Duck Lake The city, the crowd is fading, moving on

He drowsed in a tussock of long grass a few yards from the lake shore, eyes cracking open as he felt something brush him. Cambria lazily watched a tiger swallowtail as it skimmed past his elbow and drifted across the summer grass toward the water’s edge. His eyes slipped shut a moment later, his cheek wedging against one pale, outstretched foreleg.

He snorted awake at a sudden burst of sound, scrambling to his feet and then going rigid as he swept his surroundings with at least three of his senses. Cambria quickly zeroed in on the source of the disturbance: a wolf had leaped into the lake, scattering the ducks to its far side as she paddled about leisurely.

He remained very still and watchful as the stranger eventually waded to the shoreline. Cambria wondered if she was actually as small as she looked, or if it was just the effect of her soaking wet fur as she climbed out of the water. He blinked as he studied her petite, curvy figure, struck by the contrasting colors of her pelt.

Deciding she wasn’t a threat, Cambria folded back down in the grass and continued watching her, wondering if and when she might notice him.