Mudminnow River close the door when you leave

discovering the second victim's body.

there was death everywhere. death, everywhere that she went.

bodies littered these wilds in various stages of decay. there was no one to claim them, no one to pay their respects. she wondered if they'd all died alone; had any of them been loved?

death would soon come to claim his harbinger. she wanted to die in a field of beargrass, beneath the high summer sun. the heat would speed her demise. moriah wondered if someone might come by to mourn; would she be known?

there was a body beside the lake. she was blanketed by a thin layer of snow decorated with droplets of blood. someone else had been here, as was told by the faint trace of their scent. there were no outward indications of battery, save for a wound on her leg.

moriah took a few steps forward, just close enough to see her face. the corpse was bloated, likely infested by insects some days prior. the musk of sex was barely discernible, but remained pungent enough for detection. she grimaced, settling into a seat.

what did he do to you?

casper had left home on their own, aimless and tired already. and they were tired now. how long had they been journeying? how long would they continue? casper did not know. they would follow their paws wherever it carried them, and if they died in their travels, so be it. they had no goals or aspirations to look forward to. whatever happened now was fine. they weren't used to this lifestyle anyway, being a lone traveler. and even though they enjoyed the aloneness- the feeling was unfamiliar. freedom and peace, it was all too strange and new. they just wanted to go back to the old days. the days of discomfort in a large group, the days of being tied to the lands of the pack, days of being restricted and forced upon a certain path. those days were familiar. 

and this new land. a thin layer of snow upon unfamiliar ground, crunching beneath casper's pawsteps. and- oh? blood? curiously casper's pink nose inspected the trail, following (not for long) until they came upon a girl and a dead body. remaining a few feet back, casper was unsure whether to speak. but curiosity pried their lips open. "did you kill that?" they call, tone dull and empty. 

timelines? who's she?

it is the congregation of wolves that attracts her, the smell of decay. two, women, plus a third, dead. she drifts near, pausing a stone's throw from the dark pelted female just as she falls silent. her gaze finds the girl, wondering at the purple eyes and dark coat, before drifting to the first woman—it is a valid question.

i don't know her. moriah looked between the two women, examining each one as they approached. the second was silent, her energy acting as both a comfort and source of alarm. she stood tall beside the body, holding her ground should either decide to approach for a better look. 

were the weather permitting, she might have considered burying the body. this woman did not belong to her, though; it wasn't her place to do such a thing, but who else would have? these were thoughts to be had in solitude, not when in the presence of strangers.

the harbinger turned back to the two women, eyes flickering between them. do you know her?

*pulls casper out bc im too busy for them rn* sorry yall!! ;_;

another girl arrives there, silent but watching. dark ears tilt backward at her approach, but as soon as words leave the first's mouth, their attention is back on her. she says she didn't know her. casper thinks that technically that doesn't answer their question, but the girl is probably not the killer, then. most wolves would not kill someone they didn't know and then spend their time lingering around the body. 

then a question is directed at them. lavender eyes widen in some slight surprise. "no. i did not know them. i'm not from around here anyway." they reply casually, as their gaze flickers back to the quiet girl. if none of them knew her or killed her, why bother sticking around chatting about her corpse? vaguely bored by the conversation already, casper called a lax "see you around," before turning tail to wander off, glancing at the silent one as they left.

the woman answers, and the second turns tail just as quickly to leave. in her absence, the girl steps nearer, gaze tracing the desolation that was once a living, breathing woman. "no." she answers, gaze settling on the stranger. this is only the second body she's seen, though it is enough to draw a tinge of that old grief, and cold ire. 

"how did she die?" she asks, wariness prickling across her spine. there is she sharp, pungent remains of a scent she can not identify, no wounds that appear immediately fatal. but there comes no answer, and when she looks back to the woman, she is already turning away. soon, the girl and the body are alone, until she too leaves the decaying woman where she lies.