Quirin's head ached, and it made him just want to crawl into bed, cover his eyes, and just hope that the nausea died down. He was supposed to be helping Edmund study, and then they had evening training, but Quirin had to skip.

It was completely humiliating. He was a brotherhood trainee. His mother was the king's second, and everybody knew that Quirin would step into that role when Edmund inherited the throne. Quirin was supposed to be strong, and yet here he was, unable to function and focus for hours, or sometimes even days, at a time. Quirin didn't understand why his mom, Edmund, and the captain went so easy on him when the Brotherhood, and really the Dark Kingdom in general, expected the very best.

Quirin barely held back a whimper as he slipped into Hector's room, closing the door quietly behind him. He didn't feel up for doing much, but it didn't feel right to just sit around all day. He needed to do something at least a little bit productive, and keeping Hector company was just the thing he needed.

Quirin had expected to see Hector on his bed, because he rarely moved from that spot, no matter how many times Quirin and the others had told him that he had free rein of the room. Quirin was surprised to find that Hector had climbed out of the bed and was currently curled up by the window instead, staring outside.

"Hey, Hector." Quirin said. Hector glanced towards him briefly before looking back outside. "You mind if I keep you company?"

Hector was still for a moment before he curled up into a tighter ball and nodded. Quirin frowned. Hector was having a bad day. He'd been doing so much better at talking and responding, but sometimes he would have days where he would go completely silent. Even though he talked less, on his quiet days he seemed to understand a lot more of what was said to him.

Hector was aware of a lot on his bad days. He would sit completely still until he heard the smallest of sounds, and then he'd twitch and turn towards it. He didn't relax until he was completely positive that there wasn't a threat, which took several minutes at the very least. If there was something around that Hector perceived as a threat he would either start growling or whining, and he was just as likely to cower away as he was to attack.

The others, especially Quirin's mom, had been really curious and worried about what caused Hector's bad days. He could be terrifyingly violent at the best of times, and they were scared of what would happen if he was startled on a bad day. Quirin's mom hoped that if they knew what triggered him then they could try to prevent it from happening at all.

Quirin understood the hope, but he didn't think it would work out the way that his mom wanted. While sometimes things could cause Hector to close up, it sometimes seemed like things that bothered him sometimes didn't affect him at all at other times. And there were multiple times where nothing seemed to happen at all and Hector would just wake up in a mood. Quirin was reminded of his headaches. Sometimes there was a reason, sometimes there wasn't, and it didn't do too much good to try to prevent it. The easiest thing to do was just wait it out when it happened.

Quirin sat on Hector's bed with a sigh. He laid back and closed his eyes, resting his arm over his eyes to try to dim the light. He didn't say anything, and neither did Hector. They stayed in a comfortable silence for several minutes before there was a quiet shifting. Hector was slowly moving. Quirin held perfectly still. He didn't want to startle Hector. He just let him move at his own pace.

There was an added weight on the bed. Quirin held his breath as Hector crawled towards him and curled up against him, nuzzling against his fur vest. Quirin wanted to wrap his arm around Hector and pull him close, but he held still. Hector had to be the one in control. Any progress that they made was set back whenever somebody tried to push Hector just a little too far.

Slowly, inch by inch, minute by minute, Hector settled against Quirin. The younger boy didn't push himself under Quirin's arms, but Hector did nuzzle against his hand. It was like Hector was trying to be scratched or pet. Quirin's heart hurt. Hector had been pushed into an impossible role that shouldn't be expected from anybody.

They were trying to help him adjust to a new life, to recognize that the way he'd been treated wasn't right. Hector was starting to gain some independence and confidence, which he'd been sorely lacking after being treated like an animal for his whole life. While Hector had improved in a lot of ways, Quirin was worried that there were some ways where he would always remain the somewhat beastly boy.

For starters, Hector was still wearing that collar, a mark of ownership and dominance. Quirin knew that Hector didn't like it, and the skin around his neck was red and raw where the collar was too tight. The boy just didn't trust any of them enough to let them anywhere near his neck.

Quirin hoped that they reached that point soon. They were making progress. Afterall, Hector was willingly curling up against him and seeking comfort. It was a big step for him, it just hurt Quirin a bit that Hector was seeking comfort the way that a pet would, but nudging and nuzzling against a gentle hand, silently asking for pets.

Hector wasn't a pet, and Quirin didn't want him to act like one at all, but how could he deny Hector the one form of comfort that he sought? So Quirin let Hector pet himself against his hand. The two of them slowly began to relax and doze. Falling asleep always took Quirin so long to fall asleep when his head hurt. Hector had a much easier time, and when he stopped nudging against Quirin's hand he started to think that the boy was falling asleep.

Right when Quirin thought that Hector was truly relaxed and asleep the door was thrown open harshly. Hector stiffened and whimpered as he drew closer to Quirin. He had to resist wrapping his arms protectively around him, because he didn't want to make him feel trapped and scare him off. Quirin just shifted to put himself between the door and the scared boy.

"Quirin." His mom let herself in with the captain right behind her. "I thought you were at training."

"Headache." Quirin said quietly. His mom's eyes softened and she nodded in understanding. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to talk to Hector." The captain said. "I have a proposition for him." He eyed Hector sympathetically. "Is he sleeping?"

Quirin didn't actually believe that Hector was sleeping. He didn't think he'd been sleeping at all, but especially not now when there was such a sudden appearance of a potential threat. Hector was staying so still right now though. He wasn't in a fighting mood, he was in a cowering and hiding mood.

Hector didn't want to talk to the others, and Quirin wouldn't make him.

"Why don't we step outside." Quirin suggested. "We can let Hector rest, and I can hear out your proposition and tell it to Hector later. He'll take it better from me." Quirin truly believed that. Hector didn't fully trust any of them, but especially not the captain. Whatever he had to say, Hector would hear it better if it came from someone he liked a bit more.

Quirin slowly pulled away from Hector. He felt a pang when Hector whined and grabbed onto his arm.

"I'll be right back." Quirin said quietly. He pulled off his fur vest and draped it over Hector's form, giving him something new to cuddle with. Hector sighed contentedly and settled again. Quirin gave him a sad look before he followed the others out of the room. They didn't go very far. They just lingered in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Quirin asked.

"I wanted to ask Hector if he would be interested in joining the Brotherhood." The captain said. That wasn't at all what Quirin had expected.

"You…what?"

"The captain believes that Hector's unique situation could give him some interesting insight that the Brotherhood could make use of." Quirin's mom said. He recognized her tone.

"You don't agree." Quirin noted.

"I think that Hector has potential." Quirin's mom said carefully. "But he's too unpredictable right now. If he's to join the Brotherhood he will need to show that he's capable of control and compassion."

Quirin seethed. "Of course Hector has compassion." He had a hard time showing it, but Quirin could see it, and he felt protective at the implication that Hector was heartless and out of control.

"Then he needs to learn how to use it." Quirin's mom said. This was something that she wouldn't budge on, but neither would Quirin.

"That's what the training is for." The captain said. "Nobody joins the Brotherhood until they've proven they're worthy of it, and it's my job to find those with potential and whip them into shape."

Quirin heard a thump inside of Hector's room, and he was immediately concerned. He knew that he needed to trust Hector more and give him more freedom, but he didn't like the thought of leaving Hector all by himself. He needed to check on him, just to make sure he was okay.

Quirin turned back towards the door just as there was a crashing sound and a hiss of pain from inside. Quirin swore under his breath and threw the door open. Hector was no longer on the bed. He was perched at the window again, poking his head outside through a large shattered hole that hadn't been there just a minute ago.

Hector looked nervous, but not nearly as scared as Quirin felt. He could see Hector's elbow bleeding from where he had probably slammed it into the window to break it, but he was much more worried about the fact that he was so close to the edge. This room wasn't in any of the towers, but it was far from being on the first floor. If Hector tried to jump out from here…

"Hector!" Quirin couldn't help but shout. Hector barely flinched. He just looked over his shoulder towards Quirin. "Get down!"

"No more training." Hector said stiffly. He glared behind Quirin towards the door where Quirin's mom and the captain probably were. "I'm not your pet to control and judge. Not anymore." Quirin agreed, but he didn't have the chance to say as much or try to convince Hector. He couldn't do anything before the young boy kicked at the glass to make the hole big enough to crawl through. Hector forced himself through, uncaring about how he was getting his legs and arms scratched up. He just wanted to get out.

Quirin ran to the window, reaching out towards Hector, but the younger boy was already out of reach. Hector was scampering down the wall, grabbing impossible to see holds to prevent himself from just falling to the ground. It was terrifying to watch, partially because Hector could fall with just one wrong move, and partially because if Hector got down safely he would just run.

"Hector!" Quirin began to lean out the window himself, but he was grabbed harshly from behind and pulled back.

"Don't even think about it, young man." Quirin's mom said sternly. "You're just going to get yourself hurt or killed."

"I can't just let him go." Quirin said. "I need to go after him." He knew that he couldn't go out the window and climb like Hector did, but he had to hurry to hurry if he didn't want to lose him. Quirin pulled out of his mom's grip and ran out of the room. His head was still hurting, and every step he took felt like a thump against his skull, but he couldn't let that stop him. He needed to make sure Hector was okay, and then he would worry about himself.

Quirin ran as quickly as he could, pushing past anybody that was in his way. It was incredibly rude, and he felt a little bad, but he needed to find Hector. That was all that mattered to him right now.

As much as he didn't want to delay for another minute, Quirin took a small detour to Adira's room. Hector would be out of sight and headed in who-knows-what direction by the time Quirin got out there. He was a decent tracker, but Adira was absolutely amazing. If anybody could find Hector's trail, it would be her.

Adira's room wasn't too far away, but even that short amount of running made the mild nausea that Quirin was feeling spike. He actually felt like he was going to be sick, and he had to bend over and take several deep breaths to keep himself from completely losing it. When Quirin actually felt well enough to enter into Adira's room he felt like he was going to scream. She wasn't there.

He was not about to go on a wild goose chase just to get out of another wild goose chase. He couldn't afford to go searching for Adira, but he needed help. Fortunately, Edmund should be training just down the hall right now. He wasn't the best tracker, but two pairs of eyes were far better than one.

Quirin turned around and made his way to the training rooms and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw not only Edmund there, but also Adira. That made things so much easier. "Guys, I need help. Hector ran off."

Edmund and Adira had been sparring, and as soon as Quirin spoke they both stopped.

"He what?" Adira frowned.

"He broke the window, climbed out, and left." Quirin said. Adira and Edmund looked no less surprised and stunned. "I can't go after him on my own." Just running from upstairs to down here made him feel ill.

"Of course we'll come." Edmund said. He looked at Quirin carefully. "I'll have some horses prepared."

"We don't have time for that." Quirin said.

"It's not up for debate." Edmund said. He was using his prince voice, and Quirin knew he was serious. "If you get yourself hurt trying to find Hector, what good will you be to him?"

Quirin cursed the fact that Edmund knew him so well. His friend knew that he had a migraine, and he knew what he could handle.

"Fine." Quirin agreed reluctantly.

"I'll go ahead." Adira said. "See if I can find him." She ran off. Quirin hoped that she could track down Hector. He was glad that somebody around was able to help, but Quirin hated the fact that he was so useless right now. He was supposed to be responsible for Hector, and yet under his watch the boy decides to jump out a window.

Edmund put a hand on Quirin's shoulder as they continued after Adira, at a much slower pace. "Don't worry. We'll find him."

Quirin believed they really would, because Hector was still hurt and Adira was the best tracker he knew. She'd catch up to him. What Quirin was most concerned about was that he didn't know exactly what had put Hector over the edge. How was he supposed to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future again if he didn't know what was wrong?