I just want to live

Raka's world had always seemed small. She dreamed of big adventures, but was  stuck on how to claim them. She imagined the people she would meet, the places she would see. Her life was a slow one, a repetitive routine that led her to the stream that ran close to a pack's territory. She was careful to keep well clear of the scent markers. She ran a claw over the gem hanging from her horns her father had given her at her birth. She had told him she would collect them at every adventure, every significant moment in her life. It swung alone in its string instead.

She sighed, and stretched aa the raising son touched her with golden strands. The weather was turning. Soon, it would be too cold to swim here. Already a dip left her shrieking. But she had learned to swim, and she loved to flit through the water like a fish. There was nothing else for it. All in was the way. She dove into the water and let out a soft shriek aa the cold flooded over her. Definitely colder than yesterday.