Blackbeak Bluff You can run from the pain, or you can allow it to burn into your heart

she gave a good-natured laugh at his joke; someone else might take offense, but Tahani had learned in life that it was much easier to shrug everything off. then his voice grew serious, and she looked over at him, surprised--and feeling slightly awkward.

the healer was an empath, but she wasn't a talker, and so, like Siarut, she, too, had problems putting her emotions into words, choosing to speak through actions instead. her throat tightened, then, as he spoke now. . .for him to say it out loud, it really did mean a lot to him. she reached out to nuzzle his cheek, eyes creased to slits as she smiled.

"it was a team effort," she responded humbly. "we need each other, Sia. that's why we've come down to find Shiv. we've always been better together than apart. we're family." and they would always be family, no matter what. the littermates had forged an indelible bond through the years, a bond that hopefully had stayed with Shivali as she traveled south.