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Chapter Forty-Seven: An Inconvenient Truce

Yuri stared at Vernon blankly for a few moments, his eyes blinking rapidly as he seemed to be struggling to take in just how willing Vernon was to open the floor to the wolf. It gave Vernon the distinct impression that perhaps Yuri hadn't exactly planned ahead this far along when it came to this 'talk' of his. At the very least, he had probably expected more of an argument when it came to Vernon's willingness to hear him out, and the fact that Vernon had given in so quickly had forced the wolf to throw out half of his prepared demands or pleas for the wolf to stay. The dark-furred wolf pulled uneasily at the knot of his tie, letting out an awkward cough.

"Well?" Vernon asked, quirking a puzzled brow at the wolf.

Yuri leaned back into the mesh of fabric spools, letting out an uncomfortable groan as he tried to shimmy deeper into the pile and averting his gaze from Vernon's own. The jet-black wolf ran a terse paw through his mo-hawk before letting it flop to his side and letting out a sigh.

"Mam', old lady Dasy needs more chairs back here..." The wolf murmured. "This mess o' spools is uncomfortable as sin."

"Yuri..." Vernon muttered, wiping the corners of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and running them down his snout.

"I mean, I know it's a storeroom, but teeth to tails you'd think she'd have a few more-"

"Yuri!" Vernon cut the wolf off. Despite the wolf's seemingly well-intentioned actions, Vernon was already on edge from the previous experiences he had to endure throughout the morning.

"Y' ain't got no patience Vernon." Yuri snapped, turning to face the wolf. His yellow eyes squinting tightly as he threw Vernon a glare. "Sweet sawgrass."

"Can you blame me at this point Yuri?" Vernon replied, only for the dark-colored wolf to roll his eyes.

"What? The rough and tumble treatment is only fun fer you in the bedroom?" Yuri sneered. "Or the cornfield?"

YURI!" Vernon yelled. "What are you trying-!?"

The jet-black wolf held up his paws defensively, gesturing to the wolf to calm down.

"Hold on, hold on..." Yuri shook his head briskly as if he were trying to shake off a thought. "I-I'm just...I'm trying to get my bearings here."

Vernon let out a snort as he slunk back into the wooden chair. The slatted wooden poles that made up the back of the seat weren't exactly comfortable, but at the moment Vernon could barely register the discomfort over the already uncomfortable atmosphere that had built up in the room.

"Look this ain't really easy, I'm just tryin' to smooth the conversation over with some comedy here..." Yuri muttered.

"Because your brand of comedy tends to go over well with everyone else in this family." Vernon muttered, crossing his arms.

"Ada likes it..." Yuri replied in a quiet voice.

Vernon let out a tired sigh.

"Yuri..." The wolf muttered. " I can't imagine what you want to talk about..." Vernon ran a paw through his scalp, swabbing the hint of sweat that had formed on his brow away as he turned his attention back to the wolf seated in the pile of spools. "But I think it would be less painful fer the both of us if y'all just got it over with as quickly as possible."

Yuri squirmed deeper into the messy pile of spools, letting out another uncomfortable groan as he struggled to get comfortable, but it was clear to Vernon by now that the discomfort was something more internal rather than just how pliable the mound of material was. Whatever the wolf was sitting on, metaphorically that is, seemed to be the real root of the wolf's unease.

Yuri let out a soft sigh. "I hate to admit when yer right..." The wolf muttered.

Slapping his paws on his knees, Yuri leaned up slightly in his seat, taking a more casual stance as he turned his attention back to Vernon. He only managed to focus his eyes on him for a moment before averting his gaze back to the floor, the wolf scratching the back of his neck anxiously as he grit his teeth.

"...Do this...' Vernon couldn't make out the entirety of what Yuri was saying as he mumbled his quiet statement at the floor. The jet-black wolf's hateful sneer returned as he furrowed his brow, a mixture of stress and anger painting his features as he began to growl softly.

"Fer Ada...do it fer Ada..." Was all Vernon could make out before the wolf let out a loud snarl. Yuri's head suddenly jerked back up, his attention snapping on Vernon so fast that it caused the wolf to reflexively flinch as he prepared for what he assumed was an incoming punch. But the wolf kept his balled fists at his sides as he spoke.

"I ain't gonna apologize fer what I did Vernon!" Yuri spat defiantly.

Vernon furrowed his brow in confusion.

"As far as I'm concerned y'all deserved them damned bruises on that mug of yers fer wha-! Urrgh!" The wolf let out a groan mid-sentence, tilting his head back as he slapped his palm harshly against his temple a few times before simply holding it there. It was a baffling sight for Vernon to try to make any sense of. To him, the wolf appeared to be beating himself up in lieu of taking a swing at him for whatever reason. It was a rather confusing prospect, the idea that the wolf was holding back from taking something out on Vernon, as a good chunk of his life had been spent looking for any excuse to do it. Yuri held like that for a few moments before letting out a long sigh.

"So...that's what you wanted to tell me?" Vernon said dully. He should have expected as much, not that he was expecting an apology from Yuri anyway. Granted Vernon already knew that while he hadn't acted as badly as Yuri had, he was still guilty to some degree for stooping to his brothers level. And even if the wolf were the kind of mammal to apologize for his part in it, Vernon would have protested that apology with an admission of his own guilt. The purpose would have been one of simple courtesy to one another. But this was still Yuri Vernon was dealing with. So expecting something like that, unprompted or otherwise was unrealistic. Still, it left the wolf even more clueless as to just what the point of this whole conversation was anyway.

"This is the '_brother to brother'_talk?" Vernon shook his head dismissively. "Because I already know I was in the wrong with what I said, which is why I went and apologized to Ada."

Yuri's uncomfortable expression returned as he glanced down at his own paws, the wolf idly fiddling with his thumbs.

"I-I know that..." Yuri growled. "I mean, I heard."

"Are you looking for an apology?" Vernon asked.

Yuri let out a snort, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Apology?" The wolf chuckled. "Fer how soundly I beat the tar out of you? Now that's a laugh riot!" The wolf slapped a paw against his knee.

"It ended with my jaws around yer throat!" Vernon spat back. "How ca-!" The wolf shook his head briskly, attempting to shake off the rising ire in regards to the pointless way the conversation was heading. It was a paw that Vernon wasn't going to play himself into more than once.

Vernon let out a tired sigh, rolling his eyes at the rather bemused looking wolf before rising to his feet. Taking a moment to dust off his shirt, and stretch out an arm above his head, the wolf began a slow shuffle toward the exit.

"Well Yuri, this has been a blast..." Vernon said in a dry tone. "We should do this again sometime..."

"Wait! Wait!"

Vernon stopped just shy of the curtain, glancing back over his shoulder to find the dark-furred wolf leaned up in his seat, his paws outstretched toward him for a brief moment before the wolf quickly tried to hide the surprisingly pleading gesture. Yuri slapped a paw against his neck, rubbing it awkwardly as he averted his gaze from the wolf.

"Look..." Yuri muttered. "This sorta shit ain't exactly my forte." Yuri muttered, slumping back into his seat. The wolf crossed his arms defensively. "I need to get somethin' off my chest here." The wolf let out a long, tired sigh as he lolled his head back against the mound of fabric.

"Ada's right, Were both adults. Things can't keep goin' on this way. I know it's puttin' a strain on everyone else...but dammit, it's so hard!"

The errant comment was enough to draw Vernon back to his seat, if not warily. As the grey wolf eased back onto the floral pad, he turned his attention to the wolf across from him. It was clear Ada had spent some degree of time scolding Yuri for his actions but based on just how he had worded his strange admission, it seemed their talk had gone much deeper than yesterday's fight.

"Ada's right." Vernon replied. "She usually is."

Yuri let out a grumble, nodding weakly against the spools while his eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.

"But I imagine she's told you that before." Vernon muttered. "If not everyone else in this family." The wolf leaned his paws on his knees once again, watching the black wolf intently. "Why the sudden interest in acknowledging it?"

Yuri glanced back at Vernon, the wolf lowering his lids dully at his brother's question.

"Again, I ain't apologizin'..." Yuri muttered bitterly. " But when is the last time we had a real knock-down, drag-out fight?"

Vernon rubbed the fur on his chin between his fingers as he thought about the wolf's question. It had been quite some time since the two had thrown paws. Yuri's physical abuse had mostly tapered off once Vernon became too large to effectively pin down. Aside from one or two fights after Vernon's more difficult years, Yuri had mostly relied on the art of insults and put-downs. But yesterday's fight had been a benchmark in their current relationship, a new low bar that Vernon had thought they were beyond reaching despite how toxic their relationship already was.

"Before your 'cross-country trip' I think." Vernon mumbled. "Where you tried to make me eat dirt, and I pinned you under your motorcycle."

Yuri pointed a finger at Vernon, stabbing a claw decisively.

"That's because you keyed my ride!" Yuri spat.

"Rut you!" Vernon snapped back "I already told ya I didn't back then!"

"Oh, like anyone else had the motive to-!?" Yuri let out another snort, crossing his arms defensively as he stopped himself mid-retort. The wolf was clearly growing increasingly frustrated with his own behavior.

"Yuri." Vernon shook his head. "Where is this going?"

The jet-black wolf let out a terse sigh, flopping his head back against the fabric once more as his muzzle pointed toward the ceiling.

"Look Vermi..." Yuri shook his head as he stopped just shy of uttering the full nickname. "Look Vernon..." The wolf corrected himself. "I know I've always been an 'ornery' pup, alright?"

"That's one way of putting it..." Vernon mumbled.

Yuri flashed the wolf a momentary scowl before settling back into his seat. The wolf ran a paw through his mane of hair. "Ever since the day I was born I loved gettin' into trouble." The wolf chuckled softly. "I had a fire in my veins from the moment my heart started beatin', and I probably will till the day I die."

Yuri glanced over to Vernon, squinting slightly as his yellow eyes locked with Vernon's own.

"Hell if I know why." The wolf shook his head. "It's just the way I was."

Vernon let out a scoff. "That's seriously what yer gonna go with?"

"Yeah." Yuri quirked a curious brow. "Why?"

"Yer tellin' me you tortured us for all those years..." Vernon hissed. "Tortured me!" The wolf could feel a the start of a seethe beginning to build. The bitter resentment for Yuri's constant abuse poking at the embers left behind by his brother's previous attempts at putting one over on him. "And y'all don't even have a damn reason for it!?"

Yuri gave the wolf an awkward smirk, shrugging slightly.

"I mean..." Yuri muttered. "It's mostly just who I am." The wolf chuckled softly.

"I was born with a chip on my shoulder that never really went away."

"More like a damn boulder!" Vernon sneered. "Yer a ruttin' psychopath!"

"Well, I ain't sayin' I don't have issues, bu-."

"Seriously! I always suspected it, but I never knew until this!" Vernon let out a laugh at just how preposterous what he was hearing was, cutting off Yuri mid-sentence.

"I ain't no psychopath!" Yuri snarled, crossing his arms defensively.

Vernon ran a paw through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yuri, yer a damn police officer!" Vernon spat, gesturing a paw at the wolf. "You know criminal psychology!"

Yuri shrugged, his uncomfortable expression shifting to one of confusion. "So?"

"That kind of behavior is textbook fer a psycho!" Vernon snapped.

"If I was a psycho we wouldn't be having this damn discussion! Hell, my th-!" The wolf leaned up in his seat momentarily, his anger flaring briefly before the wolf seemed to try to stop himself again. Slowly the wolf slipped back into his seat, slumping into the fabric with a dull plop. Yuri waived a dismissive paw at Vernon, which only served to make the wolf that much angrier.

"I was born an 'aggressive' pup." Yuri gestured his paws up. "And bein' bad was the easiest way fer me to get Ma's and Pa's attention."

"It was...my identity...I guess..." Yuri sighed, his gaze drifting back up to the ceiling as he continued to prattle off his story. "I was one o' three pups, and then a year later I was one o' seven..." The dark-furred wolf scratched his head. "Seven pups, all clawin' to be the center of Ma and Pa's world." Yuri chuckled softly. "But I learned just how to steal that attention away from any of y'all whenever I wanted."

Yuri lowered his gaze back on Vernon. "What started as just bein' a mischievous pup because it was in my nature, turned into a concerted effort to keep the attention on me." The wolf shook his head. "Least that's what my therapist told me."

Vernon quirked a curious eyebrow. "Therapist?" The wolf said in disbelief. "You?"

Yuri chuckled dully. "Why so surprised?" The wolf snorted. "I'm sure you think I've needed one fer a long time."

"W-Well..." Vernon winced uncomfortably as he scratched at his neck. " I just...er..." The wolf muttered. "Never took you fer the type of mammal to go to one."

"Ain't cause I wanted to." Yuri snorted, flicking a paw in annoyance. "After my second suspension, I was 'required' to undergo therapy in order to get the damn thing lifted." The wolf raised a finger, waggling it at Vernon matter-of-factly. "And I'd like to point out that she also says I ain't no psycho."

Vernon had to stifle a scoff. Whatever_'therapist'_ that was willing to clear Yuri of a title like that either didn't dig deep enough into the wolf's psyche, or had gotten their degree off the back of a cereal box. But making a remark to that effect wasn't worth starting another argument over.

"Ah." Vernon replied, bringing his fingers together as he leaned forward in his chair. "So is that where this is coming from then?"

Yuri let out a sigh. "A little from column A..." The wolf trailed off slightly, leaving Vernon to finish the statement in his mind. "But, gettin' back to-."

"How long have you been seeing the psych fella?" Vernon asked.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Would y'all stop askin' me so many damn questions!" The wolf sneered. "This is hard enough to wade through as it is with you interruptin' me!"

Vernon recoiled slightly, drawing back into his seat as Yuri bared his teeth at him. It was only for a moment, the ire fading away unusually quickly as the wolf let out another derisive snort before slumping back into his seat.

"It was easy too, ya know?" Yuri hissed. "I was the biggest out of all of ya." The dark wolf smirked slightly, sending an uneasy chill down the wolf's spine. "Top of the pack." The wolf let out an almost sickeningly pleasant sigh, as if he were somehow wistful from the memories of his troubled youth, the youth that Vernon's own had suffered under. "Bein' able to keep the rest of y'all down just let me stand that much taller, and at the time I had the power to do it."

Vernon shook his head in disbelief.

"I just can't really wrap my head around it..." Vernon muttered. " Gettin' yer hide tanned? Gettin' punished constantly? Makin' yer siblin's cry?" The wolf scratched his head. "That's the kind of attention you wanted?"

Yuri grimaced deeply, a soft growl started to emanate from his throat as his ears flattened tightly against his head. His piercing yellow eyes met Vernon's own, and behind the lenses, he could see the familiar flicker hate shimmering from deep within. Vernon tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat refused to move.

"It ain't like I was lookin' fer that part of it, it just was somethin' that came packaged up with what I wanted!" The wolf growled. " I didn't really care about anyone else if it meant gettin' that attention." Yuri sighed. "And any attention was still attention to me." Yuri grumbled. "And in time, it became the only surefire way to keep Ma and Pa's eyes on me." The wolf slunk back into his seat.

"At a certain point, there was no backtrackin' I could do, even if I wanted to try." Yuri hissed. " So all I could do was lean into it that much harder."

With a heavy sigh, Yuri's grimace faltered into something more neutral as he ran a paw through his mane.

"At first, it was just fun to pick on y'all..." Yuri muttered, the wolf lolling his head from side to side. "Especially since the rest of y'all were a bunch of big sissies when it came to name callin' and play fightin'."

"Biting your brother in the arm deep enough to draw blood is play fighting?" Vernon spat, furrowing his brow.

"Pups roughhouse!" Yuri hiss. "It's in our DNA!" The wolf crossed his arms defensively. "'Sides' I didn't mean to go that deep on Trenny's arm...I slipped."

"Mhh-hmm..." Vernon replied dully.

Yuri flashed the wolf another glare, squinting sharply as he regarded the wolf. His piercing yellow eyes never failed to send a chill don't the wolf's spine.

"What I'm sayin' is, I saw it as funny!" Yuri spat. "Mostly harmless fun...at least to me." The wolf glowered. "Back then, I didn't do that stuff outta malice, or hatred. I don't even think I had a grasp of concepts like that yet..."

Vernon wanted to speak, to make a joke at Yuri's ridiculous line of self-defense. But as the wolf's glare continued to sharpen the words died in Vernon's throat. The wolf's eyes were practically boring through him now, and the could feel his stomach turn as his own gaze remained fixed on Yuri's. The adult mammal, the Vernon of the now had taken a step back in his mind. Leaving only the little puppy that Vernon once was, frozen in fear of the wolf that was staring deep into his soul.

"Torturin' others....if y'all choose to call it that." Yuri huffed. "That was fer attention, fer a joke." The wolf growled softly. "But when it came to you...it grew to become much more than just what I thought was funny."

Vernon furrowed his brow slightly as he began to grow aware of exactly where the wolf's story was leading.

"Tiny..." Yuri muttered. "Shrimpy lil' Runter..." The wolf sighed, finally breaking his deep, hateful gaze as he turned his attention to his own paws. The jet-black wolf idly intertwined his fingers together. "Ma and Pa's golden pup."

Vernon felt his wits returning as Yuri's gaze had peeled away from him. His adult self had come back, and with it came his voice.

"Y-Yuri." Vernon's voice broke slightly. "I I ain-."

"I thought I told y'all to keep quiet!" Yuri growled, his attention remaining on his paws as he slammed one balled fist into the other. Vernon was stunned back into momentary silence by the sudden burst of anger, allowing Yuri to continue with whatever point he was trying to make.

"He was the softest one..." Yuri muttered. "The fragile one." The wolf hissed. "I can still remember Ma describin' you over the phone to Aunty Abby as havin' a personality that 'glowed like the full moon in spite of bein' so small." Yuri stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Y-Yuri..."

"And with Pa, you were gonna be the one to grow up and work at his side." Yuri growled. "Y'all were the one he wanted over any of the rest of us."

Vernon furrowed his brow in confusion. "T-that's not..."

"Y'all don't remember?" Yuri hissed."When y'all was two....?"

In that moment there was the flicker of something in Vernon's mind. A foggy, hazy memory, but it was there. Vernon could vaguely remember walking into his father's study. He could easily recall just how large everything seemed compared to him as his little pawed feet shuffled across the rug to meet the wolf behind the desk. He had been crying...for some reason.

"I gave y'all a native wolf fur-burn..." Yuri growled. "And you went off cryin' to Pa like you usually did."

"But by the time I made it to him...I stopped crying..." Vernon muttered dumbly. "He was...fixing his hat? I think?" The wolf scratched his head. "And I just...my interest went right to the hat."

The memory began to grow in clarity, piecing the murky cloud of the scant memories of childhood, the flickers of things locked behind his pre-Dawn door. He remembered asking about the hat. Something along the lines of getting one just like it. A hat just like his Pa's.

"Y'all wanna wear it now Pup?" Dorian chuckled.

"Can I!?" Vernon yipped. "Weawy?" The pup lisped through gapped teeth.

Dorian let out a loud laugh. "Course ya can kiddo." The wolf said, slapping the over-sized hat on Vernon's head. In that instant, the little wolf's world went dark, and the pup had to struggle to push it up enough to look up at the towering white wolf.

Vernon frowned slightly. "It don't fit."

Dorian pressed down on the hat with a playful paw, patting it a few times. In response, Vernon pressed the hat up again as forcefully as he could, puffing his cheeks at his father in annoyance.

"One day it will Vern." Dorian said with a grin. "One day you and me will be wearin' matching ones."

The little wolf's eyes went wide, his muzzle hanging open in awe of the old wolf's prediction.

"WEAWY!?" Vernon grinned a partially toothless smile, pressing his paws against his father's lap as his tail wagged furiously.

"O' course." Dorian chuckled. "Yer' gonna be my deputy someday ain'tcha?" Dorian grinned, raising an eyebrow at the pup.

Vernon was practically bouncing on his paws with excitement, the little wolf nodding in agreement so quickly it made him light-headed. In response, his father gave him a playful nudge in the arm.

"I think you got the potential boy." Dorian grinned. "If you work for it, I think you and me can make the North Meadowland's an even better place."

Vernon stuck his tongue out of the side of his muzzle, giving his father a determined glare as he held up his hat.

"I wiwl!" Vernon puffed. "I wiwl be da best deputee eva!"

Dorian smiled. "I don't think I'd want it any other way my boy."

Vernon blinked at Yuri a few times as the memory continued to resonate within him.

"B-but..." Vernon muttered. "How di-?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Who do y'all think was waitin' to share his side of the story outside Pa's door?" The wolf huffed. "I was ready fer y'all to tattle on me."

Vernon stared at the wolf in shock for a moment, blinking dumbly before he managed to muster some form of response to Yuri's story.

"W-we were pups..." Vernon replied. "It ain't like I meant it." The wolf continued. "Ain't like Pa was serious either!"

Yuri slunk back into his seat, the black furred wolf letting out a tired sigh.

"When you are a pup, the truth don't really matter." Yuri muttered. "It's all about the way it's perceived."

The dark-wolf sighed, running a paw through his mo-hawk once again.

"You didn't do anythin'." Yuri hissed. "You were just born small..." The wolf sneered. "And they dumped attention and love on y'all like it was a summer squall."

The dark wolf narrowed his gaze at Vernon, his piercing yellow eyes burning with disdain.

"That's when I started to hate you." Yuri said coldly.

The way Yuri spoke, the delivery of his words made Vernon's blood run cold. Vernon's hackles rose as a shiver ran down the wolf's spine, causing his tail to jerk slightly as the words rolled through him like a venomous wave. It was strange that the words carried such impact. After all, Vernon had said as much to Yuri the previous day. But the bitter, chilling tone was something that conveyed a deeper power than Vernon's own passionate cry. Thankfully, almost as quickly as the words had been uttered, Yuri broke his agonizingly cold gaze. The dark-furred wolf's attention returning to his paws.

"They just gave you everythin' without hesitation." Yuri growled. "And everythin' you did was worthy o' praise." The dark wolf kicked his leg at a loose spool idly. "They coddled you, and cuddled you..."The wolf shook his head. "And I hated you fer it...before I even knew what hate was."

"Yuri..." Vernon sputtered, but the wolf couldn't manage any more than his brother's name. In truth, Vernon wasn't really sure what to say. Yuri had just dropped a massive bomb in his lap, and the wolf was still struggling to take it all in. Vernon felt a pang of guilt, but it was muted behind a rising wall of ire as the picture began to grow clearer. A growing sense of indignation as it clashed with what Vernon knew to be true when it came to the love of their parents.

"B-Bull!" Vernon retorted. "I-" The wolf stumbled over his words. " None of us went without love in this family!" The wolf spat. "Even you!" Vernon growled softly. "And now yer tryin' to put the way you acted on me!?"

Yuri crossed his arms defensively, the wolf tilting his head upward slightly as he regarded Vernon with his usual hateful gaze. The sneer on his muzzle parting as his mouth opened wide. It looked as though he were going to yell the wolf down, yet nothing came. After a moment, the wolf closed his jaws, Yuri seeming to calm slightly as he slid deeper into his seat.

"Whether it's true or not..." Yuri mumbled. "From that point, I kept my eyes on you." The wolf grit his teeth. "My focus on you, and everythin' that Ma and Pa did fer you."

Yuri let out a snort. "I was too young to really grasp that focusin' on y'all probably just made it seem like y'all were gettin' even more praise and love because I wasn't payin' as close attention to everyone around me." The wolf shook his head. " Therapist says it was like a tunnel vision effect."

The wolf rolled his eyes. "And since I only knew one way to get Ma and Pa's attention, the only thing I could do to mitigate how they treated y'all was to make you pay for it." Yuri bit his own tongue as he hissed. "O' course, that's lookin' back on it now." The wolf shrugged uneasily. "Hindsight's a bitch ain't it?"

Vernon furrowed his brow in confusion. If what Yuri was saying was to be taken as the truth, then the reason his brother had been so hard on him growing up was this perceived notion that Vernon was somehow more loved than he was. Then again, Yuri, at least as a pup, didn't exactly make himself easy to love. The wolf had already admitted as much. But if Yuri had the clarity to look back on his past and see his behavior for what it was, then that still left Vernon with the question as to why the behavior continued. Why did Yuri continue to treat him so badly even now?

"Ain't like I didn't try..." Yuri muttered, breaking Vernon's train of thought.

"What?" Vernon replied.

The dark-furred wolf ran a paw across his forehead, letting out a sigh.

"When I got a little older...I tried a paw at doin' things yer way." Yuri muttered. "Gettin' Ma and Pa's attention in a positive way." The wolf chuckled. "But I always hackled it up."

The wolf grit his teeth, his claws digging into the spools slightly before the wolf released his grip with a heavy sigh.

"But I know now it never worked because that wasn't the kind of mammal I was..." Yuri shook his head. "I...couldn't show affection the way the rest of y'all did."

Yuri turned his gaze back to the wolf sitting across from him, his expression that same, strange look of discomfort Vernon had noticed earlier.

"Back then though, I couldn't figure out why it didn't make a dent." Yuri muttered. "And all the while I had you to look up at, taunting' me with Ma and Pa's approval whether you wanted it to come off that way or not."

"Y-Yuri..." Vernon stammered. "I-I didn't mean..."

"In a way...we were torturin' each-other..." Yuri chuckled. "Just on different levels."

"Now wait a minute." Vernon declared, his voice growing more confident as he spoke. "That ain't even close to fair to comparin' what you did to me on purpose to how Ma and Pa treated me!" Vernon gestured a paw emphatically. "Hell, you doin' what you did probably made Ma and Pa try to compensate by..."

Vernon trailed off as he contemplated just what he was saying. He had been ready to simply write off Yuri's supposed fuel behind his tormenting of the wolf as nothing more than a lame excuse. But as he began to further wrap his mind around the information, a disheartening picture was coming into view. The glaringly powerful image of a wheel, a self-sustaining cycle of behaviors that only amplified each side as it continued to spin.

Yuri furrowed his brow, his previous smirk slipping into a deeper grimace as he appeared to pick up on Vernon's own thoughts.

"By the Gods, I could use a drink right now..." Yuri shook his head.

"Yuri..." Vernon muttered.

"I kept making it worse..." Yuri muttered, gesturing lamely with a paw at nothing in particular. "And you kept makin' me want to make it worse." The wolf sighed.

"And then you went through yer bad phase." Yuri continued.

Vernon froze at the memory as he felt himself pulled back to that troubled time. The years after Dawn was separated from him. It had been a shock to his childlike understanding of greater Animalia. His limited, naive and pure ideals about the way mammals were supposed to get along were violently stripped away as he was instilled with the knowledge that his kind was to be feared. It was a flawed thought process, the wolf knew that now. But back then, confronted with such a concept after knowing no other was too hard to take. And so, while not entirely giving in so far as to actively scare and terrorize innocent prey, he lived as a 'true wolf' in the eyes of some of the toughest mammals the North Meadowlands Middle and Junior High School had ever seen.

Even Yuri had never been a brazen bully outside of the home. Before Vernon had changed his behavior, lashing out at the world around him, Yuri had been known for mostly for being a name-caller. The kind of mammal who only fought when he had enough of an advantage over his opponent to ensure his victory. Yuri had always been more of a manipulator when it came to the whispers of the other students. A craftier mammal who picked his battles properly. But Vernon, well he became a true brute. The fact that he shot up like a corn stalk in junior high only made the situation that much worse, and the students that much more fearful.

It haunted him, that part of his life. When it came to his list of regrets, it was the second thing he wished he could change. The first of course, being Dawn's separation from him, even knowing there was no way he could at the time. But much like Dawn's own sordid history, it was something he had to live with now.

"And how did Ma and Pa deal with y'all then?" Yuri asked.

Vernon bit his lower lip. He already could tell where this conversation was going the moment Yuri had mentioned it.

"T-They punished me!" Vernon protested. "You tryin' to say they gave me a lighter sentence than you fer the stuff you did?"

Yuri cocked a brow, looking back at Vernon with irritation.

"Oh they did, sure enough." Yuri muttered. "Hesitant at first, but they levied the same kind of punishments at you that they did fer me." The wolf chuckled. "Some even worse than any I ever had." Yuri scratched his chin. "At least that much I can say was fair."

Yuri flashed Vernon a wide, sinister grin. "Although since you had taken over the role of Alpha dog at the house, you surpassed purty much anythin' I could dish out in terms of' bein' bad." Yuri snickered. "I'd like to say it was one of the few times I mighta' respected ya a little bit." The wolf sighed. "Ya might say, in the spiritual sense that's probably the closest we've ever been, eh Vern?"

Vernon sneered at the very idea of Yuri considering the two being alike at all. But at the same time, Vernon couldn't deny that his behavior was bad, if not worse than Yuri's at some points, even if it hadn't been directed inside the household. "You certainly didn't act like it."

Yuri chuckled to himself. "As I said, it was just the kinda mammal I was." The wolf flashed him a cheesy grin. "An aggressive little shit with a big mouth."

"Who beat on the rest of us." Vernon retorted.

"Fer the most part I grew out of beaten' on mammals..." Yuri hissed. "You grew into it." the wolf leaned back into his chair, letting out a soft chuckle."Fer a time anyway." He said, waving a paw dismissively. But as the wolf nestled deeper into his seat, his eyes found Vernon's again, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Funny thing..." The wolf sighed. "Durin' that time, that was when I gave a real shot at tryin' to be better behaved fer Ma and Pa." The wolf chuckled again, the laughter trailing off into a bemused sigh as he squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. "I thought, maybe, just maybe..." The wolf continued. "That you foulin' up so bad might have been my in. To get the attention I felt I deserved."

The wolf's eyes drifted back to the ceiling as he took a slow, deep breath. "But with the newly fallen golden pup causin' a ruckus and gettin' into trouble so often..." The wolf's eyes shifted back to Vernon's own, his eyelids squinting tightly around his irises. "The previously 'worst pup' in the pack actin' marginally better didn't exactly net me the amount of attention I was lookin' fer..." The wolf chuckled softly.

"Ya see, despite all them punishments, Ma still wailed for y'all..." Yuri muttered bitterly. "Pa still believed it was a passin' phase, because it 'wasn't like you'!" Yuri scoffed. "they bent over backwards tryin' to 'bring you back around'!

The jet-black wolf leaned up in his seat, stabbing an accusatory claw Vernon's way as he sharpened his gaze.

"And when you finally broke down..." Yuri growled. "Decidin' to clean up yer act and beg fergiveness, they ju-!" Yuri stammered, gnashing his teeth harshly as he seemed to be fighting the urge to growl. "They just took ya back with open arms!"

The wolf slammed his fist harshly against a slab of fabric, the object letting out a muffled crack as the rod the held together presumably broke under the sudden pressure. It buckled under his fist before slipping to the floor as Yuri slumped harshly back into the mound of spools, the wolf letting out a terse huff as he crossed his arms.

"They just dismissed it all! Put it all behind them!" Yuri hissed. "Just like that!"

"So what, you're jealous!?" Vernon snapped back, flashing the wolf a sneer of his own. "Because Ma and Pa were worried about me?"

"JEALOUS!?" Yuri snarled, the wolf lunged toward Vernon, but stopped short of leaving the mound of spools, once again slamming a fist into the material. It was enough to make Vernon wince, but not enough to make him back down.

"OF COURSE I WAS JEALOUS!" Yuri growled. "I was jealous because you could do what I never could with Ma and Pa!" The wolf continued, gesturing wildly with a paw. "You could come back to them! But I was always me!" Yuri barked. "There wasn't a turn around fer me! Nothin' to hope fer for me! I was always Yuri the troublemaker! Yuri the problem pup!" The wolf was practically thrashing in his seat now as he stabbed his claw at Vernon once more, his glare so sharp Vernon was almost fearful it would cut him from across the room.

"You got to go right back to bein' the golden pup!" Yuri snapped. "The pup I never got to be!" The wolf's ears sagged slightly, his hateful expression dulling to something soft and oddly sullen. "The pup I never could."

Yuri drew in a trembling, soft breath. The ragged breathing the only sound permeating the room as the wolf seemed to be trying to steel himself after his wild outburst. Vernon meanwhile, was staggering through his own recovery from the wolf's tirade. The admission had left him reeling. And despite Yuri being a master manipulator, and hard to read, there was no mistaking that emotional whirlwind as the truth. The truth at least how Yuri saw it.

"I-I know." Yuri muttered. "I know who I am Vernon." The wolf continued. "I've come to terms with it." The wolf sighed, running a paw through his mo-hawk in an effort to keep the now sweat-soaked fur from drifting into his face.

"I know now, that no matter what I was always gonna be trouble...even if I was an only child." Yuri glanced back at his brother as he gripped the swaths of materials between his paws. "I ain't blameless...but it was the only way I was gonna act with you in that spot." Yuri let out another tired sigh. "Alpha don't mean shit when held up to knowin' yer loved."

"Y-Yuri..." Vernon muttered. The wolf found himself unsure of how to respond. "Y-you can't mean...I mean..." The wolf struggled to find the words. "You know Ma and Pa love you."

"Not as much as you..." Yuri muttered. "Never as much as you."

Yuri raised a paw, lamely gesturing at nothing as he flopped back into his chair.

"And not just them, but the rest of the fellas too." Yuri rolled his eyes. "Always jumpin' to defend you..." The wolf shook his head dismissively. "They probably care just as much." The wolf slid deeper into his seat. Slapping his paws against the material loudly. "Because even though you weren't the last born, and even though yer the biggest wolf out of all of us now..." Yuri grumbled. "Yer always gonna be _'Puppy'_to this family."

The room fell into a bitter silence as Yuri concluded his statement. The jet-black wolf now simply slumped into the mound of materials with his eyes closed. Vernon watched the wolves nostrils flare softly as he took a series of cool, calculated breaths. It was clearly a calming exercise, something Vernon was all too familiar with in his life with Dawn. Granted it was rare the ewe had to resort to it nowadays, but whenever she was nervous or overwhelmed, Vernon would catch her running through the same quiet ritual that Yuri was now undergoing. He could even see Yuri's lips moving as he silently counted through a series of numbers, the same way Dawn would have. It could have been coincidence, but it certainly added to the credibility that Yuri's therapist was indeed a real mammal, and clearly studied the same techniques Dr. Gnu had. But with Yuri lost in his exercise, it left Vernon to reflect on just what he had said.

There was truth in what Yuri said, as much as Vernon hated to admit it.While Vernon didn't necessarily agree with just 'how much'_Yuri thought he was unloved, the prospect of the way a family and its roles stay with you long after you grow out of them was something he had never really given any thought to. When Vernon left for Zootopia to become an architect, it was the first time he had ever left the ranch. And in this strange new place, outside of Gus, no other mammal knew anything about him. They didn't know _'Puppy', for his better years or his worse. He was just a wolf, a stranger to most, and Vernon to others. He was an adult to everyone he met because he had met them as such. And no amount of indulging those around him with stories from his past, even the bad ones, would truly change how he was perceived now. They hadn't been there to see what happened themselves, to experience it first paw. And so, in that way, they could never truly see it the same way his relatives would have.

But whenever he returned to the ranch, it was as if he had stepped back in time. He was 'Puppy' again, with everything that implied. Of course, to Vernon that carried with it a warm familiarity, a sense of comfort and longing that he often found himself missing. It was something that drove him back to the ranch to visit almost monthly. But Vernon had never stopped to consider that not everyone might share that same feeling of warmth and pleasure when it came to slipping back into those roles.

"D'ya wanna know why I left Vern?" Yuri's sudden question broke the wolf's train of thought. "Why I took a cross-country ride fer three months instead of stayin' home and scoutin' colleges properly like Zach and Xave?"

"Why?" Vernon asked, despite feeling fairly confident in what the answer would be.

"I had to get outta there." Yuri muttered. "I needed to get away, from this family..." The wolf drew his gaze back to Vernon, flashing the wolf oddly sorrowful eyes. "From you." The wolf averted his gaze, raising his paws and dropping them listlessly to his sides. "From me..."

"You had to get away....from yerself?" Vernon asked. There was a joke to be made in there somewhere, at least Vernon's mind had thought of a couple. Most of them revolving around the general idea of 'I'd want to get away from you too.' But considering the gravity of the conversation at paw, the wolf chose to hold back for the time being, saving the barbs for just in case things suddenly went south.

Yuri crossed his arms defensively. " I don't know..." The wolf sighed. " I just....whether I was loved, or not, I didn't really feel it, so I left...lookin' fer something..." The wolf shrugged. "Anythin'..."

Yuri shook his head dismissively. "I needed to get away from Zootopia's little shithole of an off-ramp stop and figure some things out fer myself." The wolf lamented. "To see if there was more to me then where I fit in this pack."

The wolf leaned forward, pressing his muzzle into his clasped paws as he tapped the bridge of his snout.

"I tell ya Vern, bein' out there." Yuri sighed. "It felt liberatin', like I was a new mammal." The wolf let out a soft chuckle. "Well fer the most part."

Yuri took a deep breath, puffing his chest as he began to speak, placing a prideful fist against his breast."I felt like this burden had been yanked right off my back. Like Animalia was my oyster and I could do whatever the hell I wanted without havin' someone just waitin' to scold me for it."

Yuri glanced at Vernon, a twinkle seeming to gleam from behind his eyes. "I mean, within' reason o' course." The wolf chuckled." I know Pa had so little faith in me durin' my little trip, he was just waitin' fer the phone call that I'd be locked up somewhere for doin' somethin'." Yuri turned to Vernon slightly, flashing the wolf a smug grin. "Not to say I didn't get into a few skirmishes on the road." Yuri took a moment to adjust his tie confidently, dusting it off with a paw. "And I won every single one mind y'all."

Vernon rolled his eyes, only to earn a derisive snort fro Yuri.

"But when I was out there, I could really think clearly fer the first time in a long time." The wolf sighed, leaning his muzzle back into his paws. "I did a bit a...what'dya call it? Soul-searchin'?"

Vernon gave a timid nod, and with the acknowledgment, Yuri continued.

"Despite everythin'..." Yuri continued. "The Hunter blood ran deep in me." The wolf sighed, letting his head droop lamely. "Or at least all that crap Pa used to teach us growin' up about honor and justice actually managed to stick somewhere in this ol' head o' mine." The wolf snorted, jabbing a finger to his temple for emphasis.

"Regardless of what Pa said about wantin' you to be his deputy, he trained us all to be in law." Yuri sighed, glancing back at Vernon from the corner of his eye. "And, call it whatever you want..." The wolf chuckled. "Brainwashin' or some deep-seated desire to appeal to the 'ol 'Mam..." Yuri rolled his eyes. "I figured I'd try and give it a go."

Sitting back up, the wolf ran a paw through his hair before resting it on his neck. "And so, 'round the middle of that trip, I decided I'd just keep drivin' till around the time when all the academies started enrollin'..." The wolf chuckled. "And whatever city I ended up in at that time, I'd set up stakes there."

Vernon furrowed his brow. "You mean, that's how you picked Seaodder?" The wolf leaned up slightly. "There weren't nothin' but random choice behind it?"

Yuri gave a genuine smile, something rather surprising to see.

"It helped that it was about as far as you could get from home." The wolf sighed pleasantly. "But that was purty much the decidin' factor." Yuri gestured with a paw. "My bike broke down just outside o' Redmound, and I didn't have the loose funds to fix it on my own. And by the time I saved up enough for the repair along with food and roomin' expenses, it was time to call Pa and enroll somewhere."

Yuri shook his head, a mischievous smirk crossing his muzzle. "I can still remember dialin' up the ol' 'Mam." Yuri glanced back at Vernon with an expectant look. "Still remember how he answered the phone."

"How?" Vernon asked, his curiosity piqued.

Yuri chuckled. "He opened with, 'Well this ain't a collect call, so I'm already pleasantly surprised.'"

Vernon wasn't sure if it was okay to chuckle along with the wolf, instead opting to settle for a simple grin. Considering Yuri's personality, it seemed like a pretty logical conclusion on Dorian's part to assume any call from Yuri at that time might have meant trouble, and while their father could sometimes be rather blunt, it was still surprising even for the ol' Mam just how honest his statement was at the onset.

Yuri shook his head as he continued to chuckle. "Ada never gets tired of hearin' that line. It still cracks her up."

"Wow..." Vernon muttered. "When you mentioned you thought Pa might have pegged you gettin' locked up before school, I didn't think y'all meant it." The wolf lied. After all, he and the remaining Hunter pack still at the ranch often joked about pinnin' down the date the mugshot would show up on Pa's computer.

Yuri lolled his head back, letting out a tired sigh. "Don't patronize me Vern." Yuri replied. "The whole of the North Meadowlands was placin' bets on when I was gonna end up on the opposite side of the bars the family was used to dealin' with, let alone what the rest of y'all were thinkin'."

Vernon shrank into his shoulders, letting out a quiet, guilty hiss. It was like the wolf had read his mind, and in turn, the sudden surprise call out had forced a genuine response to the surface. But Yuri didn't seem to notice, or desire to linger on catching him, instead pressing forward with his own story.

"O'course, Pa was more than happy to pay out any lodgin' fer me at that point." Yuri sighed. "Seein' how most police academies tend to waive tuition if you got cops in the family, the price of the place wasn't a concern of Pa's." The wolf smirked. "And Ma was just_'dee-lighted'_ I was goin' to school." Yuri feigned a smile as he stretched out the word, mimicking their mother's tone. "Hell, I remember after Pa mentioned to Ma who was on the phone, she was on the line in two seconds flat, frettin' over whether I was alright or if I needed pickin' up...I..." Yuri shook his head.

"It certainly felt...different. A good kinda different." The wolf flashed Vernon a genuine smile.

With that, Yuri placed his paws behind his head, leaning back into the spools as he let out a pleasant sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he managed to catch Vernon's gaze again.

"Livin' and workin' in Seaotter..." Yuri muttered. "It helped me figure out what kinda mammal I was, what I wanted outta life, and who I wanted to be." The wolf raised a paw, gesturing with it in a dismissive small circle. "And while that mammal turned out to be...well..."

"Still kind of a dick?" Vernon asked, only to get another glare from Yuri. But the piercing gaze was short-lived, the wolf letting out a huff as he crossed his arms and turned away.

_"Aggressive, reckless, and a bad comedian."_Yuri spat. "At least that's how my partner Lance would tell it."

Vernon did his best to stifle a snicker, but Yuri clearly caught it, flashing the wolf a sneer.

"Stringy, shrimpy little twerp of a stag." Yuri muttered, letting out another snort despite trying to hide a smirk of his own.

"The point is." Yuri closed his eyes. A warm, genuine smile crossing his muzzle as he leaned back into the pile of spools once more. "It was just...I mean, to be in a place where the only thing anyone had to go on when meetin' me the first time was that a highly respected sheriff had more or less vouched fer me to get me into the academy." The wolf shook his head softly."Out there I wasn't carryin' all this baggage, this history fer mammals to pick and choose from to decide who I was before even utterin' a damn word." The wolf shook his head. "And fer the most part the work I put in at the precinct spoke louder than my...ahem...'abrasive personality'." The wolf grimaced as he uttered the phrase, telling Vernon that the description, like Lance's, wasn't his own assessment.

The black-furred wolf looked back at Vernon, wearing that unnaturally pleading expression that managed to shake Vernon's guard when it came to trusting how sincere the wolf could actually be. "Fer once I wasn't the worst mammal in the world before I even uttered a word." The wolf muttered.

The statement had left Vernon somewhat stupefied. Was this how Yuri actually felt about everything? Was this the honest to the gods truth or was it just another game for the wolf to play at? Either way, it left Vernon struggling to come up with some sort of reply. Should he be trying to comfort his brother after making himself seem so vulnerable, or should he remain guarded?

But if the wolf was interested in getting input at that moment, he certainly didn't seem it. Instead, the wolf simply continued his story as he nestled his head back into the mound of spools.

"Even the first suspension didn't really change things fer me." The wolf muttered. Placing a paw to his brow. "I was still pretty green at that point, and I went a little too far off book for my Superior Officer's liking." Yuri shook his head.

"O' course, our precinct considers that sorta thing a hazin' ritual anyway." The wolf gestured his paw lamely at Vernon. You ain't really a true Seaodder cop unless y'all have bent the rules once or twice to get the job done." Yuri sighed. "Well, as long as you ain't stealin' drugs from the evidence locker anyway..." The wolf said with a chuckle.

"And more importantly..." Yuri glanced back to Vernon, that oddly sorrowful expression returning as he spoke. "Bein' out there made me confident that if I could change...or grow-up or whatever..." The wolf murmured. "That maybe the family could too."

Yuri's attention returned to the ceiling as he slipped his paws behind his head. "Maybe I'd even make the family proud to some degree." The wolf closed his eyes again, drawing a deep, slow breath. "And based on what Ma and Pa had to say when the came out to visit or called, I knew they were...to some extent."

"But...I just couldn't bring myself to visit back home..." Yuri muttered quietly. "Not even fer just a day."

Vernon could already see where Yuri was going with his train of thought, but the wolf couldn't stop himself. There was a sense that if he didn't ask the question, Yuri might not be able to muster the desire to continue opening up to him.

"Why?" Vernon asked quietly.

Yuri opened one golden eye, his iris settling on Vernon momentarily before his gaze shifted away again.

"Look..." The wolf sighed. "Don't get me wrong. Havin' Ma and Pa visit me out in Seaotter was...actually purty nice." The wolf muttered. "I actually...I enjoyed myself." The wolf sighed. "It made me just a little hopeful...but not enough to come out the ranch because..." The wolf shook his head, letting out a long, tired sigh before continuing.

"Because, I was afraid that if I went back..." The wolf released his paw, allowing his mo-hawk to spring back into place as he dropped his arm lamely to his side. "Everythin' would just play out the way it always did." The wolf muttered. "And I'd be right back in that...damn place." The wolf snorted. "That cold, miserable place."

The wolf shook his head dismissively before placing his other paw to his brow. "But there was the other part of me that kept tellin' myself things had changed too much to go back to the way they were. I was a different mammal now." The wolf sighed. "Or so I thought."

Yuri's piercing yellow glare found Vernon's gaze again, the familiar flicker of ire behind the lens returning. "Then I got to hearin' Ma prattle on and on about y'all left the ranch to become an architect."

Yuri's jovial demeanor had evaporated so quickly it was almost enough to give Vernon whiplash. Not only had the expression on his face reverted to the usual one of revulsion and disdain, but the tension in the air had flooded in so rapidly it was almost suffocating. Alarms were going off in Vernon's head, and along with them the wolf's guard immediately shot back up. Once again, Vernon found himself taking note of the exit, and reaffirming the quickest way around Yuri and out should the situation get worse.

"And what did Pa do?" Yuri hissed, his muzzle bridge crinkling to expose his fangs. "He just up and let you go!"

"Pa didn't just 'let me go'!" The wolf growled back. "He refused to support my choice in careers! He fought me tooth and nail on not goin' to the Police Academy" Vernon crossed his arms defensively. "In the end, I mostly had to pay my own way to pursue bein' an architect and get where I am!"

Yuri crossed his arms. "Like Ma wasn't sneakin' you money on the side when she could!" The wolf sneered.

"Why does what I do with my life matter to you so much!? Huh!?" Vernon snapped back. "It's my life ain't it!?" The wolf huffed. "Ain't like you'd let anyone stop you if that's what you wanted to do!"

"Because you ruined everythin' fer me!" Yuri snarled, rising partially out of his seat. In response, Vernon leaned one of his feet against the floor, preparing himself for the sprint to safety he was certain he'd have to make.

"The way everyone reacted to what y'all did... All it did was show me that nothin' had changed at all when it came to this family!" Yuri continued, his muzzle quivering as he bared his fangs."That life at the Hunter Ranch was the same as it always was! And I was a damn fool for thinkin' I was gonna make a dent in my reputation if even after leavin' everyone in this family was still kissin' yer ass!"

Yuri's hateful gaze remained fixed on Vernon as his breathing grew increasingly ragged. His eyelids tightened around his piercing yellow eyes as a low growl began to thrum in his throat.

"And that was all Ma could talk about after." Yuri hissed. "All everyone in this damn family could!" The jet-black furred wolf huffed, his breathing growing heavier as he tightly balled his fists.

"Every update about the family from then on started with you." Yuri sneered. "How Vernon was farin' in Zootopia! How stubborn Pa was bein'! How wild it was that one of us was goin' fer somethin' other than a law job!"

The wolf was almost trembling now, the ire inside clearly reaching a boiling point as he clutched at the spools of material that made up his chair.

"The attention was back on you....hell I was stupid to think it was ever off you." The wolf seethed.

"Family, attention, the golden pup. Even when I was in Seaotter it was like I had been dragged back to that damn farm in my head. Those damn calls hangin' over my mind fer days while I tried to do my damn job!" Yuri's growling slowly began to shift into more of a whine as the wolf slipped back into his seat. His grip loosening on the spools as he slumped back into the mound of material. Before Vernon knew it, Yuri was back to counting each methodically deep breath as he worked to calm himself.

Vernon was once again left in a mixture of shock and confusion. Was it okay to let his guard down again, to take his eyes off his means of escape? For the time being, it appeared the bomb that was Yuri's temper had somehow diffused itself. And after holding on long enough for Yuri's labored breathing to become somewhat stable, Vernon's initial wariness began to fade in favor of a strange, growing sense of sympathy. Whether it was a performance or not, the whole affair was visibly taking a great deal out of the wolf. His panting persisting even after the countdown had long since completed, the low gasping punctuated with the occasional gulp as he lay back in the pile of spools with his eyes closed.

Glancing around the room, Vernon noticed an half-empty opened pack of bottled water sitting on another mound of fabric and old furniture. It was something that was no doubt used to stock the drink machine he had seen out front. Leaning in his seat, Vernon snagged two bottles of_'Tundratown ice'_ water out of the case, slipping one into Yuri's paw before easing back into his own seat and unscrewing the cap. Vernon watched the dark-wolf open his eyes at the sudden contact, his pupils darting to the bottle in his paws momentarily before finding their way back to Vernon.

"I thought y'all might be parched...so..." Vernon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It ain't cold, but it's not exactly hot in here so it should be fine..."

Yuri simply stared at the wolf for a moment, blinking a few times before leaning up in his seat and uncapping the water. Vernon watched as the wolf took a long sip, taking in about a quarter of the water inside the container before pulling it away from his muzzle and letting out a satisfied sounding sigh. Capping the liquid, the wolf leaned back into the spools, letting the bottle rest on his chest as he returned to staring at the ceiling.

"That's how I got my second suspension Vern..." Yuri grumbled.

"What?" Vernon scrunched his muzzle in confusion. "Wait, yer blamin' me fer you gettin' suspended too now?"

Yuri sighed as he leaned forward, his head drooping in his lap as he leaned his elbows on his knees.

"You were in Zootopia fer a year I think." Yuri muttered. "Datin' that arctic wolf, remember her?"

"Anjou?" Vernon asked, taking a swig of his own drink as he quirked a brow.

"That's the one." Yuri smirked. "The one Ma said had more fluff between her ears then brains."

"Ma said that?" Vernon quirked a brow. Yuri simply rolled his eyes.

"I mean she was right..." Vernon admitted, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "But still..."

"Fact of the matter is she kept goin' on and on about how you were workin' yer tail off." Yuri cut the wolf off, setting his water aside before crossing his arms defensively. "Livin' with Gus, workin' night shifts at a fast food place to pay yer own way as much as y'all could." The wolf raised his paws, wiggling his fingers as he feigned an inspired looking expression. "Oooh...how damn novel of you." Yuri scoffed.

"Barely even congratulated me on breakin' up a huge night howler drug syndicate that same week." Yuri snorted. "The case that led me to meetin' Ada." The wolf scoffed. "By that point, we were just startin' out datin', but Ma glossed over that and went right back to you!"

The jet-black wolf lowered his gaze back at Vernon, squinting slightly as that familiar glimmer of hate returned.

"For the next two weeks that conversation just kept replayin' in my head, over and over..." Yuri muttered. Vernon could see the wolf's fists balling tightly around some of the stray clumps of fabric as he spoke. "And over again..."

Yuri closed his eyes, taking a deep of breath and holding it once again before slowly letting it out. The wolf's nostrils flared as he seemed to silently mutter something inaudible. Vernon watched the wolf fumble for his water without looking, making a few lame grasps at the fabric behind him before snagging the drink. In a blink, the wolf swigged another quarter of the bottle down, letting out a pleasant sigh as he capped the bottle and tossed it back onto the spool.

"I was able to keep my cool up until this..." Yuri let out a terse sigh. "Routine bust went all sideways on us." The wolf took in another deep breath, holding it for a few moments before letting it out. Vernon could hear his brother shudder as he exhaled.

"The dealer made a break for it." Yuri growled. "And since old spindly detective Eckhart was pitiful in a chase, it was up to me to catch the guy."

Yuri took in another shuddering breath. "And when I caught up to the guy..." Yuri continued. " I pinned him to the ground, only to find out the guy was a wolf."

The wolf's eyes opened, those familiar piercing yellow eyes boring into Vernon's own as Yuri grit his teeth.

"A wolf who looked an awful lot like you..."

Vernon gulped quietly, biting his lower lip in order to keep from breaking into a full wince. Whatever picture Yuri was about to paint, was certainly not going to be a pleasant one.

"And he made the mistake of throwing a punch."The wolf placed his head in his paws, covering his eyes as he let out a sharp exhale.

"Yuri..." Vernon muttered.

In a flash, Yuri snapped his head out of his paws, his now wild eyes locked on Vernon, causing the wolf to jump in his seat."I just rutting snapped!" Yuri spat, a frenzied look on his muzzle. "I just kept beating him again and again." The wolf mimicked the bludgeoning with his fist, pantomiming the blunt movements with one arm while catching the fist in his other paw. "Eventually two other officers managed to pull me off, but I was snarling and thrashing until they got me back to my squad car."

Yuri let out an uncomfortable chuckle, the awkward sounding laugh sounding particularly unnerving after Yuri's rather disturbing tale. "They actually tested me for night-howler exposure when they got me back to the station..." The wolf muttered. "That's how buck-wild I had gone on that fella."

"Sweet Sawgrass..." Vernon uttered in horror and disbelief. After all, he, along with the rest of his brothers loved to use Yuri's suspensions to get under his pelt for his usual remarks. But Vernon had never known the details. As far as he was concerned it was simply ammo to sling back at Yuri and nothing more. But after his horrid retelling of events, and the reasoning behind it, Vernon felt sick. Not just because of how extreme it had turned out to be, but because of who Yuri had been picturing during the whole affair.

"And that's when I was ordered to take mandatory therapy." Yuri sighed, slumping back into his seat with a listless flop.

"I...uh..." Vernon stammered, trying to regain some sort of footing in the conversation after that unsettling confession. "I imagine that didn't go well..."

Yuri sighed. "Goin' to therapy was like gettin' teeth yanked." Yuri grumbled. " I didn't see anything wrong with me. And I wasn't keen on openin' up to some little, wet rat who looked like my third-grade teacher." The wolf scoffed, throwing up a paw. "And what's worse was that Ada was supportive of it!"

"Why is that so bad?' Vernon asked.

"It ain't I guess..." Yuri muttered. "I mean, we hadn't been together that long but she picked up on my family issues real quick cause she recognized 'em and was fixin' to help." Yuri shrugged.

"No, I meant like..what's wrong with therapy?" Vernon continued, taking a sip of his water. "Ain't like goin' to therapy is somethin' to be ashamed of these days."

Yuri glared back at the wolf. "You got a therapist Vern?" The wolf hissed.

"W-well no..." Vernon replied. "But Dawn does." The confidence in Vernon's tone steadily increasing as he spoke. "I mean, it's done a lot fer her, and old Dr. Gnu is a swell guy." The wolf shrugged. "If I ever needed one, I'd be fixin' to see him."

Yuri scoffed. "Y'all remember who yer talkin' to right?" The wolf muttered.

Vernon simply rolled his eyes.

"Either way that's more or less what Ada said." Yuri gestured at the air with a paw. "Except instead of talkin' about yer lil' sheep, she was talkin' about her own experiences in therapy, and how it helped her deal with her family issues."

"And it...?" Vernon spoke softly, the wolf trying to be as careful with his words as possible. "Eventually helped you right?" The wolf asked.

Yuri shook his head dismissively. "Not at first." Yuri grumbled, leaning on a paw. "I wasn't open to it." Yuri sighed. "I didn't trust that shell cracker as far as I could throw her, so I tried lyin' long enough to get my free pass back to work." The wolf huffed.

"I take it by the way y'all phrased that, it didn't exactly go according to plan?" Vernon asked incredulously.

"No..." Yuri grumbled, crossing his paws defensively. "She saw right through me..." The wolf huffed. "The lyin' I mean. Not the stuff she was actually diggin' fer."

Yuri let out a sigh as he ran a paw through his mane of head fur, his eyes wandering back to the ceiling as he recounted his therapy. "By the time my suspension was supposed to be up, the only reason she gave my boss the okay fer me to return was on the condition that I agree to keep up the weekly appointments until she 'pried open this oyster'." Yuri grumbled, throwing Vernon a glance as he lowered his brows. "Her words."

Vernon chuckled. "Otter, I take it."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "They call the place _'Seaotter'_fer a reason." The wolf muttered. "Place is lousy with aquatic rats."

"So what happened with her?" Vernon asked. "You say y'all opened up eventually?"

Yuri furrowed his brow. "Eventually Vern." The wolf muttered. "A very long eventually."

"I had only bein' seein' Miss Banks fer about half a year when Ma started pressurin' me about comin' home for the reunion that year, and introducin' Ada." Yuri sighed. "And when Ada caught wind of it, despite my best efforts at preventin' it, she got all excited about it." The wolf crossed his arms. "O'course I couldn't tell her y'all were the reason I was going to therapy in the first place." The wolf shrugged. "But she was so damn persistent...Both her and Ma...So I ended up cavin'."

Yuri reached for his water, taking a smaller sip than his previous ones before pointing the open bottle at Vernon. The jet-black wolf quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm assumin' y'all remember that particular reunion?" Yuri muttered.

Vernon gave the wolf a dull, half-lidded gaze. "I remember."

It wasn't hard to recall meeting Ada for the first time. The fear Vernon had been holding onto during the weeks leading up to that visit had left a strong enough impression on him to permanently etch the entire affair into his memory. He could remember the feel of rising dread as he rode the train that day, the gnawing unease at not only having to see Yuri for the first time since he had left for college, but that he was bringing a 'friend' along.

The prospect that some mammal had found Yuri appealing was nearly impossible for Vernon to wrap his mind around, and if Yuri were to be believed, that mammal could only be as awful and twisted as he was. At least, that was Vernon's reasoning at the time. Of course, being one of the first to arrive made the wait that much more agonizing to endure. The wolf found himself unable to fully unwind knowing that Yuri would be along at any moment to spoil the whole trip. Not that it wasn't already uncomfortable enough with Dorian's judgmental grunts and glares every time the topic of Vernon's schooling came up.

Watching Yuri guide the imposing looking hyena in the dark, spike studded jacket into the family dining hall was almost like watching an officer leading an inmate down to her cell. At that moment she gave off the kind of aura that told Vernon she would bite his head off if he made the mistake of even breathing in her general direction. But that image immediately shattered the moment she started talking. The nervous bouts of cackling coupled with her attempts at cheesy jokes to break the ice completely removed any preconceived notions Vernon had spent hours building up in preparation to protect himself from her. Unlike Yuri, Ada had turned out to be a blast to be around, which had only left Vernon to ponder just why a girl like her had decided to be with his bitter and hateful brother in the first place.

The whole time Yuri had done little to paint any sort of picture of himself that wasn't what Vernon already knew him for. Although he had started out remaining largely silent, limiting his vocabulary to simple grumbles and quiet conversations with Ada. It didn't take long for the Yuri he already knew to start shining through. His crass jokes, and put-downs had remained just as biting and nasty as the wolf remembered. Even with his best efforts at keeping up with Yuri, and throwing whatever he could back at him, including the suspension, it did nothing but manage to worsen the trip. And while his mother and brothers had done their best to defend Vernon, the wolf ended up making a promise to himself never to go to a reunion where Yuri was present ever again. To do anything and everything in his power to avoid the wolf until his dying day if possible.

"I remember..." Vernon repeated, his brow furrowing as he lowered his gaze on Yuri. "After that trip, I made a mental note to try my hardest never to show up fer a reunion you were at."

Yuri cracked a smile, the wolf letting out a dull chuckle as he regarded Vernon before taking another sip of his water.

"You ain't the only one Vern..." The wolf shook his head. "Or did y'all even notice?"

Vernon's muzzle crinkled in confusion. "What?"

"I came back from that trip not only with Ada lovin' our little family." The wolf hissed. "But takin' a weird little shine to you especially..."

Yuri capped his bottle, tossing it aside again before crossing his arms and letting out a huff. "She saw you like the rest of 'em did, and took to y'all like you were her best friend." The wolf hissed. "We actually almost broke up over it..."

"Broke up?" Vernon quirked an eyebrow. "Yuri, she's like a sister to me, you know I was never going-."

"You think I'm sayin' I thought you was gonna steal my girl!?" The wolf let out a barking laugh, slapping his paw with a knee in amusement. "Like you'd have a chance!" Yuri snickered.

"Oh!" The wolf ears sagged slightly. "Well...I mean...you don't have to laugh that hard." Vernon grumbled, slipping his water to his side and crossing his arms as he leaned back into his chair.

"Naw...naw..." Yuri said, wiping a tear from his eye as the last of his laughter died away.

"Naw, see...after that trip, it proved to me that nothin' back there had changed fer me." The wolf leaned up on his knees, resting his chin on a paw as he stared off at nothing in particular. "Fer me it was the final nail. The last straw." The wolf shook his head. "I was dead set on never goin' home again, and puttin' myself in a place where the only thing fer me is that role y'all put me in by default."

The wolf let out a tired sigh, pawing at his eyes softly as he continued.

"But Ada wanted us to go back whenever we could." Yuri grumbled. "Because she...She got to be like me comin' to Seaodder..." The wolf glanced back at Vernon, his yellow eyes uncomfortably sorrowful looking. " Whatever thought's y'all had about her ya left 'em at the door. And everyone just took her on like she was part of the family at the drop of a hat." The wolf sneered slightly. "It made it all that much harder to endure."

With that, Yuri turned away from Vernon, his expressions now hidden with his back facing the wolf as he went on.

"So after months of bickerin', and pressure from the therapist, I made an agreement with myself that Ada was worth enough to stick out dealin' with y'all a few times a year." The wolf muttered. "But I didn't tell her that from then on, I was gonna be doin' my damnedest to make sure we missed the ones you were going to."

"Me?" Vernon laughed. "You mean, we-I?" The wolf's snickering continued, albeit in an awkward manner as he absorbed Yuri's confession.

"Wow..." Vernon let out an amused sigh, slowly leaning back into his chair.

"If I had known that, I wouldn't have needed to waste so much effort on my part to avoid you." The wolf let out another chuckle, but it trailed off as the deeper, underlying message began to filter into Vernon's mind. One that had built on what Yuri had said earlier, about his young self so long ago. That had stayed with him strongly enough that he felt the need to take it out on some strung out young wolf that looked a little too much like himself for Yuri's tastes.

"You really do hate me, don't you?" Vernon chuckled weakly.

"And you don't hate me?" Was the response that came from the dark furred wolf.

Vernon fell silent, the two wolves simply sitting in the now stilted, uncomfortable air for what seemed like ages as Vernon silently mulled over everything Yuri had told him. The wolf's skepticism was fading fast in the face of the massive deluge that was his brother's confession.

The story seemed far too elaborate and well thought out to be a twisted and manipulative prank. For whatever reason, Yuri was bearing his soul, to Vernon of all mammals. The wolf who had spent his own youth making sure that Vernon's was that much worse. Who's very existence had prevented the family ranch from ever truly being a safe haven to come back to when the cruelty of the outside world had proven too much to bear. And after he had left home, it was the looming shadow of Yuri's presence hanging over Vernon's head that had kept the wolf from visiting home for more times than he would have liked to admit. That had been more than enough evidence, in Vernon's opinion, to have Yuri's behavior pegged for life as a hateful troublemaker, who was dead set on making Vernon's life miserable at every opportunity.

But it was that same line of thinking that could easily be blamed for simply never being open to the prospect of Yuri reaching out. Of being anything other the exact same mammal, no matter how much time had passed. Judged by not only Vernon, but the entire family with a slate that never washed away. It reminded Vernon vaguely of his own thought process when he had chosen to rebel against society after losing Dawn. That awful feeling of being held up against the prejudiced, preconceived expectation of those around you to the point where it's easier to give up, and simply be the monster everyone expected you to be.

"Those ones I was at..." Yuri broke the silence, pulling the wolf's attention back from his own thoughts. "And you weren't..."

Vernon could see the wolf's back shudder slightly as he let out a terse sigh.

"They weren't perfect..." Yuri glanced over his shoulder, his yellow iris meeting Vernon's own with a serious stare. "But they were a lot easier to get through." The wolf shrugged as he averted his gaze once more. "Fer a while anyway..."

"Up until Zach's tithe right?" Vernon murmured. The gaps were quickly starting to close up in Vernon's mind as everything Yuri was saying began to slide into place.

Yuri's had seemed to nod in acknowledgment.

"Had to be there..." Yuri hissed. "Everyone had to." The wolf shook his head. "I knew it was gonna be a disaster, but I knew there weren't gonna be any excuse that Ma would take to let me out o' goin'.

"Same..." Vernon replied. "Not that I was going to miss Zach's tithe fer anything...I just mean-"

"I know." Yuri muttered, holding up a paw. "Part of me wanted to go fer Zach's sake..." Yuri slowly eased back into his seat, raising an eyebrow at the wolf as he turned to appraise him. "Part o' me...cares..."

Vernon placed a paw to his muzzle, listening intently as the wolf continued. His eyes had shifted back to the curtain as he let out another sigh.

"I think we can both agree it was a shit show." Yuri muttered. "And that was on me." Yuri glanced to Vernon from the corner of his eye. "I ain't passin' the buck on that one."

Vernon sucked in a sharp breath of air through parted teeth. Yuri's _'toast'_had certainly been an uncomfortable scene. His belligerent mixture of a tirade of cruel jokes and implications laid out at Vernon's expense had gotten Vernon's blood boiling so badly that he packed up and left the next day without so much as a word.

"I was still reelin' from the hangover when Ada dragged me back to the airport the next mornin..." Yuri sighed. "And between fightin' with her and dealin' with what I did on the job...well... let's just say it wasn't too long a'fore I was suspended again."

"Number three..." Vernon muttered.

Yuri gave a simple nod. "I was already going to therapy, so they added_'anger management classes'_ on top of it." The wolf made air quotes with his fingers. "And Ada was furious."

Yuri placed a paw on his forehead as he leaned back into the fabric pile. "She was right too." The wolf sighed. "I wasn't bein' open with her. And she almost left me over it." Yuri's paw slid down, covering his eyes in the process. "I...couldn't...I didn't want to lose her."

"Because you love her. Right?" Vernon asked, smirking slightly.

Yuri's fingers parted slightly, allowing his eye to fall on Vernon.

"Don't tell her I said it." The wolf seemed to be hiding a smile. "But...o'course I love her."

Vernon rolled his eyes, doing his best to stifle a chuckle at Yuri's attempt to hold on to some semblance of his remaining bravado.

"So I Alpha'd up and told her everythin'," Yuri shut the seam he had made between his finger, hiding his eye once again as he continued to speak. "About how much seein' the family bugs me." The wolf snorted. "About how much seein' you bugs me, and how they treat the both of us. About havin' my mistakes thrown in my face every damn time I go home!"

The wolf pulled his paw free of his face, allowing it to listlessly flop to his side as he stared off at the ceiling.

"Everythin' I'm tellin' you now." The wolf glanced at Vernon once again, his golden irises finding Vernon's own. "And y'know what she said?"

"What?" Vernon asked.

"She told me that the only way thing are gonna change is if I be honest with y'all." The wolf replied. "That she weren't no therapist, but the ball was in my court when it came to actually makin' a change." The wolf muttered. "From her perspective, she believed y'all were good folks, and if I actually opened up things might...change fer the better."

Yuri eased up into his seat, leaning on his knees once again as he let out a sigh.

"And when I managed to tell the therapist, she felt the same way." The wolf glanced at Vernon, raising a brow dubiously. "With a few exceptions."

Vernon furrowed his brow in confusion. "What kind of exceptions?"

"Well, Miss Banks said that from what I told her, that the crux of everythin' is our relationship." Yuri gestured between himself and Vernon with a lazy paw. "I get angry and irritated when I feel the family is bendin' over backwards fer you, or defendin' you. So I lash out like when I was a pup." Yuri muttered, gesturing his paw back toward Vernon again. "And then, based on what she knew about y'all, said that in-turn, you get angry at me fer me givin' you shit." The wolf placed his paw back onto his knee. "And you either remind me of the shit I did as a pup, or the family does, and how little I've changed."

"She's saying...we're feeding each other's behavior at this point?" Vernon asked.

"At this point." Yuri replied. "Back in the day it might have been different. But now..."

"Bu-You...I di-..." Vernon struggled to rebuff the wolf's assertion. But as the therapist's _'prognosis'_meshed in among the rest of the wolf's earlier statements, it became increasingly hard to argue a point against the otter's reasoning.

"Face it Vern, we bring out the worst in each other..." Yuri continued. "And it's all we know how to do."

Yuri was right. His therapist was right. As startling as it was to conceive, and as guilty as Yuri was of his own role in this self-sustaining cycle, Vernon was guilty too, even if his role was comparatively smaller in his own eyes. Vernon had become used to fighting Yuri, to having his retorts and one-liners ready well in advance of having to face any interaction with him. He had given up long ago on trying anything else, or even thinking of trying to deal with the wolf any other way.

"How was I..?" Vernon shook his head. "What did you..?" The wolf struggled to reply. Too many questions, all struggling to get out of his muzzle at once and colliding in his throat before withering out as incomplete sentences.

"Y-you never told me any of this." Vernon finally managed to reply, blinking dumbly at the jet-black wolf across from him."We never talked. W-we never..."

"I was never the talkin' type Vern." Yuri replied. "Hell I wouldn't be admittin' this to ya know if it weren't fer...I promised her."

Vernon furrowed his brow. "Ada?"

Yuri gave a slow nod.

"Miss Banks gave me two options." Yuri spun toward Vernon, leaning on his knees as he eyed the wolf. "Either cut the family out entirely." Yuri's muzzle tilted to the floor as he averted his gaze. "Or try and fix the problem by openin' up to the 'source' and workin' outward."

"And by 'source'...you mean..." Vernon pointed at himself with a weak, withering paw, only to receive an affirmative nod from the jet-black wolf.

"O'course I was against both options." The wolf sighed. "I was sure if I tried to bring it up, I'd either hackle things up or ultimatly get nowhere..." The wolf placed a paw to his temple. "But I couldn't bring myself to just...to just say to hell with y'all."

The wolf placed a paw on his neck, rubbing it uneasily as he glanced up and away from the wolf.

"As rutted up as this situation is..." The wolf muttered. "As rutted up as I am..." Yuri shook his head. "I...I care about my family."

The wolf let out a dull chuckle as he ran his paw back over his mo-hawk, stopping to rub his head before allowing his arm to slip back to his side.

"Ada knew that..." Yuri shook his head. "Which is why she agreed that I needed to _'Alpha up'_and actually...say this shit to you." The wolf sighed. "That I owed it to myself, and to y'all to work things out. To finally get this weight off my shoulders and clear the air when I was ready."

"In fact...that's...was sort of the reason I decided to come out to this reunion."

Vernon drew backward slightly, his expression one of mild disbelief. "To have this talk?"

"And as y'all can tell by our faces..."The wolf muttered, gesturing between the wolves accumulated bruises and cuts from the day before. "I hackled things up that much worse fer tryin'." The wolf shook his head. "Just like I figured I would."

Vernon let out a barking laugh. "You mean to tell me that y'all beatin' me up was you tryin' to make things right!?" The wolf scoffed.

"I got drunk okay!" Yuri snapped back, crossing his arms defensively. "I was tryin' to muster the courage up to even try to approach makin' things better, and I needed the help!"

"Some help." Vernon retorted. "And considering how you behaved before the drinking I can't say-."

"I came out here with the best of intentions dammit!" Yuri hissed. "I wanted to surprise Ada and the family, and really try at turnin' over a new leaf." The wolf placed a paw to his temple. "But the second I saw you yesterday mornin' I slipped right back into it!" The wolf gestured his paws dramatically at the wolf across from him. "I tried but I just- I could-!" The wolf shook his head. "All that talk about yer new girl, knowin' who she was and that Pa was pissed!" The wolf directed a paw at Vernon. "That part of me, that deep seated part buried inside couldn't resist playin' into it further." Yuri let out a harsh, exaggerated breath. "To keep that wedge forced in there to make sure that this time everyhtin' didn't work out like it always did. To make sure Pa didn't eventually just give in and...ARGH!" Yuri clamped his paws to his head. "And so much fer that beca-!"

The wolf stopped short of finishing his sentence, letting out a harsh breath as he went back to counting down his breathing. The drawn-out, methodical exhales slowly but surely calming down the wolf to a point where he could continue. With the final, long breath the wolf's paws slipped off his head, coming down to brace themselves on his knees once more as he opened his eyes. His gaze returning to Vernon's own.

"Ada was right about somethin' else too." Yuri muttered. "Few things actually."

Vernon quirked a brow curiously. "What about?"

Yuri clasped his paws together, leaning in slightly as his attention returned to the floor.

"After that brawl, while you were hashin' things out with Pa...we had a huge fight about everythin'." Yuri muttered. "I told her what I was tryin' to do, but how hard it was to make good on it." The wolf glanced up at Vernon briefly, his golden eyes looking strangely sullen as he spoke. "Especially with things goin' the way they were." Yuri shook his head.

"The fact that Pa wasn't bendin' on givin' in to you was...just too satisfyin' fer me...the version of me that lives here." Yuri pointed a claw at the floor. "But Ada..."

"She just...she hit me with somethin' I'd never really given much thought about before..." The wolf turned his attention to the floor, his elbows resting on his knees as he studied the gritty looking rug.

"That if the tables were turned." Yuri sighed. "If it was me fightin' tooth and nail fer the right to get tithed to Ada." Yuri glanced back to Vernon, his eyes shimmering softly as he met Vernon's gaze. "Regardless of how we get along, you'd stand up to defend us."

Vernon was taken aback momentarily by yet another odd admission from the wolf. The words almost seemed to carry some sort of emotion other than a simple acknowledgment. Perhaps respect, or a begrudged sense of appreciation. But in that moment, Vernon felt as though Yuri was giving off the briefest glimmer of something resembling care. Care toward the brother he admittedly disliked most of all.

"O-of course Yuri..." Vernon murmured. "I mean...I do...er..." Vernon glanced at his feet for a moment. There was no easy way to say this, but it was the truth.

"Look...I don't hate you Yuri." The wolf glanced back up at his brother. "To answer yer earlier question."

Yuri furrowed his brow, flashing the wolf a dubious glance.

"I love you, as a brother." Vernon said. "But I...really don't like you. As a person."

In spite of Vernon's admission, Yuri cracked a wide, genuine smile.

"That's the other thing Ada was right about." Yuri chuckled.

"Wait, what?" Vernon replied.

Yuri shook his head dismissively. "After all this talk, all this openin' up." The wolf brushed a paw through his mo-hawk briskly. "I still don't like you either."

Vernon couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean I love y'all as my brother." Yuri smirked. "But as a person...y'all drive me nuts."

Yuri's smile faltered slightly as he turned his attention back to the floor, the wolf placing his paws together as he studied the faded, torn up rug at his feet. "So much fer therapy huh?"

Yuri idly kicked a foot at one of the loose spools laying on the floor, letting out a snort.

"All that work tryin' to put things in perspective..."The wolf muttered. "All the arguments with Ada." Yuri glanced back at Vernon, a genuine frown crossing his muzzle as he spoke. "Even after she put it all in perspective for me last night....I don't feel like anythin's changed." The wolf sighed. "It's like there weren't even a point to it all."

"Hey..." Vernon said softly, drawing Yuri's attention back to the wolf.

"Look, I..." Vernon muttered, shaking his head. "What you did today was a huge step." The wolf continued. "You shouldn't short change yourself for actually going through with it."

Yuri simply let out a low grumble in response.

"Makin' a big change, especially when it comes to somethin' so deep-rooted on yer inside, ain't somethin' y'all can just fix in a day." Vernon continued. "I know that enough from what Dawn's told me about her sessions with her own therapist. And I don't doubt that in the slightest."

"But that said, I'm proud of you for takin' that step." Vernon said, offering the wolf a soft smile. "Not that I haven't been proud of you before."

Yuri quirked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"What, you don't think I'm proud of your accomplishments just because we don't get along?" Vernon continued. "I know fer a fact that with every one of those suspensions y'all got equal if not more accolades to back 'em up." The wolf said with a smirk.

Yuri tilted his head slightly. "Wait, what?"

"That drug syndicate you broke up, hell you had to work against some of the cops in yer own precinct to take that mess down." Vernon chuckled. "How many crooked cops you end up rootin' out in the process?"

"Fourteen." Yuri replied. "But who told y'all-?"

"You forgot Ma calls me too right?" Vernon chuckled. " I probably hear just as much about what you and the others do as you hear about me and then some."

Yuri's eyes seemed to flicker momentarily, a hint of moisture glossing over his yellow eyes before he began to blink rapidly in a clear effort to shoo them away.

"And Y'all should take pride in that too." Vernon continued. "And you got Ada." The wolf raised a finger, waiving it at the black wolf warily. "Which I might add, y'all would be a fool to ever let that gal go."

Yuri's smile broadened to reveal his teeth, his chest swelling slightly as he placed a paw to his chest that implied a sudden swell of confidence despite averting his gaze once more.

"Pfft, that ol' yeen wouldn't let me even If I tried." The wolf laughed softly before trailing off into a pleasant sigh. "But...there ain't a day that goes by where I ain't thankful to have her."

"And so what if we don't like each other." Vernon shrugged. "We don't have to."

Yuri tilted his head in confusion, his ears lolling to one side slightly.

Vernon raised a finger. "We are two very different wolves." The wolf shook his head. "Even givin' our best efforts, we might never get along."

"But now that this is all out in the open, maybe we can learn to tolerate each other." Vernon said. "To learn to be civil with one another enough to actually be able to visit home at the same time without causin' a scene. And actually have a decent time in the process."

"Maybe..." Yuri muttered, the wolf scratching at his chin thoughtfully.

"We don't have to be the closest brothers in the pack." Vernon gestured to Yuri lazily. "In fact, distance is probably the healthiest thing for us." The wolf shrugged. "But our mates seem to get along really well, and when it comes to Ma and Pa..."

Vernon frowned as the realization came back to him. In the lengthy, unexpected discussion with Yuri he had almost entirely forgotten his current circumstances. Up until this point he had been talking as if there were future visits to the Hunter ranch in store for him and Dawn. That there was really a chance to work on getting along with Yuri in the long run when this was going to be the last reunion Vernon was allowed to attend. After all, for all of his admitted faults and troubles, Yuri remained a Hunter, while Vernon was, for the moment, nothing.

Vernon placed his paws on his knees, letting out a sorrowful sigh.

"Vern?" Yuri spoke, But Vernon's eyes remained on the floor. "Ya'll alright?"

"Eh...it's...it's n-nothing."The wolf said, doing his best to shake off the rather hollow feeling the realization had brought with it. After all, if Yuri hadn't brought it up, then the wolf clearly was unaware of thier Father's declaration as to Vernon's status in the family pack. And rather than risk tempting Yuri's more troubled side into taking over in light of such a discovery, the wolf was keen on riding out the rather rare moment of camaraderie between the two wolves.

However, despite Vernon's reassurance, it did little to change Yuri's level of concern.

"Hey..." Yuri shrugged. " Like you said, we may not end up bein' the closest brothers in the pack." The wolf offered an awkward, uncomfortable looking smile.

"But there ain't no reason we can't shoot fer it right?" Yuri asked.

Vernon quirked a brow curiously as Yuri reached a paw into his breast pocket. The wolf fumbled momentarily before managing to yank what looked like some sort of strange tribal looking bracelet free of his tux before flinging it at Vernon.

The sudden projectile caught Vernon off guard, and the wolf almost failed to catch it as he clumsy reached his paws in the air. With the item now gripped tightly in his paws, the wolf began to carefully inspect the trinket. It was definitely tribal in nature, the wood cut shapes and carved symbols looks like something straight out of Afrikat. But the most eye-catching portion of the bracelet was the large, wood carving of a hyena skull with colorful face paint marking the features. Vernon tapped the skull gingerly as he dangled the bracelet from a paw before turning his attention back to Yuri.

"What is...?"

"What y'all got there is a bracelet Ada gave me." Yuri muttered. "It was a gift fer our first anniversary." The black furred wolf scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably as his eyes shifted away from Vernon. "I-It's...somethin' that means a lot to me."

Vernon eyed the medallion on the charm more closely, tapping it with a claw again. "Okay..." The wolf murmured before glancing back up at his brother. "But then, why are you giving this to me?"

"I made this promise to Ada." The wolf muttered. "And now I'm makin' it to you." The wolf ran a paw through his mo-hawk briskly, pressing his paw on it a few times in a clear attempt to force some of the 'spring' back into it.

"I told her last night that startin' right there, I was gonna try harder to be better." Yuri sighed. "And I want to try to extend the same deal to y'all." The jet-black wolf rolled his eyes slightly. "And so, with that in mind..."

Yuri held up a paw, pointing up one finger as he eyed the wolf across from him.

"One." Yuri spoke. "From now on, I ain't drinkin' around y'all anymore." Yuri flashed the wolf a mischevious grin. "We all know how that goes."

Vernon flashed the wolf a dull glare. "Right..."

Yuri seemed to ignore Vernon's rather doubtful sounding reply, instead simply pointing a second claw upward and continuing.

"And two." Yuri adjusted his tie slightly with his other paw, clearing his throat awkwardly before continuing. "I want you to wear that thing whenever we're around each other from now on."

The wolf gave a slight shrug. "I don't care what wrist y'all decide to wear it on, just make sure I can see it."

"Because...?" Vernon tilted his head curiously.

"If I start gettin' to ornery, or actin' too much like my...old self..." The wolf winced as the worlds 'old self' left his muzzle. "Just send up the ol' bird at me with the paw that bracelets hangin' off of."

Vernon couldn't help but smirk.

"You want me to..." The wolf chuckled. "Flip you off?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "That thing yer holdin' will remind me of my promise to Ada." The wolf chuckled. "And my promise to y'all." The wolf grinned. "And hopefully reign me in a little bit."

Vernon inspected the charm once again, chuckling at it before slipping it onto his left wrist.

"So it's like a sacred talisman meant to keep y'all away huh?" Vernon smirked.

Yuri let out a scoff. "If that's how y'all want to look at it." Yuri shook his head. "Although the idea was it's supposed to remind me that we're aimin' to make things better between us from here on out..." The wolf averted his gaze slightly, an uneasy expression lacing his features. "Sort of a symbol of makin' an honest try at a fresh start..."

Vernon flashed the wolf a genuine smile.

"Thanks Yuri." Vernon replied. "I...It..." The wolf sighed. "Thanks."

Yuri nodded softly, the wolf clearly trying his best to stifle a smile.

"Hey." Ulric's voice drew the wolves attention to the curtain as the twitchy wolf poked his head in. His eyes darting from wolf to wolf in a frenzied manner.

"Uh..." Ulric murmured. "Aunt Abby's ready for Vern..." The wolf's eyes warily fixated on Vernon.

"Is he...cool?" Ulric asked.

Yuri rose to his feet, straightening his tie before turning his attention back to Vernon.

"It's a weddin' Vern." Yuri spoke, drawing Vernon's attention back on him. "Fer you and the sheep."

Vernon blinked at his brother in confusion as he struggled to make sense of what he was saying. It couldn't be true, yet Yuri's expression seemed genuine enough to take at face value.

"Yuri!" Ulric whined. "You weren't su-!"

"Aw hush you idjit!" Yuri snapped. "I know what I'm doin'!"

"A...A wedding?" Vernon asked in disbelief.

"That's what these damn pups have been stumblin' over themselves to keep quiet about." Yuri rolled his eyes. "More afraid o' spoilin' the surprise and riskin' Ma given' them the _'ol' glare'_than keepin' you from sprintin' to the next county."

"B-but...how?" Vernon murmured, his lip trembling slightly as he spoke. "What about Pa, abou-?"

"It's a caprid weddin', ain't a tithe. And as fer Pa...well..." The wolf rolled his eyes. "He ain't gonna be around to object."

The jet-black wolf shook his head. "But that's about as much as I can say." Yuri held his paws up. "Yer just gonna have to trust me on this, alright Vern? If I don't keep some sort of element of surprise in this whole thing it makes this whole tag and bag thing kinda pointless don't it?"

Vernon winced, his ears drooping slightly. "Y-yeah..but-?"

"Trust me. There's a bit more to this, but I just can't tell ya." Yuri flashed the wolf a broad grin. Vernon was unsure if the smile was intended to be comforting, as it carried the vague hint of Yuri's mischievousness. "But I think y'all will be pleasantly surprised."

With that, Yuri held out a paw to Vernon, gesturing for the wolf to take it. Vernon simply stared at it in surprise for a few moments, watching the wolf flick his fingers in an effort to entice him to grab his paw. Vernon still wasn't very used to trusting Yuri, but to say the conversation hadn't managed to put considerably more faith in the wolf would have been a lie.

Vernon's confused expression slowly morphed into a smile as he took his brother's paw, the dark-furred wolf lifting him to his feet before releasing his grip. Yuri flashed the wolf a smirk. Across the room, Vernon could see Ulric cow his head, the wolf closing his eyes tightly as he turned away from the pair in a show of fear. It was as though the wolf were waiting for a bomb to go off.

"Now get out there, and get suited up." Yuri said. " Gotta get you fitted fer the funeral fer yer bachelorhood. "

Ulric perked an ear, one of his eyes slowly opening as he regarded the two again. Slowly, a look of partial relief came over his features as he reluctantly slipped out of the room.

"I'm getting married." Vernon muttered quietly to himself. "I'm getting married?" He glanced at Yuri, only for the wolf to give him an affirming nod. It was starting to sink in. This was really happening.

"Sweet Sawgrass, I'm gettin' married!" Vernon placed a paw to his head, a goofy grin forming on his muzzle as he spoke.

"Thinkin' about runnin' now?" Yuri said, flashing the wolf a smug grin.

Vernon gave the wolf a disapproving glare, letting out a huff. "No!' Vernon replied. "Of course not!"

"Ah good, good..." Yuri grinned, giving Vernon a gentle push toward the curtain. "Was worried I was gonna have to put y'all down to keep ya from makin' a break for it."

Vernon chuckled halfheartedly as he neared the curtain, placing a paw on the frame as he looked back at Yuri.

"With what?" Vernon muttered. "Pruning shears?"

Yuri chuckled dully. "Well, since were still bein' all open and honest..." The wolf reached into his pocket, revealing what looked like some sort of compact firearm with black and yellow striping. "You weren't exactly as free to leave as y'all may of thought." The wolf snickered as he spun the weapon around a finger. "If you tried to bolt I was ready to pop a few thousand volts into ya."

Vernon shook his head. He should have figured as much. As always, Yuri didn't make a move unless he felt that the situation was entirely under his control at all times.

"Well....if were still bein' open and honest..." Vernon replied innocently. "I think it's time I tell you that..."

Vernon flashed the wolf a mischievous smile.

"I keyed the rut out of yer motorcycle."

Yuri's expression dropped before his muzzle twisted into a furious and hateful scowl. His fangs on full display as Vernon turned to rush through the curtain. Yuri let out a loud snarl as Vernon pushed through the fabric, the wolf extending his arm in a desperate bid to flash the bracelet. But the talisman was met with the sound of taser barbs firing, impacting the fabric of the curtain with a dull thud as Vernon just barely escaped.