AVERY’S NOTE: People think quiet is safe.
That if you smooth enough edges, lower your voice, keep things steady, nothing sharp can find you.
They’re wrong. Quiet doesn’t erase pressure.
It teaches it how to build without being noticed.
The rain changed everything.
Snow had at least pretended to be honest. It arrived loudly, covered its tracks poorly, and announced itself as a problem you could see. Rain was subtler. It soaked. It pooled. It found the weak points winter had carved and pressed there, patiently, until something gave.
By mid-April, Alderwatch was saturated.
