Blacktail Deer Plateau It's wild like the river, it's warm like the sun

Peregrine looked rather morose even as Atticus assured him that Osprey would be okay; he looked quite unconvinced. When his brother began cracking jokes at Tyrannus's expense, his face remained stony, though slowly a smile began to creep onto his features. It was a very dark expression, though, tinged with malice as he thought of their evil elder brother.

"Just—fuck that guy," Peregrine spat quietly. He knew Atticus made a good point though: at least Tyrannus wouldn't view Osprey as a threat. "You're probably right, though."

Atticus's tone of voice drew his dusky eyes and they sharpened on his face as he explained how he'd tried to get to Osprey. The thought of their sister thinking they'd voluntarily left her sent a ripple of pure indignant, loathing fury through him. He calmed an instant later, telling himself that Osprey would know they'd never do that. Besides, he doubted Tyrannus could somehow cover up what he'd done.

"Yeah, he threatened to kill me," Peregrine said flatly. The memory was actually a painful one, yet more than anything, it bred bitter anger. "I think she knows, bro," he added, touching his nose to Atticus's cheek. "Thanks for trying, though."

He didn't want to linger on this subject, so Peregrine cleared his throat and asked, "So... have I told you that I'm courting Hawkeye?" In fact, he hadn't. Peregrine hadn't yet told anybody the news, yet who should be first besides one of his brothers?