Wishful Thinking [All Welcome]

Dmitri walked along the muddy bank of the river with his toes expanded, digging his hardened paw pads into the soothing texture of the earth with a pleasant sigh. How could the land be so cruel and so forgiving only a few miles away? He could live on this bank had it not been so exposed to the rest of the forest life. Only moments ago, it was flourishing with game of varying sizes, but at his approach, they had all scattered like bugs. It bothered him none. He had his share of food for the morning.

The wolf bent down to collect the water running near the relaxing mud before simply folding down into it. A little mud never hurt anyone, especially in the heat he was feeling now. He swore he could see vapors rising off of his pelt in the forest shade when he left his sandy home. Now he was in this world almost completely foreign to him. Dmitri couldn't help but be a little tense, even during this glorious, blessing-like moment because of it. He didn't get this far being careless after all. After covering most of his sides and as much of his back as he could, Dmitri lifted his head once again to sense the area around him.