Blacktail Deer Plateau Waking up

Tending to Fox gave him a new sense of purpose, which helped him shake off the rust and feel awake (if not alive and enthusiastic) for the first time in a while. It also made him more aware of his grief-stricken loved ones. Some of them seemed to be dealing with the loss better than others. Peregrine worried, especially about the various coping mechanisms his kids had employed. He needed to do a better job of looking after them too.

His paw was healed enough that he felt prepared to start hunting again. Man up, man up, man up, he chanted to himself as he strode through the woods, tracking various scents. There was no more time to lie around, wallowing in his grief. Fox needed him. His pups needed him. His pack needed him. It would be hard to be there for everyone while still dealing with his own feelings, yet he needed to be up to the task, else he wasn't the patriarch the plateau deserved.

With a steely look in his eye, he lowered his nose to the forest floor, following a trail that eventually led him near a warren. He surprised a rabbit, gave chase and killed it swiftly and with ease. Afterward, the Alpha male stood panting over his kill. He'd felt useless, helpless and immobile for so long but, in this moment, he began to feel strong again.

Get ready for some disturbed child fun! Obviously "Osprey" is just a figment of her imagination.

Tytonidae had taken to hiding among her friends for most of the day. She ate, of course, and drank, but she didn't socialize with much of anybody these days. Except, of course, for Osprey. Her sister really was the best, and Ty could not understand why everybody gave her odd looks when she mentioned good ol' Junior. So Ty had quit mentioning her entirely to anybody else, and she and Osprey had decided that they would keep her secret from everybody else. It was a really fun game, and Tytonidae had a whole lot of fun playing it.

The young girl had been playing with her good friends when she heard a rustling nearby. “I’ll see you guys in a little while,” she promised them, “Just be good while I’m gone.” They weren't always very nice to one another, and Ty often found herself scolding them for their mistakes. After they had all bid her goodbye, she and imaginary Osprey went to investigate the sound. It wasn't long before Ty found her father standing over a dead rabbit. Surely something he had killed.

Remembering not to give away Osprey's secret, she waddled over to her father and gave him a lick on the chin as her sister stood back. “Did you kill it, Daddy?” she asked, taking a step back and sniffing at the carcass.

I made some assumptions here... just let me know if I need to make any edits.

A rustle in the brush made him turn his head just in time to see Tytonidae appear. Peregrine found it difficult to smile, though he reached out to her and nibbled at the tip of her ear even as she lapped at his chin. He had tried to keep his kids close and let them know how much he cared for them, yet Peregrine knew he'd been out it for some time now. He hadn't been emotionally available for them, which was wrong. He would do better, starting right now.

"Yes, I did. Would you like some?" he replied to her, then cocked his head slightly and looked at her with fresh eyes. She appeared sound enough, though he worried suddenly about whether she and her brother and sister were eating enough. "I'd like to share it with you," he added cajolingly.

Although he'd been so caught up in his own grief, he hadn't totally missed the various developments in his kids' behavior. Some of it, like Pura's blasphemous treatment of his sister's remains, had been thrust right under his nose, after all. He knew Ty was already very imaginative and that she'd purportedly included Osprey Jr. among her imaginary friends now. It was one of the reasons why he'd asked Dante to help counsel the three pups. As he waited for her answer, he wondered if it would manifest right now or whether she might already be moving beyond this phase of mourning.

Tytonidae thought for a moment, and then she nodded. She thought it was the right thing to do. Usually, when somebody offered her food, it was correct to accept it and eat it. It was what they wanted, after all. “Yes,” she added, making sure to give him a verbal in case he couldn't hear her head rattle. All but two of her puppy teeth had been replaced with her adult ones, so eating the rabbit would be a breeze compared to a couple of months ago.

Though she did not know it, Ty's eyes had also changed over the past week into their final shade of emerald green. Her coat had grown out and would protect her from the elements this winter. And in a few months time, she would reach the most awkward phase of her life. But that was far down the line, and there was a rabbit that had to be eaten.

Touching the rabbit with her nose again, she looked up to her father. “Which part should I eat?”

Ghostface padded through the forest, in search of her alpha male, wanting to get to know him better. She saw him nibble a strange pup's ear as she licked his chin, then heard him ask her if she wanted to share. They were in a small opening, surrounded by bushes and trees, when Ghostface stepped in, expecting a glare or a nip from the leader. "Hello," she said, then groveled on the ground, exposing her belly and throat for him to nip her if he wanted. "I am Ghostface, your newest member. I wanted to get to know you, but if this is a bad time, I will leave you be." She was still groveling for her leader, wanting to give him the utmost respect. She didn't ever catch his eyes, just stared at the upside-down world ahead of her. Eventually, she glanced at the pup.

This takes place after "Follow the Alpha."

Peregrine felt some tension leave his muscles that he hadn't even known was there. "You can eat any part of it. Usually, I start with the innards by tearing open the belly, like so," he said, demonstrating by pinning the carcass to the ground with his good paw and using his teeth to tear a hole in the dead critter's stomach. "That's where you can find the juiciest bits. If you're still hungry after that, there's a bit of meat on the legs. We can also crack open the skull to get to the brain, which is the tenderest part of all—"

Right then, Ghostface appeared. When she introduced herself to him, it bewildered the Alpha male. He wondered if she was speaking to his daughter, though the rest of what she said didn't make sense in that case. He blinked at her. He didn't normally mind getting to know his pack mates, particularly new ones, but right now he found he wanted to be alone with Tytonidae.

"Sorry, Ghostface, but I'd like to be alone with my daughter. This is Tytonidae," he said, offering a brief introduction before giving the Kappa a pointed look, requesting she take her leave. "I'll catch up with you another time."

I don't know when to post! Last one for me, since she was excused.

Ghostface stood up after her alpha politely asked her to leave him be with Tytondae. She backed off of the scene and raced into the forest so that he didn't think she was eavesdropping. Tearing away the ground, she found a tree root that looked like a good den. She curled up and fell asleep.

As her father went about explaining the various parts of the rabbit, Tytonidae began to wonder if wolves were the same way on the inside. Was the tenderest part the brain, just like the rabbit? Before she could ask Peregrine any of this, they were suddenly greeted by somebody Tytonidae did not know. The glance that was given to her made Ty feel decidedly odd, and she was suddenly reminded of why she kept to herself so often. Others made her feel so strange, so very strange.

After a brief exchange between Ghostface and Peregrine, the stranger bolted off, leaving Ty feeling rather uneasy and losing whatever appetite she'd had. But she was supposed to eat. That was the right thing to do. With some hesitation and convincing from Osprey, Ty bit into the warm, squishy flesh that was the rabbit's stomach. She chewed it, her jaws clenching and releasing in time.

Swallowing hard, Ty consumed the first bite, and then smiled widely at her father, muzzle covered in bits of blood and guts.

The Kappa left without another word and Peregrine turned back to observe Ty taking her first bite of the slain rabbit. She chewed slowly, then looked up at him, cracking a bloody grin at him. He tried to force his cheek and jaw muscles into a responding smile, yet they wouldn't seem to work right. Instead, he leaned forward, touched noses with her, then licked some of the blood off her face.

"Taste good?" he asked her, pulling back. His eyes glimmered fondly at Ty, his only biological child and all that remained of the brief romance between himself and Hawkeye. "Aren't you going to share some with your friends?" The question popped out of his mouth before he could even think about the ramifications. If he fed into Ty's delusions, would that harm her? Or was she young enough that it was totally normal for her to have imaginary friends, dead sister aside?

Ty wagged her tail at his touch, feeling that if anybody could relate to her, it was her father. She nodded when he asked about how the rabbit tasted, although she only did so because she was certain that was what he wanted to hear. When he asked about her friends, Tytonidae furrowed her brow, looking down at the rabbit contemplating the question. Nobody liked to talk about her friends with her, least of all Saena, and she wondered for a moment what the correct answer was. Maybe she wasn't supposed to talk about them at all. Ty wished that there was a cheat sheet with all the right answers on it somewhere nearby.

“I don’t...” she said, scratching the ground, as if answers would fly up from the dirt. “I don’t know.” Tytonidae pouted, feeling uneasy. “Is that what I’m ‘upposed to do?” She had gathered that she was not supposed to talk about her friends. Nobody was interested in them, nor did they seem to understand. But she was supposed to feed them? It felt conflicting and strange and out of her grasp.

Ty seemed at a loss. Peregrine watched her paw uncertainly at the dirt and felt his heart clench. He decided then and there not to worry about it. He would indulge his daughter's fantasies and do whatever it took to make her happy. That was all that mattered to him now: that his three remaining children knew how much he loved them and that they lived long, happy lives.

"Hmmm... I think it's up to you if you want to share," he said gently. "Hey, do you think you could introduce me to them? I'd really like to meet them, if you're okay with that." As he spoke, he sat down, hoping to put Tytonidae at ease.

She felt like... like it was some kind of test. To see if she had the right answers. But Ty wasn't sure what the answers were, nor did she seem to know how to get them. The girl furrowed her brow, not sure if she should want to share or not. She thought to repeat her question about what she was supposed to do, but her father was quick enough to distract her with another question, leaving her to momentarily forget about the food all together.

Tytonidae cocked her head to one side, trying to determine if her father was playing a trick on her. Satisfied that he was not, she wagged her tail and nodded, turning around to see that Osprey had been lingering not too far away, rooting around in some dirt, surely. “They over here,” she explained, wagging her tail to entice Perry a dozen yards away to where she had been playing before. Ty bounded easily through the brush until they came to the small clearing of a dirt patch.

All her friends were there, gathered around with curious faces, wide-eyed and ready to meet Peregrine. “You guys, my dad wantsa meet you,” she said, “So be on your best behavior.” She gave the whole group of them a stern look, letting them know that she meant serious business.

Tytonidae seemed hesitant at first, though soon enough she led him a few dozen yards away, toward a small clearing with a dirt floor. There was nothing there, though evidently this was where his daughter's friends were gathered. He blinked at the ground, picturing a flock of small, imaginary critters looking up at him.

"Nice to meet all of you. I'm Peregrine, though you can call me Perry... or Ty's Daddy... or Mr. Redleaf-DiSarinno, if you're feeling formal," the Alpha male quipped to his invisible audience before glancing at Ty to see if she approved of this introduction or wanted to add anything else. She was, after all, the interpreter here.

I'm playing this like she doesn't know her last name. Even if Perry would have told her, she's air-headed, so I think it'll work. :P

Her father introduced himself, and Ty's ears folded back to listen to him. When she heard him say "Redleaf-DiSarinno," she disregarded her friends and looked to him. “Whatsat mean?” she asked. Tytonidae was pretty sure she had heard it before, but she couldn't recall the significance of it. “I heard it before.” Surely it had some kind of meaning, right? Everything had to have meaning, at least in her little imaginary world.

Ty flopped to her bum, looking up at her father with wide, green eyes. Her dusky coat and black-spotted chest was well-kept, if only because her parents and the other wolves of the pack made sure she wasn't a complete mess. If she'd had it her way, she would have gone around with a dirt-brown coat.

At first, Peregrine didn't understand the question and a quizzical expression floated across his face. Then it clicked and he smiled gently at her. "Redleaf-DiSarinno? That's our last name." He wasn't surprised that she didn't have it memorized; she was very young.

The Alpha male regarded her for a moment, then turned back to face her invisible friends, only to glance at Ty once more. "Do you think they like me?" he stage-whispered to her.

Feel free to fade out with your next post. :)

Tytonidae had been so focused on finding out what the words meant, she gave Peregrine a puzzled look when he asked if they liked him. “Oh!” she said aloud, once she realized what he was talking about. “I think so.” But when she turned around to see them, they had all run away. Tytonidae frowned, wondering why they had done that.

“I think they had to go do stuff,” she said, matter-of-factly, but not quite believing it herself. “Can we go do stuff, too?” she asked. “Maybe I can watch you sniff out a bunny!” Tytonidae was never particularly fond of watching the bunnies get killed (even though she would eat anything that was presented to her), but she did enjoy tracking them down.

Peregrine noticed her thoughtful frown and prodded gently, "Something wrong?" She told him that her friends had gone off to do stuff and it clicked. Apparently, they'd left. "Ah. That's okay. And sure." He was about to ask Ty what stuff she'd like to do when she suggested she accompany him on a hunting trip. "I'd like that, Ty."

Rising and motioning for his mini-me to follow, Peregrine broke into a slow trot, nose already dropping. "Just let me know if any particular bunny is your friend and we won't eat it," he promised her, eyes dancing a little bit as the two of them disappeared into the woods.