Redhawk Caldera lazy afternoons

When the yearling moved to lick at his chin, Peregrine arched his neck to nibble fondly at the bridge of his muzzle. "They're all right," he replied after pulling back slightly. Eljay seemed a little apprehensive but that didn't surprise the Alpha. He was an intuitive young man. He probably sensed the nature of this conversation. "It's about them, actually," he added after a pause. Eljay had pushed himself upright, so Peregrine took a seat to put them on equal footing.

He really didn't even know where to start and it wasn't like the monarch was one to sugarcoat things, so after gathering his thoughts a moment, he found and held Eljay's gaze. "Eljay, Peter is dead. I know it's hard, feels impossible to accept. And I hate to force your hand here, buddy, because everyone mourns differently." He took a steadying breath. "But it's starting to confuse the boys. I need them to understand and cope with the fact that Peter's gone and not coming back. I need you to understand and cope too."

There was more, much more, Peregrine wanted to say. He did not want to inundate Eljay, though, so he paused there to allow his nephew to digest what he'd said, gave him an opportunity to react however he would to his uncle's words.