Golden Glade Whispering Waters

Aspen was a lovely mother who allowed her children to learn as they went, and for this Rowan was glad -- he'd be out here with or without her, but with the protection of his dam he could freely roam without a worry of the unknown. Her smile only egged the Prince on, and he latched into a puff of her fur to tug her into the underbrush. He pushed through roughly at first, but when a thorn pricked his tiny pink nose, he stopped with a squeal of anger. His ears fanned back and scarlet eyes crossed to look at the drop of blood there. 

A soft "huh" left his mouth, and he turned to show it to Aspen in wonder before swiping his tongue around his jaws to clean it and turning again: this time, he was careful in his steps, avoiding what he know knew to be brambles until he could actually see the pond. While his mother padded forward to lie on the shore, Rowan stalked to a stone a few paces from her and jumped up, gripping with his white nails to keep his balance. 

His mothers voice rang around him softly, telling him that only they knew, that its name was Starlight Waters. A fitting name, he found, as the silver speckles in the dark sky reflected down into the calm water. As he watched Aspen take a drink, the young Prince was wondering what it tasted like, and leaned forward to dip his muzzle into the water. 

Unfortunatley for him, the clumsy albino lost his balance, tipping forward and plopping into the shallows with a gasp -- that was cold! He kept his face above the water, but everything else of his body was wet and, very nearly, submergered. The snowy boy could have waddled his way back to shore easily, but fear and violent shivers kept him rooted to the spot as he cried out for Aspen. 

                        "MUM!"