Their trip here had been long. Really long. Almost.. way too long. But it hadn't been terrible. He and Lillie had chatted a bit along the way; they'd stopped and found somewhere to drink mid-day and had even snagged a few rodents for a quick afternoon snack continuing on. They had loped into a rather comfortable silence for much of the journey, which he was not at all opposed to, and by the time they had made it to the place Lillie spoke of he found himself feeling quite tired. It was not yet night, but the day was about gone, and he saw the sun had begun its descent in the sky. Lillie alerted him when they grew closer to the field she spoke of - a place filled with weird, slightly dangerous debris and foreign.. stuff. A frown graced his lips as their pace slowed, feeling a bit more apprehensive about this place than he had anticipated. "I guess we should be careful?" he'd ask, glancing sideways at her, only daring to take his eyes off the earth briefly, cautious as to what sort of junk they'd be trekking through. "And quick," Lark added after a moment. "Apparently I'm more tired than I expected."

It was... comfortable travelling with Lark. He was not... bothersome, but it wasn't as if there was a ghost. It was companionable, and it left the woman content. Some casual chatter, but no arguments. Working as a team while hunting, albeit hunting small stuff. It was overall... nice. Really, really nice. It was, however, tiring, no matter how peaceful mentally the journey was.

She would slow as the junk begin, imparting a brief warning with Lark, all the while stifling a yawn. Lark would then speak, shortly after they began, and she'd glance at him, briefly meeting his eyes. "Yeah, just a bit," she would say softly with a light chuckle. She'd snort when he added on a moment later, dodging her own piece of sharp object. Tired? Yeah, definitely. "Sa-" and in that moment, she'd be interupted with a huge yawn, a huge yawn that ended in a... squeak. Almost a whine, it was involuntary and had her flattening her ears in embarrassment before she forced herself to continue. "Same here," she concluded, with an ear flick as she kept her head down to scan the ground for any sort of item that could work.
"Speech" "Language" "Farrym"

Their journey was comfortable, yes.. but weird. Slightly. He really wasn't used to spending extended periods of time with anyone outside of his family, so this was something new for him, and going so far from home - hours and hours away, in fact - was even more unfamiliar. Lark didn't know if it was something he'd want to do again anytime soon, but in the distance future, it was definitely within the realm of possibility. He offered a faint chuckle as she yawned, silently agreeing with her; a nap sounded nice, but then they'd be up all night, and surely they had a long journey ahead of them tomorrow. The sound was followed by another snort to match her own. He was then lulled into silence once again as they walked, his eyes now straying across the earth in front of them. Most of the stuff here was just.. junk, as he'd said. Broken and jagged bits of trash, and he had no idea how it had all gotten here. He nearly winced as he stepped on something he hadn't thought would be sharp, but stifled the noise before it escaped, merely scowling instead. His eye caught some mildly container-looking thing, and he loped forward to inspect it. He'd nose it, deciding already it was too sharp for his liking - made of shiny clear material that could easily cut someone, and not something he'd ever bring back home to Finch. Let alone the thought of how he'd bring it home.. it looked way too dangerous to carry in his mouth. Using a paw, he pushed it to the side, trudging on with a sigh. "See anything?" he'd ask Lillie, turning to her only briefly with a curious look.

It was... an odd feeling to travel so far with someone. Particularly Lark. But never before had she traveled so far with another wolf; oftentimes she only traveled a bit, meeting a wolf, or on occasion Farrym... Even with Starling she'd not traveled so far, only to the borders of Western territories. Now, she had travelled through and with another wolf through the West, and not just to the borders. It was truly... odd, but she liked it. A lot.

Of course, she wanted to bite through the neck of her companion when he laughed at her yawn. She didn't mean to squeak! She'd twitch an ear, trying to ignore his amusement... and resisting another yawn. She'd continue walking, spreading a fwe feet from him, her head tilted slightly to the outside edge, eyes roving the landscape in an attempt to search for something. All jjnk, so difficult... especially since she had to watch where she stepped.

Lark abruptly darting off made her freeze, tail wagging in excitement - was something found? That was when she misstepped, a piece of glass slicing cleaning through the soft pad of her left paw. Yelping, she jerked her jaw back, nosing her paw; the glass was still stuck in her paw, and damnit, it hurt. She hissed between her teeth. "Nothing besides this glass in my paw," she growled, though she was not really angry at the man; if anything, she was grateful because that meant she didn;'t have to she was angry at the glass, at her idiocy, and the fact it would pause the halt for the search, though she'd not give it up.

Whatever they got for Finch had to be absolutely one-hundred percent perfect. They'd come a long way to find it, and he had no idea when they'd get another opportunity to come out here again. They might not even come back here ever. He didn't really know; so he wanted to get something that would exceed all the pretty things she'd ever gotten and ever found. He stifled another yawn as Lillie did, amused at how tired they both were. They had traveled a good distance. Sleeping sounded great right now, but he couldn't imagine wanting to stay away from home all day tomorrow. Lark would want to leave early in the morning, possibly at sunrise, so they had to find the thing they wanted now, not tomorrow. He huffed softly as he continued on, briefly pausing as she yelped nearby. His eyes narrowed as he watched her, seeing she'd stepped on something she shouldn't have. "Be careful," he'd offer some advice solemnly - though it was a bit too late for that. That was when something caught his eye. In the distance, too far to sprint over to without having to worry about stepping on something dangerous. He averted his eyes from Lillie, despite her sudden injury, navigating forward as though the object he had seen might be stolen before he could get to it. Perhaps he ought to have tended to his friend first, to see if she was okay, but this thing just looked.. perfect. It was a woven metal container, something Finch could easily pick up and carry things around it. And it didn't look that dangerous. Warily he loped forward, grabbing the handle between his jaws, picking it up. Not too heavy, and didn't feel sharp in his mouth. He turned to face Lillie, wondering what she thought of it.

Another hiss - damnit it hurt, and she'd glare at Lark when he offered his quite unneccessary and droll advice. "Vaffunculo," she'd growl at him, but it would hold a light note; it was not meant in the same way, in the same manner f tone that had been held when Lark originally told her that, back when they fought over Finch. Funny, now they were working together to find a fidt for finch. Interesting, how things worked out.

She'd growl after him as he abruptly turned from her - what, no help, no care, no nothing? Her eyes narrowed as she sought to figure out what he was doing. Was he just moving on, or did he find something. She'd limp forward, left front paw only touching briefly for balance as she did so, moving at a much slower pace than Lark. Walking on four paws was easier than three and a quarter paws by a longshot.

When she arrived near Lark, he would turn and face her, a gorgeous piece of... something in his jaws. She gasped in delight, tail immediately wagging behind her. It seemed dirty, but it was absolutely beauitufl, and all irritation dropped from her. Okay, it made sense he turned away; she'd have done the same. Well, probably. Lillie would develop a grin: slowly at first, but it would spread to encompass her entire face. "Lark - that's perfect! Abolutely perfect." Lillie would have purred in happiness if she could (like Farrym); she instead settled with her tail a blur, a pleased rumble in her throat.

Did she swear at him? He could've sworn she did - just as he had done before. Briefly he'd turn to eye her, feigning an angry glare, but the expression of frustration was far from genuine and it dropped as soon as he turned to face more pressing matters. Finch's potential gift. It wasn't that he didn't care that Lillie was hurt - he wouldn't wish it on her, and it wasn't something he liked, persay.. but he figured she could tend to herself, as she always did. She struck him as the type to be too stubborn to accept help, anyway, so he didn't even consider it. It felt sturdy in his mouth as he picked it up, and he was satisfied with it right away. His sister could fit a lot of stuff in here, and she could bring it out as she pleased, so her things wouldn't have to be hidden and dirty. After feeling it for a moment, and deciding it wasn't too bulky for Finch, he set it down again. Lillie seemed quite excited about it, and he grinned for a minute in response. Hopefully she knew that he could claim that he was the one that had found this. She'd played a part, but he'd played a bigger one, and that thought alone was satisfying.  "I think so, too," he agreed with a slow wag of his tail. Briefly, after eyeing the thing again, he'd run his tongue along the handle, searching for any sharp edges that might cut Finch, but finding nothing that seemed dangerous.

He'd glare at her angrily - an equally as light-hearted movement as her cursing, and she'd simply stare at him with a what, I dare you look. It was completely full of sass and attitude and dominance, and Lillianna had no trouble in holding it until he got distracted and lost the look, instead focusing on the matter at hand; Finch's gift.

Her grin brightened when he grinned back after setting it down, and she would draw closer to also pick it up when he went to lick it. - and since his didn't end up with scratches on his tongue, she presumed it safe. She'd draw neaerer. her jaws closing over it and she hefted it up. It was surprisingly light, had a weird taste she rather hated, and was bulky but it was sturdy when she bit down hard pn the surface and so she presumed Finch would be able to hold many things in it. It was really good. She'd set it down, and then sit herself down, her tail brushing some junk, lifting her paw to lick at the cut when she realized the glass was still in there.

Frowning, she glanced up at Lark - she wouldn't be able t grasp the glass easily. "I'll need help here," she said briefly, flicking her gaze away from him and back to the cut. Damnit, nope, there was no way she could get the glass out herself.

The taste and feel of the metal in his mouth wasn't terribly satisfying.. in fact, he really didn't like it much at all. But it was necessary to make sure this wasn't the kind of gift that would hurt Finch. He'd feel terrible getting her something that ended up hurting her. His gaze narrowed as he inspected it, making sure there was nothing at all on the basket that could hurt her. It looked pretty old, and he had no idea what it was used for.. but storing things seemed like a pretty good idea. It was dirty too, he noted.   "We'll have to dip this thing in a river, or something, before we even think of giving it to Finch," he offered quite seriously, his mouth tightening as he thought it over. It wouldn't really be usable until then, he decided. He hadn't forgotten about Lillianna's injury, but he'd certainly placed it in the back of his mind. Turning to eye her as she spoke, he scowled a bit. She needed help.. and somehow, hadn't been too stubborn to admit it aloud.   "Fine," he said, leaving the basket be for a minute as he turned to her.   "Just don't shove your paw into my mouth and try to cut me, alright?"  Lark eyed her, raising a brow for a moment as he lifted his own paw to pull Lillie's toward his mouth, gingerly grasping the piece of glass between his teeth as best as he could, trying to pull it free from her paw pad with minimal injury. It'd probably hurt, and he swore he tasted some blood as he jerked it free from her.

Lillie nodded to his words. "I agree - it's dirty and tastes weird." She'd grin slightly at his words following, his, uh, request for her not to cut him. "I'll try not to," she murmured in response, eyes twinkling with amusement. She wouldn't, of course. She'd let her paw be moved, watching the man in front of her as he gripped the glass and tugged She winced, but kept her paw where it was; jerking her paw away would not help any, and after a few more forceful tugs, it would come free. Lillie would breath in sharply, her lips in a silent grimace as blood pulsed from the wound. "Thanks," she murmured appreciatively. "I'm going to try to get the bleeding stopped before we go out of this forsaken land, mmk?" Not waiting for an affirmative, the woman would slide down, tongue lapping at it; oh how she was annoyed. Perhaps she needed to learn herbs so she could treat minor wounds. She'd ask Starling later.

Lark had reached the point with Lillie where he didn't actually think she wanted to cause him bodily harm. He didn't put it past her to get angry with him, or freak out unreasonably, but to actually intend on hurting him wasn't something he viewed as within the realm of possibility. He was cautious with his movements, trying not to cause too much pain, but in general he wasn't the gentlest of beasts.. and though it could've been done more carefully by someone else, Lillie didn't really have a choice. He pulled back, eyeing her to see if she was already, and though she was bleeding she seemed generally fine. A minor injury, if anything, and he'd expected worse upon seeing this awful place. "Sure,"  he said easily, shrugging his shoulders. He watched as she slid to the ground, lapping at her paw.  "Should scope out a place to sleep though, before it gets too dark,"  Lark would comment simply.  "Walking around here in the dark doesn't sound like a good idea."  That was an understatement; it sounded like an absolutely terrible idea, actually.

It was indeed a minor one, though a pretty deep one and one that decided to bleed freely. It stung like nothing before, but at the same time it was more a nuisance than causing any sort of fear on her part. She, of course, knew it would also hurt to walk on for a few days. Even moreso now, not that she was going to walk on it. Nope, she was going to limp in all her faded red glory.

Pushing herself up - deciding that was as good as she could get right now, she nodded to Lark's words. "Yep, and I know just the place," she agreed. "It's a nearby territory." They had passed it on the way here, and while she ahdn never... explored the area she was heading for [Dancefloor of the Gods], she had seen it a few times such as when she was exploring with Raba.

Now this was a good excuse to learn something about healing. He thought on his last conversation with Starling, when he'd gotten a quick lesson on mending cuts, after Starling had been hurt and had needed a helping paw. He still didn't know who had done it, but he figured he'd ask him eventually, when he would get so angry over it. He really didn't mean to get mad, but it was difficult not to; how could anyone even think to hurt Starling? Even reflecting on their brief lesson now he found himself growing a bit irritated, but he'd merely huff quietly as they decided to find somewhere to sleep.  "Hopefully not far?" he'd ask a bit too sharply, as he glanced over to her, noting that the evening was gradually darkening. Not waiting for an answer, knowing that she'd begin to lead them there without his proving, he turned to grasp the basket by its woven metal handle and face her, ready to follow.. for now. Tomorrow, though, would likely be a different story.

She'd eye him sidelong as he huffed. She idly wondered what was going through his mind; the huff didn't seem directed at her, but rather at something else. It made her curious, but... she chose not to ask, instead waaiting. She snorted at his answer, a grin slipping out at his sharp tone. Yeah, she did bring him a bit far. Just a little bit. You know, only a full day's travel. "No - we passed by it on the way here," she said teasingly, knowing full well that meant it could be an hour away, or a short run. Yeah, she was mean. She'd start picking her way out of the icky land they were in, thankful they didn't have to travel too far in in order to find the basket. It was only a little ways away; they'd reach it just as night fell, maybe a little after, but not too much after.

Sleep sounded really, really nice. Lark wasn't exactly prone to inactivity, but traveling was definitely not something his body was accustomed to. Running was one thing, patrolling was another, but spending nearly a day moving - a combination of walking and running - was damn near exhausting. He stifled another yawn as she said they'd passed it on the way here.  "Better than going further out," he spoke, his words muffled from the basket that was clasped between his jaws, and offered her a slow shrug. She'd mentioned it was a bit away. A whole hour? Running sounded better, and he'd likely fall asleep all the sooner if he exerted some energy now rather than walking lazily there.  "Lead the way, then," he'd say finally, making no complaint as she turned to lead them toward the field they'd passed on their journey here. - Skip! - It'd taken awhile to find a suitable spot, and by the time they did, the sun was well below the horizon. This time, when he yawned, he made no effort to hide it. He was damn tired, and for good reason. The den they'd scoped out was unoccupied, void of any scent that might alert them of the presence of another, and they'd easily agreed it would work for the two of them. Perhaps it was a bit more crowded than he preferred, but since he slept in his own den, anything seemed crowded if another wolf was involved. Slowly he'd made his way inside, finding the furthest wall and slumping down against it, setting the basket down beside him. He shuffled his paws until he found a comfortable spot, and finally laid his head down on his forepaws.  "Thanks for showing me that place," he offered a bit tiredly, gaze lifting to find her own. His voice was empty of any kind of stubbornness or annoyance, which was so typical as he spoke to Lille - though today most of their attitude had been in jest, it'd still been there. "Finch is going to love this."

She took the lead then, with a gentle jog, growing the more tired as they went. When they arrived, it was dark, but they had to find a suitable spot - and eventually it was found. It was a bit small, but she didn't mind... okay, she did. She did mind. Quite a bit. But she knew it was all mental. She would let Lark enter first, and he'd curl up against the far wall. She'd then crawl inside, finding herself in between the space between Lark's hind legs, and his front paws, curling into a ball. She yawned then, another big yawn that ended in a tiny squeak, but at that point - while embarrassed slightly - she was too damn tired to put any real thought or actions behind it. He spoke, and she would twist her head around and laid it on the ground, looking up and meeting the green eyes of the male. "Thanks for going with me," she murmured in return, tail brushing the ground in a light wag. She'd smile a bit when he mentioned Finch, and she'd make a small sound of agreement. "She will. I can't wait until we can give it to her," she told him. It was going to be great; Finch would love it.

A yawn, another one, would cause her to lift her head and turn it away from Lark, settling it on her own paws. It would be mere moments for her breathing to deepen; she was so tired she didn't even think of Lar's proximity. Lazily, mostly asleep, she would stretch out - that is, until her paws hit the wall and she found out she couldn't. Muttering something incoherently, she'd kick at the wall, pushing her into Lark, up against his side fur. She'd make a small mrrr sound, feeling the warmth against her back and wiggling into it, her muzzle trying to tuck under his arm, in between his chest and front leg.

He'd rather sleep alone, but finding two separate dens in the dark seemed a bit silly when they had a perfectly good one here. Then they'd have to find one another in the morning. Nope, this was just plain easier. He felt a lot more agreeable when he realized he wasn't terribly uncomfortable, as they both had their own sleeping areas, and they'd be out of the elements at the very least. Definitely a good situation, overall. "Same,"  he agreed, grinning tiredly at the thought of Finch's excited face when they brought it to her. That was the last thing he said as he felt his heavy grow heavy as it rested on his paws, his eyelids dropping shut until all he found was darkness and quiet and the soothing feeling of slipping into the unknown. He could've swore he would've fallen soundly asleep in a mere few minutes, but after a long moment he felt pressure against his side as Lillie shifted nearer to him. Not just closer, but against him - and cuddling was not something he was at all used to. Only with his siblings, and even then his affection was not always physicals. He didn't know how to react, and for a long moment he froze. He was too damn tired to argue, and he warmth was.. strangely comforting, though his head was screaming for him to push her away. Slowly his eyes opened to glance at her. Was she sleeping, or was she awake? It wasn't something that awake-Lillie would do, he decided. And her scent was suddenly as interesting as it had been before; something about it was enjoyable, and he angled his head to the side to get a better whiff of her scent. Lark had absolutely no idea what to do now. So he'd do what felt right, though in reality it didn't feel right at all, and he'd lower his head down to his paws and close his eyes, attempting to drift back to sleep with her tucked against his side.