One would think that the young river wolf had gotten tired of snow by now, but that was not the case. He loved it! Especially when it fell in large, fluffy flakes, covering the land in a thick, soft blanket. The cold didn't bother him, his fur having grown long and dense for the winter, and since he didn't have to hunt or patrol, he didn't see the snow as an obstacle either; Just FUN! And it was the only source of fun he had, being once more confined to the pack lands, monitored more sharply than ever, after his little trip to the edges of Willow Ridge. He tried to stay good, sticking well within the borders and attempting to help out where he could, though that wasn't very much. He also attempted to spend more time with his family, but that was also proving rather difficult; his parents were busy with the pack, and his siblings still seemed more happy without him.

So he spend a lot of time alone, and that time usually went with playing in the snow! He would roll around in it, try to dig in it, gather it in piles and jump into them, yipping in chilled ecstasy. Today the sky was mostly clear and azure blue, but the air was cold and crisp, and though no snow fell, plenty was still left on the ground, smoothing that jagged rocks of the river into round hills. And Orren Baranski was dancing around in it, eyes squinting against the bright glare of the sun against the white surface. He was trying to decide what exactly to do today, where to begin; Should I head up to the clearing? The snow tented to lay thicker there, where there were no trees to shelter the ground; Or up to the rocks?! This particular meeting place of the pack had a higher rock formation, excellent for jumping of off.

But today, the youngest prince felt drawn to the river. After so many days of frost, the low water was frozen pretty much solid, and skating around on the slippery surface was a particular pleasure of the lad's. He had been fascinated by the ice ever since he first saw the river covered by a frozen sheet, and throughout the winter, he had often come to the shallow crossing of Cut Rock River, to study and test the ice, until one day it had held, and he had discovered the joy of skating. Today, the youngster offered no caution, simply sprinting to the shore, and throwing himself out onto the ice, squealing in delight as he slid across, carefully maintaining his balance; This was happiness!

Word count: 447

Thoughts ”Speech”