Window of Glass

The snow and the cold was all that little Bronze had ever known. He'd been born in some of the coldest weather the north had historically seen, though of course he was oblivious to that fact. All he knew was that this was his world - the huge, towering pine trees and the tall snow drifts that threatened to swallow him whole when he tried to climb them. He knew the strange, icy structure that had become a hiding spot in the games he and his siblings played; he knew the frigid winds near the sea that he liked to avoid. The world seemed a little brighter these days, and a little warmer, but if so he hadn't quite noticed. There was still ice and snow everywhere he turned and he still preferred to spend his nights curled up beside his siblings, for the sake of warmth as well as companionship.

Today he'd set a goal for himself. He wanted to walk the edge of the pine forest and maybe, just maybe, go beyond it. Not far of course, but he knew there was more than these trees and he was growing eager to see it. He knew someday he'd be all grown up and free to do what he wanted, but it was hard to be patient when the world was at his paws. He was quiet as he wove between the massive trees, occasionally pausing to glance up at one. What a view he'd have if he could go up there! At one particularly large tree he stopped his route to lift his front paws up high, stretching to see if there was any possible way he could climb it, but after jumping up he decided it was impossible. Not just for him, but for anyone at all.

He had only just started walking again when he heard something up ahead. A little snow drift blocked his view, but he navigated around it and squinted through the trees to see what it might be. Maybe an intruder? Or something easy, slow prey animal he could hunt and bring back to his family? The thought was wishful thinking at best, and his hopes were quickly shattered. He saw the face of a young girl, a pretty girl too, peeking out from a bush, looking up at the sky. He was momentarily transfixed before he came to his senses and tried to figure out what to do. She wasn't trespassing, not really, but she was awfully close to the borders. "Uhhh. Stop!" He called out, furrowing his brows as he drew closer. Wait, she was stopped and showed no signs of coming closer so far. "I mean. Hi," he clarified quickly. "Who are you? You don't smell like you live here." He sniffed hard at the air for any signs she might be a packmate, but nothing about her was familiar.