Something was pulling her east, until she had crossed the line the humans called a state border. Walking over that line was almost physical and she felt something inside break. She knew now she was never returning home.
She had been traveling since the snows first melted and now they were melting again. She could feel it in the wind and taste it in the water. Her static coloured coat thickened and lengthened, then began to thin again in patches, making her appear ragged and malnourished, but she thanked her mothers ancestors for the added protection it had given her through the colder months.
She awoke with the sun, the pull had changed directions again and she sighed. She could never predict what way it would take her each day and she had no idea what was it was that was drawing her in. She took in her surroundings, paying attention to the landscape for the first time in weeks. It had changed from the dense forest she had known all her life to sparse rocky slopes.
She shook her head in resignation and began to follow her feet again, she had lost her siblings scents months ago and was sure she had been turned around on more than one occasion. Where the joy and love of her family had once been, there was now a dull ache in her chest that was refusing to go away. She fought to push it down. It was a hinderance and would come and go at the most inconvenient times.
She continued onwards and upwards, nimbly leaping from boulder to rock shelf and down again. It seemed to go on forever, up and down, onwards and upwards. She was beginning to tire when she suddenly realised the peak was in sight. She grinned for what felt like the first time since she left. She knew it wasn't but it still felt odd after such a long absence from her face.
Below was a fertile landscape beginning to peek its way through the slowly receding snows. She could see the forests and lakes and meadows, and the looming mountain that looked over it all. She imagined what the view would look like from up there and decided one day she would have to make the journey. She settled himself on relatively flat topped boulder and enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun. There were plenty of small crevices and nooks she could crawl into if he needed shelter for the night. Tomorrow, she would travel down the other side of the sloping landscape and try to find some food amongst the trees. For now, she intended to enjoy the view and rest while she could.</blockquote>