Snow Storm

[Rein]

Rein stood atop a cliff, looking down upon the forest. She sighed and turned away, walking into the cavern behind her. She lay down, bored, and waited for someone to come, waited for something to happen.

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A snow leopard cub slunk along, her fur shining beneath the freshly fallen snow. Her eyes were warm and blue, not at all misted, as with some snow leopard cubs. She smiled vaguely around at the icy world, her muscles relaxed, her stride purposeless. All she was doing, was looking for some company. At only a few months old, she was strong and old enough to live on her own, yet, emotionally, she still felt like she needed someone; some company.

[Rein]

Rein sighed once more, her auds flicking back and forth in boredom. As she gazed out of the cavern entrance, she saw the white flecks of snow start to fall. Soon, a blizzard had formed, the snow swirling around in the winds. Rein turned her back to the entrance of the cavern and smiled. She liked the snow... now she just had to wait for it to stop.

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Ella prowled along, watching small mammals scurry into their homes as she passed. She pounced a few times, trying to catch her dinner, and finally managed to pin down a small mouse. She ate the corpse quite quickly, moving on, her tail curling and uncurling behind her.

[Rein]

As the snow stopped whirling, Rein walked out of the cavern. Aside from her spots, she blended in perfectly with her surroundings. From a distance, she caught sight of a cub. "Hey! 'Ello!" she called out, smiling.

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Looking up, Ella tilted her head slightly, rather baffled at the sudden appearance of another, older, leopard.
"Hi." She called shyly, her tail tucking instinctively between her legs, tickling her stomach slightly.

[Rein]

Sensing the cub's fear, Rein leapt down in front of her and sat down, tassle waving gently. "Hi!" she said again, still smiling.

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Ella trembled slightly as Rein's larger paws hit the ground, causing a slight rumble. With fear etched across her face, she slowly lifted her eyes to look into Reins'.
"I-I'm Ella..." She mumbled, shying back slightly in fear.

[Rein]

Rein smiled gently. "Hi! I'm Rein. Nice ta meet 'cha!" she said, the words exploding happily. The slight echo caused a pile of snow to fall down onto Rein's head. Rein laughed as she shook the snow off.

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Ella visibly shrunk back, keeping her distance from the older, and larger, leopard.
"What do you want?" She whispered in such a small voice that 'twas barely audible.

[Rein]

Rein took a few steps backwards, not wanting to scare the cub. "I just wanted to say hi..."

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Ella nodded, not lifting her gaze from the ground. Her trembling figure spoke volumes, before she turned and leapt away, scared

[Rein]

Rein sighed and leapt back up to the cavern that she was in before. "Since when am I scary?" she mumbled as she made her way upwards.

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Ella made her way to her home; a small old fox den, sheltered from all weather, be it sun, rain, blizzards or just wind. Inside, the den was warm and cosy, lined with hay and straw she had scavenged from a farmer's yard, a good few miles away. Feeling more relaxed, and knowing nothing larger than her could get inside, she curled up in a tight little ball and fell asleep.

[Rein]

Rein, tired of being battered by the wind and water, pushed two medium sized boulders infront of the entrance, leaving only enough room for her to get through. She walked towards the back of the cavern before noticing that it continued in a tunnel-like form. Rein tilted her head to one side before walking into the dark tunnel.