polar bear swim

At first it had started as an itch in the corner of his eye. An annoying itch that just wouldn’t leave him be. He had tried rubbing with his paw, and then rubbing his face against the trunk of a tree, the pain was sharp, and made him yelp. It felt like bits of his bone were being ripped away with each rub. It would leave his face smooth for a short while, but then the things would grow back bigger and thicker than before.

What had started out as small crystal shards, grew until small crystal spike that obscured part of his vision and grew out of his ears. Already having small tusks to be mindful of, the new additions were frustrating to avoid bumping against things as he knew, each small bump would make them splinter and grow back stronger. He didn’t want Fortune to see him like this, but what if she had it too and wanted someone to blame for it?

After all, wasn’t he the one trying to brake the crystals off?

He really shouldn’t have kept lingering this close to a pack, but he had never been the smartest kid in the litter. It was only because he was so close that he managed to pick up on Fortune’s scent. It was laced with panic and blue glowing goo seemed to leave as much of a trail as her scent did. His brows drew down in worry as he began to trail after her.

By the time he reached her, she was standing on the edge of the hot springs. She looked so far away it made his stomach drop. "Hey Fortune! Aren’t ya cold enough already?" He asked, keeping his distance. He wanted to run to her, but he also didn’t want to accidentally knock her in when he was covered in all these sharp glowy pink spikes.