Blacktail Deer Plateau waiting for superman

It made Peregrine feel bad, seeing the way Crete reacted to his harsh words. "I'm sorry too," he repeated, not at all above apologizing to his brother. "Tyrannus really fucked shit up, didn't he?" he muttered lowly, shaking his swarthy head. Although his brothers might not like Hawkeye or anybody else badmouthing their elder sibling, Peregrine wouldn't stop anyone from talking shit about Tyrannus. Peregrine felt like he'd been screwed over twice now by his power-hungry older brother; he deserved every filthy insult slung his way.

Crete seemed unconvinced about the possibility of a misunderstanding. Peregrine still felt like it must have played a part. Crete's family had had years to perfect the art of interpreting Crete's silent voice. Surely something had gone awry, had been lost in translation. Peregrine didn't see any need to argue this point, however, so didn't mention it again.

Instead, he looked Crete right in the eye and said, "Look, I want you to know that I'm not going to blindly side with Hawkeye just because she's my girl. I respect the shit out of her but I'm not a stupid, lovesick sheep or anything, all right? Maybe if I talk to her, she'll be more open to constructive criticism. I don't mind taking the heat for you in any case, bro. I was too caught up with other stuff to read too deeply in her words at the meeting, if I'm going to be honest," Peregrine also admitted. Any other time, he would've cracked a crude joke about all the dirty things going through his head that day but he didn't so much as crack a smile now.

"For now, feel free to come to me anytime with any issue. I mean that, Crete. We'll get you and Hawkeye back on better terms but, in the meantime, my word is law as much as hers is," he finished, lapping his tongue over his brother's eye.