ŚÚŔVĨVĂĹ ŐŦ ŤĤĔ ŦĨŤŤĔŚŤ

[Wolfstar]

He thought about it for a moment, and whispered the name to himself. "That...that's a wonderful name, thank you. Speaking of names, I have yet to know your own. It's good to give names, especially to Avana." Santolin somewhat felt happy that he received a name, since he hasn't had a name for years.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Tarka smiled at the newly named Santolin. "It's my pleasure, really. I'm Tarka." For the first time in a long time, she seemed relatively comfortable. She quietly resumed the sorting of her plants.
"And I'm Aekan," Aekan grumbled. "Nice to officially meet you.

[Wolfstar]

Santolin dipped his head, "Same here. Now I'll let the two of you rest, I have a meeting to arrange." With that, he padded out of the ruined building and towards the cavern. It took him awhile to travel there, though he was used to it.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Aekan nodded to Santolin as the furred raptor left. He then settled onto the ground and shut his eyes, looking forward to a fulfilling rest.
Tarka didn't seem keen on sleeping, and she simply continued to sort her herbs, as though she didn't realize that they were already collected into the neatest possible piles.

[Wolfstar]

(Time skip)

Santolin returned back to his home, back much later than he had thought. The words he received where heavy, but the duty was done. "When they are ready... when they are ready..." He kept repeating to himself. The thought of going to sleep has long gone left him, he couldn't sleep now.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Aekan was still asleep when Santolin returned, and Tarka was very much awake. She looked up from her herbs, startled by the raptor when he entered, but she settled her nerves when she saw that it was only him. "You're back. You're not happy either. What happened?"

[Wolfstar]

"The cavern was nearly empty when I arrived, and Avana talked to me for hours. She has agreed to meeting the two of you, but..." Santolin shivered, his fur standing up. "I'm not sure how long I'll be alive, since I now know what the Starved...have been doing."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"What they've been doing?" She sat down, offering a leaf to Santolin. "To calm your nerves. Now, tell me what happened. Take your time."

[Wolfstar]

Santolin took the leaf, but was confused about what to do with it. "Can we talk somewhere where Aekan isn't? Like the herb room? Also, what do I do with this? I've barely used herbs.."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"You just eat it," she answered in reference to the leaf, getting up and walking into the herb room. "Alright, can we talk here?"

[Wolfstar]

He nodded before doing so, unsure about what he was given and how the leaf tasted. "Y-yeah, here will do.." Santolin said quietly.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Good. It should relax you," she said, nodding approvingly as he ate the leaf. "Now, tell me what it is you want to tell me."

[Wolfstar]

"Are you sure Tarka? I don't want to scare you," he responded, laying down.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

The warning did make her hesitate, but she did her best to keep up her resolve. "I'm sure. I want to know."

[Wolfstar]

Santolin nodded, hesitating before he spoke. "From what I've been told, most of the Starved are out at the border of this forest. They're keeping eyes on the packs, despite how far they're from where the forest the pack lives in. Avana had said that the Starved has started working on their own, with each other and without her despite her being their leader. So far, she said that she only has control of half of the pack, the other, she doesn't know."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Tarka shifted, looking off at nothing in particular as Santolin spoke. "Disobeying their leader? That's no good at all. Even they should have half the mind to listen to their superiors." The thought that the Starved were operating completely on their own frightened her, as expected, and she felt as though there were eyes in the walls, staring holes into her hide. But she kept it down. "What does she plan to do?

[Wolfstar]

"That's the thing, she doesn't know what to do. She knows how they hunt, how they fight, but she knows that knowing all of that would be her downfall. She expects them to kill her in a few days, possibly after the two pack leaders are dead," Santolin kept his gaze on the ground, trying to calm himself.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

She nodded. "Oh. That's no good at all." She shifted and the colour of her pelt changed until, without meaning to, she became part of her surroundings. She opened her mouth to speak, and the illusion broke. "Do you have any idea what we should do? Viridian, she's relying on us to prevent this. And I'm worried about her. And the pack." And many other things, but she stopped herself there, taking the deepest breath she could manage with her lungs being as tight as they were.

[Wolfstar]

"I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm not safe either. From what Avana told me, they could come after me as well. This forest, and the one you live in, aren't safe anymore. The most we could give you is information, but we aren't sure if that's enough," he looked back up and looked at the plants. "Avana may have come up with some ideas, but I'm not sure. You'll know when you and Aekan are ready to go see her."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Oh, alright. We'll have to go see her soon then. Should we wake Aekan?" Then she hesitated. "Actually, I don't want to wake him. He growls at me whenever I wake him up. But if you did it he'd probably be fine." She too looked at the plants, and instinctively moved over to them, trying to remember if there was anything there she had forgotten to add to her herb collection. The colours of her pelt changed as she moved, somewhat maintaining her unnecessary camouflage.