Nalda Zamora

South. Further south than she had ever gone before, the slate and russet pup travelled on this day, moving through changing forests of red ferns and blue fog and green moss. Part of her wondered if she would run into any of the other pups she'd med down here before; She wasn't sure whether she wanted to. But her trek was quiet, disturbed only by the occasional small critter, scared up by her passage, none of which she attempted to hunt. She moved with an unusual urgency, trotting quickly along the woodland paths, without taking the time to study her surroundings like she usually did. There was something inside her urging her on, a strange, boiling, like she would explode if she stayed put for too long. Usually, just leaving the pack lands would ease her, but today she only grew more tense, and so she was prompted to go further, find somewhere completely new and unexplored, to hopefully sate her thirst for novelty.

Only when she'd gone far beyond her usual turning point did she pause, gasping slightly after the lengthy trot. Around her were trees not unlike the many she'd passed getting here, thought these stood notably closer than the Pines; Maybe because half of them haven't tumbled over..! These trees stood tall and slim, the oaks still mostly naked, while the coniferous trees sported tops of dark needles, with several bared branches near the bottom. The ground below her paws, lightly dusted in what snow had managed its way past the dense canopy, was frozen hard and knolled, like it had been dredged up shortly before the frost hit. There was something eerie about this whole place, though she couldn't put a paw on it, but it made her hackles stand on end. Golden eyes roamed the forest nervously, large ears perked high, twitching at every noise. Most of them were harmless enough, the stir of small animals, branches shifting as snow feel from them. But there was something else, something she couldn't quite place.

Her whole body tensed, the young wolf squinted through the dimness, catching eye off small movements all around. And then suddenly she saw something, much bigger than any mouse or squirrel, a dark shadow right up ahead, jumping over a fallen trunk and coming right towards her.

Word count: 385

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