He was getting a feel for the place, and although it would be ridiculous to say that Quest felt comfortable in any location, Relic Lore didn't seem to rub him the wrong way like so many others did. Staying permanently had not crossed his mind, but he felt the seasons shifting toward fall, and he knew that bedding down and taking care of himself would be a smart move to make. Resting and nourishing himself in these wilds could indeed be a very good thing for a few days, a few weeks, or even until the cold weather blew over - but that sort of a commitment could not be decided so soon after his arrival here.

He continued to keep to himself, far and away from the claimed lands he had located. He never slept in the same spot twice, and as he meandered now through thick foliage, Quest began to contemplate the forest around him as a sleeping spot for the coming night. Picking his way gingerly and carefully through the brush, he allowed his ears to pick out the sound of running water. Water was life, and it had never been disadvantageous to him to steer toward it.

Until now.

As he parted through the brush, Quest's gray-dappled, black body came to an immediate halt as his gold eyes locked on the familiar figure standing at the bank of a small stream. Her back was half-turned to him, but it would have been impossible to back up without her having seen or heard him. He couldn't believe it - he could not begin to comprehend the chances that he would ever run into an Aquila wolf again, especially one who had been destined to lead the clan. What was she doing here, and why? His mind raced in confusion, but before he could stammer out a question or an aghast expression, he found himself growling deeply and strongly, his lips slipping back to reveal his front teeth while his hackles rose to a point. Quest did not speak - he had no words for his long-lost sister.

Sojourn's body shrank in front of him, and although he was wildly perplexed by it, it did not soften Quest's own stance. His hackles bristled along his shoulders and back, tail ticking barely visibly in the way a feline would wag its tail, not a canine. His growl was interrupted as she spoke his name in surprise, but he kept his golden eyes narrowed upon her. It wasn't until those three little words he had never expected to hear from his sister tumbled through her teeth that his eyes widened in shock.

He could not understand why she was acting this way. Something must have changed for her, but nothing had for him. He was still the cast-out, the one who feared for his life if he ventured too close to where the Aquilas lived. The scars he bore mentally and physically were still very present for him, and he saw no reason to accept the strange apology. His eyes narrowed again. "Sorry for what?" he spat. "I can't possibly think of anything you've done in your life to be sorry about, you heinous little bitch."

It felt strange - exhilarating, to be precise - to stand before Sojourn and be unafraid of her. While it was true that she was a few hairs taller than him, and considerably more muscular, they were alone here, and on ground that belonged to neither of them. The advantage that she had always had over him was minuscule to none, and the fire of anger that had burned in his heart toward her for so long was finally licking its way up his throat and onto his tongue. "I can't think how you expect me to believe that," he challenged her, meeting her gaze for probably the first time in their lives.

"Were you sorry when you sank your fucking teeth into my neck and rolled me onto my back in front of all our pack mates?" he asked bitterly. "Or how about when you would call me names, taunt me into a corner until I got so fed up I would try and fight back. Oh no, you weren't sorry then, so you certainly can't be sorry now. You liked it when I would try and fight back because that meant you really got to hurt me." Growling deeply, Quest began to circle his sister, in a familiar was as she used to do to him.

"Look," he commanded. "Look at the scars you have left in my flanks, and tell me that they don't remind you of good times." Quest's words dripped from his teeth like saliva, his tongue flicking against those ivory fangs as if to show off to his sister that he had them too, and without the rest of the Aquila Clan here to help her beat him down, he just might use them.

"What - an - excuse!" Quest spat, his circling momentarily interrupted by a look of total incredulity. He could not believe what was coming out of his sister's mouth; would not believe it. As much as a part of him had longed to hear her apologize and repent for what she had done to him, he had never once dreamed it would actually happen. He did not know what her motives for doing so now. Fear, shame, it didn't matter. She had not expected to find him here and he had not expected to ever see her again. But now that she was here, he had much to say to her after all.

"You didn't know it was wrong. You didn't know what real love was like. Well answer me this, shithead," he growled, his pacing finally resuming at a slow, meticulous pace. "If you were somehow so oblivious to all of these things, then how did I grow up knowing that absolutely everything the Aquila clan did and stood for was horribly fucking wrong? How did I know that Father was a manipulative, hateful, wretched creature? How did I know that you and he were cut from the very same cloth?" Quest lunged forward, his teeth snapping together sharply. He intentionally made sure that he did not actually bite Sojourn, but he certainly intended to threaten her.

"I've known all along Father was wrong, Sojourn. I do not need you to tell me that," he hissed. "And honestly, I couldn't care less if the reason for it all was because he missed some dead old bitch who couldn't even live long enough to do the one thing a mother is supposed to do - protect her children from bullies like you." He growled low and deep, wondering why the girl who'd always been so quick to tease or taunt him wasn't giving in to that impulse now. "The only thing I don't understand is why you're here, why you're not still flapping under father's wing. What happened to make you turn on him? He pick some new favorite to pick on you this time?"Feinting a blow again, Quest struck out toward his sister's smooth haunches again, this time not caring if he hit or missed. She deserved to have her pretty coat marred like his was.

Quest's body felt as though it were on fire. He longed to submerge himself in icy water to rid himself of this feeling, but for the first time since he'd seen Sojourn standing there in the thicket, he remembered the water shortage around them. He grew more angry at the thought. I should just put this place behind me, run on. With her here, and no water, what use is there to stay? The fury in him continued to mount, and he shook his head at himself, a battle of wills rising within. When his sleek sister didn't even move out of reach of his fangs, when they sliced into her hide and drew a line on her flank, only then did his body gain a sense of control.

He watched as the new wound began to smart, and blood came slowly to the surface. He could smell it strongly although the cut was not that long or deep, and it both enriched and infuriated him. Taking out his revenge was something he had always wanted to do back when he had lived amongst his family, but it did not taste as sweet now that Sojourn was spouting off apologies and slinking down before her older brother in a way so uncharacteristic of the prototype he remembered. His circling came to a stop as he stared at her. They were not head on, but he made no effort to avoid looking her meaningfully in the eye.

Her final excuse was not that far off from what he had expected. If their father had turned on her, all the better. He only wished she wouldn't lie about all this "realizing it was wrong" and "protecting the others" bullshit. Quest's heart did not go out to the other males in the Aquila clan who were surely now suffering his own fate. They, too, had joined Sojourn in teasing him and they didn't deserve protecting, as far as he was concerned. But as much as Quest felt that his sister was lying, that she could not possibly have a sincere bone in her body that was pure enough to feel remorse, he could not call her out on it again. She was sticking to her story, and far from accepting her apology, he had to take her words for what they were.

"You deserved it," was all he could say regarding her exile. With another curling of his lip, Quest licked at his fangs and bared them once more. "I hope you enjoy many years of loneliness, Sojourn. If you truly do regret, then I wish you a long life full of time to reflect on what you've done." Bitterly, Quest spat at his sister's feet, and for the first time, was able to turn his back on her without fear of an attack. He did not know where he would go, but this town wasn't big enough for the two of them, and he had made up his mind. He would not be to his sister what she had been to him, so he had to leave now less he snap at something more vital than her leg.