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Pale green eyes flickered over the small procession for which she was near the back. Long legs placed delicate yet certain paws upon stones she had long-since grown accustomed to, tail weaving slowly behind her as she moved. A sloped muzzle tilted to the sky, wide-splaying ears attuned toward any sign of potential prey. The sun glinted high overhead, a clear indication to the willowy she-cat that the cold moons were long past now. Though she weaved a path with a quiet elegance, not everyone seemed quite as confident. As her gaze levelled with the earth once more, the Tribe Prey-Hunter considered the To-Be not too far ahead.

Full Moon on Still Water hopped along the stones with an excitement she could only attribute to normal youth. Although she had never felt that same thrill, her mind processing most things logically regarding her duty as a Prey Hunter, she had come to note in her moons many younger cats felt a bubbling excitement at the prospect of a hunt. Glancing briefly toward Grey Sky at Dawn, guided by Roar of Rushing River, she noticed a similar bounce to the Cave Guard To-Be's step. Peculiar. Quite strange indeed. Came her passing thought.

The final member of their patrol padded just ahead of Moon, a small she-cat known as Ice That Forms on River. Peregrine couldn't help but think they were an odd group, not particularly suited to hunting her favorite type of prey. She herself was not overly heavy, and Moon and Ice both were small in stature. An eagle would think of them as a nice snack rather than any sort of threat. I suppose our sights shall remain upon the ground today. She commented to herself, weight shifting as she scaled a stone incline to briefly overtake Ice and Moon padding on a lower ledge.

Eventually the path widened once more, and Peregrine let herself fall into step behind Ice and Moon, who walked side by side. The taller Prey Hunter listened only partially to the babbling To-Be, for Ice seemed far better equipped to answer the curious young cat with easy to understand answers. Peregrine had been told she herself had a tendency to ramble, or veer off track when questioned. She couldn't help it; there were often so many interesting trains of thought associated to one simple question. She simply wanted to cover all potential bases, to ensure said question was appropriately addressed.

The pale brown tabby didn't have much time to consider this much longer, for a commotion caught her attention. Moon's paws misstepped, carrying her a fraction too close to the steep slope to her left. The edge beneath her hindpaw collapsed, sending the slender To-Be's back end downward. Without thinking, Peregrine lunged forward and sank her teeth into the small she-cat's scruff. With a heave, she yanked the To-Be upward, enough for Moon's forepaws to grip onto something and allow Ice to aid her back up. The downside, however, was the sudden twist knocked the taller Prey Hunter off balance.

Without much more than a grunt of shock, she slipped from the edge, rolling rump over shoulders before sliding down the steep slope. Fortunately, her fall was short. A ledge just below stopped her from careening down a more dangerous distance, though she connected shoulder-first with a stone with enough force to knock her breath from her lungs and break skin. She lay immobile a moment, chest expanding in an attempt to heave air into her system. A dull ringing echoed in her ears, muffling the frantic voices of the other members of her patrol as they determined the best way to get down to her.

Slowly, Peregrine rearranged her paws beneath her, and pulled herself into a sit. Distantly, she noticed her left shoulder seemed unenthused at the prospect of holding any weight. Shaking her head to dispel the remaining ringing, she glanced down to examine the puncture wounds responsible for the metallic tang filling the air. When she looked back up, Roar had managed to reach her and was worriedly asking if she was alright. Tilting her head, Peregrine replied in a matter of fact, if not a little dazed, manner. "I'm alright. Though I'm uncertain whether I'll be able to walk very quickly."

The events following seemed to blur together for the dazed Prey Hunter, a strange amalgamation of sounds and sights as the shaken patrol worked out ways to overcome the obstacles between them and the Tribe's cave. When her mind refocused properly, wide pale green eyes flicked over the opening to the Tribe's home. She barely noticed Roar was supporting the weight she could not, and was guiding her toward Skyteller's den. Just as they stepped over the threshold to the healer's domain, a thought crossed her mind.

"Your fur." She stated simply, stepping away to reveal the blood now marring Roar's shoulder. Her blood. Despite her wounds, spattered over her left side and trickling blood, the Tribe Prey Hunter seemed more concerned with the state of the Cave Guard's pelt. This sudden movement caused her rattled head to spin again, and while attempting to steady herself, the lanky she-cat's injured shoulder collapsed beneath her and sent her sprawling on the ground once more. When she was eventually able to see straight, she found herself face to face with Skyteller.

"Good morning, Skyteller. I hope you are well?" She rasped, as though she hadn't just tripped clumsily through the entrance to his den, blood dripping from various wounds on her shoulder, flank, and side of her face.

Taxx

[Taxx]

Teller of the Mountain Sky

Horsemint, marjoram, goatweed. Chokeberries, and yarrow. The Time of Flowing Water was a boon, and herbs were rarely low enough to cause worry. Skyteller kept plenty in stock, tucked in a cool back corner to make them last longer. He was going through them at the moment, making sure none were so shriveled as to lose their potency, but most seemed still fresh enough. Pleased, he carefully returned the piles to their places and turned away, starting for the entrance to his alcove to fetch a moment of sun and possibly a cool drink.

The sudden murmurs of alarm quickened his step, and he reached the opening just as Peregrine and Roar did, just as the slender she-cat stumbled and fell, her leg giving way beneath her weight. Concern sped up the beat of his heart and he set about sniffing over the prey-hunter, his tail flicking gently as she spoke. "I'm fine," he replied, noting the bleeding scrapes with a deep frown. "You're not, though. What happened?" His gaze went to Roar, and then to the blood smeared down the cave-guard's side.

"Moon slipped," Roar replied. "Peregrine stopped her fall but lost her balance and fell."

A nod to show he'd heard, and Skyteller ducked away for a moment to gather a wad of cobwebs, gently beginning treatment. "What hurts?" he asked her as he fixed the cobwebs in place to slow the bleeding, his mind filing through the herbs he had been sorting just a moment ago and listing the ones best suited for treating Peregrine's injuries. "Nothing looks broken, that's good. How's your head?"

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Tribe of Forgotten Waters

[BlooRey DVD]

Wide splayed ears perked up at the sound of Skyteller’s voice. She blinked slowly, still working through his words even as his attention switched to Roar for a report on what had transpired. “I am not?” She repeated, shifting to glance down at herself. Through the haze of shock, her vision struggled to focus, pupils dilating and contracting in succession as she peered down at her shoulder and her flank. She took in the bleeding wounds along her side slowly, with an awed sound of understanding. “Oh… I am not.” She confirmed, her attention slowly shifting back to the Tribe healer as the tom spoke to her once more.

Big, pale green eyes drooped closed momentarily, muzzle dipping as a wave of exhaustion crashed through the shock. “Hurts…” She mumbled, her foggy mind doing what it could to sort through her various limbs. “Head.. Yes.” The long-legged she-cat rasped, just barely managing to open her eyes to look at the tom before her. “My head’s… Bit foggy. Forg’ve me.” She stumbled through some words, her usually clear pronunciation and distinguished mannerism slurring as her head dipped drowsily again. “Like I’ve… Got water in my skull.” She commented, slowly shifting her weight only to flinch at the movement.

“Stings…” She mumbled, displeased at the sensation prickling through her pelt. “I… Think I hit some..thing.” Peregrine told him, her sloped muzzle tilting to look at her shoulder. “Doesn’t… Like to hold anyth’ng. And… And my face.” She decided, her pupils shifting sizes again as she frowned and tried to look down her muzzle. “Someth..ing stings on my face…” As she spoke, the motion pulled at the scrapes on her cheek and muzzle, sending another wave of discomfort through her. With another sharp drop of her muzzle as her eyelids drooped, the Prey Hunter’s ears followed suit and flopped to the side slightly as though she could no longer find the connections necessary to hold them up.

“Whoo…zy.” Came a slow near-drawl, her maw pursing as her eyes narrowed to keep the world around her in focus. “And… So tired…” She couldn’t seem to find more words than that, her head drawn to her paws. Maybe if she could just… Fall asleep…

Taxx

[Taxx]

Teller of the Mountain Sky

Most conversations with Peregrine were bound to be interesting; Skyteller had learned a long time ago that she didn't think like most cats. But this time he had to focus on her injuries, not on the fascinating way she saw and interpreted the world, and as she stumbled her way through an explanation of her aches, he listened carefully. A flick of his tail dismissed Roar and he reached for a wad of moss, a find from the hidden cave, to gently nudge under Peregrine's head.

"You can rest, but don't fall asleep. Stay awake, Peregrine, okay? I'm going to clean your wounds before I treat them- you've got some gravel and dirt in the one on your shoulder. How did the accident happen?" He asked her the question in the hopes of keeping her talking as he cleared the scrape of debris, going over the herbs he could use to heal. Thyme could help to calm her... though he wasn't entirely sure she was in shock. She had probably taken a knock on the head, and thyme sometimes made a cat sleepy... maybe not. Quaking aspen was good for cuts, and she had plenty of those. Dandelion to ease the pain- chamomile, perhaps? Maybe a small dose.

"I'll give you dandelion leaves to start," he continued aloud. "That will help your pain, and a little chamomile for strength. Then I'll chew some aspen for your wounds. You can rest here, I'll have a to-be get a nest for you for the night. I want to keep an eye on you- make sure you're okay." He could only hope she recovered- some cats only got worse after a bad blow to the head and there wasn't anything he could do for that. Even her being fairly alert now meant nothing. "Here. Eat these and I'll treat your scrapes, and then get you some water."

He paused only long enough to call Sky to bring bedding, and then began to chew the aspen leaves to a paste, crouching at the lanky she-cat's side and watching to make sure she ate the leaves he'd given her.

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Tribe of Forgotten Waters

[BlooRey DVD]

Pale eyes narrowed through the growing fog in her head, the Prey Hunter finding lucidity increasingly more difficult as the adrenaline finished escaping from her system. Her awkwardly angled ears flicked lazily from their perch, attempting to hear Skytelker through that strange moss-ball stuffed feeling she’d briefly noticed earlier. When he inquired about just how she came to find herself injured, the lanky she-cat blinked twice, staring down at the moss pillow he’d just placed near her, before lowering her chin onto the soft surface.

Her features scrunched up thoughtfully as she considered his question, the she-cat laying awkwardly to one side to avoid disturbing her gravel-embedded shoulder. For some reason, she thought that Roar had already told the Tribe healer what had occurred, but he seemed adamant to hear it again. Perhaps she’d imagined the explanation. Silly me. She thought blearily. She made a sound as though she meant to speak, but her jaws were delayed in opening. The result was a sentence that appeared to begin part way through a story, rather than where it intended.

“-stepped too... Too close to an edge. Young, full of life. Just wanted to explore, I think. Couldn’t... Couldn’t let ‘er get hurt... Too much life ahead. Grabbed her but lost my... My own balance. Fell... Somewhere, slid down a small cliff. Think I hit s’mething...” Her story was interrupted by a yawn that split her maw, causing her to wince as her scrapes and cuts stretched with the motion. A sound akin to a whimper left her at the sensation, pale eyes drifting shut. For a heartbeat, the world went dark around her as she drifted into a blissful momentary sleep.

Skyteller’s voice jarred her into the conscious world again, one ear flopping forward as her eyes shot open. Blinking through the light, her gaze dragged its way to the tom at her side as he explained something to her. When she registered that he intended for her to remain here, the peculiar looking tabby did her best to resist. “Don’t... Don’t want to be a bother. S’your cave, I’d be... An intruder...” Her voice drifted off as she found herself distracted by what Skyteller had placed before her. Having no knowledge herself regarding herbs, she wasn’t about to challenge the Tribe healer, or question his judgment calls.

Rolling her head slightly so she could lap up the herbs before her without lifting it off the moss, her jaws worked to chew the strange tasting mix. Scrunching her nose in a kit-like manner, the long-legged Prey Hunter mumbled to herself. “S’not very dandy tasting, for something... Called a dandelion.” She commented, but swallowed nonetheless. Once finished, she turned her attention to him, muzzle still perched on the spattering of moss as he spoke to someone behind her. Though an ear pivoted in that direction, she found herself lacking the energy to figure out who he was talking to.

And so she continued to watch him methodically chew some herb into a paste, eye lids drooping over her pale gaze. “S’quite a mess I’ve caused... Sincerest apologies, Skyteller.” She mumbled tiredly, still fighting the exhaustion creeping up on her.

Taxx

[Taxx]

Peregrine's recount of her fall was broken, some words slurred, but it seemed to serve its purpose of keeping her awake. He glanced back at her as she yawned, noted the flinch as she stretched the scrapes on her cheek. He was glad that, even though she'd gotten hurt, that she hadn't been killed. It happened too often- even those used to the slopes could fall victim to them.

"Don't be silly, you're not a bother. I would feel much better if you stayed here so I can keep an eye on you. Sometimes head injuries get worse, and if you're here I can make sure that doesn't happen."

The leaves of dandelion and chamomile were set in front of her and Skyteller turned to grab moss to soak in the pool, to help wash the taste from her mouth. He nudged it toward her with a gentle paw, before beginning the task of chewing more herbs to treat the she-cat's cuts. "If I could make them taste better, I would," he spoke between leaves.

"This will probably sting, I'm sorry. Hold as still as you can, okay?" Lapping up some of the poultice, the Healer started with the scrapes on Peregrine's cheek, trying to be gentle yet thorough. It would hurt now, but if he didn't get all of it, the risk of infection increased, and that wouldn't do her any good. At least it might keep her awake for now, but once he was finished a nap would be fine. Even if she got upset at him for constantly waking her.

[BlooRey DVD]

Her maw pursed slightly from atop its mossy pillow, the leggy she-cat considering Skyteller’s words. She remained quite certain she did not want to bother him. However, the flip side of the pebble was that he would actually feel better if she stayed. If it was to ensure the Tribe healer was more comfortable, surely it would be okay for her to remain here. Her ears rotated thoughtfully, despite their bizarre angle that succeeded only in making them look even larger than usual.

She hadn’t considered a head injury. She did feel dizzy, but figured that was simply the confusion of the fall. That had been quite some time ago now, though, and she still felt as though her world were on a strange tilt. Head injuries could be serious, as Skyteller mentioned. What a bother it would be if things got worse. She certainly didn’t want that; being awake just now was difficult enough already.

Humming thankfully at his comment on the taste, the long-legged she-cat’s sleep-blurred gaze watched as the big tom moved closer to her with the remainder of the herbs, which he had chewed into a paste. A wide-splayed ear twitched as he told her that it might sting, and the dizzy she-cat made her best effort to steel herself. But she failed to stifle the sharp inhale as his tongue rasped over the complaining scratches on her cheek.

Her features twitched in a wince, which only served to send a secondary spear of pain lancing through her willowy frame. An already exhausted body was hardly prepared for such an event, and briefly she felt her eyes roll as her body went limp. It was nothing more than a flicker of black across her vision, the brief fainting spell over as soon as it hit. With another sharp intake of breath, Peregrine’s eyes snapped back open as she rolled fully onto her uninjured side.

Disoriented but conscious again, the Prey Hunter’s claws flexed and curled into the air in her confusion, before recognition slowly trickle back in. “Mmm-alright.” Came the first attempt. With a frown, she tried again and succeeded in a little more clarity. “I’m alright. My... my apologies. Did not expect such a... Such a sudden hurt.” She fought through the sentence, her pupils finally settling on one size as the wounded she-cat slowly readjusted her position.

With some help from the Tribe healer, she was able to re-establish herself in a less... Sprawled out position. With her head safely returned to the moss pillow, she closed her eyes before shifting her gaze to approximately where she thought he would be and opened them again. “I’ll... Be ready this time. Then I could... Could certainly use s’me water. Maybe prey too. I would be honored ‘f you’d share with me, certainly after the work I’ve caused f’r you.” She half spoke, half drawled, truly doing her hardest to remain focused on what was happening around her.

Oh what a life it was, when all you wanted to do was the one thing Skyteller told you not to do. She could only hope that soon she’d be allowed to sleep. Perhaps then the fog in her mind would finally clear.

Taxx

[Taxx]

Teller of the Mountain Sky

He'd known the herbs would sting against raw flesh, but it didn't make him feel much better when she winced. He wasn't as prepared for her to slump, and a bolt of alarm shot through him as he half-rose, her name on his tongue to be called. But she came to before he'd uttered it, green eyes snapping open again as she recovered. and Skyteller forced himself to swallow, to calm his racing heart. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I wish it didn't cause you more pain."

A nod as she told him she was ready again, requesting water afterwards. "Of course. I'll be quick as I can. You can have some water, but no prey. You can sleep though, when I've finished, and if you feel better when you wake up, I would be more than happy to share a meal with you." Taking another dab of the paste, the Healer began his task again, carefully going over each scrape and cut on the prey-hunter's body and coating them with the poultice. He didn't think she'd need cobweb- none of them were very deep, and a nap would be sufficient to give the paste time to begin healing.

He'd almost finished when Sky appeared with a load of feathers and moss. Skyteller directed him to his own nest, and with ease of skill the cave-guard to-be spread the bedding. Another flick of his tail dismissed Sky, a nod of thanks seeing him off; healing finished, the Healer rose and turned to the moss he'd already dampened. Another dunk soaked it through again and then he brought it to Peregrine. "There. Drink, and then you can rest. I'll stay with you."

Once she'd satisfied her thirst and stumbled her way to the nest, more comfortable now with what Sky had brought in, Skyteller settled in with her. She was asleep nearly as soon as her head met the bedding, eyes closing and body relaxing into sleep. Skyteller laid his head on his paws, taking relief in the rise and fall of her chest. She was okay. Hurt, but hopefully not too badly. The wound on her shoulder would heal quickly, and though she had taken a hard blow to the head, it didn't seem all that bad. She could answer questions, she'd looked at him and known him, had remembered how she'd been hurt. He'd still wake her a few times- just to make sure she wasn't hurt worse than she was letting on- but he was hopeful that things would only get better from here.

He could breathe easier now. Brush aside the momentary panic he'd felt when the two had appeared, Peregrine propped on Roar's shoulder, her steps uncertain and the tang of blood strong on the air. Every Tribe cat knew the risks their home posed, but it didn't make it any easier when one of them was lost. Knowing that it could have been Peregrine- if luck hadn't favored her aside from a head injury and a few bad scrapes- had made his chest tighten. He'd hardly spared a glance for Roar. His attention and concern had been all for the lanky she-cat now curled at his side and resting. Part of him wished he could keep her there, even as he knew that was unlikely to work. She still had her responsibilities, and she couldn't ignore them for his sake.

Quietly the tom sighed, curling his tail around to rest over the prey-hunter's flank, but remained still otherwise. He would let her sleep a little longer before rousing her, checking that she wasn't hurting any more, but for now he let her be, merely content to lie here and just watch over her.

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Tribe of Forgotten Waters

[BlooRey DVD]

Cry of Hunting

Peregrine

Green eyes, with partially contracted pupils drifted down to the soaked moss offered to her. She blinked momentarily, her jarred head still slow to pick up that she'd been the one to request the water in the first place. With a content purr cut short by a parched throat, the Prey-Hunter leaned down slowly to lap at the damp moss. A pink tongue rasped over her jaws as she finished, truly feeling the weight of her eyelids in that moment. There was also a strange feeling in her stomach, as though she could eat a valley worth of mice, or throw up whatever she'd eaten last.

It truly was a bizarre thing to feel. Deciding that it was safer to avoid food just as Skyteller was suggesting, she turned her attention to the nest that had been prepared nearby. It called to her, a siren in a sea of the fog that was her exhaustion. With some much appreciated help from the larger tom, Peregrine dragged her leaden paws toward the feather-strewn bedding. Clambering into it on still-unsteady paws, she eased into the comfort of a nest she didn't quite register as Skyteller's in her all-consuming tiredness.

Her mind surrendered to the darkness before her head had finished settling onto her paws. The dark brought with it unfathomable relief. Here, in this quiet land, she hurt no longer. She could feel grass beneath her paws as she drifted effortlessly across an ever expanding landscape. It mattered not how hard she pushed herself, it matter not how fast she tore across the boulder-lengths of territory before her; there was always more to greet her. More to see. More for her to be. Her chest heaved, pulling chilled air into her lungs. This... This was what it was to be free.

It was almost as though she could feel the wings of her heart unfurling in her chest. A part of her felt as though it could run forever. A part of her longed for no more than this, to discover something new. To find a place where she would feel as free as this forever more. No rules. No responsibilities. Just... Existence.

Her paws slowed, the wind quieting in her ears as the long-legged she-cat ceased her run. Although her green eyes cast out toward that horizon, its siren call had dulled to little more than a hushed whisper. These thoughts of running, of exploring, of walking a path she had seen in some corner of her mind since she was little... Though they rushed over her with tastes of something delightful, something else murmured to her. Told her that there would still be something missing if she followed the path she envisioned. Though her wings would be free, there would be no wind to carry her.

A piece of her would never be found.

That piece existed down some other path. A path she had yet to discover, but that existed back toward what she did know. She wasn't sure why, but something in her soul told her... She belonged with the Tribe. She was needed there.

Perhaps it was this thought that roused her from her sleep. She had little upon which to judge how long she'd been asleep, but she knew it was long enough for her tongue seemed to stick in her mouth. With a soft groan, the brown-grey she-cat pulled her muzzle from her paws. Squinting through a groggy daze, she found the source of the warmth surrounding her. The reddish form of Skyteller was wrapped around her, lost in his own sleep. Swaying softly, she shifted so a little more of her weight was held up by Skyteller's strong shoulder.

Green eyes closed briefly as she breathed, whispers of her dream echoing in the corners of her mind. It danced just out of her reach, but she felt as though there was little for her to worry about. Whatever it had been, it would return to her when she needed it. Her gaze drifted to the cavern ceiling, momentarily struggling to focus on the faraway pattern. When she finally did see it, she traced the divots and rises slowly.

She thought she felt the tom next to her stir, but found herself unable to tear her eyes away. With the slightest twinge of her lip, the ghost of a smile, she rasped despite the dryness of her throat. "Have you ever felt... As though every event has occurred for some reason? Even if... If the reason is unfathomable to you in the moment... A piece of you continues to whisper that life is carving a path to guide you somewhere still unseen? Creating dips to bring you low, so that you may recall what it is to climb high once more? Like the ridges in a cavern ceiling, shaped by waters and by time."

A soft sound, almost like a laugh bloomed in her chest.

"Or are dreams... Little more than dreams?"

: Taxx : Eeeee~ :

ELL

[Taxx]

Teller of the Mountain Sky

Skyteller hadn't meant to fall asleep. He'd been watching her, the hypnotizing rise and fall of her flank, trying to stop his own mind from spinning off in a million different directions about what might have been- scenarios that involved her with with broken limbs, at their mildest, or lost to him completely, plunging down the steep side of the cliff to where nothing but death waited for her- her broken body recovered to be buried, and the claw-sharp ache that came with each flash in his mind's eye.

Eventually he'd closed his eyes- never quite sure when he faded into sleep but only aware he had when the movement of the cat at his side stirred him. One amber eye opened, his ear rotating toward her as she spoke; the quiet shame that he'd let himself fall asleep easing as the she-cat went on. Her gaze was fixed on the ceiling, but though Skyteller's gaze followed Peregrine's it wasn't there that it lingered. Moonlight shone through the hole in the roof, Peregrine's form in shadow. He listened, even as he gazed at her sleek form. Her tapered muzzle, unique from the blunt shapes he was more used to- her voice, calm and quiet in the dark, speculating in ways no other cat did. Sometimes, he thought, the former Skyteller had made the wrong choice. Peregrine seemed far more in tune to the world than he ever could be- shouldn't it be her in his place?

"Some say so." His reply, though quiet, rumbled in his chest like the name he'd forsaken. "The things that happen to you affect how you see your future. The ones you lose. The ones you gain. The triumphs and tragedies you face... all leading us to this exact moment. Would you do anything differently?" Would he? If he could go back, would he try to save Night or his kits? Or was what had happened been what had been supposed to happen? He missed them- he'd never stop- but like Peregrine had said. He could have chosen to stop caring, but something had always kept him going. Was this it?

"Dreams can be guiding too," he answered, lifting his head. "No matter how subtle it may be. Did you have a dream?"

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Tribe of Forgotten Waters

[BlooRey DVD]

Cry of Hunting

Peregrine

Would she do anything differently?

It was a question that rang quietly in her mind. A sloped muzzle dropped from the moon-lit opening, her green eyes half-closing as she let her attention drift to her paws. One set of claws flexed thoughtfully, biting into the nest material slightly if only so she could feel them snag on something. To remind her this was reality, that she was not walking in some world she fabricated to trap her in her own mind.

Grey-brown jaws parted, her tongue suddenly heavy in her mouth. Curious... Words were never something she had struggled with. One could argue she failed on occasion to say the right thing, but... She always had something to say. Some idea that bloomed in her mind whether she was asked a question, or was observing something from afar. Yet now, the words simply weren't there. Wide ears tilted back, green eyes closing completely as a soft breath escaped her.

"I... Do not know. On one paw, I cannot think of a time where I may have made a choice differently. It has always felt to me as though my paws have been set on a path of which I have little control. The smaller choices here and there, what impact would they truly have on where I have gotten to now?"

She made a thoughtful sound in her throat, one ear flicking to the side as she considered some more recent proceedings. And what of that moment? Did she regret saving Moon? Peregrine had come close to a dark fate, with a steeper cliff side only tail-lengths away from where she'd slipped. A cliff that Moon most certainly would have fallen over had Peregrine not done what she did. Peregrine had no desire to be considered a hero. In her mind, it had been but a logical choice.

"Had I not lunged for Moon today, we may have lost a To-Be with a life still unfolding before her. Even had I fallen in her place, does it not make the most sense for the Tribe to keep hold of the younger blood, born of Tribe blood? If I were not still here in this moment, I still do not think I would regret exchanging my life for Moon's. If I can do nothing more with my life than do something to help the Tribe, I would consider it a life well spent."

Her voice was still harsh, rasping, but it was certain. Steady. There were things she might never understand in this world, but there were also things that made sense. She could see the importance in many of the Tribe members. Skyteller was important for various reasons, plain to the eyes of most. To-Bes were important for they were the future of the Tribe. They would be the ones to carry on the legacy. Even the new arrivals from the Clans had seemed to find their place in this world. Some had brought with them kits, new and strong souls for the days to come.

Peregrine had walked a steady existence for several moons. She had committed many moons of service, all to ensure the advancement of the Tribe, for she could not fathom anything of greater importance. She would always put the good of others, and the good of many, before herself. It just made sense. Peregrine was a branch on the tree that comprised the Tribe. Aging, still steady, but with little purpose. She was not the trunk, she was not a infallible bough holding up others.

Her only remaining family was Rose, and she would do what she could to ensure Rose remained content. Surely this is what she had been destined to do: uphold the lives of others through her service to the Tribe. Could she find happiness for herself in this? Did such a path of happiness exist for her? Did it matter?

Pushing away the strange avalanche of questions forming in her mind, lest she develop a greater headache, Peregrine opened her eyes once more to study the light of the moon as it danced on the cavern floor nearby.

"I did dream, or so I think. I have no recollection of what I saw, only a strange feeling when I awoke. Something akin to... To certainty. As though waking up at that moment, in this place was exactly as it should be. I cannot fathom what it all means, but... I can do little more than believe that I am here because something requires I be here."

: Taxx : Thoughtful gal~ :

ELL