Next New Age Abraxas 1:1-5

Oh no, She was going to get in trouble! She hadn’t meant to wander so far in truth, but an interesting scent had gotten in her nose and she was marvelling at the way the sun glittered off the snow. She knew just from how faint it sounded that she had never been this far from the shrine before. Her ears tipped back in worry, the corner of her mouth pulling down in a frown.

She almost wanted to mutter a bad word but knew it would do her no good. She had to go fast.

Ears pinned flat against her skull, she leant back on her haunches. Already quite large, her paws were still oversized for her growing frame. She moved awkwardly for now, stumbling more than once as she made haste through the snow. It was one thing to walk in it, but running was entirely another matter. In some spots it almost came up to her chest, even following the rut she had left in her wake just getting here.

Her toes stretched out instinctively in an attempt to not slip and fall on her face, and suddenly the whole journey seemed like it would be much easier. It was difficult to be sure, having to concentrate on spreading her toes, and not tripping over anything and gritting her teeth and hoping there was no ice concealed just below the surface, but she had to make it home before the lesson started!

Familiar scents began to fill her nose. It would hardly do to barrel into the middle of the gathering, so she attempted to stop and gather herself. Of course, ice just happened to slip beneath her paws, bringing her close to landing on her bottom as she skidded in spectacular fashion, but at the least the bamboo shielded some of her shame. Her heart was pounding and her breath coming in steam cloud gasps. Modesty would need to pull herself together if she wanted to be presentable enough to come this close to the shrine. A quick shake settled most of her fur back into place, though the thudding of her ears and the clacking of her quills would give her away. She could worry about cringing later though. Forcing the frigid air through her nose instead of her parted jaws was penance enough in the girls mind, the cold burn through her sinuses almost enough to make her eyes water. One deep breath, two, three...

As quietly as she could, she moved to take her place in front of one of the laid out piles, her head turning to the side just so as she tried to suppress a rueful grin for Obi. At least she wasn’t the last to arrive, but that didn’t entirely take away the burn of shame and she wasn’t sure she trusted herself to words, so instead, she respectfully dipped her head to her mother and her aunt and settled herself to wait.

"speech".