The Sunspire a reputation out for ruin

She loathed it here, and she especially loathed the wolves that held her captive. Magpie was young, and her anger was most definitely misplaced — but all she knew was that although Fox had brought her to these borders, it was the wolves that resided on the Sunspire that had laid their teeth against her and opened the wounds that now itched and burned beneath her coat. And somehow, though these wolves had done this to her, they acted as if they had saved her from some sort of beast. Had she been older and wiser, she would have run when she had been told... or she would have never followed the command Fox gave in the first place.

Although Magpie didn't realize it and was incapable of putting the words together so eloquently, she was in essence being punished for her youth. None of this was fair.

Leaf lay sleeping nearby, and the juvenile's green eyes glared at her. She felt guilt for being the reason her pack mate was also here, if only she had been fast enough, neither of them would have been caught... and while it didn't quite seem like Leaf enjoyed it here, the older female was definitely dealing with it a lot better than she was. She had been captured mostly unscathed, had been taken almost as if she were an afterthought: Magpie had been surrounded, beaten, and whisked away.

Why? How could she possibly be so important?

Despite the whirling emotions, she was still young and easily bored. Held captive in a small clearing, she ached to run and play despite her healing body. Unable to do so, she settled for making faces at her sleeping cell-mate

The soon-to-be healer waddled in, looking rather funny with her mouth full of herbs and a pair of fish tucked under her chin. Noting Leaf was asleep, she quietly dropped on fish in front of her and turned to Magpie.

She wasn't assigned to hunt for the captives, or to help them heal, but she felt in order to redeem Ferdie in their eyes, she needed to show them that they did not mean harm to Swiftcurrent. She wanted to help with that.

Nightingale set the other fish in front of the other juvenile. And to think, this may have been me if I hadn't decided to follow Aryn. If I hadn't decided to forgive Ferdie.

Placing a bundle of yarrow stalks and poppy flowers on the ground, she glanced over Magpie for a few minutes before continuing. "Do you need me to take care of any wounds or pain?"

Magpie was in the middle of crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at the sleeping Leaf, tilting her head to an extreme right, when one of the Sunspire wolves crept into the clearing given to the pair of captives. Unable to see straight and suddenly feeling rather silly, the juvenile did her best to correct all aspects of herself — but lost her balance in the process. Keeling over onto her side, the little black wolf ungracefully shifted to a position on her belly, glowering at the young female that approached. She had missed the girl's approach, or she might not have felt quite so silly; with all that she was carrying, the Sunspire female likely looked equally ridiculous. Ah, the awkwardness of youth.

When the fish was dropped nearby, Magpie wrinkled her nose and hoped her stomach wouldn't betray her desire to eat it by rumbling. With a white forepaw, the girl batted it away as if it might bite. Her green eyes watched the other suspiciously; this one she trusted almost as much as she trusted the male, Ferdie, that held her hear. They were just about the same age, but this female seemed to think it appropriate to scold Magpie, as if being a captive wasn't humiliating enough on its own.

Pridefully, stubbornly, Magpie shook her head at the girl's question. It seemed the bullheadedness of the Sunspire wolves could rival her own; they continually insisted on trying to feed and heal her, no matter how many times she attempted to make clear that she was not interested.

Nightingale sighed. She pushed the fish forward again. "You act like you're not hungry, and that you're not hurting. You haven't eaten in days, and you refuse help."

She frowned at her, genuine worry in her eyes, but also a hint of anger... "If you keep this up, there won't be anything left to return the Creek to."

She stretched leisurely and settled down. If this wolf was going to be stubborn, then she'd be just as stubborn back. "I'm not leaving until you eat and accept medical help. Even if I have to spend every living day and night here. I honestly don't fully understand why you're so mad at us... Only partially.

"You're angry that you're a prisoner, right? A captive. It's only fair for you to be angry at us. But I've got an itch-" Nightingale brought her hind leg forward and scratched behind her ear to prove it, "And that itch tells me that's not all you guys are mad at. Your mad at us for something else. I learned from Ferdie that you need to see both sides of the fight before deciding which side your on. I've decided mine, and you apparently decided yours. But, the thing is... I don't think you've looked at the reason we fight properly. Honestly? The only two wolves I'm mad at in your pack is Fox and Bazi. You? I'd rather be friends than enemies, but you seem to refuse..."

The female before her was not much older than she, but she scolded Magpie all the same — and at length. Rather than trying to fight against the onslaught of words that seemed to endlessly pour from the Sunspire female's mouth, the pup simply shut her jaw tight. Her green eyes stared, unimpressed, over the female's shoulder until the words paused and finally ceased. It seemed the other had finally given up, for she eventually turned and left. Magpie sighed in relief, then resumed her face-making at the sleeping Leaf to pass the time.