The quiet cold
06-19-2018, 08:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-19-2018, 08:05 PM by Riva.)
Walk | Talk
Autumn’s change to winter had come too abrupt, and too early, in the inexperienced mind of the young wolf. She was cold and miserable, shuffling her feet from paw to paw and she made her slow gait through the thick snow. It had started to trickle down in the late reaches of the afternoon, and the young girl had gotten turned around in her way back to the den she had dug out for herself the day before. The scents, fresh before the snow, were buried now, and her nose stung from the pain of pushing it into the damp wet surface all around her.
There was no helping it now, she wouldn’t make it back to the den tonight, already the last rays of light had faded and she would be in the full grasp of night in a few moments. Miserable, she stamped her feet again, dislodging snow from her damp legs. She shuddered, and shivered, trying to glimpse something, anything, beyond the white of the trickling snow. How did anyone navigate through this? Shoulders hunched and head lowered, she pushed on, her progress slow and heavy as she made her way blindly forward.
She didn’t notice the change in her footing until it was much too late. Her foot thuddered too heavily downwards, a slope, not a flat surface before her. Unable to catch herself, pushing too heavily on her front paws to make headway through the snow, she crashed forward. She slipped down the ledge, a tumble of snow shook loose and came down with her. She flailed, and splashed with a cry. Water! It wasn’t frozen yet, but was colder then the snow, and with a wet coat she would never get dry. She shoved forward back to the bank, and scrambled against the side. More snow toppled down on top of her, and she couldn’t find purchase. She cried out, as a healer she well knew her danger, and she was afraid. She put her back into it, flailing, desperate, and her paws found earth beneath the snow. She threw her weight forward, scrambling, and heaving until she was ashore once more. Her sides heaved, and her entire body shook with heavy shivers. She lay there in the snow for a time, searching for the strength to continue on.
Autumn’s change to winter had come too abrupt, and too early, in the inexperienced mind of the young wolf. She was cold and miserable, shuffling her feet from paw to paw and she made her slow gait through the thick snow. It had started to trickle down in the late reaches of the afternoon, and the young girl had gotten turned around in her way back to the den she had dug out for herself the day before. The scents, fresh before the snow, were buried now, and her nose stung from the pain of pushing it into the damp wet surface all around her.
There was no helping it now, she wouldn’t make it back to the den tonight, already the last rays of light had faded and she would be in the full grasp of night in a few moments. Miserable, she stamped her feet again, dislodging snow from her damp legs. She shuddered, and shivered, trying to glimpse something, anything, beyond the white of the trickling snow. How did anyone navigate through this? Shoulders hunched and head lowered, she pushed on, her progress slow and heavy as she made her way blindly forward.
She didn’t notice the change in her footing until it was much too late. Her foot thuddered too heavily downwards, a slope, not a flat surface before her. Unable to catch herself, pushing too heavily on her front paws to make headway through the snow, she crashed forward. She slipped down the ledge, a tumble of snow shook loose and came down with her. She flailed, and splashed with a cry. Water! It wasn’t frozen yet, but was colder then the snow, and with a wet coat she would never get dry. She shoved forward back to the bank, and scrambled against the side. More snow toppled down on top of her, and she couldn’t find purchase. She cried out, as a healer she well knew her danger, and she was afraid. She put her back into it, flailing, desperate, and her paws found earth beneath the snow. She threw her weight forward, scrambling, and heaving until she was ashore once more. Her sides heaved, and her entire body shook with heavy shivers. She lay there in the snow for a time, searching for the strength to continue on.
