The Heartwood else shall eden have no springtime

"Congratulations," Peregrine repeated when Lasher named his three children, twin sons and a little daughter. "How is their mother?" he questioned. He missed Blue Willow like hell and he didn't think he would see her anytime soon. She would be restricted to the plateau for a while and Peregrine simply wouldn't be going anywhere near there. One day, though, he supposed he did hope to see her again, despite what he'd said at their last meeting. He tried not to dwell on that now.

"Yep," he confirmed simply. "The cannon's loaded and she'll fire away sometime near the end of winter, I think. We conceived when the days were shortest," he added thoughtfully. Mentioning the winter solstice (if not by name) made him suddenly think of one of his first trysts with Lasher, beneath the queer light of a solar eclipse. He blinked hard and the memory was gone.

"I've asked about the mother and her babies. But what about the father? What's going on with you, Taltos?" He'd already asked that in a general sense, so he added, "I mean, tell me what you're up to these days... aside from making babies, of course." Once, he had said that name (Taltos) with such lust and fervor. Now it sprang off his tongue like the name of an old and dear friend, which he supposed was what Lasher was to him now, if his former flame would allow it.