Blacktail Deer Plateau somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond

All that you were, all that you are,
together here and from afar,
the sea calls us home,
ey-oh-ley, — oof, no.

Umi grimaced, annoyed at her inability to finish the poem. She often forgot the good parts if she stopped before things were finished. This had resulted in most of the songs she had tried to write having only melodies, or lyrics that didn’t make any sense. Perhaps she was no good at this after all.

The cat’s journey had continued beyond the coastal sands. She had stayed on them for some time due to their familiarity, but the need to find a permanent home had left her wandering. Early on, she knew that wolves had followed her trail, likely to ward her off from lands that they believed belonged only to them. Canines and felines alike were rude in this way, incapable of sharing and impossible to change.

Umi had failed at two deer hunts that day. She was lamenting her empty stomach as she moved through the plateau, prowling soundlessly over the grassy earth. Her sensitive nose picked up a faint trail of another deer. They were certainly still active, though Umi was beginning to grow tired.

Following this scent, she did not notice the wolf until she was mere yards away. Worried that the wolf was here to scout her or hurt her, Umi’s tail fluffed up like a brush, but she stood her ground, seeing only one. Are.. are you here to hurt me? Her voice, child-like in its wording but wispy, carried over the breeze easily.