Blacktail Deer Plateau night of the wilds

Peregrine took a moment to digest Ragnar's words before he spoke in turn. "Is it bad that, of all the things Junior could've gotten mixed up in, I'd prefer a group of raging feminists over almost anything else...?" He briefly and guiltily met the other male's eyes. "I'd rather she think herself superior than the other way around," he elaborated, "though, of course, I'd prefer she were still here, learning my ideologies, rather than with some group of strangers, learning their unorthodox beliefs." Peregrine sighed in frustration.

Ragnar wondered if he knew what had made the young girl decide to flee into the arms of these zealots. "Junior took issue with the idea that myself and my new mate would be having more pups in the spring. She found out about it — I'm not even sure how or where — and then threw a temper tantrum and ran away. The next thing I knew, she came back... just to tell me she was leaving for good." He sighed again, more despondently this time.

"I don't want her to be brainwashed either, Ragnar. But what can we do?" He found Ragnar's gaze again, holding it this time. "I might think Junior's foolish and flighty but I would never hurt her or force her hand, especially not now that she's old enough to take ownership of herself and her life. I can only hope that it's not as bad as we think... or that, if it is, she'll realize her mistake and come home."

Yet would Junior come to the plateau in that event? "Actually, Ragnar, if anything goes amiss with her new life, she's more likely to run to you than to me. When she left, I warned her that there may not be space for her if she changes her mind. I didn't say it just to be a callous jerk either. The plateau's doing very well for itself and we're at max capacity more often than not. Just because she's my daughter, she doesn't get a free pass at the pack's expense. Especially not with her penchant for breaking ranks." Realizing he was trying to justify himself, Peregrine stayed his tongue and bit back a third sigh.