kill someone for? The single person who I've made cry from joy, the person who I can make so happy? do you think I would hurt her? Do you think I can do that?" Lillie's voice had risen somewhat, and she forced it down, shaking her head back and forth. "Surely you understand that. It would be like asking you to stop caring about her, to not worry about her. You can't do that, can you?" She paused, her lips lifting in what was almost a sneer. "But then again, no one is allowed to care except you." This time, her voice was a mere murmur, barely audible. She dared a look back at the young girl. Finch was older than Lillie, but seemed so much younger.

"She is the closest I've ever come to loving someone. I will do anything for her, die if I must. And you demand I give that up." Another headshake, and she tipped her head back to look at Lark. "You should know better," she murmured. "You saw me, with that anger and that bitterness. Finch... she somehow makes it better. She dulls that anger, that bitterness, and I make her happy. When I do things with her, it's to please her. That gold necklace. You may have seen that. I got that for her; I found it. She brings out my gentle side, Lark. I can't give that up. I can't let her be hurt. I can't let her lose her joy, her sweetness, her innocence I can't tell you that I will never associate with her again, that I won't do things to see her happiness blossom. I can't tell you that I won't bring her flowers, just to see her smile, or that I won't bring her trinkets that will make her joy palpable. She is family to me, Lark, the only family I have. I won't ever take her from her blood family, but will you really tear the one person who brings utter joy to my life away from me?" Even Starling was just a friend, and even then... even then half the time their friendship did not bring joy, but anger and pain. Finch... she brought joy, and Lillie could be sweet, gentle, and make another happy. Another sigh, and she'd look down, the words feeling drained from her. She did not want this fight; she did not want this at all. But, it seemed, she could not win.

"I make her happy. Lark, don't you see? She's the only person I'm able to make happy, and I will give anything to continue to do that."

"Speech" "Language"

Lark didn't want to have this argument right now. In a few days, they would be going to war. He knew Shrike would likely be fighting, and Starling would be tending to the wounded - making him a target as well, from both fighting and sickness. And Bass would surely be leading the front lines in the battle. He wouldn't show it outwardly, but he feared for them. In his naive mind, he wished he could take on Hellstrom all by himself, to keep his family out of it and away from harm. His mind wandered for a minute when Lillianna began speaking. Oh boy, was she angry. He was angry too. He felt it growing by the minute, boiling over into that low growl that rolled from his lips again as he moved a few steps back, away from her. She's the closest thing I have to family. I will do anything for her. She is family to me. But the difference was that she wasn't Lillie's family. And never would be. "Never said you'd hurt her," he retorted gruffly. "I said that her family will take care of her and protect her. Certainly before you have a chance to." Lark didn't care that she brought her flowers and pretty trinkets. When it came down to it, he would do anything for Finch - and as far as he was concerned, he wanted Lillie to have nothing to do with it.  He fell silent then, letting her words wash over him. It wasn't surprising that she'd rambled on about it, given how mouthy she was - wasn't that how her face had gotten scarred up? - but he couldn't find any other words to voice his own thoughts. Lark had never been particularly wordy to begin with. "Vaffanculo," he would mumble finally, turning away from her to move away from her and the rest of the wolves. He had a lot to think about before the siege, and he didn't want to be around anyone.. especially not Lillianna right now. -exit Lark-

Code:

Perhaps it was petty of her to feel a slight satisfaction at him backing away. She would not pursue him; she would only continue speaking. When he responded, though, she gave him a sharp look. "If," she began, voice cutting the air sharply, "I never have to worry about her because you get there first, then that's good. However, just because you get there first doesn't mean I won't care for her, or protect her with you. You have first call - you are her brother. But I have some measure of a claim as well, Lark." She shook her head and sighed. a mumbled word - incomprehensible, for it was Italian - would reach her ears before Lark turned away. Vaffanculo. She'd have to ask Starling what that meant. She started to turn away herself when she realized that no she would not ask Starling... not after today, anyways. Bitterness flowed through her, and she vehemently wished the fighting would start already.

"Speech" "Language"