It was oh so warm in this deep, dark den beneath the huge roots of the ancient whiteoak. The old tree protected the small family of three from many things and Icarus found it particularly useful to climb onto the exposed roots so that he could see further downhill. But for now he was comfortably nestled in the myriad of golden fur that was his mother and sister, their combined body heat warding off the freezing temperatures that seep in from outside.

When Myrcella leaves the den, Icarus’ exposed back has him rolling over lazily to investigate the lack of warmth that was once there. His mismatched eyes open sleepily to discover that his sister is, in fact, gone and that simply will not do. With a tired grumble, his pudgy body rolls back to an upright position as he comes to his paws. A gentle nudge is given to their mother and is received with an equally groggy “Go on and play” before she curls herself tighter.

With his mother’s permission and a big, toothy yawn the boy follows after the scent of his littermate into the vast mountain terrain. Being so sleepy, he did not even notice that he was trudging through snow until a few feet out when the chill of it finally sunk in. He jumped back, legs stiff and floppy ears shooting up as he was airborne for a moment before landing again. His eyes were wide with awe and a slight bit of terror. This white stuff bit at his soft, tiny paw pads like little needle teeth and it wasn’t very fun!

The uncomfortable nature of the snow was forgotten as soon as his eye found the distant golden figure of Myrcella cautiously hanging around a small pack of pups their age. Icarus, not being one to be left out, puffed up his chest and ran quickly after her so that he wouldn’t miss out on anything. This stuff sure was hard to move in! His pace was slowed by the thick layer of snow but he made it to them eventually, albeit not as quickly as he would have liked. ”I bet I can run faster than you in this!” he proclaimed as he approached the group, head held high despite his short stature. Icarus was never one to let an opportunity for a challenge be wasted.