The cold mountain breeze swept through the quiet reserve, leaving the fronds from ferns and bushes shaking. The whole mountain was silent, with only the occasional cricket keeping me company. And even they would die down after a while. The metal cage around me was high, but tonight the ground was soft and springy. I dug my claws into the soggy ground, pulling mounds of dirt out, but the fence wouldn’t budge. Backing up, I thrusted my shoulder into the rusty wire, hearing a snap as the metal broke and fell away, leaving me tumbling down a short slope.

Concrete met my paws as I stood, wincing at the slight pain in my shoulder and raising my nose to follow the wind. I remember doing the same things months ago, when the reserve had a few visitors every now and then. Now, the only humans that ever came were here to feed me and the remaining animals. All the birds and other animals had either already left, been taken away, or refused to leave the only home they’d ever known. I flicked my tail, concentrating. Other animals were on the breeze. I trotted after it, trailing the faint scent. After a while of walking, my paw pads were feeling sore as I saw an even larger cage looming in front of me, and I noticed a small bulge in the metal wiring.

“Kiona?” I called, glancing around. A dark shape moved at the corner of my vision, and I flinched when I saw how close the giant leopard was.

“I thought I told you to meet Tovan and I at the gate, Afi.” She growled, sitting.

I shrugged, sitting down next to her.

“His cage is up there.” She pointed near the direction of mine with her nose.

“No need. Now, we better leave soon before anyone notices we’re gone.”

I jumped, turning to the large white wolf behind me. Tovan laughed, padding over. “Sorry to frighten you. But we really should be going.”

The way out of the reserve was easy. We just had to weave through the undergrowth surrounding the enclosures and find gaps in fences. Every now and then a light would flicker on, sending us into thorny bushes that would stick to my fur. After what seemed like forever, we found the entrance to the reserve, its massive iron gates open a small crack. Kiona used her giant, fluffy paws to pry it open wider, squeezing through the gap. I slid in after her, followed by Tovan.

Fresh pine met my nose, along with the chilling sting of the freezing snow dappling my snout. With every step, the snow seemed to be getting deeper and deeper, until it was up to my belly, making my pelt twitch.

“Now what?” I asked, glancing between Tovan and Kiona. Tovan pointed his nose to the mountains, and I shivered once more. But not from the cold. The tall, snow-capped mountains were huge.

“How are we supposed to get there before dawn?”

I asked Tovan, who was already padding down the slope of the valley.

“We start now, and hope to get to the bottom before sunrise.”

Kiona groaned, though it was playful. “Why can’t we have wings or something? Someone should grow wings and fly us over there.” Tovan huffed, disappearing behind a tree trunk while I laughed quietly.

“Come on, we need to move before sun-up.” I bounded after him, leaping through the snow as Kiona followed me, trodding on top of the fluffy layer.

“Do you have to show off?” I asked, cocking my head as she padded past me. She shrugged, bounding down the slope after Tovan, and I followed.

The slope was like a sheet of ice, and I began to slide down the shallow ravine. Tovan caught my scruff, and I wriggled in his grasp. He set me down on a sturdy rock, and I licked my red fur flat.

“Can you not roll down the hill the second we’re free?” I heard Kiona laugh, and I grumbled back.

“Care to lend me a paw? Literally?”

Kiona rolled her eyes. We were about halfway down the slope when Tovan stopped.

“The sun will be up soon, and the humans won’t be far behind.”

“Then let's speed up a bit.” Kiona grumbled.

The rest of the way down the slope was difficult and slippery, and I kept sliding down every few minutes. The trees were thinner, but there were more than at the top of the snow-peaked mountain. Pine needles were scattered over the ground, their scent filling my nose.

“Now what?” I asked, fluffing up my fur. The forest below the mountain had always scared me, with its tall, almost-black trees dotting the dark, needle-covered ground. But now the forest looked like it could swallow you up if you looked at it funny.

Kiona nudged my shoulder. “You good? Can’t have you freeze up on us now.” She nosed me again, and I batted her snout with a fuzzed paw. A snowball hit my side, and I toppled over. Tovan was glaring at both of us, his paws digging deep into the snow. I sat up, pricking my ears. There was a rustling by one of the trees, followed by a distorted voice. Tovan growled. Kiona backed away.

“What is it?” I glanced from Tovan to Kiona.

“Humans..” Tovan nosed me back. “You up for running?”

“Uhh…” I looked at Kiona, but she was already padding away.

“I-I guess I’ll have to be…”

The hard ground beat on my paws, and my shoulders ached. Tovan said not to stop running until we were out of the dark forest and by the lake, which I guess he had seen from his pen. Tovan and Kiona had run ahead, leaving me padding behind them. The snow had thinned out to just small patches, and I could see the dark orange and red leaves dotting the ground under my paws.

I slumped to the soggy ground beside the lake. Tovan and Kiona lay beside me, talking softly. Kiona looked somewhat agitated, Tovan more concerned.

“We need to keep moving.” Tovan said, his voice pricking.

“We could find one of the rivers connecting to the lake and cross it, to get to the other side of the valley.”

“Even though the water is calm here, the rivers must be flowing wildly.” Kiona pointed out.

“We could be swept away back here, or down river a different way.”

I sat up, shaking my damp fur.

“We could always find one of those human bridges and cross that.”

Kiona and Tovan both shook their heads.

“No.” They said in unison

“Above a rapid river, plus probably being mostly rotten, we’d fall through and be swept away instantly. Remember the last time we tried to escape, and used one of the trails and almost got caught in their snares?”

I nodded, shivering. Luckily, Tovan had been there just in time to yank me away from the trap, but I had still lost some tail fur and now a patch of my dark fluff was missing.

“Humans cannot be trusted…” Kiona growled, bringing me back to the present.

“Is there another way we could go?” I asked, looking between Tovan and Kiona.

Tovan glanced around.

“There is a road a little that way,” he pointed his nose away from the lake. “It might go around the lake.”

I shrugged, looking at Kiona.

“Best option we got.” She grumbled.

Tovan nodded, wrapping his tail around his paws.

“That settles it. We’ll leave at dusk.”

—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—

I sat up before Tovan could nudge me. The stars were already dotting the navy blue sky, the moon casting long shadows behind the black trees.

“Kiona! We’re leaving!” Tovan turned to leave, and I followed hastily behind him.

The sky was almost black by the time the road came into view, but I could very well see the shadow black strip in front of me. Kiona was grumbling about turning around, but I ignored her. The road was quiet, even though the deadly, burnt stench it gave off was strong.

“So… what do we do, just walk down it until we know we’ve passed the lake?”

“Pretty much.” Tovan sounded less confident now, which didn’t boost my hope. Kiona was sniffing the black river hesitantly, but she looked more curious than Tovan, who looked like he’d rather back away into the bushes and stay there. I shrugged, testing my paw on the road. It was hard rock, with rough bumps, like packed stones and pebbles. I crept closer, walking over the rocky surface.

“Be careful..” Tovan warned both Kiona and I as she too stepped onto the road.

“Don’t worry, it seems fine to me.”

Tovan rolled his eyes. “Everything seems fine to you.” He grumbled, though he still stalked over. I began padding down the road, quickening my pace.

“The lake went this way, right?” I asked Tovan, who nodded. I started trotting away, Kiona right on my tail.

“Now we’re actually going somewhere.” She said, batting my brush, and I waved it under her nose, making her sneeze.

The road was quiet for most of the time, the only sounds being the soft trickle of water or the lonely song of a bird. Eventually, Tovan broke the silence.

“We should probably hunt. We must’ve passed the lake by now.” He sat down on the hard ground, which had started to tear at my paws. There had been a few times where one of the loud human machines had gone by, but Tovan had pulled Kiona and I out of the way just in time.

It was hard to scent anything else other than the tangy taste of the road, but I could pick up the sweet scent of squirrels surrounding the pine trees.

“There should be some squirrels just past those trees.” Tovan nodded, and I was glad when my paws were on the grass again. The road had had rails on the sides, and Tovan was worried that we might lose it in the cliffs, and after a while the ground surrounding the trail had dropped away, and it was only the road, treetops, and the new wall of rock beside us. The sky was a blueish-gray, which had slowly started turning more of a purple.

“Don’t stray from the trees.” Tovan warned Kiona right before she stepped off the road. She shrugged and rolled her eyes before padding into the dark forest.

—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—

The sun was above us when Kiona came back. The limp prey was thin, its bones jagged beneath matted orange fur.

“Best I could find without leaving the forest.” She glanced pointedly at Tovan, but if he noticed he ignored her. He pawed at the prey for a second before taking a hesitant bite.

“For once, I miss the reserve’s food.” He grumbled, but still continued to eat his share. I crouched down beside him, taking a bite from the limp form in front of me. It tasted sour but sweet, like it was ill before it died. I finished it in a few swift bites, looking around for a stream to flush the taste out of my mouth.

“Did you see how far the water was when you hunted?” I asked Kiona, who was grimacing as she ate her fill.

“The river was just outside the forest, but I’m pretty sure it cuts into the forest around here.” She said, licking her jaws. “I’ll come with you. There’s definitely something wrong with the prey around here.”

Tovan groaned, standing up. “Might as well come along..” He padded reluctantly towards Kiona and I, and we bounded off into the forest.

The forest was eerily silent as Kiona led the way. No birds sang, no frogs croaked, and no squirrels chattered. Yet there was a prickling feeling that something -or someone- was following us.

“What happened here?” I asked, flicking my tail back and forth. There was a stench I couldn’t quite place, but it stung my nose whenever I breathed in.

“Maybe we should continue down the road…” Tovan said, cringing at the tangy smell.

“Wait- I think I see something.” Kiona bounded off, and I shrugged at Tovan as I followed.

The trees filtered out into a meadow of dark green grass, some brown at the tips. The river cut around trees and rocks and a large, snow capped mountain looked down on the meadow from above.

“That’s not the mountain we came from, right?” I asked, panting.

“No.” Tovan raised his nose to the wind. “The mountain we came from had pine trees. This one has tall, poofy ones.”

Kiona stared at Tovan. “Never once have I heard you say poofy.”

Tovan glared at the leopard, and Kiona snickered. I pawed the ground, hiding my smile with my brush. “We might as well start moving again. The sun won’t be up for much longer.”

“Finally, someone with sense.” Tovan wagged his tail under Kiona’s nose, and she batted it away, growling playfully. I crouched down, aiming for Tovan’s tail. He bared his teeth teasingly before bounding a few feet away.

“Come catch me!” He called, and Kiona tore across the dark grass, chasing him towards the mountain. I darted after them, the wind billowing my fur as he made it across the valley.

The slope of the mountain had progressively gotten steeper, and I had to dig paws into the cold dirt and stone to stop from sliding down the rocky face. Tovan and Kiona weren’t having the best time, either. Tovan kept losing his footing on the winding path, and Kiona would get her fur snagged in the thorny bushes, dragging her down the path.

“Do you see a cave or ledge we could rest on, Afi?” Kiona asked as she untangled herself from another ivy bush.

I pricked my ears, listening for the quiet rush of wind or the sound of an echo. “I think there’s one up a ways. I can hear the wind inside.”

Kiona grumbled something about wings as Tovan scrambled for footing on the path, which had become slightly icy.

The moon was just cresting the horizon when the cave came into view. By then, Tovan, and I were shivering from the cold, and our paws were soaking from the snow. Kiona couldn’t have cared less for the snow, because well, she’s a snow leopard. Her fluffy fur kept her warm, and when we all trod into the cave to rest, I buried my nose in her fluffy belly fur.

“You know I’m not much of a snuggler, right? Pretty sure I mentioned that at some point.”

Tovan mumbled something inaudible as he curled his fluffy, dirty white tipped tail around his black nose. I looked outside the cave, watching the moon rise in the sky, listening to Kiona and Tovan’s breath slow as sleep overtook them. After a while, when moon light seemed to claim the cave, I felt myself slip into sleep, nuzzling deeper into Kiona’s fluffy, downy fur.

The sun glared through the cave opening when I woke, blinding me with soft orange rays of light. Tovan was still snoring softly, but Kiona was stretching by the entrance of the cave. I shivered, the cold cave floor seeping into my thin fur. I stood, straining my back legs before padding up to Kiona. I squinted to see past the glare of the sun, looking over the valley. The dark grass waved in the wind, and the treetops quivered. On the far end of the valley, barely visible, our mountain stood with its white capped peak and clouds circling the very tip.

“Do you think we’re safe from the humans yet?” I asked Kiona as I sat next to her.

Kiona shook her head, also squinting to gaze over the valley. “I think Tovan said that there were human dens a little farther into the valley. We’re lucky they didn’t tag us when we were first added to the reserve.”

I winced, still remembering when the humans had tried to put a large collar around my neck. It had an abnormal flashing red light on it, and I remembered struggling in their bare paws. After what seemed like forever, they must’ve thought it wasn’t worth trying to put a collar on me. I was put into a small cage with wire peak holes, but I couldn’t turn around. They threw me into one of their machines and took me to the reserve, and there were actually other humans waiting for me and the other animals. They had all looked excited, which was the opposite of how I felt. I could feel the anger and fear of the other animals intertwine with my own anger and fear.

Kiona glanced at me, and I could feel the same anger and fear swirl around me.

“You okay?” She asked, cocking her head at me. I only nodded, turning back to the valley. The sun was higher now, casting the valley in an orange glow. Tovan shifted beside me, and I turned to find him sitting up, his fur poking out in every direction.

“Well, now that we’re all awake, shall we get moving?” Kiona asked as Tovan licked his fur flat. I nodded, standing. My paws still felt chilly because of the cold stone beneath them, but I still began padding out of the cave, onto the frozen mountain.

—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—

The wind whipped through my fur as Kiona, Tovan and I made our way up the frozen peak. After what felt like hours, the snowy tip of the mountain came into view. The clouds hovered just over my head, and I shivered both from the cold and from the sight around us. The trees were merely specks from the top, and there were no human buildings in sight except for the occasional hut or tent, and even then there was nothing surrounding the great mountain.

“Okay.” Tovan shouted over the wind. “We need to be careful going down the face. Remember a few winters ago when there was an earthquake and snow began tumbling down the mountain? Make sure you test the snow before stepping on it!”

He glanced between Kiona and I with narrowed eyes before turning and carefully picking his way down the slope. I followed in his paw prints, though it was hard to keep up with the wind plastering my fur to my body and the ice that coated the mountain beneath.

Descending the rocky face was as difficult as you can imagine. Tovan would hold us up because he saw snow tumbling down the slope, or that we had ended up on a ledge and needed to turn around. The wind wasn’t getting better, and every now and then I could feel the snow shift under my paws.

I froze when I heard a rumbling coming from behind me. Kiona hissed and grabbed my scruff, dragging me a few tail lengths away.

“Wha-” I bit back a razor sharp reply when I saw Tovan bounding towards us.

“Find a ledge we can hide under!” He growled, turning back to see the snow rolling down the mountain in a giant, white wave of rock and ice.

“Alright, who did it? I’m not mad, I just don’t want to die at the moment.” Kiona mumbled against my scruff, but I wriggled out of her grasp. I squinted my eyes.

“Uhh, I don’t think either of us caused the avalanche…”

“What do you mean?” Tovan asked, moving closer as he watched the wave come closer.

I pointed my tail in the direction of the wave, still squinting. “There’s another animal coming.”

In between the rock and ice, I could make out an animal a little smaller than Tovan bolting through the rush of snow. It had darker, brown fur, with lanky legs. Kiona gasped as Tovan pulled her and I under the ledge at the last second as the wave tumbled over us, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt another body slam into mine, but I didn’t move as more snow raged past us.

I opened my eyes, ears still ringing from the commotion of the avalanche. Tovan panted, opening his eyes and uncurling his tail from around his nose. Kiona mumbled something about how we should’ve flown over the mountain, but I mostly focused on the other figure beside us. The other animal from the avalanche.

Now that I could see them up close, I recognized the mangled fur and black face of the coyote.

“Via?” I shoved myself up, sitting in the snow. The coyote blinked her freakishly yellow eyes open, smiling shyly.

“Surprise?” She shrugged, her tail wagging. “Once I saw you three leave the reserve, I decided to follow you. I was going to surprise you at the bottom of the mountain, but I got caught up with the whole river situation and when I got to the mountain it was already night.” She glanced between the three of us, studying our shocked faces. “So, where to next?” She cocked her head, dumping the snow off her nose.

Tovan laughed, heaving himself to his legs. “Now, we get off this mountain.”

Most of the mountain had bare spots now because of the avalanche, and Tovan led us across the cold stone, ledge by ledge. By the time we made it down the mountain, we were all panting for breath and leaning on each other. My paws were grateful to feel grass between them, and I slumped to the forest floor next to Via and Kiona while Tovan raised his nose to the air.

“Any sign of humans?” Kiona mumbled, rolling to her side.

Tovan shook his head, sitting down beside us. “We should find a den to rest in before continuing deeper into the forest.” He said, stretching his hind legs.

Both Kiona and Via grumbled as they pushed up from the ground and began picking their way through the undergrowth.

—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—---—

I sat at the base of a sturdy tree that sat on a small ledge that overlooked a large valley full of trees. On the other side of the valley, even more mountains stretched on forever, trees dotting their dark gray bases. I could still feel where the metal wire had pressed against my coat from the enclosure as the cold breeze ruffled my fur. Endless woodland expanded in front of me, the trees tall and thin. I could hear the birds singing their evening song as I watched the leaves slowly fall from the tree beside me. Voices filled the air behind me, all laughter and teasings. All at once, Via, Kiona, and Tovan all burst through the undergrowth and sat beside me, watching the bright orange sun fall behind the gray mountains.

We were free.