Blacktail Deer Plateau rebel yell

Although much of what came out of the boy's mouth was not particularly newsworthy, there were a few priceless nuggets of information in there. The mention of Crete's name made Peregrine freeze, suddenly tense, his breath caught in his throat. When Grimlock went on to mention his brother had returned safely to the Falcons' fold, he felt a painful twinge in his breast.

"Fuck," he whispered under his breath. Louder, he said, "Grim, you have impeccable timing," in a very sarcastic tone. Osprey had literally just left to find Crete. It not only pained him, it was actually savagely annoying. His anger toward Crete deepened and darkened. This was his damn fault. And if he hadn't been speaking to a young child, Peregrine would've asked cuttingly, And did he mention the bitch he knocked up? The bastards he left behind?

But this was his young nephew, so he kept these bitter, aggravated thoughts to himself. At least this meant Osprey would likely return sooner; he felt certain she would check in with the Falcons first and discover Crete safe and sound there, then return home... unless, of course, she decided to stay with them. The possibility made his breath catch again and he swallowed thickly. Surely Osprey wouldn't just leave him hanging like that. If he couldn't trust her to keep her word, then he couldn't trust anyone; so the only option was to keep the faith.

"Well, at least I was right all along," Peregrine mused with a sigh, possibly confusing the youngster. "But you're right. I have four pups now. Two of them are actually Pied's. You never met her, since she left before you were born. She died giving birth, so I help take care of them. I'm sure you'll meet them, if you stick around." And because Grimlock was so young and related, it was a foregone inclusion in Peregrine's mind. "Which it sounds like you plan to do," he finished with a speculative look in his eye.