Bracken thought she was grown up, and why wouldn't she be? She was nearly as tall as her mother by now and knew the forest as well as any of the others. And of course she had helped (sort of...) with that moose hunt a ways back. The exuberant and eager-to-please girl had even started marking the borders, though she would giggle while doing so. How silly was it for everyone to pee in the exact same spot! But she did, because the grown-ups did. And if the grown-ups could sleep where ever they liked, then so could she!

She wandered for a short while before curling up under the shelter of a large fallen red cedar. It took several more minutes to fall asleep - her eyes kept snapping open at every sound and wondering if the adults realized how brave she was being right now. Eventually she did fall asleep and had the most bizarre dream of her young life. She awoke in a panic, sucking cold air into her lungs and gasping at every innocent sound. The creatures from her dream must still be after her! They had been chasing her, trying to wrap their bony fingers into her coat and lift her away into the air! She shut her eyes tight and shuffled further into the space under the fallen red cedar, "no no no," -a deep, shuddering breath- "NO NO NO!" She didn't even realize that she was crying aloud.