Blacktail Deer Plateau pearls and swine bereft of me

As he waited for his brother to appear, it occurred to Atticus that Peregrine might be pissed off at him (and rightfully so). There had been no communication whatsoever between the brothers since that last day after the pack meeting. Atticus felt justified in his silence, but he wondered if Perry would see it that way. All he knew for sure was that he was tired of drama and strife. He wanted things to be the way they'd been before, but despite his brother's previous reassurances, he knew they never would -- not as long as one of them was an Alpha. It just didn't work that way.

Just then, though, Peregrine showed up. Whatever thoughts had occupied his mind vanished as he beheld his sibling. As Peregrine approached, his manner was not aggressive and his words were not unfriendly, but neither were they warm and casual as they had once been. Things had definitely changed. Atticus wondered if they could be repaired for either of them.

Predictably, and somewhat understandably, the first words out of Peregrine's mouth were full of scorn and hurt. Atticus closed his eyes for a brief moment and turned his ears rearward, but otherwise said nothing. He let Peregrine speak, knowing that he deserved this and far worse. He knew he'd been an ass, even if it had been for understandable and valid reasons. Peregrine had to understand that. But still, he'd judged and punished his brother for the crimes of another, and Peregrine didn't deserve that. Atticus wasn't a dumb wolf; he ought to have known better than that. He couldn't help the feelings of shame that lingered like greasy shadows around his heart. Peregrine was his dearest friend.

His brother's final bit was of particular interest to Atticus. He almost smiled at the news of Tyrannus's death. Almost. But the chill in Peregrine's voice as he continued on to suggest that Atticus could return home wiped the possibility of that out of his mind completely. In that moment, he wondered if he ought to have even bothered calling his brother here. Did Peregrine even want to talk this out at all? Or had he washed his hands of his temperamental brother completely? For a moment, he felt that his fears had come full circle and that this was Peregrine's roundabout, indirect way of doing precisely the same thing that Tyrannus had done.

An icy sort of indifference and hurt kindled in Atticus's pale eyes as his brother caught his gaze, but his voice was carefully calm and controlled as he softly replied, "Do you want me to?"