Wild Berry Meadow Cool kids never have the time

He had never left the safety of home before, but lately he had been struck with the overpowering urge to explore. So the second the sun came up, he had ventured from the borders to see what else was outside the plains. He had been careful to keep track of where he was going, he thought so anyway, and had made sure not to wander too far; he wanted to be able to get back home and wanted to be able to make a quick getaway in case there was any trouble. He had seen how much Castor's disappearance had affected mom; she seemed so sad a worried most of the time, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause more problems for her. He actually felt a little guilty now for wandering from the borders. He knew she wouldn't be happy about it if she knew, but he was being careful, and he would make it home before dark. He would make sure of that.

A thick blanket of snow covered the clearing he now made his way through. It made it hard to move very quickly. The cold didn't help either. His coat was a little thicker than his mom's was, but not much, and so it did not offer him very much protection against the icy breeze. He tried to ignore it, though, and concentrate instead on his surroundings. The snow made the meadow almost too bright in the midday sun but not so much that he wasn't able to keep an eye on things. Occasionally, he would stop and sniff an interesting place on the ground, moving on when he grew bored or found nothing out of the ordinary. He stopped and looked around, sniffing the air and going back to focusing on the ground when he was satisfied that he was alone.