Another Seasonal

Fever and her cousin Darika spent the entire day outside in the thick snow around the island. The sky was overcast with thick clouds hanging low, casting a gray light over the snowy plain. The snow had been falling steadily, soft and thick, coating the ground in a deep blanket that stretched out in every direction. The air was sharp with cold, but the two young wolves didn’t mind. Excitement and joy made them impervious to the cold. ...For a little while.

The pair began their day early. Fever and Darika bounded out into the snow without hesitation, their paws leaving deep prints behind them. The red girl flung herself into the snow, rolling about and kicking up puffs of white powder. "We should build snow wolves!" Fever suggested, her mismatched eyes glowing brightly. The cold didn’t seem to matter as long as they were having fun, building and shaping their creations with determination and dexterous digits. Their snow wolves were far from perfect, but that wasn’t the point. The joy was in the making, in the shared effort of creating something together. Fever was quite proud of hers and thought it bore a decent resemblance to her great grandpa Moros. (It didn't, but it was the thought that counted!)

As the day stretched on, the two of them found themselves digging tunnels through the deep snow. Fever, small and petite, worked her way through tunnels like some sort of ermine. Periodically she would pop her head up through the crust of snow atop her just to see how far she'd gone. The world around the pair seemed endless, a snow-filled expanse with only the sound of their scraping paws and soft giggles to fill the air.

The hours passed quickly. By midday, the snow was falling harder, blanketing everything in an even thicker layer. The sky above them was drab and gray, the sun barely a shadow behind the thick clouds. Fever and Darika continued to play, their movements growing more sluggish as the cold settled deeper into their bones. The cold had started to seep through their thick coats, and the snow had packed itself into their fur, making it clump together in icy patches. Their paws were sore from scraping against snow and ice, and the laughter that had once poured from them began to fade as the chill began to settle in. Fever’s nose had gone numb and her teeth began to chatter. She cut a glance at her cousin. "L-l-let's g-go b-b-ba-a-ck," she stammered out through claccking teeth.

The two young wolves made their way back toward Fever's den, each step slower than the last, the weight of the snowballs woven into their thicker fur weighing them down. The sky had darkened considerably, and the air had become heavier, colder. The higher they moved, the colder it got. As they moved up the mountain, Fe's thoughts turned toward the warmth waiting for them at the den. It spurred her to move a bit quicker.

Before she entered the den, Fever gave her coat a shake, ridding herself of as much clinging snow as she could manage. There would no doubt be puddled in her den regardless. Pushing aside the thick skin over her doorway, she padded within. The warmth inside was immediate and the heated air seemed thick after the thin air of the cold.

"I'm gonna put some more wood on the fire." Fe started moving towards the fireplace, but stopped and cut a mischievous glance at her cousin. Yeah, they were tired from playing outside, but that didn't mean that they couldn't play inside, eh? "Do you wannaaaaaaa build a blanket fort?" Pristine whites flashed and her brows lifted as she silently coerced her cousin into playing along.

WC-625/1500

"Fever Mendacium"