There was something so romantic about the waning summer light, the full gold feeling that spilled through the trees and dripped down into his ivory fur. There was something undeniable about the itch in his paws, the wanderlust fantasies that cantered about in his head like furious, feral beasts that thrashed and fought for freedom and pleasure. Besides, it wasn't like his mother or father would... necessarily notice his absence. His brothers and sisters, and of course the need to feed them all somehow, often left his parents too busy to give him an individual attention. And as for his brothers and sisters, they wouldn't begrudge him this one adventure, and couldn't be <i>so</i> mad at him for not inviting them along. Prosper had, after all, gone off by himself <i>loads</i> of times and had never even bothered to extend an invitation.
Except this particular adventure seemed to be proving a little bit more than he could handle. In fact, he was beginning to feel the ever so slight prickling of regret in the pit of his stomach. It was the mud. The cloying, suckling mud that grabbed at his legs, squelching unbearably. Caked with dark clumps of muck, he floundered and flailed through the bog, searching for higher ground. "<b>YUCK.</b>"
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