February 07, 2023, 11:29 AM
The snow made no sound underneath Rose's dainty black feet. The vixen's ears were pricked, awaiting the sound of prey scurrying around under the snow.
SNAP!
Rose's head shot up. She had heard something! It sounded like the breaking of the twig. Excited, she leaped up onto a large rock next to an iced-over creek, hoping to find the source of the noise. Except the rock was covered in ice. Slippery ice. And in her haste, Rose hadn't landed as well as she would have wanted to... and so, she slipped and fell.
Right into the creek.
It took a surprising amount of effort for Rose to fight her way to the surface. Her head finally broke through the thin layer of ice on top of the water and she gulped down air like her life depended on it--which it probably did. Yet more struggling was required to drag herself back onshore.
Rose stood there for a moment, panting. She needed to find somewhere warm, her wet coat couldn't protect her from the frigid air. It took a fair amount of searching before she found a bush to curl up under, shivering and exhausted.