with the realization that his desires had all but fled him in a few respects, lasher found himself anchored to the plateau, but without the requisite witch, and soon found himself bereft. this he felt he hid well from blue willow, for she always provoked a smile, even in his sadness, and he distracted himself with the rearing of his children. peregrine had let him go, and would be an attentive father in a short while.

having lived in such a way with julien, with eismitte, with the panther, taltos was quite lost in wonderment at how he had settled into a traditional role, with, for all intents and purposes, a wife, and three small children.

he found he was uneasy at the prospect of having gotten himself here; while he adored the willow and doted upon his children, it was not in him to bind himself so closely only to one individual. and so he set off to procure the previous object of his affectations, prior to having fallen in love with peregrine. while the other was a traditional sort, so had the panther been.

lasher held no desire to stand in the way of love, for he sensed that perhaps there would be a romantic development in time, yet his heart was becoming fixated; perhaps out of desperation or a buried affection. and so he trudged toward the borders, eyes alight.

he was not long alone before the masculine scent of the plateau's alpha wreathed into his senses, and taltos, besotted, followed the trail to where dante seemed to bask in the day's aura. his eyes lay upon the silverscale creature for a short while, before he sidled alongside his leader in a friendly manner, reaching to brush the fur of dante's shoulder with his muzzle.

we are thriving, he mused aloud, turning a smile to the other for a brief moment. it was then that apprehension prised itself into his heart; lasher truly did not know how to speak to his friend of his intentions, and so he set it aside for the present, and leant into the inviting atmosphere of the day, lids falling to half-mast.

dante's gentle inquiry provoked a low sigh from taltos; at present, he turned toward the silver man and gave a small smile. i would assume, came his quiet murmur. tail lashed catlike at his haunches, however; his eyes wandered back toward dante and he struggled to find the words to illustrate the magnitude of care he bore for the other, one not simply rooted in agape.

yet none he found, and pensiveness stole across his visage; lasher lapsed into a quietude inadvertently tense with all the words he wished to speak, and could not.

damn dante's sensitivity! taltos laughed to himself, keeping his gaze carefully trained upon the forest before them. suppose one with whom you had supped and slept had as of late recognized a latent affection toward you within their heart; what would you do, my friend? he asked, the words sparking of their own accord from some wellspring of confidence deep within his breast.

there it was; he had received his answer. and taltos had no reason to further implicate himself. and so he was silent for a time, but at length he shook free his ruff and bumped dante lightly with his shoulder. perhaps in time you will feel differently, and on that note he meant toward the moonswept form of osprey.

there was doubt within his breast that dante would ever consider a member of his own gender as a possible liaison.

it is a fine answer, lasher corrected gently, wishing to ease any unsurety in dante's heart. now was not the time to tell the silver man of his intentions, his wants. the alpha had enough upon his proverbial plate to busy with the mortal desires of his co-leader. taltos felt it would only make things awkward between them, and muddle their formal discourse.

i hope that tytonidae and junior return to us, the earthen servant said softly, paws shifting upon the earth as he gave his leader a glance, worry for the missing girls writ clearly into his features.

dante spoke from a place of logic, and while lasher was inclined to agree, he did recall how affable it had been in the days prior to fox's arrival, and sudden, subsequent elevation above wolves she did not know, and did not wish to know. it had thrown them into turmoil, something from which they could have recovered, only to be dealt the blow of peregrine's abandonment soon thereafter.

saena wishes to rule one day, he mused. i think she will be apt at it.

yes. for advice, the earthen beta murmured softly. saena would be a wise leader, once maturity had settled upon her withers. of the four, she was the most levelheaded of the brood. pura was too feral, junior too unpredictable, and poor tytonidae lost in her own odd little world. saena was realistic and fierce, resembling peregrine in this, though she had blue willow's practicalities.

i apologize for skipping about with my words. i am ... distracted, as of late, he proffered, turning murkwater eyes briefly to dante. tell me of how you have been, he invited the gunmetal man.

lasher knew he was being frenetic; he did not know how to keep himself from acting so. dante's words brought the slow bloom of an unfurling smile to his lips. the pack runs smoothly beneath your leadership. leaving blacktail deer plateau to you was one of peregrine's better decisions, it seems.

with a wan smile, the beta turned. i must go; our northernmost borders are due for a patrol. goodbye for the present, dante, and with a lingering glance he was swallowed up by the tree-shadows.