Chapter 172: Options
Avery tilts her head and looks at the sky, but she isn't interested in enjoying the night's beauty. She's taking advantage of a break in the fog to look for the Big Dipper. Though the fog is dense, it's constantly shifting, and every once in awhile, she gets a glimpse of the starry sky. If she can locate the Big Dipper, she can figure out which way is North.
The forest is dense. If it were daytime, she would try to navigate by looking at the moss on the trees. She vaguely remembers learning that moss grows more densely on the northern side of trees.
"Luckily, I can see the stars," she thinks, "I'm sick of wandering in circles."
She tears a small piece away from her skirt and ties it to the lowest branch of a nearby tree. If she starts to go in a circle again, the fabric will help her fix her route. The short grass cuts her ankles, and the thorns snatch at her skirt. Frogs cry mournfully in the distance. She walks until her feet ache.