Phantom Hollow We're only about twenty miles from Ravenscar here.

In the days following his expulsion from the caldera Reyes roamed, wanting only to be close to his family (whether they wanted him or not), except as he sat with his feelings and the tumult of his anger, he came to understand Towhee's view on things a little bit better. He was not the kind of person to admit to his faults readily, so whatever he had learned of himself, he locked away. The important thing was, Reyes knew he could fly off the handle under specific conditions. He knew he couldn't be around his children and that hurt, but he wouldn't be driven far from them for long.

Somehow he would fix this. That's what he'd said to Towhee, and he was determined to follow through with it. At the very least he had accepted his dismissal from the pack; being abandoned by his family was not a great experience but Reyes had survived worse, or so he thought, and he would survive this. The children would grow and Towhee would calm the hell down. She would realize that they need a father figure — and they might go hunting for him too, the way he had hunted for his own father as a boy.

Reyes traversed the valley with an open mind, holding the pieces of his shattered heart tight. When he came to the hollow he delved among the shadows there, needing a place to call home for the time being; it wasn't too far from the caldera, being in the heart of the valley, but provided ample space, cover, and likely food, so that he could camp out there for a while. If and when his children came looking for him, Reyes would be there — and he would be ready to welcome them home.