To and through the heart

He could often be found by the lake. The waters were cool and pleasant this time of year as the high summer sun set in and made a nuisance of thick coats not thinned enough by shedding and other natural ways of coping. Today? With the rain lightly falling atop the lake’s once glassy surface, there appeared to be no need for any sort of lounging in the shallows. Instead, he lingered beneath nearby pines and watched lazily as the rain changed the face of the world he knew and transformed it into something cynical.

Chin to his paws, a huff fled his nostrils as he turned his ears towards the rain and watched nothing drift by in the distance. And there. A blur through the gentle storm cut through the murky haze as it padded around the circumference of the place he lingered often. As curiosity would have it, he rose, pulling himself out from beneath the semi-shelter of the trees and ventured out into the fading summer rain.

He followed her, wondering as to what she had seen or as to where she might be heading. He’d not encountered this wolf before, smelled her here and there, but her presence was few and far between. Maintain his distance, as she appeared to be on a mission, he lingered and followed her alongside the stream and eventually found his way within the folds of the mountain above. How on earth had he not noticed this before? He was usually much better about noting every nook and cranny of the land.

She disappeared within the depths of this place and soon lost herself to darkness. Behind her, he could still manage in the dim glow. A few more paces and that would fade for him, but if she did not pause now, she might be lost forever. "This place is marvelous," he commented, disrupting the silence. "Nice find."