A canine laid under a layer of snow, the biting cold not reaching his skin. A warm orange light shone from the windows of his master's den of wood. But he didn't wish for this warmth. His ice blue eyes watched the forest line, hearing the howls of wolves carried gently by the wind. A thin tether tied him to a wooden peg hammered into the ground, hidden under thick snow. He was among twenty other h...

An African wild dog wandered the grassy plains, scents filling his nostrils as a void opened in his stomach. Resilient had a nose for tracking and a talent for stalking, it’s why his leader assigned him as a spy. As he sniffed around a group of shrubs, he caught a scent. Another dog with a trace of milk, the scent a few days old. _That’s strange,_ he thought to himself, _there’s no pack around her...

The late morning sunlight flooded the camp, the warm rays bathing plants in golden hues. A single leaf fell from a tree casting shade over the camp. It spiralled down, fluttering and flittering as it did. But before it hit the ground, paws slapped it onto the dirt. With a white patched chest puffed with pride, an African wild dog grinned at her success. Silent had practiced all morning so the othe...

The sun sank from the sky, turning it to shades of orange and yellow, as if in mourning. The moon peeked over the southern crest, a large round eye gazing over the Savannah. An African wild dog ushered her rowdy pups into a den. The mother felt the soft dirt under her belly fur as her pups lay in the curve of her belly. Except for one, sitting at the den entrance. With his mindful gaze, he watched...

Heat blazed down onto the hot soils that thirst for rain. Hornbills flew above, searching for a waterhole. Their calls to each other were weighted by their struggles, wings heavy with their failure. The Savannah was vast, the horizons met by mountains. Brittle shrubs with sparse leaves scattered the landscape. Acacia trees broke from the ground with their thin, wily trunks, reaching for the clouds...

A musical world filled with lyrics and melodies sang around Becky’s head. Her headphones blocked out the world as her footsteps matched the beats of the song, the music felt throughout her body. With the last few notes, she looked up from the ground, the street earily empty. The streetlights were dim, the area in grayscale, a chill swept across her. There was no noise, no car alarms or wind. She t...

Brooke was always a strange child. She loved the outdoors and spent all her time out there, but she always watched the garden. The neglected garden where plants grew wildly as they pleased, its wooden borders cracked and splintered by rain and weeds. If her parents cared to guess why she did this, they’d assume she was looking at bugs or whatever children tend to like. But they didn’t guess. They ...

Mountains lined up along the horizon to meet the rising sun. The sky painted with streaks of pinks and oranges, the heaven’s beauty breaking through the clouds that lightly misted the skies. Snowy caps glistened as the sunlight touched their surface, soft and gentle like a loving hand. A breeze whispered around the mountain, comforting and familiar, an old friend. Dark crags were given shine as th...