when the treetops trade their green for gold

Jasper lay panting and exhausted, enjoying what meager shade she could beneath an overhanging slab of stone. She rather liked this red, rocky place.

The views from atop sandstone bluffs, looking out over the canyonlands, were breathtaking in a way she would struggle to translate into words... If there was anyone else she might speak of it to in the first place. Each morning dawned crisp and cool until the sun rose high enough for its warmth to be felt beneath her paws, bringing small lizards skittering out from their hidey-holes.

Chasing after them filled the young shewolf with a bubbling, pup-like enthusiasm, so while she would defend the sport as definitely, for sure hunting, in truth snapping them up afterward was more or less an afterthought.

Too bad she wasn't planning on lingering here much longer. Turns out lizards weren't terribly filling, and acquiring them always left her panting and worn out by the time she called it quits, as she was right then. The desert hares were too quick for her tastes, and whatever was left must surely fall victim to the coyote bands that caterwauled their claim over the place each night, tending to their own pups by the sound of things.

Perhaps Jasper would seek out somewhere more verdant tomorrow, or turn northward towards the mountains even, but for right now she could allow herself one more day of exploration... Just as soon as she caught her breath.

"Talk" "Listen" Think