Blacktail Deer Plateau charcoal smudge

Is it bad that I'm okay with that? :P

It was incredibly difficult for Peregrine to tear himself away from his new family, yet the urge to provide for them eventually overwhelmed his desire to stare at the puppies all day long, so off he went into the woods. He spent several hours tracking, hunting and killing small game. He busily padded the cache nearest the den he shared with Hawkeye and, now, Ty and lil' Osprey, a smile touching his lips whenever he thought of his little girls.

He arrived home around noon, the carcass of a hare swinging in his jaws. Hawkeye appeared to be dozing, so he set the meat beside her very quietly, then dropped onto his haunches behind her. He leaned forward and looked over the curve of her back at the two dark bundles pressed to her belly. Tytonidae was feeding ravenously, while Osprey Jr. lay curled beneath her mother's hind leg, evidently fast asleep.

In his excitement after their birth, he'd addressed the newborns as if they could hear him. Although he was no less excited about them now, he didn't bother speaking aloud when they couldn't even hear his voice, much less understand what he was saying. Instead, he bent over and touched his nose to Ty's back, then swiped his tongue up and over her small, squashed face. And though she couldn't see him either, he nevertheless smiled down at her, his dark face shining.