Clouds were cool! They had all different shapes and colors, and some where dense while others were see-through. Sometimes they blew across the sky so fast, you'd think something was chasing them, other times they drifted lazily, almost completely still against the azure background. Like today. Nalda liked that best, then she had time to really look at each one, finding images hidden in their curves and bulges. She could lie for hours on her back in a nice, quiet spot just staring up at the sky.

In the end, she and her mother had moved to the communal den along with the other pups and their parents, transforming evenings from welcome, calm times of closeness with her parents into loud, crammed extravaganzas that often ended in exhausted piles. It had its ups, the others were soft and warm, and as soon as they were asleep they could be quite nice to have around, but during the waken hours, she missed her solitude. As a result, she spend much less time in the den, which wasn't bad really, the outside was exciting, it had many more things to watch and listen to and scent. But it could be hard to find a peaceful place, all these pack mate's seemed to find it very hard to just leave her alone! Especially the other pups.

A sudden itch on her back made the russet tinted girl roll over in the lush grass, eyes returning to the ground as she turned her head, rubbing at the irritated spot with her teeth. In the end she had managed to find a place that seemed mostly unknown to the others, probably because of its distance from the den site. A small spot of long, soft grass, bordering a slim creek that snaked its way through the forest, probably headed for the falls. Unlike the blaring cascades there though, this little stream added a nice trickling melody to the atmosphere, the air around it cool and fresh, without the heavy moisture created by the falls. She liked both places, but this one was the best for cloud watching. With a satisfied sigh she laid back, rolling onto her back once more to look up at the white tufts drifting silently, darkening eyes wide with joy and wonder.

Word count: 381