What a difficult winter. That was my thought every morning since the night that my parents had died because I would wake from dreams of all of us romping about in the snow. The way the sunlight had seemed to refract from my mothers pale blue eyes or the glimpse of spring in my fathers green ones. Sorrow had gnawed a small whole in my heart and it was reserved solely for them. I did not grieve in such a naked manner as my other sister had because I knew my parents had lived a pleasant life. They had been happy, beyond happy, in the time that I had been born, and I knew deep within me that they were happy together elsewhere. They were watching me, it was up to me to make them proud. So I would continue my training with Hadrian and I would become what I wanted to be while helping raise my little sister Feather.

I had decided to take a trip out of Glorall and to the caverns of the Grotto. I had heard that there were some lichens and moss and even mushrooms that grew in there that had healing properties. These couldn't be found elsewhere and since the snow covered up much of the outer world I didn't have much else to search for until spring came. I was quick and efficient in my manner to get there, keeping to well used trails that other wildlife had previously skimmed down for me. I was a bit thin for my age and still considered small - Little Samia, as Hadrian referred to me. But I was intelligent so I didn't exact too great a price on my body when I traveled.

The bitter cold had begun to burrow into my skin, beneath my fur, by the time I arrive and with a light shiver I eagerly enter to cavern. The temperature rises almost immediately the deeper I go and I move along the edges of the cavern with wide eyes, searching studiously for the plants. The scent is aged here, a combination of rock, soil, degradation, and the oily scent of plants. I locate one and drop the beaver's skin that I had carried with me, clawing up the mushroom to put in it before carefully carrying it deeper.

In truth I hadn't paid attention to the scents of wolves because I knew this was a hiding spot, so I was rather startled to see movement ahead. "Oh," I say softly, ears pricking - with exception to my right one which remained curled halfway up - "I apologize, I did not mean to intrude. I was just looking for plants." There is gentleness in my voice, even though I find in surprise that I am not as nervous as I would have been in the past - perhaps from my distraction.