Big Salmon Lake it's time we tried to find the sunrise

54F/12C. Morning.

Morning light crept upon the land, banishing the shadows of the night, and bringing with it a touch of welcome warmth.  Tehama's flagging spirits were buoyed by the fairer weather.  The lady was by nature an early riser, but the unceasing rain and ever-colder nights had made a late sleeper of her in recent weeks.  Now on a mid-September morning bathed in a cascade of mellow golden light, the tawny female was renewed, rejuvinated, and rose from sleep with a spring in her step.

As Te had meandered north and west in the past fortnight, the rains had slowly come to an end.  Hunting had been abysmal in the interval, with the rain driving all creatures great and small to seek shelter, and washing away their lingering scents.  Emerging from the bramble-filled wood in which she had slumbered the previous few nights, Tehama performed her morning ablutions at the lakeside.  Submerging her face in the cool, clear water, then giving herself a drying shake, the female caught a glimpse of her reflection and frowned.  The lines of her face were more gaunt, her tawny fur dull; had she been able to see the remainder of her already-petite form gone wraithlike, she would have been even more displeased.  Weeks of wandering and lackluster meals had done a number on the typically well-nourished if small-framed woman, and while the rains may have passed, the chill that fell over the lands in the nighttime were a reminder of the frigid season to come.

Should have stayed where I heard the wolves, she thought to herself, a bit glumly.  Nearer to the south and west, she'd heard a number of howls, but had given the area a wide berth, not seeking to trespass or offend.  That had been several moons ago and her stomach hadn't growled so insistently then; in hindsight it seemed a mistake not to have sought them out.  But wooded glades and forested foothills hadn't drawn her attention like the vast mountain peaks she had come to now.  If she'd wanted easy living in a lush green lowland crossed with waterways, she'd have stayed with her mother at Thousand Rivers.  

No, it was the memory of secluded alpine meadows and breathtaking views from mountainside trails that drew her now, fleeting dreams of recapturing something of her lost identity on Mount Mirror.  The woman's silver gaze was fixed on the highest of these sunlit peaks as she padded along the western edge of the broad blue lake, wondering if the spire was already trodden with wolven pawprints, or if exploration of its heights might be granted first to her.