Haunted Wood see no [more] evil

Hear you...? Peregrine thought, uncertain what he meant and unaware that the child had literally torn out his own eye moments before. He had heard the screaming but he had attributed it to the fox's presence, not some macabre self-surgery. He didn't say anything aloud, mostly because Swift was panting and sobbing. He was only seconds from a meltdown and not the run-of-the-mill temper tantrum variety.

"Swift," the swarthy wolf said gently but firmly, "take deep breaths and try to calm down. You're safe as long as I'm here, okay? I know you can't see me but I'm pretty big." He paused. "Huge, actually. I'm almost as big as a bear," he fibbed. Furthermore, "I know your mother too. I won't leave you until you're back in her custody."

He gave the boy a few minutes to process all that and give a response before repeating his earlier offer: "I can either call for her or try to take you to her. It probably makes the most sense to howl and see if she hears, then try to sniff her out if that doesn't work. I think I remember her scent." He remembered Elwood recently giving his fussy son options to distract him and give him a sense of control and just hoped the same tactic would work on Swift.