Starglow Basin Feel Good Inc

He trailed South, seeking longer days and warmer sunlight. As carefully as he had moved, the mesa had not been a friendly scale; he skidded, tumbled, grabbed hold of whatever roots he could in order to keep himself from falling over a drop. By nightfall, his muscles burned, but he reached a flat, green patch of land, punctuated by two pools of water. He slid down the bank and landed with a splash in the cool, still water. He drank his fill, scrambled up the bank, and fell fast asleep there. 

In the middle of the night, he woke up. Gazing down into the pool, he saw the bioluminescent glow, and wondered if he was hallucinating. Perhaps something in the water...

He continued in the morning, feeling slightly sick. He knew that vibrant blue-green algae might certainly spell death for him- but he'd never seen it glow in the dark. In the daylight, the pools were jet black; deeper than he had expected. He might survive, he thought; blue-green algae would have been more visible. 

His stomach's upset faded as he basked in the sun's warmth, turning his half-masked face so that the light side could gleam in the light. He shut his eyes, and breathed in air that was dry, dusty. The earth beneath his paws was sun-baked, and became sandy. He had heard tell of succulents, but had never seen them with his own eyes. He investigated the shrubs and yellowed grasses as he went, sampling where he felt it was safe, taking note of what plants existed in such a habitat. 

But before he could go far into the basin, the scent of boundary markings warded him off. Wolves had passed nearby, pissing on the shrubs. Normal for pack animals, except-

he stopped to sniff-

-for the scent of something green in the chemistry of their urine.