Chicky felt her tail wave happily at her sister's affectionate greeting, and immediately her fears were put to rest. She felt her heart flutter with joy at the feel of Jagger's warm nuzzle, a simple gesture which went a long way toward establishing the trust Chickadee had in her sister's love.

Her ears pricked attentively as Jagger began to introduce the stranger, her round face turning one way andthe other as she attempted to determine the cause of her sister's sudden anxiety. The growled name which followed the brief pause explained everything.

So this was Splash..

Chickadee leaned forward a little, curving her neck around to get a better look at the male. Her tail thumped happily behind her, despite her best efforts to keep it still. Though she knew she ought to detest this male based on what Jagger had told her, Chickadee seemed to be a creature utterly beyond the realm of negative emotions if they did not center around herself. She was pleased to meet someone new, even if that someone had made things horribly awkward for her closest companion..

Besides, he was certainly handsome..

But as he began to speak, Chickadee began to understand a little of her sister's vexation with the brute. His words made poor Chickadee blush and cringe, and she turned her sympathetic gaze back to Jagger -- an unspoken connection between them, which said quite plainly that she now understood everything.

But Splash continued to speak, addressing Chickadee as a 'little healer'. Chickadee wasn't sure whether or not she quite liked that term -- she had always been a bit touchy on the subject of her size, but she liked hearing herself referred to as a healer.

The kind words which followed made Chickadee blush even deeper, her ears turning so crimson that she had to turn her head away with embarrassment.

It was then that Tesseract came bounding in. Chickadee's tail went into high speed, waving erratically back and forth with excitement at seeing yet another of her beloved friends. She rose to crouch on her feet and ducked her head respectfully as Tess came to stand beside her, her tail wagging so hard that her entire body swayed gently side to side.

As Tesseract turned his attention to Splash, Chickadee managed to get herself a little more under control. She lowered her haunches to the ground once again, though her shoulders remained hunched and her ears slicked back against her head in utter submission.

She listened as Tesseract introduced himself to Splash, and was surprised to catch him glancing reassuringly in her direction. The quick gesture was enough to send Chickadee's tail into spasms of joy once again, and she felt her ears growing red with embarrassment.

'Darn that stupid thing. I swear it has a life of it's own..'

Chickadee remained silent as she listened to the quarreling lovebirds, leaning a little against her sister for comfort. She liked being in the presence of Tess and Jagger, but that didn't make her feel any less anxious about the whole situation.

---

CHICKADEE
^{you're not alone}