diamonds come rolling out

The Archer-Lyall had been meaning to check out the mangroves for a while now. Knowing that soon it would be too cold to enjoy it. Far too restless to sleep, despite the height of the moon, she had crossed the river near her den and woven her way through the willows and to the east. Her muzzle twitched up in the ghost of a snarl at the thought of that. It wasn’t like she could go any other direction. The Armada was effectively hemmed in on all sides now, pinned between the Empire and the sea. No matter what was said about Habari, you didn’t share a border with a pack you didn’t have ties to without them moving against you, and that was all the confirmation Sedna had needed to roll her eyes into the back of her skull. She didn’t like feeling so exposed, but claustrophobic at the same time.

As always, Otis trotted along at her side, his stark white face standing out in the moonlight, and as the ground grew softer and more root-ridden underfoot he scrambled up to ride on her back. She wondered if maybe she would be too late to see the water lights? Winter would be on them before they knew it.

"speech".