Duck Lake Tablespoon of honey

Chai was utterly exhausted. For weeks on end now, she found herself alone and totally lost. Many thousands of miles stretched between her and home. A place which she wasn't sure she'd ever see again. She thought she had been going the right way, hot on the trail of her brother. But somewhere along the way she must have made a wrong turn. Nothing looked familiar. Every scent was strange...made her skin prickle with uncertainty.

She was not afraid. Nor skittish. Just...reasonably cautious, thrust into a strange new wilderness she knew nothing about. Though she had picked up the scent of others of her own kind, finding them right now was not on her to do list. She needed to rest...to let her travel worn body recover.

Tucked in the relative safety of the arms of the Aspen grove, the fiery female sought refuge. Having managed to find a spot where the ground sloped to form a sort of cradling nook, she had curled into tight ball of disheveled fur. She had glimpsed the blue of the lake nearby, and was relieved to know that she had a reliable water and potential food source. Of course, there was always a flip side to every coin. The constant chattering of the ducks, the rustling of their wings and disturbances of the water was a pain in the ass. Just when she began to feel the tug of sleep, the foul would start up with their ruckus again. Lips twitching in annoyance, she bundled herself tighter, resisting the great urge to just charge forth and send the flock packing.