Why does it have to be so cold? I move along the beach, and even the sand has lost its warmth. A shiver runs down my spine, and I paused mid-step to shake my entire bodice, hoping to rid myself of the cold. No such luck. I huffed quietly, and my breath frosted the air before me. Glancing out at the salty waters that lapped against the shore, I am reminded of my ambition to check out the island that was part of Tesseract’s domain. But that sure as heck wasn’t happening any time soon! Earlier in the day I had let the waters wash up around my paws, as I had during summer and autumn, but was struck by the icy chill of it. How much longer was this blasted season going to last? Could it just hurry up and be over already? As I reached the southern point of my homeland, I eyed the rocks that were scattered further out from the mainland. I glanced down at the space between where I stood and the closest rock. I figured I could probably leap that short of a distance, it wasn’t really that far. I rocked back on my hindquarters, preparing for the jump, when a gust of wind came up off the expanse of endless ocean to my right. Just as I jumped, I flinched at the cold. Dang this cold! I spun in midair, clawing at the air and trying to take myself back to my launch point. My hind paws are the first to hit the ground, and they scrabble in an attempt to keep me on land. But they slip. Eyes grow wide and the white liner around them only intensifies the look of panic on my face. My front paws grip at the rocky sands of the point, trying to find purchase. I am going to fall! And I already know how cold that water below me is! No way do I want to be fully submerged in that! I yelp out, puppy claws scraping at the ground as I am only just able to keep my shoulders and head above the edge of the precipice. It wasn’t very far down to the water, and I probably wouldn’t get that hurt if I just let go, but, but, just, NO! My young, high pitched, feminine yelps echo out across the way. I can only hope they won’t be completely lost on the cold, brutal, stinking winter wind! |