Starling didn't know what to do. He was, well...lost. It was perhaps the first time in his life he had felt so entirely out of control, and he hated this feeling. Healing, for him, had always been second nature. It had always been easy, he only had to learn it once and it was fine. It was his lifeblood, his only hobby. Every second he was alive was devoted to his craft, because it was the only thing he felt he had. He wasn't good socially, unless it was to discuss healing, and he couldn't fight. He constantly tripped over his own paws, and he had the confidence of a rather anxious snail. So healing had always been a calming reprieve, had always been easy. But with Finch...he had been so lost. He still was! He felt like he had failed her, had treated her wrong. She was still seeing those nightmares, still under the poison's effects, and nothing he did seemed to help her one bit. He was lost to this anger inside of himself, with himself and with the world. It was like a thorn, festering and infected beneath his skin. He loathed the wolf that did this to her, and the less she seemed to get better, the angrier he got until he couldn't take it anymore. So he went in searching of the one man who could calm him down, the one wolf that was constantly on his mind. Cathaoir... He sighed softly, his eyes softening and his face losing the tension it had held as he stared down at the ground. There was something about him, something that...just got under Starling's skin, and in a very good way. He missed him, and it was almost...bad how often the young healer seemed to think of him. A soft sigh would slip from his chest as he sat down where he stood, in amongst the smell of blood and battle, in a place he truley didn't belong, and just thought of Cath and how much he needed to see him.. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

It was a place of death and battle, of blood and fear. He wasn't sure why he was compelled to come to this place, if it was his fighting spirit longing to break free or what. Since joining Yfir he had felt like a bit of an outcast, although he knew that he was not helping the matter any. He had not been very social with his pack mates as of yet, and was determined to change it. Maybe that is why he came to this place, to find a spar and grow stronger, to show the members of Yfir that he was not as weak as he let off. Because of his way of speaking he felt like others saw him as a lesser being, that he was as weak as his communication skills. But he wanted to show them his other side. His actions spoke far louder than his words ever could, and he wanted to strengthen that tool before using it. Cathaoir's minty eyes cast around the desolate field, finding nothing that peeked his interest. No one seemed to be here on this overcast day, and he couldn't blame them. The mud squished between his toes with each step, and the clouds above him looked like they could open up at any time. With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, he was about to turn and head home. Until a scent caught his attention. Ever so slowly the tall man's head turned, following the flowery scent that he knew all too well. What was his little healer doing in a dark place like this? This was not a land that he would ever expect to run into him, but he couldn't keep a side sweeping smile from crossing his lips. Long grey legs moved slowly towards the brown and white male, coming at him from his left side. "A ray of light, in this dark place." He said softly, coming up to nuzzle the smaller males shoulder. "Starling." The male whispered, his rump connecting with the soft earth as a sigh of relief left his mouth. It had been so long since he had seen Starling, since the winter when he brought him a birthday gift. How was it that they kept finding each other? Was it his heart that sought the young male out? It pounded hard now in his chest, his usually stoic face cracking that crooked smile of his at the very sight of him. There was no one else that made him feel like this, there was only Starling. "SPEAK!"

Art by endless-adventure

So lost in his own little world that he nearly jumped out of his skin when something rubbed quite noticeably against his shoulder. He even yelped, his eyes growing so wide before he realized just who the rubber was. "Cathaoir!" All his anxieties seemed to leave him in a loud breath as he suddenly turned to push himself into the soft grey furs of his very best friend. He was almost shaking with it all, all the emotion, as he hid his face against Cathaoir. Silence followed, for a moment, as he collected himself. He didn't really realize where he was in that moment, all that surrounded him was the soft fresh scent of Cathaoir, and his calming warmth. It was like he had some off switch for all of Starling's fears and all of his negative emotions, and just seeing him would turn it all to silence. A smile spread across gentle lips as he nuzzled his forehead beneath his friend's chin, just soaking in the warmth he longed to feel every second of every day. "I m-missed you." He whispered his usual greeting in a soft, shakey broken hearted voice as he reluctantly pulled himself away to look up at the other boy. They had met so long ago, and yet it felt like all Starling had done was blink his eyes between each meeting. It was like this was his life, his waking hours, and everything between their meetings was nothing but strange dreams. His face bled the anxiety so easily until there was nothing left but a gentle smile and bright shining blue eyes. "Wh-what are you d-doing here? What h-have you been up too?" He asked, his voice chipper and excited. The more time they spent together, the more he wished that they were closer. So many miles sat between their homes, that meetings were so few and far between, so he would soak it all in while he could. "H-have you b-been training lots? H-how Yfir? H-have you met L-lyndvar yet?" He asked with a gentle grin. The only wolf he knew in that pack was a healer friend of his, and maybe one day he'd take the man up on his offer and spend a time in Yfir in exchange for some lessons. Then they could be close together, him and Cathaoir...the only problem would be if he would be able to leave or not. "Burn Baby Burn" || "Bruciare Bambino Bruciare"

Cathaoir blinked down at Starling at his yelp, surprised that he had been able to sneak up on the young man. It wasn't like he was silent and small, he was big and his paws made quite a bit of sound. He must have been pretty deep in thought, something that the brown and white wolf was doing often. There was hardly a time when Star wasn't getting lost in his own little world, causing the larger male to smirk to himself. There was always something troubling him, a problem that he needed to solve all on his own. It was one of the major things that he liked about him, that he worried and fretted over everything. It might not be what others looked for in a wolf, in a friend, but to Cath is was special. It meant that Starling cared, most likely more than anyone else did. He cared enough to worry, to try and fix it without bothering anyone else to help him. It was something that Cathaoir could not say that he had himself. Generally he pushed things away with a shrug of his shoulders, mostly to keep his condition at bay. It wasn't that the gray male didn't care, he just... he felt differently. He spoke with actions rather than with words, and conversation was not his strong point. That is why he was still staring at Starling with that stoic look on his face, even as the other brute said his name and pushed into his coat. With a rumble the man lowered his head, resting it on top of his brown one. He just allowed them to sit there in silence, to give Star a moment to let go of whatever was weighing him down. Slowly he pulled back and started to groom the top of his head, working away the anxieties that his dear friend was feeling. He didn't need to ask what they were, just let himself be a shoulder to lean on. His smile grew when Starling greeting him in their usual fashion, that he had been missed. It was hard living so far away from a dear friend, but it was the pull of his duty and desire to better himself that drove him away. If he had only saved making up his mind for after he met Starling, then perhaps he would have been able to stay closer. And then a flood of questions came pouring out of his maw, leaving Cathaoir stunned for a moment. Once he was actually able to gather his thoughts, it had already been several moments after Starling's abundance of questions. "Came to fight, train and stuff," he started, his broken pattern of speech filling the silence. "Not much, it's... okay. Quiet in the North. And no, I haven't... met many," he said with a furrowed brow and small frown, his larger form lifting as he let out a huff. He needed to work on being more social, but it really wasn't his strong suite. Blinking his minty gaze, he turned his attention back to the healer. "And you? Heal many wolves?" He would have felt awkward right now if it was anyone else but Starling. "SPEAK!"

Art by endless-adventure