Blacktail Deer Plateau tumble down

But other eyes were watching the youngling as she made her way beyond the tangle of family. It hadn't taken Malachi long to realize there were little ones here. Their scent held mostly to the Plateau's heart, and when he first caught wind of their scent, he had recoiled to the perimeters, not trusting himself to draw near them and fearing the potential of their parents' wrath upon him.

But like Eilidh, his curiosity soon won out. It felt dangerous to be here, but he wanted to see the children, to know the young lives he was to protect even if he chose to stay far from them. His icy eyes watched the site from a safe distance, his only company for a long while the spring chatter of the birds and the whispering of leaves. But soon a blur of gold shifted and Malachi, still concealed by the distant trees, lifted his gaze to rest upon the emerging youth. His heart twisted and prompted him to leave. But he resisted and he watched with eyes straining to distinguish the features of the pup. He couldn't see her face clearly, but the sight of her stirred in him a bitter memory of the Sveijarns' little brood and his own kin, all of whose faces were lost in the softness of childhood. He shifted, kept his eyes trained, and worked to commit the little one to memory in their place.