daylight.
rising long after sunrise was a luxury the jewel did not fully appreciate. their's was a world of night work.
fur disheveled and body reeking of wolf-scent; some stains are worse than others. thankfully, there is the creek. the first step brought a bracing chill, and then they set to arranging themselves.
brambles plucked from tangle of belly fur; 
the water slicks the warm tufts of their cheeks.
what next, they will wonder—looking to the shroud of forest.