Sparrow didn't feel worried about Finch in the way that made her wonder if her sister would be okay. Harmony said she would be okay. Starling and Harmony had both treated her. Sparrow trusted that she would be fine. Sparrow was worried about her sister in the same way she would be worried if Finch was recovering from any other type of illness. As most of the siblings, she thought about how this could have happened and who could have done it. Her stomach became sick every so often at the thought of who did it. Sparrow lined up all the details and facts in her head trying to find the culprit, but a small question nagged at her; was it intentional? Foxglove had been used to heal before, and it did have a look-alike herb that was often used for healing. It was possible someone was trying to help, wasn't it? It was possible, at least, that someone hadn't tried to kill her sister. Besides, Ashmedai had pointed out that it could be quite easy to kill in a fight. If someone really wanted Finch dead, they could have just killed her, right? Maybe? The thought chilled the girl. Someone could kill her if they wanted to.

Sparrow shook her coat. She should visit her sister. Coming to the den, Sparrow sat beside it without looking in, "Hey. You awake?"

She was laying in her den, looking up at the roof. She was too scared to sleep, even though she was getting better the nightmares still plagued her. Finch was just looking up and slowly blinking, trying to focus on roots that were poking through the surface of the den. Her vision was no longer tinted with colour, but there were times where her head still hurt if she moved too quickly. When the voice of her sister called out, she rolled over slowly, trying not to give herself a headache as she pulled herself to her paws. Sparrow had not poked her head in, just called her from outside. Padding to the mouth of the den, she turned her head to look at her brown and white sister, offering her a small smile. "Yeah, I d-don't get too much sleep t-these days," she said softly, her stutter nearly gone now. Finch moved to sit at her sisters side, leaning gently against her fluffy form. "How h-have things been on t-the outside?" she asked with a small giggle. It had been awhile since she had been outside of her den, partly because she was recovering, but mostly because she was more afraid than ever now. The shadows still moved at times to try and grab her, and she felt like she was constantly being watched. Civetta had tried to drag her out a few times, but she didn't make it too far from the mouth of the den before she backed up into it again. Shivering slightly, she leaned more heavily against Sparrow. She was glad that her sister had come to see her, it had been awhile since they had spoken.

"SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by KatG6

Sparrow was a bit surprised when Finch answered. She was ready to just assume Finch was asleep and leave, but then she answered and crawled out. She asked how things were on the outside. Sparrow offered a smile but it faltered, "Pretty messy," she answered, her maw forming a grimace for a second, "But look at you, even being able to come out of your den now. Have you been able to go out and get water yet? Stretch your legs?" Finch pressed against Sparrow and Sparrow wrapped her tail around Finch's back. She wanted to know what Finch remembered, but she wasn't sure if now was the time to ask. For someone usually so bubbly, she had grown quiet, more involved in her own thoughts than the real world. Here, now, with Finch pressed into her side, she felt a bit at ease. It was probably the most normal thing that had happened since this whole ordeal, "When you feel better... do you wanna spar sometime? I've been trying to learn fighting thanks to a friend's encouragement, but now I want to learn it even more. Only when you're stronger though..." A small smile crossed Sparrow's face. The air around them felt thick and tense. She wanted to know where Finch had gone and why she had gone there and how she ended up eating the foxglove. She didn't want to ask, but she wanted to know.

Concern coloured the pale girls features when Sparrow spoke, pale blue eyes searching her sisters face. Messy? Why, what happened? When the other woman didn't go to into much detail, and Finch opened her maw to ask, but snapped it back together when she went on talking. Slowly she nodded her head, careful not to move to quickly. "I haven't gone too f-far, I'm still pretty s-shaky. Civetta keeps t-trying to get me out, but... i-its hard," she admitted with a shrug, not wanting to dwell on her short comings too much. It was very odd to see Sparrow like this, she was quiet and very calm. Usually her sister was very bubbly and loud, not that she cared for her any less because of it. It was just strange to see her so calm... Finch hummed softly as her tail curled around her back, leaning down to place a kiss on the girls cheek. "How is it m-messy though, Sparrow. I h-hope I didn't cause t-to much suffering..." she whispered. She didn't mean to hurt so many wolves with this, and she constantly feared that she was a burden on everyone. Just a lump on a log that had to be carefully looked after while she was healing up.

Sparrow was quick to change the subject, bringing up something that she herself had been thinking on. She blinked slowly at her before a small smile touched her lips, a laugh following. "I was t-talking to Lark about wanting t-to learn to fight too, its s-strange that you've had the s-same thoughts. I would love t-to learn with you S-sparrow, I think it would be a l-lot of fun," She went silent again, and Finch grew concerned again. She could almost feel Sparrow's question lingering between them, and the pale girl sighed. "What d-do you want to a-ask?" she asked, nudging her shoulder softly. "Va tutto bene, n-non sarò offeso. So c-che si vuole chiedere a me." Finch whispered in Italian, as if their family's language would make it easier on her.

"SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by KatG6

It seemed she wasn't the only one with questions. Sparrow didn't miss Finch's maw snapping shut, but she dismissed it. She answered that ti was hard to walk around too much and Sparrow hummed, "If you feel strong enough, you can lean on me. Maybe some fresh water would be good, she suggested, "But if not today, soon then?" Sparrow offered a glance at her sister, trying to gauge her strength. Finch offered Sparrow a kiss and Sparrow would nuzzle into her sister. Finally, she would ask her question, asking how the pack was messy. Sparrow thought for a moment, her brow furrowing, "It's not because of you, but it's because of what happened to you. Everyone is um... unsettled... Everyone wants to go and find who did this, but also... We have no leads. I think everyone is restless because of that; we're helpless."

Sparrow listened to Finch talk about learning to fight. She was a little surprised, "Really? Lark would be the one to ask, I guess. I have a friend from Imperium actually... We met when I visited Rhythm, then again after the war. He fought in it and it was so strange to me. He enjoys fighting, you know. It's crazy to me, but... I told him how I felt so helpless when everyone here seems to be a healer and I'm just second-rate compared to them. He suggested instead of always trying to be ready to try to fix my family with medicine, that maybe I could learn to fight for them. I told dad at the meeting- but... that's when we learned you were missing, so..." Sparrow trailed off. If everyone was suddenly becoming a fighter, would that rule her out again? No, not a lot of fighters were prominent in Abaven, "I think it will be cool to learn together. It will be like when we were pups."

The silence fell again. It was thick with Sparrow's question. Finally, Finch asked her what it was, slipping into their family language to ask. Sparrow let out a long sigh, "I know you've been asked a million times, and I don't want to trouble you, but..." Sparrow hesitated for a moment, "Odio ammetterlo, ma voglio anche vendetta. Voglio sapere tutto quello che ti ricordi come se fossi stato anche lì. Questo è quello che volevo chiedere. Anche la mia mente diventa violenta al pensiero di quello che si fa male, quindi voglio sapere tutto quello che sai. Perché eri così lontano da casa? Era qualcuno con te? Tutto ciò sarà di aiuto." Sparrow said slowly, her thoughts churning in her head before she spoke, "Even if it just helps me to know I have all the facts, even if it's not much." Sparrow chewed the inside of her cheek, trying not to look too much at Finch as she asked so much of her sister.

Her sister spoke of going to get water if she felt strong enough, and Finch inhaled a quick breath. She didn't want to say no, Sparrow seemed to excited that she was getting better. So she was really thankful when she said that they could do it later. Nodding her head, a small smile touched her lips. "I w-would love that," came her soft reply, leaning over to nuzzle her sisters shoulder. She was so thankful that she had a family that cared for her so much, they had all been around to check on her and make sure that she was faring well. Some of them had taken their time, but she didn't blame them. In the early days she had pretty much just slept, whined, and barfed. She wouldn't want to visit her either. Sparrow nuzzled into her after her kiss was given, and Finch hummed softly. Her throat almost closed up, it had been so long since she had sang, not since Lark had asked her to. Blinking back the sadness that was threatening to build, she cleared her throat and focused on her siblings words. Slowly she nodded along with them, a drawn out sigh pushing out of her lungs. It wasn't her fault, it was just the situation as a whole. She wished it was that easy to believe that, she still felt guilty for wandering off on her own that day. That is when it had all started, and she was just trying to be brave.

When she mentioned fighting, it seemed to bring a lot of ideas forth from Sparrow's mind. She giggled softly, listen to her go on and on about it. Usually she found her sister a little... too much for her to handle. She was calmer at the moment, but the rambling reminded her of how she usually acted. But instead of shying away from it like she usually did, she embraced it. It reminded her of more... normal things. It was nice, to feel normal for even just a moment. She had to agree with Sparrow though, she didn't get wolves that loved to fight, that lived for it. It was such a strange concept to her, to want to hurt others that badly. She shivered at the thought, head shaking back and forth slightly. Finch's ears perked up when she mentioned telling their father about wanting to fight, shock clear in her pale blue eyes. "W-what did he s-say to that?" she asked, dying to know how Bass had reacted. Her smile grew warmer when Sparrow mentioned them play fighting when they were pups. It always took a little convincing to get Finch to join in, but she remembered how much fun they had had. How much more simple that part of her life had been... now there were a lot bigger things on her frail shoulders. "As soon a-as I get better, l-let's do i-it! Two s-sisters against the world." She said with a chuckle.

But things took a heavier turn. She knew what Sparrow wanted to ask, and Finch dreaded talking about it. As soon it was all out, the young woman's head hung. She fell silent for a long, long time, eyes closing tightly shut. "E 'così d-difficile pensare a q-questo proposito ..." she whispered, as she finally brought her head up. Unable to look at her sister, she took a deep breath as her eyes opened and fixated on the horizon. "Ma questo è quello che è successo. Ho lasciato le terre del pacchetto per andare a esplorare, ho voluto, non so ... dimostrare che ero coraggioso immagino. Ma poi una grande tempesta laminati in, e mi sono perso. Ho sempre cercato di trovare la mia strada di casa, ma credo che ho appena ricevuto io stesso più perso. Io rannicchiata in una palla e appena pianto ... e questo è quando mi ha trovato." Finch didn't stutter at all as she retold the story. Even though her stutter had been fading away slowly, it would seem that she was so transfixed on the past that her body forgot all about it. The Italian made it easier too, the words flowed better from her maw. "Il suo nome, quello che era il suo nome. Maggie, penso. Lei mi ha trovato, e mi condusse in una tana per stare al caldo fino a quando soffiava passata la tempesta. Io ... io non posso esattamente mettere la sua faccia, ma so che aveva macchie su di lei. E un uccello chiamato Wolf. Ma quando la tempesta si schiarì ha promesso di portare a casa. Ho avuto il raffreddore, e aveva un enorme attacco starnuto. Ha detto che era un guaritore e mi ha dato qualcosa che avrebbe dovuto farmi sentire meglio. E poi ... i tunnel. Il buio. Io ... la sua difficile ricordare questa parte. E 'tutto così buio, così spaventoso. Non vedevo più il lupo o l'uccello, entrambi trasformati in questi ... mostri." She shuttered, eyes snapping closed tightly. Fear pulsed off her form as she remembered, or at least tried to. "C'erano i denti ovunque. Non so se era Gazza che aveva po 'nella mia spalla, ma c'era una risata, e il dolore. Tutto è andato nero dopo." Her maw snapped shut tightly, her body shivering. She couldn't say anything else, that was it. That was everything. Feeling like her throat was closing up, she swallowed hard, realizing for the first time that she had started to cry.

"SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by KatG6

Finch mentioned that she would love to get water with Sparrow sometime. Sparrow nodded, smiling softly, "Sometime soon, then." Sparrow was happy to have this little moment with her sister. The two didn't talk all the time and Sparrow always felt like she was bothering Finch, but right now- right now was nice. As she spoke, she heard Finch giggle softly. Sparrow's smile widened as she continued. When Finch asked her what their dad thought of her fighting, Sparrow grew a little more serious, "He seemed so proud. I felt like, for one of the first times, he actually was looking at me as an individual- a grown up. I feel like I can try to do so many things and never get noticed like that again..." she admitted. Not that her father was wrong or that he ignored her, she just knew she couldn't compete with Lark-the-heir and Starling-the-healer, but for once, she felt like she was one of them, "It filled me with determination."

Finch promised to fight with her, saying it would be two sisters against the world. Sparrow laughed softly now, "Are we gonna go rogue? I'll have to pack my things." Sparrow mused humorously. Maybe Ashmedai or one of the other Imperium wolves could go off on their own, but Sparrow doubted her ability to do much other than one-track travels. Maybe one day, though.

Now was the hard part. Finch recounted her time away from the pack and Sparrow clung to every detail; Maggie, spots, a magpie named Wolf, a healer, the caves, teeth. Could Maggie be her real name? Could she have been a healer trying to help? Could this have been a setup? Maybe someone hired this Maggie out, like how Abaven was supposed to be hired out- or how Abaven 'rented' the Imperium wolves for the war?

Sparrow pressed into Finch, aiming to lick her tears away. She was shaking now, but she would stay strong. She shushed her sister, giving her tender affections and reassurances. They would be okay. They would get to the bottom of this, "Va tutto bene, Finch. Tu sei forte e sei sopravvissuto."