Bitterroot Valley Roadtrip from Hell

Nilak had long ago lost all sense of direction and, shortly after that, all sense of time. The days simply blended into each other, one never really beginning and the other never really ending until he was treating night and day as different areas of the same landscape. The only thing that had broken through his shell of sullen reverie was the salt smell of the ocean and he had doggedly followed the scent for a day or two, as near as he could tell. Nilak was sure he was going in the right direction because the scent grew stronger for each stretch of ground he covered, it did little more than keep an ember of hope from dying within him.

Exhaustion had set in long ago and there was no energy left in him to really notice the landscape so it was after a few pawsteps that he realized he was wading a river. The briskness of the water woke him somewhat and he drank greedily, lapping the water almost before he had a chance to swallow the last mouthful. "This looks as good a spot to rest as any, if I get lucky a rabbit will hop in my mouth as I sleep", Nilak thought, though he doubted he would get a chance at food until tomorrow. Nilak found a bed of grass on the banks of the river, occasionally and gently shaded by the brightly colored flowers that filled the plains in this area. "I'll take a small nap and find my way around tomorrow." Hopefully this wasn't pack territory but that thought hadn't even entered Nilak's mind.