It all happened so fast. Dad had brought her to her grandpa and she’d spent a week trying to figure out this new place and working up the courage to meet anyone else. She finally made her way toward one of the cache sites she actually knew about on a foggy morning, hoping to run into somebody new, when a shape with twisting branches loomed in the white. Before she could think Ally was running, tearing through the forest without a destination in mind other than away. When she finally slowed down she had no idea where she was or how to get back. She spent a cold, shivering night crying and headed back the next morning. It took a full two days to realize she’d gone the wrong way, and by then the mountain was distant on the horizon. Sniffling, she turned for it. At least it made a good landmark.
Here she was weeks later, paws aching and cracked, stomach gnawing itself into knots with hunger, and stumbling with exhaustion. She'd barely managed to get by on carrion and one lucky catch of a startled squirrel stashing food. Now there was cold white powder on the ground some places and more days than not she wanted to curl up and cry for her dad.
As darkness fell the faint sound of trickling water met Ally's ears. She turned heavy paws toward the source and found herself looking at a waterfall. Or, what she imagined was once a waterfall. Right now it was mostly ice, with only a small dribble of water running down the foggy surface. The pup stumbled forward and lapped at the trickle, hoping the water may stave off at least some of the hunger.