Whitefish River So We Meet Again

Malila had been huddled up in the den with Speedy, Emrik and Mohe. She enjoyed the closeness of her family, but in the recent months the air had grown colder, with a biting edge at night. Her chocolate and honey fur had not fully thickened yet, making her more easily susceptible to the cold, shivering like a wilted flower, should she fail to find an adequate source of warmth. Already, she was disliking this change. The cold, the dying of the beautiful plants and their colors. She missed the cheery days of spring and summer which she loved so.

Snapped awake by the sound of paw steps outside at this late hour, she untucked her head from the crook of her legs. Blinking, she found the sleeping forms of her parents and brother undisturbed. Rising quietly so as to be sure they remained as such, she crawled out into the chilly darkness, her breath fogging before her. Mismatched eyes landed on Hieronymous...the one who she had heard. Smiling sleepily, Malila still managed to run up to the adult with no small degree of enthusiasm. "Hey! What'cha doin up so late, huh?" Then she stopped dead in her tracks, as if she had run into a brick wall. And she had, but of the metaphorical kind, as her nose stung with the obnoxious scent of feline. She wrinkled her muzzle disgustedly. "Ehww...what is that?!"