Broken Antler Fen super winter!

ysen shook off the last flakes of snow on his brownish coat, shivered in dispair. his coat, it was clear, was not one for the horrible, terrible freezing temperatures; often he would bury himself under a pile of leaves and sulk. yet he was always forced to remove himself for patrols, or hunts for meagre sustenance. he had not been able to continue with his professed duties as a storyteller; he still did not desist in the presence of the storm. his mind still ticked, still whirled, and ysen never forgot the events of how he had come to nest in the fen's safety.

he smiled slightly; shook his head once more and set out to shake the cold from his bones.

The temperatures were rising. They shifted too subtly for Andalusia to feel, but the change showed in other ways. The rhythmic drip of the melting snow, the sporatic thunk as the branches eased their load, the squelch of slush between her toes. Andalusia shook her paws compulsively in turn to flick the mucky wetness off her fur. Grateful as she was for the thaw, she had never enjoyed this time of year. The half-melted ground made for precarious, and often unpleasant, travel. While she had learned to bear with this time, she did so only for the promise of spring.

She set out with no particular aim. If nothing else, she planned to assess the damage the winter storm had brought their camp.

ah-ah-ah-he found that he still shivered terribly, an unwelcome effect of his short coat and thin hairs. the boy at times pondered the reasons for his differences but could find none, save that he had been borne in a different land to an alien mother. this he made to be the reason for his shortcomings and sulked more. but no! the fates would not leave him alone to linger on his lonesome, instead, sending him another to see.

ysen lifted his head grimly, his old, old eyes coming to meet with the other. in recent times he had matured greatly to see the winter overtake the land and his ribs were showing and his legs shook in the biting cold.

hello, said he, as he looked at her from the ground, are you quite alright?

She hadn't ventured far before another crossed her path, thin and gaunt. Briefly, Andalusia wondered if she mirrored the bony boy. She certainly felt old winter's wear, moreso than in years before. Yet her fur graced a length that protected her from the daily cold and barred the sight of her protruding ribs. The boy, shivering frightfully, did not appear to have this advantage, and his eyes sunk with age that did not befit him. She came to a stop, and slid her paws forward until she rested atop a barer piece of ground.

"I am well, as well as one can be in winter." Andalusia mused. She recognized the boy from the nights spent huddled in the meeting place, but only faintly. There had been such an onslaught of newcomers that even she had slacked in her effort to meet them all. Today presented the opportunity to amend her laxity. "But you look worse for wear. Have you experienced a winter like this before?"