Blacktail Deer Plateau rude awakening [m]

Normally, he would have smirked knowingly at her remark, yet all Peregrine could manage today was a bob of his head and a slight snort. They arrived at her campsite and his eyes dropped to the squirrel, then lifted to her face when she began to speak again. Curious, the Alpha male pricked an ear even as he sat.

There was, of course, part of him that fell in love with the idea immediately. However, there were many more parts of him that tethered him firmly to the plateau: his kids, his brother, Lasher... just to name a few. Peregrine did not answer right away. He let the thought sink into his brain and play out in his head a bit. Most of all, he was in love with the idea of making babies with this woman, even if she hadn't mentioned that part explicitly.

If he'd had hands, he might have cupped her face. Instead, he leaned in close and held her gaze as he said, "It's a very pretty idea and you... you are a very pretty woman," in a soft voice. Finally, his lips twitched into what could only be called a ghost of a smile. "But I'm not sure that running away into the sunset would solve the problems at hand here. I propose a compromise, though: you move here and become my last co-leader. You bring your reclaimed captives with you and everybody's happy."

Of course, that last part wasn't quite true. Peregrine now looked at Fox searchingly, wondering at her use of the term sadness. He had yet to tell her the news, yet somehow she'd picked up on it anyway. He decided now would be the proper time to inform her of his loss.

"Fox, I lost Osprey recently. She drowned." He let that hang in the air momentarily before continuing. "That's why I sympathize with your own loss... but nothing would make me sadder than leaving my home, my family and everything I've built here. Even with a foxy lady like yourself beside me..." Now Peregrine managed a smile, albeit a sad one. "I can never leave the plateau. I've lived here, I've loved here. I became a father here, lost a child here. Most importantly of all, my little girl is buried here. I will never leave this plateau," he finished with a slight apology in his tone.