((A continuation of Quin's storyline that I really shoulda got to by now... TBC, too))

Ravia couldn't believe it, really. After all this time - months... years searching for him she was finally going to come face to face with her baby brother. She knew it must be him - the flighty female who accompanied her now had called out to her across the meadow.

Quin.

Quintus. She'd mistaken Ravia for her brother. There was no doubt that the wolf she'd be meeting was the same one she had lost on that life-changing day by the beach. The guilt, the overwhelming sense of loss, had driven her to this journey as soon as she'd been old enough to overrule her parents' decision.

As they walked, Ravia controlling the urge to run in this others' territory, she let her mind wander with whimsical imaginings of how Quintus would look. He'd be bigger, of course, and probably had outgrown the goofy-look that he'd had as a pup. Would he have filled out like father or be lithe like herself?

Maybe he even had a family! Imagine... she could be an aunt. She could almost forgive him for not coming home, if that was the case. That tinged her mood with a little annoyance, though, on second thought. How had he come to be here, of all places - he'd been lost on the beaches and cliffs of her homeland, dropped into the sea and whisked away by heavy currents but here he was, inland and so far north the snows had only just begun to melt here! She could have understood if he'd been in a pack by the shoreline or even a little inland but... it almost seemed as if he'd come ashore and then gone as far as he could away from home.

She shook her head a little. No, he was a pup - he probably barely knew where and what he was about. He should have tried to come home but, well, given how long she had roamed could she blame him for not? Maybe a little bit, in her heart, was annoyed that he hadn't made the effort that she had. Even if it worked out for the best - as if they'd both been headed in different directions she'd likely have missed him - but still.

Ravia looked up, to glance around at the land around her and caught the other wolf shyly looking her way, as if she wanted to say something but daren't. With a sigh, the black and white female tried to drag herself from her introspection and not be entirely rude to this stranger - even if she did seem like an excitable, overgrown puppy.

"How long has my brother been here?" she asked, casually, giving the female the first chance to chatter and inquire since she'd told her that she was his sister and wished to see him. She'd been a bit brusque, she supposed, and these northern wolves were wont to be so talkative.

"Oh he's been here about a year now... or maybe a bit longer I'm not sure" Sati burbled "we found him by the river, he'd been attacked by wolves south of here, and we brought him back, let him rest and helped to clean and treat his wounds. He recovered well, you can barely see any of the scars. Oh he's going to be so excited to see you I just know it!".

Sati was more than excited, she was elated. Quin had vaguely mentioned what he knew of how he had come to originally be in this part of Telk. She'd seen his sadness and hurt, and taken it for him missing his family. She still couldn't believe this female was here - and that she looked so much like Quin!

From a distance, Sati would never have thought it was anyone else. Of course up close there were differences - the strange marking around her eye, although identical to Quin's was white on black instead of black on white and she did seem more black than white overall. Other than that though, there was no doubt that they were related. Ravia's coat was the same splodgy black and white as Quin's, they shared that markings and they both had incredible, icy blue eyes. Sati had grown up in a family where purple was common and found the beautiful blue refreshing and, although she'd begun to get over her crush on Quin, she found that those eyes still drew her in.

Even when Ravia looked at her, Sati felt a mild frisson of excitement - the same eyes which on Quin looked like gentle pools of melt-water which could swallow you whole, on Ravia seemed like sharp ice covering a strong core and Sati found herself mildly attracted in an odd way to this other wolf who looked so much like her lost beau. She covered up a blush with a laugh and tried to drag her eyes forward towards the land they were travelling into.

"We shouldn't be long, from here" she said, motioning towards a large rocky outcrop which was visible past the trees, if only just. "Quin is often in Kalain's den - we'll check there first".

Ravia felt a mild spike of jealousy at the female's close and comfortable references to her brother. Calling him 'Quin' instead of Quintus was something which, at home, would have been reserved only for immediate family and although Ravia knew this wasn't the same with all others, it still tweaked her. Even she didn't think of him as Quin - only Quintus - she'd only gotten to be a part of a small section of his childhood and so that easy sibling closeness hadn't had time to form.

Trying to dismiss her jealous feelings, which were unbecoming of a warrior, she began to dwell on the other things the female had said. He'd been brought here when injured... Hmm. Ravia found herself hoping she wasn't coming to meet some weakling who could barely stand up for himself. Surely he had kept up his training, had increased his strength? It must have been a large number of wolves after him, right? She chided herself against unreasonable expectations again. Who amongst this weak lot would have the ability to train him? As long as he'd kept his fighting spirit she'd help him become the warrior he was supposed to be, was born to be.

Something tugged at him, drew him to the entrance of the den. Something unsettled - some mixture of emotions which, like a torrent, whirled and gurgled at the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure what had brought it on, and wasn't sure whether the feelings were even the happy nervousness of excitement or the shuddering pulses of apprehension. Perhaps a mix of both? Either way he got to his feet and wandered towards the den entrance. Maybe it was his body's way of telling him he needed some air. Afterall, he and Kalain had been sitting all morning trying out some of the plants which Gaias had managed to produce in the short season he'd had so far. Most of it was gathered from plants the younger male had cleared from what he called 'competition' but a few were fast growing things which had come to fruition or leaf in the little patch of warm ground beside his and Cora's den.

Quin liked Gaias - another wolf from outside like himself and he felt they'd come of age together, joining the pack properly at the same time and ceremony. The other male was also quiet, cheerful and dedicated to his art and thus was good company when Quin wanted to be around others but didn't really feel like chatting.

He leaned against the cool stone at the entrance to the den - an overhanging ledge which became a shallow cave. He let his eyes roam over the landscape and his body froze. Beside Sati, coming towards the den, was a wolf whom he'd only seen in his dreams. In his nightmares. Nightmares of water filling his mouth and brine stinging his eyes... that wolf had been standing, calling out to him from the shore, and he'd never been able to hear her words.

He didn't know what to do, really. Run away from or towards this blast from the past? The destiny which he'd forsaken was coming towards him at a fair clip, terrifying, dogged... hopeful? Quin felt his body spasm with a joyful twinge, his feelings well up, his urge to run and cover his little brother in loving licks. Wait, what? Quin blinked his eyes as the sense of being the one coming towards himself faded. His mind resettled itself, thinking he must have been imagining it and attributing the feelings to himself - giving him a bit more confidence to face the one he now somehow knew was his long-lost sister.

Her name, as if unlocked from a vault deep inside, came to his lips. "R..ravia!".

"Oh Quin, look who's here! I spotted her in the meadow and I thought she was you and then she wasn't and my goodness it was such a surprise! I knew you saif you might have family but you look so alike and to come all this way and..."

"Sati... why don't you come in here and help me tidy up these herbs, to make space for our visitor to rest, I'm sure she's tired" came a voice from just behind the pair. The pack's shaman's voice was cool, steady, but with a slight hint of amusement. He figured the pair might get along better without Sati doing her excited best to help them and, what with the cold outside, also thought the best place to do so would be in out of the steady wind which was picking up more and more as the day went on.

He was curious about the new female himself and wondered how she was related to Quin, because she surely must be with her markings so akin to his, and how she'd come to find them; but first, it was best for all to get comfortable. He was sure this strange wolf was going to bring a lot of instability to Quin's life and, knowing what he did of the boy, he wanted to be there to support him.

He turned to the female, smiling gently, and welcomed her to his home. "Come inside, out of the cold, and eat something. I'm sure you both have plenty on your mind which you'll wish to share".

As the female scooted inside at the behest of the other, Ravia barely noticed. She'd barely processed the words the male had said to her, either. She stared. She had always truly seen the pup that she'd last seen on that fateful grim morning - but before her was a fully grown wolf. A bit skinny, more like herself and her mother than their father, but there was no mistaking him for anyone else - not with those markings, so similar to her own, to their family's.

She gulped down a lump, biting down tightly to stop tears which threatened to spill with sheer joy. She was a warrior, such an outburst, even at this completion of her mission was ungainly and weak especially in front of strangers.

"Quintus..." she said at last, a little breathily, betraying the inner emotion a little. "Oh Quintus..." she moved closer now, her eyes feasting on him, checking him over for signs of the injuries the female had mentioned. Nothing. He looked fit and well and... and ALIVE. In her heart she'd almost expected disappointment again and now that she had found the quarry she'd been chasing for years she didn't know what to say, what to do.

Quin could practically feel her roiling emotions - could see it in her face, yes, but something inside him churned and wobbled and felt her hardships. He pushed the feeling away, trying to distance himself from that oddness at this poignant moment. Memories came to him, blurry moments from a another life which had been cut short.

He didn't know what to say, what to do. This person who'd turned up was from a life he'd given up on, a past life he'd finally made peace with, and no longer sought. Why was she here? What did she want from him? All of these questions swirled in his mind as they stared at each other, at a loss for words.

A fine smurry of sleety rain started to come down and it was he who broke the spell which seemed to be holding them as it trickled down past his thin fur to his skin, chilling him into awareness.

"Come, come inside" he whispered, as if speaking to a ghost as if almost afraid to invite her in for fear that his life would begin to be tumultuous again...

"You've come a far way, to get here" Kalain said, as the strange almost-doppelgänger arranged herself neatly, very uprightly, on a clear bit of floor. Kalain tended to keep all sorts - herbs, furs, dried grasses - anything which might be useful for tending the sick or making others, or himself, a little more comfortable in the deep cold winters. He'd tidied away most of the herbs with Sati into their own corner but the place was still a working space and it showed.

He had noted the female's odd expression as she came in - used to something a little less messy, perhaps? Or perhaps she'd never seen a wolf's den with so much plant material in it - a lot of southern wolves didn't need to worry about lining their dens with so much extra insulation against the winter as theirs did.

He was as curious as Sati, though, and when the female seemed still to be a little shell-shicked he piped up "you're a relation to our Quin?". It was deliberately phrased - both to reassure Quin that the Aves were still his family if he wished it, and to let this female know that her relation was not just a passer-by here, but had found a home, that they cared for him.


"I'm his sister..." she murmered. That one sentence, though, seemed to unleash something in her "I've been looking for him for a long time. Since I was allowed my own choices as an adult. I... I felt I should find him if there was a chance he was alive - though my parents thought me foolish. They think you are dead and gone to live with the gods" she said, addressing this last point to Quin.

"I couldn't believe it... wouldn't, almost, when someone said they'd seen a wolf who looked like me. I thought they were just trying to keep my hopes up, or to make a fool of me" she added, bitterly. "I was right to look, though I hadn't expected to find you so far away as this. It feels like I've come to the other end of the world - a freezing place so unlike home. Our home.

As though a deep shame came upon her, she looked down, her form slumped from the regal posture it had only moments before. "It was all my fault, you know. I was supposed to be watching you when you when you went missing. Father thought you'd slipped from the cliffs, mother couldn't speak to me for days... weeks..." it was getting hard not to let out the sob which wanted to escape. Ravia wasn't naturally an emotional wolf. She felt it unseemly and un-warrior-like to give in to her emotions but there was so much of her tied up in this venture that things were spilling over despite her trying to control the flood.

She eventually sat silently, spent, trying to keep a grip on herself and trying to claw back some semblance of decency. She didn't want these wolves to think she was some flighty wreck - she had to show how strong their pack was, be a good example of her upbringing.


Sati scooched closer to the newcomer, her own eyes watery and wide already with sympathy and at the horrors both brother and sister must have had to endure. She gave the black and white female a friendly nudge, trying to comfort her, but Ravia just seemed to shrink back from her a little. Perhaps she was shy? Quin, on the other hand, accepted her affection with good grace, almost enthusiastic to be able to look somewhere other than the female in front of himself.

She plumped down beside him, and, as the silence stretched, nudged him again, but this time more forcefully and with a node towards his sister. Men. Even his type. Surely he should know better than to leave her there so upset? If she had found out she had a long lost sister she'd have been happy, ecstatic! He looked... afraid.

Quin almost quailed when Sati tried to nudge him towards Ravia. Towards his... sister. That he had a blood connection seemed odd to him. She was his family, so why didn't he feel a connection to her? He was sympathetic, of course, and was glad that he could now understand a little about the nightmares he'd had on and off since his early childhood, but it was still so odd that she had turned up. That she was here. That she was real.

"Ravia... I" he what? What was he going to say to her? What did she want from him? "I... can't believe you're here" that was general enough to sound nice, right? Despite the turmoil inside he didn't want to hurt her feelings - she'd done nothing wrong to him. It wasn't like he could truly blame her for his disappearance, his life thus far - that had all happened and was in the past now.

The sleet outside had turned to driving snow.

Ravia's chin lifted as she regained her composure. The closeness of the strange female had brought her back to herself and her brother's voice - god he sounded like cousin Xavius! - broke her from the grip of oncoming tears.

What now?

She knew that the reticence in Quintus' voice came from that question. She'd hoped, she admitted to herself, that he'd be alone or eager to come home to his true people. She didn't want to journey back alone. Who'd believe her that she'd found her brother? They'd all imagine she'd made it up, would pity her that her mind was fried from her travels and contact with the strange wolves outside of the deserts.

It could be hard to get him to leave these wolves... they seemed to be close. With the female sitting so close to Quin was she even, perhaps, his mate? Oh gods she hoped not. She noticed, then, the other wolf was staring at her as hard as she had begun to look at Quin and Sati. Calculating, almost. It had taken a while for her to figure that he was male and she was slightly repelled by his small, effeminate frame - he didn't look like he'd be worth much as a warrior or hunter. His steely gaze, though, made her think again. There was a kind of strength on the inside, her father had often told her, which could overcome physical weaknesses. There was something odd about him, though, and it unsettled her.


"Ravia you are welcome to stay with us and hunt with us, if you wish. I don't know if Sati, in her excitement, forgot to mention as such but we extend that greeting and welcome to anyone who comes to our land who means no harm to us". There might have been a slight challenge to his tone and Kalain himself knew it. He was feeling uneasy about this female - usually he got on well with others, was easy at ignoring cultural differences and faux pas but there was something to Ravia that made him worry for Quin.

He could tell she wanted to take him home - that much was obvious from her tone, from what she didn't say as much as what she did, but he wasn't sure, yet, how far she'd go to attain that goal and his protectiveness to one of his acolytes, to his friend, brought his careful side out.

"It looks like we might be stuck here a while, too" he commented a little more lightly, nodding towards the entrance to the cave he called home. The snow was really coming down and the wind was whipping it to and fro. A late blizzard, by the looks of it...