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with dante's blessing given, the pair only had to wait until nature moved upon the willow. attuned as he already was to her, lasher knew he would sense when the moment came. it was with a mixture of anticipation and affection that he greeted her each morning; he would of course allow her to choose the moment she sought him out. he was not a forceful creature; she was not his mate. taltos recognized that he could not expect from her what a man requested from his wife, and nor would he have done such even if he and the healer had been betrothed to one another.
he did wonder how peregrine would take the news — he would not attend the caldera's borders simply to gloat against his former lover. the carrying of the news would belong to blue willow, and lasher knew that she would seek out the man she called brother in time, but would she scout his track before or after the scent of growing whelps mingled with her own?
his reverie was shattered at the sound of a bear's explosive growl — the delta had been wandering in the forest aptly named for ravens, for several murders hung in gargoyle abandon among the jutting branches.
finley!
he shouted, paws churning the loam as his body jerked into a fearful sprint; he had caught sight of her spritely form between the tree-boles, lunging carelessly toward where the scent of a bear hung rank and threatening in the still air.