Ravensblood Forest Get off my back

Hearing the sound of his birthplace's name sent a sensation through Peregrine not unlike a javelin made of ice, seating itself in the pit of his stomach. He ground his teeth together, stifling any outward emotional response, and tried to listen to his relative's words. It was difficult for him to focus, so much of what she said went in one ear and out the other. He did manage to catch the details of her altercation with Koontz and, satisfied, he stopped leering quite as much.

"Koontz lived on the plateau?" he repeated. Such a small, desperate connection could help him feel more at home there—not that he ever expected to truly consider it his home. "I guess I'll go back. I doubt anyone's noticed my absence or thinks anything of it if they have, especially considering... nobody knows me yet but Hawkeye." He pursed his lips. "I don't really have a choice," he added, an observation which made his chest tighten.

He looked at Pied directly again. He could follow her home to Horizon Ridge. If anything, Pied was a stronger connection than some memory of Koontz. Yet Koontz was his little sister, whereas Pied was a more distant relative. And he'd already joined the plateau's ranks, even if he'd done so in a miserable, desperate moment when all he'd really wanted was food.

"Koontz only mentioned that her pack didn't thrive," Peregrine answered eventually. "She, Ray and a few others turned up around the start of winter. We welcomed them back with open arms, of course," he said, the slightest sardonic tone coloring his voice as the realization that he would never be welcomed back, as long as Tyrannus ruled there, which would likely be a very long time to come.