Drawn by Shariea

Jes the male Squirrel owned by FA:JesterTKOF
Fallon the hermaphrodite marbled Arctic fox
Milady the female Cacomistle (North American Ringtail) owned by FA:ladysin

Snow is falling and Jes had never seen it before, it was something out of books or that he saw in movies on on the tele. It was wet, it was cold, and the northern winter weather of New England was not something he knew how to deal with like the pair of ladies walking with him. To Fallon and Milady the winter was something they just lived with, it wasn't really as cold to them as it was to him because they'd spent so much time in the winter time snow drifts. Fallon may have been a little eccentric with a skirt and stockings but she had a thick coat of winter fur and didn't even seem to notice. Milady had her cloak on and it appeared to have all the warmth she needed, not that she couldn't just curl her tail about her if she needed more warmth anyways. It was amusing to watch Jes try to catch the snow in his paws and every so often they had to stop and either watch or show him how to catch the falling flakes on his tongue or show him the proper way to make a snowball. Fallon occasionally needed some help walking around and relied on Milady for support for the day, being half blind made the sun reflecting off the snow a little more of a challenge for her sometimes.

It didn't really matter where they went so long as they were having fun and the walk lasted until the start of nightfall when it began to get colder and fresh snow began to drift lazily down from the sky above. There was hot cider waiting at the cabin that had been slow brewing since the walk had started that morning, a cinnamon stick or two drifting in the apple and clove scented mix and a trio of large mugs waiting to help warm the snow wanderers up. Logs were already stacked in the fireplace and near the door, ready to be lit to make the inside of the cabin cozy and inviting with some blankets nearby for those that the fire wouldn't be able warm up as quickly. This was how every winter day should be, it should be full of frosty breath and long walks, with stories about nothing and everything at the same time, and with good friends and hot cider.

Special Note:
I had promised this picture to FA:ladysin and FA:JesterTKOF in Winter of 2013 before Christmas time with the idea that there was going to be time to let the artist work on it and that time wasn't a big deal because none of us had really considered it to be at the time. Time, as it turns out, was something that FA:ladysin sadly ran short of when she lost her battle to cancer in January of 2014. At the time I was too devastated to know what to do next, I wasn't really sure if I should ask Shariea to continue or not and had been debating it for a little while until I saw a note in my FA inbox from FA:crimsonwolf which gave the suggestion that it should be finished. When I thought about it some more I realized I would never forgive myself if I asked for the piece to be canceled and let it continue, not because the piece itself would never be worked on but because I had promised it to FA:ladysin and we had always wanted to get artwork done of our characters. Regardless of if I ever got to see her reaction to this I felt she'd want to have seen it no matter where she might be, either in some afterlife that might exist, as someone else reborn, or whatever happens after someone passes away. Truth is t hat when I saw this the other night when it was finished I broke down and just cried because I miss one of my best friends so much and I know they would have been delighted to see this and I hope they can wherever they might be.

I still feel that this was an amazing piece and I can't thank Shariea or FA:crimsonwolf for this one.