The warmest place

Huffing and puffing, the little Styracosaurus trotted hurriedly through the snow that was well up to her chest. Her mouth was full of a scruffy bundle of dry grass and questionably dry moss, with more tucked behind her frill in an effort to smartly carry a little extra in one trip. Her lungs were burning with the cold air and her legs were probably going to turn into popsicles at any moment! Calamira wasn’t sure what to make of her first winter; on the one hand it was fun to play in the snow and see how it changed the whole island more and more as the days went by, but on the other, it sure did make everything cold and food wasn’t as easy to come by as it had been in previous seasons which Cala wasn’t a fan of. 

Her mom, a small green striped styraco with an exceptionally flighty nature, was leading the way back to the den they were slowly building into a cozy escape from the worsening weather. “Don’t lag behind, Cala,” Chided Melon with all the love and concern in the world. Cala didn’t know why exactly, but her mother was always on the look out in case something bad might happen. Given that she hadn’t really seen any bad things, it was all a mystery to the little brown Styraco, but she quickened her pace regardless to keep closer to her mother. There was such a thing as predators after all that might enjoy a little Sty snack, yikes!

Luckily even though it was cold marching through the snow, it was tough enough going for her that Calamira was warmed up well before they got back to the den. Melon tried to set a reasonable pace, not too slow but not so fast that her daughter completely lost steam before they were sheltered again. Hopping between the bigger footprints left by her mother was Cala’s new favorite game of the season. She didn’t completely disappear into the prints like she would have a season ago, so they actually made the travel easier, and Melon seemed to enjoy that it encouraged Cala to stick close rather than running off exploring.

Their habit in the last few days that they had spent building the den was to stop about halfway so that Cala could catch her breath and rest a bit before they completed the trip, with another rest to follow the final leg of the journey before they began to do it all again at least a time or two before the sun set since it got dark quite early now. 

A question popped into Cala’s head, so she set down her little bundle of materials and asked, “Momma, why is the sun gone so long now? It’s always dark!” 

Melon stopped walking and turned towards her daughter for a moment before signaling for Cala to follow her into a sheltered spot beneath the low hanging bows of an evergreen tree laden with snow. Cala scooped up her burden again and entered the little respite, depositing the bundle she carried as well as what she’d tucked behind her frill and went to snuggle up close to Melon. It was always peaceful when she was enjoying time with just her and her mother, Cala never felt safer.

“Well,” Melon said with her warm and patient tone, “The sun sets longer in the winter Cala because it’s a season of rest. For the sun, for us, and for all the plants too,” She gestured towards a stand of leafless alder trees. “Thats’s why lots of trees lose their leaves, and some animals go to sleep and don’t come out until spring.”

“Oh, okay.” The little Sty mused on this for a while, looking out at the snowy wood with just a few patches of forest floor only barely still peeking out from beneath their thick winter blanket here and there. Little birds darted between bare bushes, pecking at the smattering of winter berries that clung to the thorny branches. Curious. “So, why don’t all the animals go to sleep? Why don’t we?” Sleeping her way through winter might be nice if it was particularly cold.

“We just aren’t built that way, only some animals sleep through the cold time. Others go far away to find warmth and come back later, and some just find what they need to make it through.”

“Like us building a warm place to be and finding food in the snow, right momma?”

Melon gave her child a gentle nuzzle and smiled, “Yes, exactly. And you’re doing a very good job of helping, you know? What do you say we finish heading back soon and then we can look for food?”

“Deal!” Cala squeaked, snuggling closer to her mom for a while longer to warm up just a bit more. Once she felt good and toasty and all her toes were warmed back up she was quick to hop up and regather her bundles - with the help of melon placing the extra back behind her frill - and begin pestering Melon to hurry hurry hurry! Her stomach wasn’t rumbling yet but she was sure it would be by the time they got back to their nearly finished home. The promise of food was irresistible. 

It was another seemingly endless trek before they reached the entrance, a wide trench that Melon had dug out further and widened which led into a space in the hollow beneath a massive and gnarled old growth tree that had to be the only of it’s kind. The noise of the forest, already quieted by the snow that seemed to hush every living thing, was further silenced when they entered their home lined with great mounds of dried grasses, pine boughs, found feathers and every downy thing they had come across, including a few scraps of human-made cloth. It was looking more and more cozy by the day. Only one or two more trips would really be needed to fill in some of the bare spots. Their cozy retreat was the perfect sanctuary and the only place that melon didn’t seem at least a little on edge.

“Why don’t we rest for a few minutes and then find food, okay?”

“That sounds good,” Cala yawned, curling up tightly. Sudden drowsiness flooded her little body and soon she was out, sleep holding her fast within moments. Together they snuggled in, no longer feeling the bite of the cold outside in the slightest. After a while it became clear that Calamira was in fact not waking up to go find food. Melon just nuzzled her lovingly, nudging some moss and grass over her like a blanket before she set out alone to paw through the snow so she could bring back a meal for her little one, leaving her to rest and keep warm for the time being. Cala was such a sweet little helper, Melon didn’t want to take a well earned rest away from her if it wasn’t strictly necessary. She didn’t need to be quiet either as she left, the little hatchling was sleeping so hard that a hundred falling trees wouldn’t wake her. 

“Goodnight little one, I’ll be back” She murmured before heading out.