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Something popped out of the snow right in front of the den's entrance. The charcoal pup, who was staring at the outside longingly prickled his big ears up, intrigued by the long and white figure that sniffed around the archway with its tiny pink nose.

The pups hadn't been outside enough. It was winter, yes, and the cold outside would've easily frozen a pup to death if they stayed outside for too long, but the pups wouldn't understand that. It was just another prohibited thing. There was nothing Damien liked more than prohibited things.

The eldest pup got up silently, somehow managed to escape from his brother, sister and mother's embrace and crept his fluffy body to the mouth of the den. The white figure didn't seem to have noticed that Damien was stalking it until he tried to punce at it, failing to catch the agile little thing. A light breeze lifted his fur as he looked into the forest, trying to see where his target had ran off to. Something caught his attention and off he was, following it's trail.

The white thing was just a couple inches high, but still it was very difficult for the little cub to walk on it. He had to make short jumps to make up for the depth in which his big paws got caught with every step he tried to take. He was getting good at it, and he was sure that he was getting closer to his target, but suddenly he wasn't diving deep into the weird outside floor. He looked down confused, he was still standing on white, but his paws weren't sinking on it. He had landed on something firm and fluffy, and his feet suddenly started warming up on it. His ears flattened as he felt the floor move, and a head was coming out of the snow, looking at him with menacing ghostly eyes.

He was going to die for sure.

"Hey there, buddy!" said the gigantic beast whn he lifted his head to realize that the sudden bump had been his tiny charcoal son who'd landed on his back, waking him up from his evening nap. Bane was always close to the den these days, waiting for the moment when he'd see three tiny little butts finally rolling out of the den and into the snow, and it seemed that day was getting closer.

Potema had been the first to take a peek at the outside world. A breakout attempt turned down by her father, and one that resulted in them forging a strong bond they'd share forever. And now, a little late on Bane's opinion, Damien, the biggest and rudest of the litter had decided that his den was too small. "What are you up to?" he asked truly expecting him to suddenly start talking like an adult. He didn't even really know what to expect from pups, actually.

Damien lowered his head on an instinctive defensive position as the beast grew a head in front of him. Those eyes, white just like the snow and the rest of its gigantic body, weren't even menacing, an still the pup felt the necessity to fight back.

When the snow monster spoke, Damien growled, also following his instinct, but when he noticed just how calm the beast was, he felt really weird. Why wasn't the monster growling back at him? He stopped, puzzled. He stared directly at the white face and tilted his head. Seriously, why wasn't he fighting? He lifted a paw to boop the white beast's nose, hoping to get a reaction.