Horizon Ridge Back to the wild

It had been over two weeks since the orca had hurled itself onto the beach, clipping her and nearly taking her life. For the first time since the attack, Pied woke up with relatively little pain and managed to slip out of the den into the February sunshine with only a few grimaces and groans. Her ribs would ache for weeks to come, she knew, as would the knitting bone in her hind paw. Yet she'd mastered the art of moving about gingerly and even felt confident enough today to venture down the path leading away from her den site.

She didn't get very far before she needed to make a pit stop, pausing where the trail led onto the beach and leaning back against the foot of the ridge to rest. Her tongue lolled from her muzzle in a mild pant as her eyes scanned over the nearby beach. Pied wasn't afraid to venture out onto the sands, though she wouldn't be going near the water anytime soon. She would stick to the dunes.

Once she felt strong enough, she rose back onto all fours and hobbled forward. The cool sand felt lovely beneath her pale paws and the bracing, salty air made her skin tingle pleasantly as it tousled her dappled coat. She didn't go very far, stopping just beyond the shadow of the ridge. Her ribs throbbed for the effort and she kept her broken paw crooked, yet she smiled into the wintry breeze, happy to have made this small but significant comeback.