Starling was not entirely comfortable being back. He was just ready for someone to turn to him and tell him how disappointed they were in him. After his meeting with his father, Starling had tried to skirt around his packmates. He honestly did not want to see anyone, on pure anxiety alone. Lillianna especially hadn't been a very fun one to run into...his shoulder was still hurting, but at this point it had started to scab a little. So he spent most of his time in the new packland, searching for herbs that grew here natively. He had been to the thicket many many times in his life, and he did like to consider himself a bit of an expert on its growth, but sometimes new things happened. He would smile very softly as he padded through the undergrowth, feeling in his element again. He had missed this...missed it so strongly. He loved herb hunting, and finding things that could aide his family and pack...well, if he could of course. He sighed softly, shaking his head slowly to try and dislodge the thought. No, he was here to do what he liked to do, he didn't want to be thinking of his insecurities and fears. This was his way of relaxing and he would relax! "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Starling had been gone for... awhile now. Some of his family thought he'd been kidnapped, but Lark didn't. The siege had been a bit of a joke, in retrospect. Even the wounds the fighters had taken had been minor and he didn't recall any permanent injuries. Surely they did not have the power to kidnap their brother from the group of healers that had been set to wait for them.. not after their terrible defeat. Perhaps it sounded awful that he wasn't terribly worried. It wasn't that he didn't care. No.. he cared a lot. Surely he cared about Starling more than he cared about most wolves. He just didn't think that he was actually in harms way. Before the siege, Starling had professed to him in a moment of weakness that he didn't feel worthy of this.. of any of it, despite his skills, despite the fact that he was likely more useful than Lark himself. He figured he just needed time away. Whether or not he would return soon, though, he had no idea. Lark didn't expect to just.. run into him. His scent hit him suddenly, and his paws began to move more quickly, attempting to find him. Starling was not a terribly hard wolf to find, and his eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at him, his pace slowing. "Starling?" he asked gently, though it was obvious not much of a question.. there was no mistaking that this was his brother, he just didn't know what exactly to say other than that.

Clover. He had to find some clover. His luck was probably the worst in all of Abaven, and that was saying something. Though he wouldn't say this was entirely unlucky, though. Unlike Lillie, Lark didn't jump him the moment he saw him, and unlike his father, there seemed to be no angry words followed by  large amounts of sobbing. No, it was a simple question, one that Starling didn't even have to answer. Yes, indeed, it was him! Although, that wasn't entirely the question, was it. There was some underlying tone to it. There was something else. He would slowly turn to Lark, a small, shy smile on his lips. "H-Hi b-brother.." He said softly, shifting on his paws slightly. He sighed then, looking up at his big brother, his idol. If there was one thing Starling wished for in the whole wide world, it was to be something like Lark. He wanted to be strong, wanted to be able to protect his family, wanted too...be confident. Fearless. "I h-hope you...d-didn't m-miss me too m-much.." He whispered, shifting again awkwardly on his paws. What would Lark say, when he really figured out that Starling was back, and he seemed to be back for good. He couldn't do that to Bass again...and besides, he was just being silly, like Lillie said....right? "I-I need your help.." He admitted quietly, feeling the burn in his shoulder. He needed to apply more wound binders and he couldn't reach... "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Lark loved his siblings deeply, and though he wasn't the most openly affectionate creature in the world, he had no qualms with showing them affection.  He just.. didn't understand them, a lot of the time. He was not plagued with the anxiety that ruled both Starling and Finch; he wasn't unsure and afraid, though saying he was confident wasn't exactly true either. It made sense to him that Starling had disappeared, even if the rest of his family had been panicked over it; to Lark, it just felt expected. Surely someone was fragile as his brother would break eventually, and given how he'd detached himself from his family, he knew it wouldn't happen with them around. Still.. he was surprised to see Starling, wandering quite nonchalantly. He had half a mind to tackle him to the ground, to ask where the hell he'd been, why he'd worried his family so deeply and now here he was, collecting plants without a care in the world, choosing his stupid plants and flowers over his family. But.. he kept those thoughts inside, eyeing Starling with a touch of confusion and concern alike. Lark didn't return his brother's smile. Instead, his gaze remained steady and firm as he looked Starling over, once he took a few steps closer. "Hi..." he mumbled simply, feeling his eyebrows pull together. He wasn't mad, but he was frustrated. "You can't just leave us like that, he said suddenly, without meaning to. "Mom and Dad were worried sick and now Finch is gone." Not that Finch's disappearance was necessarily Starling's fault, but it didn't help. "I know you act like no one needs you and like you're a burden, but it's a lot harder when you're gone. We do need you. It's stupid to even think that we don't, and you aren't allowed to leave again." Lark didn't let his voice rise, but he meant it, and his voice held a fair amount of passion as he spoke.. and a bit of dominance, too, that he rarely asserted over his siblings. But he was serious this time. Starling couldn't just run off again. It didn't work like that, not for any of his family. But.. he said he needed Lark's help. He sighed, closing his eyes for a long moment as he composed himself. "Of course I'll help," he said gently. "What do you need me to do?"

Starling didn't really cowar before Lark, like he would have as a child. His blue eyes held steady with him even though his brows did pinch and his paws did shift awkwardly. He didn't like being under the scrutinizing gaze of his brother, but he knew he deserved. He had already been through this, several times infact. Not just with Bass and Lillianna,but he had repeated the same things, the same words, the same anger over and over in his mind. He had lived this three thousand times, so when Lark's unyielding words broke through the air, Starling was ready. He just stared, ears tipping back before he sighed softly and looked away. Lark was always perfect. Well, at least in Starling's eyes. He had the confidence he wanted, even if he technically wasn't the most confident wolf. He had the strength, he had the admiration. Starling...liked plants. He shifted on his paws again, feeling a tightness grasp his throat as he tried to speak, only for silence to follow. He cleared his throat, still looking away. "I know.." He whispered, at everything. He knew what he had done to his father, he knew first hand. He knew that Finch was missing, Stella was already out lookng for her. He knew everything, and he both wanted to go back to erase it all, and he...didn't want too. But at his last reprimand, Starling couldn't help but look up, confusion on his face as he stared at Lark. He honestly and completely believed that he wasn't needed. There were other healers just as skilled or more skilled than himself. He couldn't fight, he couldn't do much more than dealing with plants. So he looked down again and sighed. "I w-wont leave again.." He whispered softly. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He'd leave, he'd search for herbs that didn't grow in their home, he'd go see his friends in the north, he'd go teach in Imperium and up in Yfir, he'd spread himself around. But he wouldn't leave without word again. When Lark agreed to help, Starling smiled almost sheepishly before he shifted so Lark could see the bite wound on his shoulder. It was a secret that Lillianna had done it, Bass didn't know, even Stella when she badgered him about it. It was his punishment for leaving. But it looked reddened, and under the fur, inflamed. His body was trying so hard to heal it, but he refused to stop moving, and all the mud wasn't helping. "I-i d-don't w-want t-to go to A-aunt h-harmony...or S-sparrow. B-but I c-cant reach. C-can you help?" He asked softly, lifting his eyes to his brother and waiting. Lark seemed to be a lot like Bass, but Starling really didn't want to bring it up to anyone else. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Lark honestly hadn't meant to get forceful with Starling. It was basically impossible for him to get truly upset at his siblings, but he was definitely frustrated.. likely with reason. He hadn't considered that everyone who'd seen Starling so far (though he didn't know if anyone had), though he wasn't typically one to use reason over emotion. Just seeing Starling had made him feel suddenly overwhelmed. What would he have done if Starling had never come back? The very thought was painful to him, and he found his brows furrowing slightly as he forced the image from his mind. Starling didn't flinch away from him - a fact that made him swell slightly with pride - but he didn't look particularly comfortable with the direction their reunion was going. He said he wouldn't leave again.. but he didn't seem to acknowledge the most important part of what he'd said, about Starling not being a burden, about how needed he was around here. His own brows furrowed tightly. Someday, he would know just how special he was.. though today was probably not that day. It wasn't until Starling elaborated on what he needed that he got a better look. Starling's shoulder was hurt.. not super bad, but bad enough to cause worry. "With this?" Lark asked gently as he eyed the wound. I'll kill whoever did this to you, he thought to himself, his jaw clenching slightly. Of all the wolves in the world to hurt, WHY Starling? "Of course. Just.. show me what to do. I don't know anything about this stuff." He'd never had any real wounds. Minor cuts and scratches.. he'd just clean them and move on. But this looked a bit more serious, and he didn't know what Starling needed of him.

Starling would look nervously up at his brother as he inspected the wound, noticing the lines of anger he wore so easily. He would tilt his ears back, looking away then. There's no way he could tell him Lillianna had bitten him, she had done so in her own rage at him leaving. It was a secret, because he knew that she would get in trouble for it. "A-a wound" He said softly then, looking down at the grass. He didn't want to talk about it, really, it made him feel pathetic. "I-if that's n-not obvious." He tried to joke, his lips curling just slightly into something like a smile before he fell again. He'd nod his head then, taking a step back to look up at his brother with a small smile. "Th-that's okay, it's n-not that hard. I c-can teach you. W-would be g-good for y-you to kn-know anyways, i-incase you g-get in a f-fight and can't g-get to a h-heal-ler." He said softly, glancing around and humming. What would be the best way to go about it. "H-horsetail is a w-wound binder, it usually g-grows along the r-rapids, but b-because it's s-so wet everywhere w-we may be in l-luck and s-some may be ground a-around here." He said softly, suddenly wearing a certain determination he wore whenever he talked about healing, He'd life blue eyes up to his brother, a bright smile on his face. "Th-there's a river o-on the e-edge of the t-territory, th-that would b-be the best place I think." He said with a nod of his head before he turned, without a word, to begin walking in that direction. ""Talk"" | "Italian"

He'd find out who did this to Starling eventually, but today was not the time for it. Slowly the anger faded - no, it didn't fade entirely - but he had pushed it in the back of his mind for now, to be reconsidered later. For now, he would focus on Starling's injury and on how to help him, though he had absolutely no idea what he was doing at all. At Starling's simple explanation. Of course it was a wound. He knew that much. He found himself grinning slightly at his words, letting out a soft laugh. He hadn't expected to be getting a small lesson, but he wouldn't shy down from one either. "I agree," he told his brother easily, nodding. He didn't know a thing about healing. His first instinct, if he ever needed healing, was to go straight to Starling or Sparrow, not to tend to it himself. But knowing something couldn't hurt. Lark watched his brother's expression lighten, passion burning bright in his eyes as he explained about the horsetail that grew on the rapids. "Alright," he said easily, nodding in understanding. He mirrored his own smile, happy to see Starling's mood lighten considerably. There was no hesitation as he turned to follow Starling, moving to lean against him for added support, in case his shoulder was hurting him too bad as he walked. "What's it look like?" he'd ask, eyes narrowing as he eyed the rapids that they were approaching.