Blacktail Deer Plateau Magic, madness, heaven, sin

The siblings' minds converged on the same track. For all his autistic tendencies, Pura sensed the fear rising sharply in her. He, too, thought of Blue Willow. Chatty, noisy, sweet Blue. She was one of the only Plateau wolves to predate Dante, and insofar as he could, Pura had a soft spot for the soppy, mild-mannered Beta. But there were children in her belly, and he instinctively knew them to be a threat. The certainty with which he felt it was a refreshing break from his blurred impressions of more nuanced emotions - it shone bright and true before him, utterly clear-cut.

Both of them paused to think. "Maybe they will go away," he offered enigmatically, looking at the corpse between them. Fox and Peregrine had departed the Plateau to procreate - perhaps Blue and Lasher would take their brood elsewhere before they came of age, voluntarily or driven out by Dante's natural desire to fill the ranks with his own flesh and blood. There were other means to remove a threat, of course, but Pura was acutely aware of advice - nay, a reading of the unspoken law - that he had received from Peregrine no less than twice in his short life.