Emberwood command, option, escape

His ears remained tilted toward his wife's voice while Peregrine scanned the forest thoughtfully. There were so many scents on the air — most of them belonging to prey animals — that it was a wonder nobody had laid claim here already. As a Gamekeeper, he should've been interested in such an abundant area, yet nothing about this forest called out to him in any way.

He spun slowly, finding himself facing back the way they'd come. He felt a strange tingling down his spine and he thought, Home's that way. True enough, the plateau lay in that direction. Yet as Peregrine stood there, broad black paws planted in the fiery leaf litter, he realized instinct and intuition were calling. He had no logical reason to feel this way, yet suddenly the swarthy male knew they'd gone in the entirely wrong direction. They needed to head south and maybe a little bit east...

Squinting, Peregrine smiled to himself. Was he really going to trust in a little tingling? "Yup," he announced, then peered at Fox. "We're in the wrong place. We should head back to the plateau... then go southeast from there. Don't ask me why. I just have a feeling. Let's find Lasher and go," he said with his first hint of enthusiasm, taking several steps backward before catching himself.

Turning, he said softly, "Or we could stay and really check out the area." He swung back to face her. "Yeah, let's keep exploring this way. We can head that direction tomorrow. No need to rush, right?"