Blacktail Deer Plateau There’s someone I’ve been missing

Peregrine had said everything he had to say and, though he wanted to prolong her departure, he remained silent. He looked at her, trying to memorize the way she looked so he could recall her face whenever he wanted. She didn't look as healthy as usual, though she was still beautiful to him. And perhaps she would look better when she returned to him, to them.

"Love you, Yerpso," he murmured, using her recently preferred nickname. He couldn't smile but he looked at her with all the brotherly fondness in the world. At the same time, his stomach pinched as he realized the moment—the moment when she'd actually leave, walk away from the plateau and disappear into the wilderness—had finally come.