Redhawk Caldera There was a shift in the paradigm

Elwood chose to ignore Eljay's further comments regarding hunting. He had long since learned that most of what the boy said these days was driven by emotion that he didn't know how to handle, and that he wasn't truly trying to be offensive. It wasn't worth an argument; Elwood had quickly established the importance of picking his battles in Finley's absence.

But Eljay piped up again a moment later, requesting that he and Elwood accompany Peregrine on his search. Elwood's brows raised with surprise, although he shouldn't have been at all shocked. All Eljay had wanted to do all along was find Finley and bring her back, so of course this option made sense in the youth's eyes. But Elwood had to weigh the risks of such an undertaking. He had already lost Finley, potentially forever -- did he really want to take the chance that something could happen to Eljay, as well? Even with he and Peregrine as able-bodied chaperones, Eljay could still become injured, get lost, or even worse.

He glanced at Peregrine, hoping for some sort of indication one way or the other, but the Alpha kept his countenance carefully measured. Elwood could tell that a negative response would just send Eljay into another tailspin, so he made a suggestion of his own. "It can be really dangerous out there, but what if we go now, just past the borders, and see what we can find?" he offered. It likely wouldn't be all that effective and if Peregrine really wanted to look, he would have to go another time without Eljay's knowledge -- but maybe being included in the search would be another way to help Eljay cope in the long term.