to whom it may concern,

the weather was beginning to cool. mother said that the world was turning to fall and that winter was coming. i didn’t understand the gravity of her words because i have never felt the cold of winter, though i had heard stories, and nor did I understand the complaints of autumn. but i thought i was beginning to understand. it was strange… my fur felt all itchy and when i scratched, my fur fell off in clumps! was i becoming bald?! did all wolves lose their fur in autumn?! admittedly, i was honestly worried about my fur. it was, well, stunning fur, but i certainly was fond of it. glossy, my fur was, even in my puppy years. i didn’t want the weather to take it from me!

in search of some plant to cure my balding, i had begun my journey into the free lands. not far… because i couldn’t truly go all that far. my legs were too short and my dependence on my pack too great to leave them for long. thus, my adventure had only taken me as far as the Aplos River at the base of the mountains. i had heard healers talk of rare plants that grew near wet places, so i was convinced that I could find a plant here to cure my shedding.

i carefully stepped over pebbles and prickly leaved plants in search of… well, the plant. i hadn’t a clue what the plant looked like, but was confident that i would know a fur-saving plant when i found one. how hard could it be anyways? there couldn’t be that many plants to investigate. but as i searched the banks cautiously, i was beginning to become disillusioned. even on this bank, there were different kinds of grasses! grasses! who could have believed that grass came in different blade shapes, heights, and colors?

of course… maybe that was autumn talking as well. the plants here were all changing in color and even all the leaves of one tree varied in colors! still, i was unconvinced that i wouldn’t be able to save my precious fur, so despite my minor loss of moral, i continued to search for the plant that had to exist. with the cold of winter coming, like mother said, i couldn’t be caught furless!

sincerely,
apollinari "nari" snow-melt

. 0 yrs .. 31 in .. 112 lbs .. no imprint .. no mate .. no pups .