The Wall devil gonna follow me e'er I go

Rue, what are you doing? Stop climbing! Turn around!

Ascending the Wall would have been difficult a year ago, when Rue was at her prime peak of fitness and performance. In her condition now, it was nearly the equivalent of a suicide run. The woman's paws knew the steps; every twist and turn was etched into the former scout's memory. But her muscles pulled in different places now, and there was pain-- so much pain-- pulsating from the base of her spine and shooting into her back limbs at seemingly random intervals. 

Rue scrabbled and hauled herself up a short ledge-- one that would have posed no challenge for her before her injury. Every step she put behind her was worth the pain of moving forward. Her cheeks were still wet from the tears that had leaked, and even now her eyes threatened to spill more. How could she have thought it would be a good idea to return to Blacktail Deer Plateau? Had she imagined she would find Liri and Kavik here, living peacefully in the den they all used to share, raising the children they never got to have? 

Instead, Rue had found only dust. Dust, and unfamiliar smells, and haunting memories. 

Greymoor wolves, maybe? Anyone welcome!