-Caspian Grayson:
I watched as the digging finally slowed down to its last, exhausted rhythm.
It didn't stop all at once. It never does. It fades in layers, like even the earth itself is reluctant to accept what's being done to it. The pack members inside the grave were moving more slowly now, their bodies heavy with fatigue and grief, shoulders rising and falling with uneven breaths as they finished the final motions. Wet soil clung to their gloves, to their sleeves, to their skin, as if the ground itself didn't want to let go of them either.
When the last of the digging was finally done, they stood there for a moment longer than necessary. Nobody spoke. Nobody looked at each other for more than a second. One of them dragged a hand across his face, wiping away tears he clearly hadn't intended to show, jaw clenched as if anger might hold him together better than grief. Another simply looked down at the broken earth beneath his feet, unable to lift his gaze again.
