Blacktail Deer Plateau The Bitterness to Touch These Lips

Hawkeye immediately grew defensive and waspish, which made Peregrine's ears splay backward. Summoning some patience, he replied, "Sorry, I don't mean to be a dick." He pursed his lips, then took a breath and added, "I don't mean or want to hurt you. But I'm going to be honest. I'm really confused about how I feel about our relationship right now, hence why I've been particularly distant this past week and why I'm hanging back now."

After giving her a chance to process that, Peregrine continued by saying, "We've both been so busy with the pups that we haven't paid any attention to our mate-ship. I guess that's probably normal but... in hindsight, we paired up and made babies so quickly. We didn't create a strong foundation for this relationship first. And now it's on shaky ground because of that. And before you say anything, I just want you to know that I take my share of responsibility for it. I'm not trying to lay blame anywhere, least of all solely on you or anything. I'm just... this is what I'm thinking and how I feel. You deserve to know and I just want to be honest about where I stand right now."