Blacktail Deer Plateau So long, lonesome

He'd just finished tearing the gopher into little morsels when Blue Willow appeared. Peregrine pushed himself into an upright position and reached out to touch his damp nose to his friend's cheek. Although he was happy in a way to share the Alpha rank with his mate, there was part of him that already sorely missed having his longtime friend at his side. He reminded himself that even if she wasn't his fellow Alpha, she was still his fellow leader.

"I was just going to feed him some lunch," he said to her, glancing sideways at his unresponsive brother before his eyes flicked back to the Healer's face. "Do you think he can hear us? That maybe he's... trapped in there, unable to communicate?"