Tonight was a night that Bramble couldn’t sleep. Having recently moved into her new room, she was still adjusting to being alone. No Kea or Lyss or Dusk or Thorn to snuggle up to. No dad or mom to settle her nerves if she had a nightmare. While she was growing into her full adult height and weight and it was absolutely necessary that she have her own room, it was still hard. No amount of furs, blankets, pillows replaced the warmth of her siblings. Restless as she felt, she had gone to her balcony for fresh air. Upon looking outside, she noticed something falling from the sky. Little white flakes that were colder and more solid than rain drops fluttered to the ground below. Her eyes widened as her lips pulled up into a smile. Was this snow that she had read about with Meadow one day while in the library?! Already excitement was building in her as she turned from the balcony and raced out the door. All the hallways were quiet and the torches along the wall were dimly lit, flickering and throwing long shadows. Everyone except the night patrol were sound asleep in their chambers. Loping easily down the stairs and slipping out the front door, Bramble only stole one quick glance over her shoulder before moving through the grounds toward the plains that stretched out in front of the castle. Already a thin blanket of the wet and mushy snow covered the dried brown grasses of the plains. It was darker than normal as the cloud cover hid the moon and the stars. Still, Bramble was insistent to have some fun! Plopping down in the snow, she rolled around and made her own sort of wolf-like snow angle as she let out peels of laughter. Bramble Carpathius

The cold of winter wouldn’t last forever and, when the seasons turned, the young Callie knows that she will enter the very first, full year of her life. Things will be expected of her and she will begin to branch out from her family but, tonight all the girl can think about, is enjoying what little time she has left as a pup. That is why she is awake in the middle of the night, slinking stealthily around the torchlit hallways of the castle, poking around in the dark corners while hiding out of sight of the patrols that would send her packing back to her bed.

It is in one of those many dark recesses of the large castle that Caladia hears the thundering paws as someone draws near. Thankfully, being short has some advantages and the girl manages to tuck her body out of sight just as the familiar teal and tawny coat of Bramble races past. Mismatched eyes blink in surprise, curious why her older cousin is up so late running around the castle like a madwoman. The girl sudden has the idea that maybe she knows of something fun to do.

Silently, she detaches from the shadows, tracing Bramble’s scent out into the courtyard where a wet blob of white hits Callie’s nose and causes the girl to start. Brows furrow in confusion as she turns her green and blue eyes skyward and spies many more of the white flakes lazily drifting down from the dark skies. Turning her gaze to the area around, Callie realizes that the icy stuff is already beginning to coat the land around her and curiosity pulls her onward.

Wonder paints her features as the girl trails after her cousin’s scent, wide, mismatched eyes taking in this new phenomenon in as she goes. She arrives at the plains with excitement building in her chest and finds that Bramble is already there, rolling around in the white covered dry grass and enjoying herself. A smile plays across her lips as she watches her cousin for a moment longer before releasing a squeal of delight and bounding over to where Bramble is playing. Forcefully, she flops down close to Bramble and mirrors her cousin’s movements, giggling up a storm as she goes.


"Caladia Carpathius"

Unbeknownst to her, her cousin comes to plop down and also roll around in the snow. It isn't until Callie is giggling that Bramble pauses with all four paws in the air. Her head twisted at an awkward angle to see what Callie is doing. When she sees that Callie is copying her, Bramble's tail slaps the wet snow a few times. "Callie!! Isn't this fun?!" Bramble says as she smiles so wide that her teal eyes close and crinkle at the corners. Flopping from side to side a few more times as the snow continues to fall, Bramble continues to laugh until she feels slightly tired. Rolling onto her side so that she can see Calie, she pants a few times with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. "What else do you think we could do? This stuff is so cold but fun!" She quickly rolls over to the other side so she can look at the rest of the plains that are slowly being enveloped by the frozen white flakes. "This is my first time seeing this stuff. Yours too?" Bramble asks as she rolls back over to look at her cousin. How anyone didn't get dizzy with how fast and frantic Bramble was sometimes was unknown to her. Bramble Carpathius