No more than a day or two had passed since the little red wolf had encountered the chimera of a wolf, and no more than a day or two had passed since she had been able to sleep. The hurt look on the other wolf's face continually resurfaced in her mind, and though she still did not feel apologetic, she felt--well, ill at ease. So, on a particularly hopeless night, the little wolf set out once more for forbidden lands and finally decided to navigate a prominent landmark she had only seen from afar.

Mount Apikuni was razed. The fire of a past year had left the ground nothing more than ashes. Still, life faithfully sprung up here and there, and it was with delight that the little wolf spied sprouts and even saplings. Her brother would have been proud to see his namesake, poking defiantly through all surroundings. Antagonism never had deterred them--though the fellow was typically unaware. She only sometimes thought less of him for it.

Gazing up at the moon that was quickly becoming a sun, the little wolf calculated her traveling time and quickened her pace to match. Her hope was to both find and to escape past and present troubles.

If she had not been on a mission to find a particular someone, she might have ignored this particular someone's scent, which came wafting down towards her. Black nose wrinkling, the little red imp of a wolf hesitated. It was not as if she wanted to confront anyone for anything, but her conscience was not at peace. Knowing that it must have been providence that she had located this particular so quickly and without much effort, she directed her way to the chimera of a wolf and, in fact, headed towards her temporary den.

The little red wolf would not be deterred. She could be stubborn in all facets of life and interaction, and this particular circumstance was no exception. Some would say that this whole reconciliation was an example of her swallowing her pride, but they would be mistaken. If anything, it was merely an inflation of that pride, and worse yet, she was good enough to do it with a wolf from The Sunspire.

The little red wolf laughed. She did not mind that the other wolf was being rude--after all, did she not deserve it?--and she also did not mind the step forward. Though the Swiftcurrent Creek wolf did not consider herself a fighter, she was plenty good at starting fights. She only needed to learn how to resolve them.

A small twitch formed in her cheek. She suppressed it with a rather false smile and cracked her neck. In her mind, she had been more than kind with her words. It was the other wolf who was clearly on her "high horse" and who needed to be brought down swiftly (and quietly; though the she supposed attacking an enemy pack's wolf might be something worth boasting about). Not wanting to allow the other wolf to win, she merely shook her head. The raven's caw was her signal to start another game altogether.

"You've got a bad case of bruxism," the little red wolf wanted to say, but she wanted to pretend that she was being civil. Instead, she laughed. A rather high-pitched, scoff of a laugh. It was war. "Oh! Excuse me. May I remind you that I know exactly what is true. You're just the one who's in denial," she said, flashing a little fang. In the little wolf was a streak of self-righteousness, and she still fully believed in the words she had spoken that day. Yes, maybe they had not been delivered in the most gracious manner or time, but that still did not invalidate the truth in them entirely.

Leaf felt her anger rise and rise, but it deflated quickly with the other wolf's weak insults. Really, she did not come here to be called names--"little dwarf" not being particularly original, in her opinion--but to find out the truth! Other than the truth she had already stated, of course. Glaring at the Sunspire wolf, she decided she would make one final attempt before calling it quits.

"Tell me what's wrong," she said while taking a labored breath between each word. "Did you have a hard time growing up? Was it because of the way you looked? Did you really kill your parents or did they die in some fire or fall in some river? Anything will suffice," she rambled on, her curiosity getting the best of her. She wanted to know for no other reason than to know. Little did she know that she was closer to the truth than she gave herself (or her writer) credit for.

Leaf gasped. It was more the strength of the outburst than the content that took her aback, for she realized she had crossed some boundary with the enemy wolf (though honestly she should have realized this one or two threads ago!). After all, it was not as if she knew what a "human child" was, but she could gather child and parents and figured it was something about killing a pup--and about a good deal of revenge. Not knowing how these "human child" and "human parents" were able to set fire on a den, she concluded they must have been magical wolves. This conclusion did not perturb her in the least, but instead fascinated her. Of course, this fascination would have to be saved for another time.