The Heartwood else shall eden have no springtime

Did it really matter why it had ended? Was he about to argue with Lasher about his reasons for calling things off? Would it make a damn bit of difference anyhow? No, Peregrine decided. It did make him feel weird (and, let's be honest, sad), yet he wasn't going to let it ruin the mood, not when everything had been going so well between them. His moodiness had caused problems in the past; he wasn't going to let history repeat itself. For once in his life, he exercised restraint.

"No, I just... I'm sorry, Taltos, it's just gas," the swarthy male said. He sounded pretty convincing to his own ears. It would be just like him to let bodily functions disrupt others' lives. "Sorry, dude. So, you were saying... seriously, aren't those ladies on the coast supposed to hate men? Is one of them just really bad at it... or are you just that good?" Any traces of discomfort disappeared from his face as he joked.