Sequoia Coast an only child of the universe

The girl had headed south, knowing to leave Drageda now felt wrong,  but feeling the itch in her paws that seldom came, and yet compelled her to move, to travel and see. Winter had changed the landscape that she knew only faintly, and it was not long before she had little idea of where, exactly, she was. Panic didn't quite come, for she knew the way back to Drageda; it was as simple as turning around and heading back the way she'd come (right?) and besides, she'd left tracks that ought to be easy to follow back (right?)

Nevertheless, perhaps in an attempt to push past her own doubts, the speckled girl continued south, humming under her breath as she went and scanning the strand and rocks and trees as she passed on her search for something novel.