Submission (#3398) Approved

She hurries along the ground, peeking over her shoulder every so often to make sure that she was at a safe distance from the oncoming storm.

She could no longer see the mountains that would usually tower over her, no, all she could see was a massive white cloud like wall of snow and it scared her. Sure she’s been living here for awhile now, but that didn’t make snow storms easy, she could get lost in them very easily and not to mention freeze. Her fur could only do so much for her in weather like this.

The high pitched howling of the wind reminds her of where she is, quickening her pace as she now has to leap to get through some spots of snow, much too deep for her to simply rush on through.

She yelps as she jumps back away from a large branch that seemed to have gotten snapped off from the harsh winds, the icicles that managed to hang on for dear life glaring right in her face at how close to getting harmed she was.

She didn’t mind the snow, sure it would melt and make her fur wet but it never did get too bad. Blizzards though… snow would invade everything, melt into her fur, the harsh wind with wet fur was her least favourite thing. It would always remind her of how harsh and cold this place could get.

She wasn’t aware a storm was going to happen, she just decided to go out and have a little fishing trip. It was only when she glanced behind her that she had seen the white cloud approaching faster than she had ever seen, that it hit her; a blizzard. She didn’t even get to grab her fish she had caught, already running as fast as she could to get home into the safety of her warm blankets.

She struggled a little to roll over so she wasn’t on her back in the snow, shaking as much off as she could once onto her feet. In the distance she could make out the city she lived in, the large eldertree greeting her.

Feeling a lot more motivated she begins to book it even faster than before, stumbling every so often as her paws get stuck in deep heavy snow. Her lungs really felt like they were on fire right now, but that’s her own fault for not paying as much attention as she should have to the weather while she was out. She really thought she might end up having to stay in a cave and wait the storm out if she couldn’t get home quickly, but the city is right there- it would be foolish for her to move her attention to some caves nearby when she can just go home. 

Home meant warmth and hot chocolate with blankets, cave meant cold and wet possibly, no way for her to really warm up fully or keep the snow out. Plus… with all this snow what if after she even got in the cave she got snowed in?

Absolutely not risking that, no way.

Her ears twitch as a smile spreads across her face, now entering the city unintentionally slowing down, breathing out quickly and harshly, trying to catch her breath. The place looked barren of the usual decorations outside, having been taken in due to the storm.

She goes stiff though, a feeling of dread filling her entire body as she slowly looks over her shoulder again. The cloud of snow engulfs her.

She coughs, rubbing at her face as she looks forward again, squinting through her eyes as she moves forward again, hastily feeling her way around. She was just happy that there was nothing to trip over on her search. Barely being able to see anything in front of her.

Her paw brushes across a carving, pausing as she stumbles back. Yes this was her home- now all she had to do was get in. She struggles a good bit with unlocking the door, the wind pushing the door wide open with a loud bang. She rushes in, pushing with all her strength to close the door. 

Finally being able to catch her breath she sits down, trying to calm her breathing as she looks around, feeling herself deflate a bit. Snow got in, a lot of it. Sighing she shakes her head, snow falling off the top of her head at this motion.

She shivers, grabbing a towel in her mouth to place on the ground to roll around on to dry herself off. She couldn’t help but scowl though, seeing the red scarf she should have taken with her lying nearby.

‘Oh the weather isn’t going to be that bad’, she had said, ‘I wouldn’t have any reason for a scarf.’

She rolls her eyes at herself for her foolish thoughts back then. From now on she’ll take the scarf. She scoffs, cleaning the wet floors with the towel, might as well, it was already wet from her so…

Tossing the wet towel into the basket she heads to the kitchen area, looking out the window to see nothing but white, the door shaking every so often from the weather. She grabs a pot, wandering over to her fireplace, eyebrows knitting together as she begins to light the fire, finding it more difficult than usual. Must be the weather. Seeing the fire spark to life she hurries back to grab the milk, pouring it into the pot and tossing the chocolate in before she hangs it above the fire to let it heat up. Quickly grabbing her mug and a blanket before sitting down, waiting patiently for her hot drink.

She sighs, closing her eyes as she thinks over everything that happened. That was way too close too many times. If that storm had caught up while she was still outside the city she doubts she’d have made it out as fine as she is now.

Peeking into the pot she stirs it, watching the brown colour spread and mix with the white, seems to be about done. 

After pouring the drink into her mug she plops back down onto the cushion on the floor, wrapping the blanket around her as she sips her hot drink.

She only had thoughts of how happy she was to be home and cuddled up in her blanket nice and cozy, while drinking hot chocolate instead of being stuck outside in a cave possibly.

At least the snow was still pretty though.