Shadows in the Snow

The wind, which had been a gentle companion, now whipped with a biting fury, stinging Corvus’s eyes and sending a shiver through his feathers. Snow swirled, thick and disorienting, blurring the jagged edges of the peaks they had just begun to ascend. Beside him, Luna, Ragnar, and Willow trotted, their fur already dusted with white, their small bodies huddled together for warmth. The initial excitement of their quest had begun to fade, replaced by a gnawing awareness of the true harshness of their undertaking.

“It’s getting colder,” Willow murmured, her soft voice almost lost to the gale. She nudged Ragnar’s flank with her nose, a gesture of quiet reassurance.

Ragnar, ever watchful, scanned their surroundings, his ears twitching. “The storm is worsening,” he grunted, his breath pluming in the frigid air. “We need to find shelter, and soon.”