Building Courage

Esa could see it in his expressive eyes that Miksa was slightly discouraged by her opinion of the north. Sometimes I wish I could just keep my big mouth shut! she chided herself, wishing she'd have thought before letting the words spill out. Had she been in his pawsteps, she'd have felt disheartened as well to hear someone speak poorly of the place she was born. Yet, he still smiled at her in his shy little way, and she couldn't linger on her foolishness for long. It had been so difficult to get a smile out of him, and now it was absolutely entrancing. She had a hard time drawing her eyes away from him. Suddenly his attention was stolen as he gazed ahead with recognition - they must be nearing the pack's borders. Her breath caught in her throat and she paused for moment - she didn't want him to head home yet. She wanted to stop and run the other way, but she forced herself to move and stay at his side. Then he was facing her again, and his voice stole her worries.

As he spoke, it was now her turn to eye up the wintry land, trying to see it as he did. He was clearly fond of the north, and she could see the validity of the points he made. His thick, snowy coat was clearly made for braving the harsh cold of the north, and it removed discomfort from the equation - Esa was certain that if the cold didn't make her ache a little, she wouldn't feel as badly about this place. Although the woods weren't lively like the places she was used to, it certainly had its own beauty about it - the sparkling ice, the unmarred white expanses. She liked the snow when it fell daintily from the sky, each flake dancing delicately until it landed. She wondered what a blizzard would be like when he mentioned it, as she'd never seen one before, but she'd had enough fright for one day. If the blizzards stayed away, she would be grateful. He finished with a statement by saying he was probably biased, and Esa giggled. Wasn't everyone when it came to their homeland?

She was going to ask him about blizzards, but she was suddenly distracted by a short, stout tree. The branches were spread very low and wide at the bottom, and the snow was piled up around the outer edges of the branches. She flicked Miksa with her tail and then dashed toward the tree, hoping to distract them both for a few more moments before he had to leave for his home. She approached the tree and poked her head through the prickly twigs, delighted with what she saw beneath. It was a perfect little hideout; the floor was lined in a thick layer of dry old pine needles, while the snow was high around all of the edges. She would be sheltered against the wind, and elevated by the pine needles above the frostbitten ground. One might think she'd prefer a dark little den, but she knew anything stony would be bone-chilling to curl up in alone, while anything underground would be frozen and potentially damp. She pulled her head out and looked over her shoulder, tail waving, hoping that Miksa would come to see what she'd found. He might think her crazy for her enthusiasm over a tree, but she couldn't help to be thrilled with her find - not every tree had the right arrangement of branches to create a perfect snowy haven like this one.

"I think this is it, Miksa!" she called out to him, "I can definitely stay here. It's perfect!" She snuck another quick glance inside, then looked back at Miksa. She hoped he would approve of the little dry space she'd found. "But... what do you think of iti?" even though she was more than satisfied with her find, she still valued his opinion. After all, he knew what these lands were like, and for all she knew, he had a better idea.