Redhawk Caldera Always mountains one must scale

This was wrong.  A day or two had passed, and still he was missing.  Gannet had grown enough to know this was not usual, and to have heard the worry in the adults who previously searched.  If he had been told of their eventual discovery, it hadn't yet sunk in - perhaps he had chosen not to hear.

The thin white pup hadn't been the most rambunctious of late, but today he stood and wandered a ways from the den, his small tail waving in an agitated way.  And as he walked, his little voice sounded out, speaking the first tremulous words to ever cross his lips.  "Pete?  You hiding?"  

When he'd left for his trip—which had been a giant waste of time, in hindsight, and a literal headache—Peregrine had left behind four young sons. He'd come home to three. Fox's voice kept replaying in his head: Peter is dead. He believed her, of course, and accepted the harsh reality of it. But that was just the first step in what was going to be a horribly painful grieving process. He would have to be strong for his mate and the other three boys, not to mentions somehow uphold the family as the famine lingered.

He tried to comfort himself with the thought, His suffering is over. But so was his life, so in the end, all that did was choke him up. Trying to bite back the sob caught in his throat, Peregrine found himself compulsively seeking the other pups to make sure they were all right. When he spotted Gannet, the relief was great. He padded over to the pale boy, heart breaking all over again when he overheard the pup's tremulous question.

Peregrine wouldn't sugarcoat this, yet would Gannet even understand? "Hey, Gannet," the Alpha rumbled softly, stepping up beside the slender cub and touching his temple with his nose. "Come here. I need to tell you something important." He motioned to a patch of newly-growing grass nearby and sat, waiting for the pup to do the same.

While he asked, no answer was forthcoming, and he found no trace of course of his lost brother.  Naively there was no worry.  He had no concept of the fact that Peter may not return. He could sense worry in the adults, but the two did not connect.

So when Peregrine approached, Gannet slowed without complaint, then came at the beckon and sat down next to his father.  Leaning in against his side, he stared up expectantly.  What did he have to tell him?  His expression was curious and unassuming; he had no idea what was coming.

Gannet leaned into him and Peregrine's eyes closed as he simply savored that for a beat, his living son's warmth pressed to him. He drew in a deep, deep breath, then opened his eyes again and curved downward a little to look into the cub's face. He would explain death plainly, in language he hoped Gannet could understand, then field whatever questions he might have for him.

"You won't be able to find your brother, Gannet, because he's dead," he broke the news as gently as he could. "That means he's asleep, that he'll never wake up. We—" He halted here uncertainly, swallowing, then continued, "We put his body to rest, in case you're wondering where he is. You won't be able to find him," he repeated the most important part. "But we won't forget him, not ever." Peregrine took a shaky breath. "Do you understand? Do you have any questions?"

Peregrine began and, for the pup's part, he listened intently.  He's dead.. this meant nothing.  Asleep and never wake up.  Also confusion, as he tried to wrap his mind around it.  Sleep was a good thing, and always ended with waking up.

Before he could comprehend, Peregrine had moved on, and the next made perhaps the clearest sense to him.  And it was this he latched onto - we put him to rest, you won't find him.

Gannet took a step back and his ears lowered in confusion.  Unsure, he frowned, and his look when he turned his face to his father became somewhat accusatory.  "Why?"

It was a little unclear what the succinct boy meant by this, but internally, he grew irritable.  Why had they taken him away? Why had they hidden him from his brothers?

Ah, the favorite standby of the young: Why? Peregrine mused for a moment, wanting to answer the question as aptly as possible. He hadn't been there, of course, but Fox had informed him of the brutal circumstances of their youngest's death. He would spare Gannet the gory details while taking this opportunity to teach the pup about the dangers of the wilderness, namely other wolves.

"The world is a dangerous place, Gannet, and we've all been hungry lately. Hunger sometimes makes wolves do crazy things, like attack each other. A strange wolf attacked, Peter, and hurt him so badly he died." Peregrine choked up at this part, partially because of Peter's suffering but also because he hated to relay this to Gannet, to rob him of his innocence in a way. "But it was over quickly." He didn't know about that but Peregrine said it to reassure both of them. "And he's not hurting anymore. Peter is safe now, sleeping..." And that's where his voice failed him entirely.

Having never seen a hunt, Gannet had trouble picturing what his father described.  Attacking to kill didn't make any sense, though he did understand the gist.  Danger in strangers - instinct twinged at this.

Safe now.  Sleeping. Gannet's look cleared, and he nodded.  This was ok then.  "Play later." he said quietly, not comprehending the permanence.  Surely dad and mom wouldn't keep Pete away for long, and once he was awake, they could adventure once more.  His little tag wagged once or twice at the thought, and he scuffed at the ground, eager for that time.

Peregrine didn't attempt to correct or divert Gannet further, mostly because his voice still hadn't returned. He sat there a few moments, focusing on breathing, willing the pain in his chest away. He should focus on the lesson here, steer his son away from the loss of Peter and use this experience as a tool. That thought caused his jaw to clench, yet he nodded inwardly. He would not let Peter's death mean nothing.

"Gannet, listen..." the Alpha began just as soon as he'd cleared his throat and convinced his voice box to function again. "You know what I said about wolves attacking due to hunger? Well, that's not the only reason wolves attack. Sometimes they do it for no reason at all. That's why it's so important to always stick close to your family, to never wander away and never leave the pack territory, at least until you're old enough. We can protect you best if you stay close to home, away from the outsiders. Do you understand?"

He was quiet when Peregrine went on to impress his point, and then for a little while after, thinking.  Slow reactions were something he tended towards - he liked to consider and mull over things, more than perhaps one might expect for his age.

Sometimes bad wolves will get you, even if they aren't hungry.  But there was safety here, safety with the family.  They would protect him.  

But they didn't protect Peter?  If they got him, then maybe the strange wolves were here.  He frowned, but nodded.  If the bad wolves were here, he could find them, and he could protect them too.  Suddenly a twinge of adventure lit up in the small boy, and he let out a small, soft growl of agreement.

He wished he'd given this same speech to Peter. Maybe it would have saved his life. That thought brought on a wave of guilt so strong that he felt nauseated. He dimly registered Gannet's answering growl even as his ears started to ring. He turned away from his son to shield him from the gnarly view as his gut abruptly emptied, complete with absolutely awful gagging sounds. It left his mouth tasting sour, the stench of his own puke hanging around his head like a cloud.

"Let's move over this way," he said weakly to the white cub, motioning for Gannet to follow him several yards away, across the main clearing of the rendezvous site. "Have you seen Ferret or Whip?" he found himself asking, heart suddenly jumping into his aching throat. They were probably with Fox... but what if they weren't? "I'm going to go find them." He paused, deliberating. He would normally feel just fine telling Gannet to stay put but right now, he couldn't bear parting with the boy. "Come on, you're coming with me."

Wanna fade here? :D