Moonspear took a walk

The air was painfully cold, although Wildfire found that if she stayed on the move, her blood stayed hot, circulating to warm the rest of her body. She actually liked the brisk temperature. It was refreshing, even cleansing. She also enjoyed the way her breath furled from the tip of her snout like a wisp of smoke. Not to mention the snow! When she touched it to see if it was as soft as it looked, it melted. When she tried to sniff it, it melted. When she tried to taste it, it most certainly melted. It was ethereal, and oh so beautiful. Despite all the warnings about the harshness of the cold season, Wildfire was turning out to be a fan of winter.

Game was a bit scarcer, though, and it took longer than usual for the young she-wolf to find a scent. When she did, she traced a gopher to its underground burrow. When she arrived at its mouth, she thrust her muzzle inside and snuffled. Wildfire figured the rodent might be too deep to bother, yet she was rewarded with a painful bite to the soft tissue of her nose. She swallowed a yelp, then growled and began digging. Eventually, she exposed several inches of the small dugout and was able to snare the fat gopher even as it attempted to flee.

Her prize swinging from her jaws, Wildfire began to seek out the nearest cache. That was when a howl reached her ears, causing her to freeze in her tracks. Immediately, her heart leaped into her throat. Mom! she thought, gazing off into the distance. She hesitated, then began to trot toward the borders. She felt strangely jellylike as she made her way toward her mother. She had planned to visit the caldera when she was emotionally prepared. Somehow, she had never expected any of them to come to her.

As soon as she spotted the blazing red figure ahead, Wildfire suddenly broke into a sprint, then unceremoniously spat out the dead gopher when she closed the gap. "Hey!" she shouted a bit awkwardly. She expected an onslaught of varying emotions but the only one that really rose to the surface was pleasure at seeing her mother's familiar face. "How are you?" she asked with sudden and bright-eyed vehemence, thrusting her snout deep into the other female's ruff.