A twitch of the whiskers, a breath of air and a spinning sensation- these are the first things the grey, fluffy feline could sense. For quite some time, the B’alam laid curled up into a ball, not moving any more than breathing, her emerald eyes open just wide enough to form two green slits in her face. She wasn’t really registering images, mostly shapes and colors. She could tell the scent- somewhat crisp cool air hit her lungs, as she took in the sharp scents around her. Bit by bit, she started to notice other scents. She could feel wind rustling her fur. She could hear the whispering into her ear of the air around her. The ground against her whiskers. Slowly, colors started to form before her eyes as she learned to focus them. The B’alam let out a groan as the light hit her eyes, as she opened them wider. The spinning had slowed and stopped- emboldened, she squinted and lifted her head up gradually. Propped up on her elbow, the B’alam gazed around silently.
Somehow, there were a number of things she knew. Instincts that told her what her body needed, and how to get those things. Things that told her what she didn’t need. Language, somehow, seemed to be something she knew. Something had just happened, something grand had just brought her to being. These things she knew without doubt. How? How could she know these things? Did it even matter? No, she decided, for the time being it didn’t matter at all how she knew. What mattered was what she knew, not how she knew it. Yes, she decided that was the case. As her eyes focused on the world around her, she started to take in shapes of the things around her. It was cool, chilled, but not necessarily freezing cold. Whatever had made her put her somewhere nice, to her mind. She knew that she would be uncomfortable if it was too much warmer, but as it was... The grass around here was yellowish from cold, and crunchy. The sun was just beginning to set, and on the grass, frost was starting to condense from the air onto the grasses. She tested out her voice, “Ooooaaaaggh. Huh.” It was smooth and easy to make, not particularly high but certainly not low in pitch. She couldn’t believe she had words for her thoughts so quickly, but supposed it was just as convenient as being able to lift her head. Efficient. Thoughtful, that she was made this way. She looked down at a greyish thing in the frost covered grass and tilted her head at it- it seemed to be the thing to do to help her figure out a quandary. She moved to investigate it, only to find that she was in control of it! Her paw, she thought somehow without thinking.
She decided to rise and bit by bit, the B’alam placed her paws under her body and stood. She realized she was very fluffy, the cold around her seemed invigorating to her rather than intimidating. It must be what she was meant for, to be in this cold. She kept that at the forefront of her mind, she had already determined she wanted to stay in the cold. She took a few steps forward slowly, seemed simple enough. She tried to speed them up, seemed to work alright... She flexed her claws before starting to trot. She stumbled a few times, uncertain on her paws. One time she stumbled spectacularly and landed hard on her chin and teeth. Grumbling, she rose and wiped the dirt and grass off her teeth with her paws. It didn’t take too long to clean off, but she was starting to discover a few things about life that weren’t so convenient. These fangs of hers, she could tell would be useful tools in the future, but they would take some getting used to. Young as she was, opening her mouth wide enough to clear those fangs almost hurt a little bit. It would take some getting used to. If you kept at it, would it get easier? Or could it be that these would stay this way forever? For that matter, her chin from her tumble was smarting still, and she found that to be most annoying.
Still, she could tell that these would be things she needed to iron out if she was to get used to this place. Above all, she knew that by now, she needed something. Just what, she wasn’t sure, but a certain scent on the wind wafted to her and it drove her to turn around and wander forward. On she went at a slower pace, the longer she went the slower she was, but she was still driven forward. Eventually she reached where her nose was leading her- something... something apparently that had once been alive wasn’t anymore, but it smelled great- her first meal! She imagined that it was placed here just for her, but could figure out if that was really the case or if she just had good luck. It restored her energy, gave her strength to move on.
She turned her attention now to the grass- one of the first things she had ever seen. Something about it here was... odd... “Frost... The frost is overtaking... the grass...” she said airily, almost distantly. She had not used her voice much, but it needed to be done. Something landed on her nose from above, and she turned her gaze to the sky. More frost, but falling from above- the stuff gave her comfort. “Frost... Fall... Frostfall...” She murmured, liking the way it sounded. “Frostfall Frostfall...” Her first day had been blessed during the frostfall, and she decided that that was destined to be her name. As the day had gone on, her mind had grown less and less hazy- a clarity about the world around her had formed. She knew a few things- she wanted to live in the cold, and she needed to find someone who could tell her more about this world into which she had been born. Frostfall turned resolutely in one direction, determined to go until she could find more like her who could help her learn the ways of this world.
WC = 1049