Aella plodded alongside her brother, ears perked and nares twitching. She found solace in the slight increase in temperature today. Winter still gripped the land, but its harsh temperatures had been getting lenient lately. A thin layer of snow crunched beneath the blind lass’ paws, and wind ruffled her grey-and-black fur; she almost wished she could see the scenery.
Aridam’s body was taut beside Aella’s, anger simmering below his mix of caution and urgency. It had been nearly a day since their father’s outburst, the one that had resulted in four long gashes down Aella’s front left leg. The gash down the side of her neck. Aridam’s rage bursting forth. A grove of mangroves had substantially shrunken their territory - that of the Ashen Woodlands - with its sudden appearance not too long ago. That, and their father’s already-questionable personality, had driven Gedeon to a breaking point and he had gone after Aella, the least able to defend herself.
Aridam had bloodied Gedeon as much he could (which was a fair amount), then taken Aella and left the woods behind, forever likely.
She stiffened as, along with the scent of a pack border, she began to smell . . . death. A rancid, rotting scent, putrid and devastating. “Aridam,” she rasped, and then it hit him too. She sensed it in the way he recoiled ever so slightly.
“Stay close to me, Aella.” His voice was low and gruff. “We’ve come upon Amberbjorne, and I don’t know what we’ll find if we dare to violate their borders today.”
She wrinkled her nose, frowning. “You can’t think the entire pack dead, Aridam? If they were, I would be scenting a lot more death.”
He huffed, and she detected a bit of amusement in it; maybe some fondness, too? “My sister the supernose . . . alright, they’re not all dead, but something is, and my question is why haven’t they done something about it at all.” He started forward again, and she moved with him. “We’re right up against the border now -” Aridam paused abruptly. “Oh.”
She nudged him. “Did you find it, He Who Has Eyes to See With?”
She heard and felt Aridam sigh. “It’s . . . it’s a she-wolf. All bones and skin. She looks starved to death.” Aella felt a shudder run through her body.

“You may bury my body down by the highway side.”