The spring sun beat down mercilessly on the unshaded land, drawing even more moisture from the already dried earth. Its warmth, while still tame, felt hot against the black guard hairs of the young wolf, trudging along through the marsh. Dried mud caked her legs, her every step releasing a squelching sound, as she dragged her paws from the sludge.

 

She felt like she had been slogging through this mess for ages, yet she had come no closer to finding actual water. Just this never-ending field of mud. She was almost to the point of simply wolfing down a mouthful of sludge to try and quench her thirst, only the thinnest strands of logic holding her back. But if she remained stuck in this shadow of a wetland for much longer, she wasn’t sure they would hold.

Thoughts ”Speech”