Blacktail Deer Plateau I don't care if the world knows what my secrets are

Peregrine couldn't imagine what would cause an argument to break out between his daughters. He figured Junior must be at the bottom of it, for the other two were much sweeter in temper, particularly Tytonidae. If he had know the reason for the girls' falling out, his pains over the situation would have been doubly amplified.

"Thank-you, Talt—Lasher," Peregrine said, withdrawing the name, which was more or less a term of endearment. "How long ago did this happen?" He couldn't help but wonder if Tytonidae and he had crossed paths at a distance and she might be waiting for him at the caldera even now. He felt certain Fox would keep her there until he returned, if that was the case.

"I want to be involved, you know," he found himself blurting a moment later. "With yours and Willow's pups. I told her that, by the time they're born, we should be able to be around each other without..." Peregrine made a gesture, abstractly indicating each of them and their present strife. "Do you think we'll be able to do that?" he asked haltingly.