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he would tend her in the moments blue willow was not there, and was unsurprised by the worry that rose to choke him when he gazed at her beaten frame. fool, fool, little fool; he cursed her gently in his mind for her stupidity, though he was quite interested in knowing what it was that had driven her behavior.
taltos lay peering into the darkness of the den where finley slept, wondering if she would awake and speak a few words, or if whatever blue willow had given her for pain would keep her in slumber's recesses a while longer.
Whatever medicines Blue had given her to ease the pain and help her to sleep worked splendidly for those intentions. Her sleep was restful and deep so that when she awoke in the morning, she did not crave more except for the need to allow her body to heal. Her sleep was however riddled with the wildest and most bizarre dreams she had ever experienced. When she awoke, she could only recall bits and pieces of them, which were always highly varied from one another and Fin could not have connected the dots between them if she'd wanted to. She was often having sex with random wolves as well, which was unusual in itself.
Fin awoke from one of such dreams to find Lasher in her company--quite the coincidence for reasons she would deny until the day she died. She blinked wearily at her, her tongue racing over her parched lips as she rolled to her stomach and steadied herself there. She did not lift her head as she peeked up at him, but simply looked at him like an ashamed little pup Her tail wagged gently to signify her pleasure at seeing him, even though her ears fell back as she knew it was coming time to explain herself to the wolf who'd saved her life by putting his own so selflessly at risk.
lasher chuffed lightly at their charge. no need to move; lie still,
he murmured to her, granting her a soft glance that spared her of any irritation he might have felt toward her madness regarding the bear. instead, his eyes cleared and he looked pointedly at finley, moving closer until his muzzle was near her own.
why did you do it?
the earthen gamma asked softly, voice filled with affectionate worry. as he had told blue willow, only those who no longer wished to be alive sought deaths. finley was a vivacious, humourous creature — what hurt had she experienced, that she wished to be free of their mortal coil?
Fin's eyes popped back open in surprise as Lasher spoke gently to her. She settled quickly back down and focused on his question, immediately averting her gaze from him to stare at some point near the other side of the den, not really seeing it at all. "Oh, you know..." she replied in typical Finley fashion, "It made fun of my mom." She gave him a teasing smirk and bit her lip, completely aware that she was not out of hot water with him yet.
Mmmm... hot water.... Wait, stop it, Fin.
he gave a small frown, but it was tempered with a mild affection and relief that she seemed to be recouping her normal attitude. extending a paw, he prodded her gently, a more serious expression settling upon his face. did some form of sorrow befall you, finley?
the man inquired gently.
he did not need to know the details; he needed only to know that the redhawk female was now stable, and would not attempt to pursue her death again. truly, he was loathe to let her return home even when her body had mended without extracting such a promise.
"I've just been... bored lately," she replied dismissively in a pathetic attempt at sounding honest. She held her breath for a second, hoping her comment would stall him further while she tried to come up with something to say that might satisfy him. Not the truth, of course. Definitely not that. But Fin was a clever little liar, she was confident that she could come up with something...... maybe.
he did not believe her, but would not press her — verbally. lasher withdrew, though the expression upon his face did not lose its warmth, and lay his muzzle across his forelegs. his eyes trained themselves upon her face, and he breathed in the scent of the redhawk girl mingled with the fragrance of the herbs that blue willow had used to treat her wounds.
and he waited.
"You know that saying..." Fin started slowly, still not looking at him, "...to get through the forest, you have to fight the bear?" Yeah, she'd completely made that up, "Well. I was trying to fight the bear." This is what honesty does to her. Apparently, there was no room for both honesty and sense in Finley Blackthorn's mind; it was one or the either. Other.
the man had heard of no such thing, but he understood immediately what the metaphor behind the saying meant. he wondered what sort of forest in which finley had found herself, and why she had settled for a corporeal bear rather than one of spirit and mind.
he gave a low chuff, intending it to be a rejoinder to her, that he listened; and presently he lifted chin from foreleg and favored her with a warm look. the bear could have killed you,
he pointed out with a direct glance to her healing wounds, her prone, weakened form.
when intending to slay a bear, it is typical to ask for help from one's companions,
taltos added softly, seeking finley's eyes with his own.
The bear could have killed her. Well... duh. Why did he think she'd wanted to play with it? She kept that little bit to herself, instead focusing on the comment that came next. "But then one would have to explain why they needed to slay the bear at all," Fin responded slowly, turning her gaze to his face without actually moving her head, "Maybe one hasn't figured that out yet."
he had gathered that finley was undergoing some great pain, so majestic in its torture that it had compelled her to seek out grave injury, or even death. his heart ached for the blackthorn — those he loved he would not see suffer — and he wished to tell her this, but the girl had maintained an attitude of vagueness thus far, and with this he would continue.
perhaps one should know that there is no empty solitude among companions; perhaps one should be told that there are forever ears that will listen, and hearts that will understand.
Fin was grateful that Lasher was not the prying type. In truth, if he had been, she would have had to bite him either verbally or physically. She did not like to be pushed, and while her temper was typically quite mild, there was little else that set it aflame than being pressured.
When he spoke again, Fin found herself unable to do little else than gaze at him. A small smile twitched across her lips as gratitude swept over her, swiftly followed by a great and sudden sadness that took her utterly by surprise. Blinking back tears, she swallowed hard to give herself a moment to compose herself before allowing her response to come in a trembling voice. "One would probably be very grateful for that," she said finally, her gaze flickering then from his face to the ground.
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he saw her tears, heard the tremour of her voice. his more affectionate side wished to sweep her into his embrace, as he did with his companions — he was a physical beast — but he refrained. i shall find you something to eat, finley,
taltos murmured gently, pushing himself to his paws.
giving her a gentle smile, the gamma departed, to do as he had spoken and to let finley have the space of time she needed for composure.