Read the Kingdom Mystery Series here!: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/966769121/ The frozen ground crunched under a tiny fox's black paws as she stumbled along, whining softly. Her tongue flicked on her icy cold nose, and she was startled at the cold of it. Her side was streaked with blood, along with her muzzle, but she was uninjured aside from the sharp ice cutting her paws. The snow blocked most of her view, otherwise she would have seen the castle behind her, which she was walking further and further from. All that ran through her mind was, 'Gotta find Pa. Gotta find him.' Her thoughts became weaker and weaker though, and her steps were slower, until she lurched to a stop. Her paws had stained the snow for a ways, but it was covered almost as soon as the trail was made. She gave a shuddering breath, before collapsing, snow swirling around her.
"I can barely see anything! We should head back now before we get lost!" a dark gray male barked over the sounds of the snowstorm. A reddish pelt stood out against the snow, and her green eyes glinted as she shook her head. "No! It'll be the same distance one way or the other by now! And if we don't inform the client we finished the mission before sundown, our pay is cut in half!" "But is it worth risking our lives for it?" he yipped, stopping. She kept going, planning to ignore him. "Lyra." he yipped. "What is so important about this? I don't care if you want to risk your own life; I've always supported that. But risking mine? Or the others lives?" his bark was gentler now. She sighed, stopping and facing him, the snow making it even harder to read his expression. She opened her mouth to speak when her ears perked at a sound. "Did you hear that?" she asked, swiveling her ears. "It's kinda hard to hear anything right now- but don't try changing the conversation!" he barked. "I'm serious." she tilted her head, hearing it again. "It sounds like a Youngling." she said. "Ah, there you go with your Skulk talk again." he started, but even through the snow her glare was sharp. "Ace, stop teasing- I can hear a yipping sound-" it came again, louder than before. "It sounds like it's coming from this way." she bounded off, Ace on her heels, calling for her to stop. She lurched to a stop, and he nearly crashed into her. "Wha- watch it!" he barked, but she didn't respond. "Lyra? Lyra, what is it?" he yipped, coming around to see, his eyes softening at the sight of a young white fox, eyes shut, yipping loudly. Lyra curled herself against it, licking it's snow covered fur. Ace stood, uncertain what to do. "Lyra- we should take it to the den. It'll be safer there." he murmured. She looked up at him, nodding. She picked it up by the scruff, where it protested loudly. She murmured, "Shh little one. You're alright. What's your name?" "J-Juniper." she whispered softly. "June? That's a pretty name." she yipped, starting to pad through the snow with Ace watching for any predators. "Juniper." she said louder. "Oh! Juniper. Even better." she yipped. "Well Juniper, I'm Lyra, and this is my friend Ace. We're going to take you to our home. You'll be safe and warm there."
