The Blizzard (Stories Etched in Snow)

Chapter One

Nix suppressed a yawn, blinking the sleep away from her eyes. Immediately succummbing to the winter breeze blowing through the open mouth of the cave, a shiver rattled her skinny frame, though she knew that her winter coat would cover for her irressistence to the cold soon. She watched her father and her three brothers strike a large boulder in turns as he taught him how to hunt and kill elk.

The pup buried her face in her paws enviously; she'd have loved to join in, however, she was tiny and her claws had barely even grown. Noticing her misery, Pandora wrapped her tail around her , "Nix, do you wanna play moss-toss?" she looked at her pup with a synpathetic glow embedded deep within her turquoise eyes.

"Thanks, Mum, but no. I think I'll just wait until I grow a bit." Nix paused for a few heartbeats, choosing her words. "Actually, not that. I'll never grow!"

"Don't talk like that, child!" Pandora's gaze hardened. Nix was unable to subdue a scared shudder and turned her eyes to her grey-tipped paws, "I just don't think that I'll ever be big and strong like Papa." She drew her lips into a pout.

"Of course you will be, dearie!" Even though it was hardly noticeable, impatience surfaced in her mother's tone, "Tell you what, as soon as you're big enough, I swear by my life to show you how to hunt an elk." All the small pup could do was nod and shut her warm azure eyes once more.

There was a sudden screech bouncing off the stone walls of the hollow cave, followed by a loud, muffled sob. Lowuri's figure was crouched over Salamander's body, he snout buried into her mate's fur. Nix's ears flattened sharply to the sides of her head.

Pandora swiped her fluffy tail around her daughter's eyes, covering the horrific sight, for both Lowuri and Nix's sake. The aged alphess's whimpers echoed sadly around the cave. The scent of death drifted from Salamander's stiff body, the only part of his body that moved was his unpigmented fur that rustled slightly in the breeze.

Sensing the warningless shift in mood, the sparring males outside turned to witness the scene. Gradient immediately dashed towards his grandfather, poking and prodding at him with a stiff paw. "Granddad! Granddad!" He wailed angrily, "Stop sleeping! It's not funny anymore!" With that, he broke down into a crumpled pile of fur on the cold floor.

Tears slowly filtered through Kirenu's midnight black eyes and he twitched, swivelling around swiftly to hide his mourning and limped off, his actions almost seeming dizzied. Boldow wordlessly joined his two littermates in the nest beside Pandora, evidently biting his lower lip to hold back his whimpering. "H-he's just sleeping, r-right?" Nix's eyebrows creased, glancing up hopefully at her mother.

The alphess shook her head, unable to bear lying to her pups. "He's resting with the forest spirits." Nix bowed her head, grief finally stabbing her heart and she focused her swimming gaze down at the tears that she'd produced, which were now splattered onto the chilly ground. Gradient was still in denial, continuing the prod at Salamander's body.

"I wonder which tree he'll become..." Nix piped up, attempting to cover up the sorrow with happy memories. "He once mentioned that he took a liking towards cedars." Kirenu flicked his tail and wiped his tears on the bedding of the nest. Boldow had already laid his head on his mother's stomache, murmuring his agreement, eyes closed.