FSE

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-Prologu** e**-

Ginatra opened his eyes, yawning, he stretched his jaws and clambered to his paws. Looking around Ginatra noticed his brother was still asleep, curled up beside his mom, her rounded ears twitched as she dreamed. The Arctic Ice was blindingly white, but the cold didn't bother him thanks to his coat, a gift from his ancestors and one possessed by all the bears roaming the ice. Ginatra padded out of the ice cave that was his den and padded towards the drop off, the place where the ice dropped off into the freezing black water. His belly growled as he smelled a warm-blooded animal nearby, delicious, the smell drove him to investigate, what is it he wondered padding to the very edge of a small piece of ice that jutted out, suddenly a loud caark split the air! Ginatra looked up and he saw something that made his blood run cold. A Raven was diving towards him its eyes glinted with malevolent intent, Ginatra leaped back as it got close, the raven scraped its claws across the ice and cracks appeared. Oh no! Ginatra screamed in his thoughts the raven was separating the ice float he was on from the rest of the ice, he dashed forward only to be sent sprawling back as the raven dived again slamming into Ginatra. The last thing he heard before darkness consumed him was a caark of triumph from the raven as it flew away.

Ginatra awoke in a pitch-black space, in fact he felt almost as if he was floating, his mother appeared before him speaking a warning he'd heard many times before. Watch out for ravens, young Ginatra, for they are always in league with the evils of the universe. He heard her say it but it seemed to come from inside his mind and her jaw didn't move with the words either, they seemed to be repeating a word over and over again. Ginatra moved closer, stared harder, and eventually he interpreted what she said, _Awake Awake Awake _

Chapter 1 - Mysterious New Lands

Ginatra awoke, soaked, he opened his eyes only to close them again, his head was under water, lifting his head he looked around, where am I, he wondered. For the first time in his life there was something other than ice and snow. Ginatra clawed his way out of the freezing cold water and the setting sun only made the cold colder. He was freezing, shivering and teeth chattering he padded into what his mother had described as a forest. He always thought it had been a myth just a story, but here it is. Ginatra was starving now and as he padded through the forest, lifting his nose to smell for prey, he had the prickling sensation of being watched. Whipping around he saw nothing, Hmp, just my imagination? He wondered, turning back to the hunt soon he'd found a smell of prey and followed it, padding swiftly and quietly he made his way through the forest following the scent. Ginatra rounded a tree and there it was a winter rabbit, he dashed forward and slammed his paw down on the squealing creature, satisfied at hearing the snapping of the spine he picked it up and padded away. Soon Ginatra found a cave, he padded inside taking notice of the windblown entrance, his stay here would be cold. He sat down in the center and began to devour his catch upon finishing he licked his paws cleaning out the blood and fur stuck there before curling up and falling asleep once again.

Ginatra's sleep was light and at one point he could have sworn there was another warm body laying next to him, but when he woke there was no one there, he was almost disappointed he was starting to become lonely. Soon he'd fallen asleep once again. Ginatra awoke to sun shining in his eyes, and food missing in his belly. He slowly got to his paws yawning and his muscles shook with effort as he stretched, then he padded out into the forest once more hunger drawing him into its depths. Soon he'd found a scent it wasn't one he recognized but it was prey none the less, he fallowed it, silently stalking till he could see it, then out of nowhere a lithe whit shape slipped into the clearing. It wasn't the first time he'd seen this creature it was a fox, an artic fox. It leaped killing the creature and that's when Ginatra stepped in he padded into the clearing and growled, he then leaped, and the fox reacted by dropping its prey and slinking away into the undergrowth, he grabbed his prey and padded away to eat. When he finished he continued into the forest and finally came to the edge where he awoke previously, he wasn't going to make it back to the artic ice where he came from, not from here anyway. Saddened he turned and padded back to the cave he'd adopted and curled up What am I to do? He wondered. how will I get home?! He whimpered silently thinking of his mother and brother. Suddenly he scrambled to his paws

"I'll find them!" He growled in determination. Then he padded out of the cave and into the forest, unaware of his follower.

The sun was setting as he reached the edge of the forest, and Ginatra was tired very tired he reached the edge and collapsed, snoring heavily in seconds.

Ginatra awoke and discovered that the snow he thought he saw last night was, actually, an expanse of ice he rushed happily forward and reared up and slammed his paws down breaking a whole in the ice, a fishing hole, finally! He thought, some proper food. He then crouched by the hole making sure to keep his shadow of the water as to not scare the fish, and waited some minutes later he had caught a couple of fish yummy he thought and began to devour the fish noticing finally the artic fox watching from the cover of the forest. Was it following him? Ginatra wondered as he finished the final bites, and glanced into the distance a mountain rose up on one side and a large plain of ice stretched out across the other. And in the distance, he noticed a dark spot, Cave he thought glancing at the sun which was halfway to full height, I can make it to that cave before sun down, he thought. Ginatra then bounded out across the ice, eager to get going, and hopefully find his family soon as possible.

The sun was nearing sun high when he noticed something was following him, Ginatra glanced backward and saw a white bushy tail leaping behind a rock. The fox, Ginatra's instincts urged him to chase it off but loneliness won, and he let it follow him, at the very least he knew he wasn't alone. He turned around and padded off on his journey to the mountain cave once more, this time fully aware of the faint pawsteps following him, home, he thought repeatedly, I will get home. The terrain was so barren that the only indication that he was moving at all was the steady growing of the ever-closer cave in the mountain. Halfway to sundown he realized he could now see detail in the cave, he was almost there, Ginatra broke in to a run, bounding across the unchanging terrain, hope flaring in his mind, he would reach home, he would find his family. He skidded to a stop at the cave entrance,

"Made it," He breathed, as the sun set behind him. Ginatra padded in and curled up, exhausted, and passed out.