Blacktail Deer Plateau evolution of consciousness

So Peregrine intended to split his time between his own children and those—those bastards?! Fox couldn't believe such a thing, and she decided it was better if she pretended she had not heard that part of his reasoning. Her tail flicked behind her when he mentioned that pups between herself and Lasher would be just as legitimate. She couldn't help but disagree, though she spoke no word of it. They would be bastards, just like the rest. Then again, if she allowed both Peregrine and Lasher to have her, she did not think there would be any way to tell the children apart from one another. They looked enough alike. To knowingly create bastards was another matter entirely, Fox decided.

In any case, spring was still a long, long way away, and she had more than enough time to convince Peregrine that it was a bad idea. Maybe their pack would shrink to a smaller number by the time such a decision needed to be made. For now, Fox laid the discussion to rest, and her body to rest alongside Peregrine. It was becoming rather obvious that they held different ideas on what was right and what was wrong, but Fox had anticipated it. Not that it made her enjoy it.

“Did you notice I’ve been absent the past couple of days?” she asked teasingly. Surely he had, considering she had informed him of her plans prior to making the trek outside the plateau. She wouldn't want to worry him, after all. Especially considering Junior's fiasco a few months back. “I found some sheep on those cliffs, but they are too hard to hunt there. On the coast, though…” she trailed off, licking her lips. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea, and other critters, too.” Some large, blubbery things (sea lions) had been making odd noises at her. They looked tough, but she thought they would make a good, large meal if they could manage to take one down.