Evening was fast approaching, which meant more Crows would soon stir to begin their work in the night. Dead Reckoning woke early in that regard and immediately made her way south to the river. She nodded judiciously in passing to the wolf at the watch point, her head high, her tail slightly flagged. She was important, after all, and had to remind others of that fact. In spite of her age, she was more than ready to act like an adult. A queen, in fact. But princess would do for now. And she had some very important royal business to attend to. It would be one of the last few moments she could spend alone without paranoia and fear clawing at her heart. Today, Dead Reckoning was still a pup by all rights in spite of her act, a youngling still charmed by the death surrounding her. Tomorrow, when she is visited by the nightmare that breaks her, she no longer will be.
Promising not to stray beyond the watch point, the pup followed the river a little more west until she found it: a small mound, barely perceptible unless looked for, against a reddening tree. All trees were dead or dying here, but she had picked this one because it seemed fresh still, bright in its leaves despite the rot evident in its bark. Dead Reckoning glanced around once, twice, and then began to dig at its roots.
