he set a quick retreat for himself from the caldera, unwilling to stop for any reason. yet thirst forced a brief detour, though lasher did not rest, and soon beheld the rearing pines of the plateau before long. breathing a sigh of relief, taltos cast a glance behind himself, irrationally wondering if he would see peregrine's angry visage there.

it was with mortal weariness that he crept across the borders, managing only a short howl for his silver leader before collapsing into a prone heap in the shadow of a birch-stand.

he did not allow himself to dwell on the events of the day, rather slipping into a daze somewhat akin to slumber as he awaited dante. the concerned baritone of his leader brought lasher to his senses, however; he lifted himself to his paws. dante. a low sigh was given into the air. finley is here, at the plateau. i was hunting in the shared lands and saw her attack a bear. i do not know why.

he realized he had done the man a disservice by telling him several hours later, but if dante wished to punish him, lasher would accept it. i could not keep the beast from injuring her badly. i brought her here; she is at blue willow's den. as soon as she was settled, i went to tell — peregrine and fox where she had gone. she is to be their co-leader, you see. foreseeably, peregrine himself is on his way here.

he was rambling, and closed his jaw with a snap for a moment. i did not summon you. forgive me.

lasher indeed felt terrible in regard to how he had handled the situation, and nodded at dante's quiet words. however, he could not hold back the cold, sardonic laugh that left his lips. ah yes, that, he exclaimed. peregrine has asked that the plateau send a ... less controversial messenger next time.

the ugly smirk fell from his maw and he slunk forward to proffer a placating lick to the underside of dante's chin. i did not think of you. i am sorry for this. and i will not be returning to the caldera. peregrine came here a few days ago and we spoke of his children. ty has been missing, as you may know. junior went on an excursion to search and i visited the sunspire to see if she had followed hawkeye.

ty is a wanderer and so i thought she had merely gone on a short journey, he murmured breathlessly, a pleading tone entering his voice. he did not know how long she had been truly gone, or if dante had noticed, and sought to avoid the anger of the gunmetal man over not being informed of a second occurrence.

he gave a nod, mouth curving into a bitter twist at dante's revelation that saena no longer wished to see her father. he had abandoned more than lasher, and he suddenly felt selfish for his outburst against the panther. i do hope tytonidae returns, he muttered darkly — where else would she go?

taltos glanced at dante. i do not see where being sisters with the caldera would benefit us. peregrine will have pups to feed in the cold months, as will we. if the winter is bitter and there is no prey to be found, i would not take meat from our mouths to feed his, and i know he would not do such for us.

but then again, i speak from a place of bias and bitterness. blue willow is more levelheaded than i, and her words on the matter would take into account both sides. the silver man had several hard decisions before him, and while lasher pitied him the task, he would not have liked to be in his place.

he nodded assent; surely there was no reason for peregrine to linger, not when saena had disowned him, tytonidae had fled, junior spoke ill of fox, and pura was nowhere to be found. and soon he would have fathered a new litter, and lasher doubted fox would wish peregrine to stray too far once that occurred.

how have you fared, dante? the man asked suddenly, ashamed of himself for burdening the silver man so heavily with his ailments.

the gunmetal man was reserved, which was well for lasher; perhaps he still stung from the gamma's actions. i have been better, he answered honestly, and gazed briefly into the eyes of the man who would one day take a mate and sire pups, would know love, but never heartache, taltos hoped. but dante was a logical sort, unencumbered by emotional largesse; he would prosper.

he nodded, meeting dante's kind eyes with a small curve of agreement forming upon his lips. and i will be the same to you, came taltos' soft rejoinder. they would mend from this, and he knew the plateau trusted dante. the gunmetal man would grow from these experiences, and lasher personally felt as if the blacktail wolves would flourish through the winter. dante was intelligent, logical. he would succeed where peregrine had failed.