‘Cause there’s a shortcut down the beaten path

Meadowlark

Every step was silent, carefully thought out beforehand. This land was new, strange, and dangerous. It was very far from home and with no familiar faces, Meadowlark was truly alone. It was the first time she had ever been this alone, and she couldn't have felt more vulnerable. Every sense was heightened, including her sense of smell. At first, she could smell the nearby grasslands and fresh water, but eventually it turned into something fouler. The smell was all around her at this point, and it blocked out the previous smells from before. With no other alternative, she kept pushing forward. Maybe, just maybe, she would bypass this weird smell and move into something more pleasant.

However, the smell never changed, but it didn't get worse either. Instead, after passing through some trees, Meadowlark came across several pools of steaming water. Each were shaped like crescent moons with different levels of water, supplied by a waterfall behind them. It was a weird sight, and she was sure that the smell radiated from these pools. Oh, curse her wandering brain and guilt preventing her from thinking straight! Her former life surely had a large impact for Meadowlark to not pay attention to where she was going! Heaven forbid if she saw too late that she walked off of a cliff! After cursing under her breath, Meadowlark gave the area a quick glance before slowly strolling forward, head lowered with caution so as to react in a timely manner if needed.

Once out of the tree line, her cream and silver form finally was easier seen. Meadowlark stood still in the opening, body language displaying a sense of being unsure, remaining wary. A swish of her cream-colored tail only further displayed her discomfort at being in such a new place after coming from a home that wasn't welcoming anymore. While she was an adult, she had a very long way to go for her maturity to match the age. Her off-white head was lowered slightly, neck almost parallel to her spine as cream-colored ears rotated around frequently, listening for every sound that could possibly represent danger. Off-white body shifted nervously, and her breathing was slightly quickened. One off-white sandy front paw was lifted off the ground, stopped in mid-step before it was relinquished to rest on the ground, sore from being help up so long. Blackened nose sniffed the air again, desperate to pick up anything else besides this foul smell. Without sounds of danger, Meadowlark assumed the area was probably safe.

Taking in a deep breath to hold for a few seconds, Meadowlark forced herself to calm. After letting out the breath slowly, she walked to the pools to examine them further. "Paw prints?" she asked herself, seeing quite a few prints of various ages all around the pools. She wasn't alone here. There were seemingly many others like her around. In her journey, Meadowlark had not come across this many wolves before. Perhaps a pack was nearby, or this was a popular place. Regardless, Meadowlark wasn't sure she wanted to stay around for long. However, something about the pools, and the placement of the prints, told her to possibly take a step in one. A paw was then raised over the pool she stood in front of, pausing only briefly in thought of whether or not this was a good idea.

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1.	‘Cause there’s a shortcut down the beaten path	The Hot Springs	10:27 PM, 01-13-2024	11:33 AM, 07-16-2024

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‘Cause there’s a shortcut down the beaten path

Open to pack leaders too!

Meadowlark