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Description

Characters in the drawing: Pumcha , Flashie , Noctur and Daniel (no ref sheet yet)

It was winter. In the whole forest, snow was the only thing you could see. All the sugar trees and floury meadows just made everyone's eyes hurt, thus were not really welcomed. But what could the creatures do?
   Pumcha, Flashie and Noctur happily continued with their lives, although the freezing weather made their survival really difficult. None of them have ever experienced this type of cold, no, not this much. It was getting worse every day. It was like a never-ending nightmare.
   It was snowing when Pumcha found a hole in ice covering the lake. Somebody had to be there before him. Since he had not managed to catch a rabbit, he decided to try his luck with fishing. That should be easy, right?
   He stepped on the slippery surface and watched the water. Suddenly, he spotted a big fish. Today is the best day.
   But just when he was about to catch it, he heard a loud crack—the ice broke under his weight, letting him swim with the fish. He screamed and was slapping everything around until he climbed out of the lake and shook the water away. He was shaking—too cold, too cold!
   He completely forgot about his hunger. All he wanted was a warm place and a long life.
   He started running towards his den. The falling snow did not help with the situation, oh no, it made it much worse. His coat had been wet before, he just could not be here for too long!
   He jumped inside, scaring his partner and son.
   "Pumcha!" Flashie shouted. The male mulkagra fell on the ground and stopped moving. She could only see his chest slowly going up and down. "What happened?! Why are you so wet?!"
   Pumcha coughed. "I fell into the lake." He looked around, but his head hit the clay almost right away. He thought the den will be warmer...
   "Hold on!" She dragged him deeper into the hole and sat beside him. "Nocti, come here," she said to her son and he too came to warm his father. "Is it better?"
   "No."
   "Take some sleep, butterfly." She started licking his fur, making the drops go away.
   Pumcha closed his eyes.

A day went by, then two, then three. Pumcha was still coughing and shaking. As much as Flashie wanted to stay by his side, she occasionally had to go out to hunt. Then it was Noctur's job to keep him warm. However, as we can see, nothing seemed to help.
   Flashie was desperate. She knew he can die anytime. But it was nothing she wanted to reconcile with. He was not supposed to die. He was supposed to be with her, raise their child, live his long, long life. She wished there was someone who could help him...
   Someone...
   Daniel.
   She did not wait any longer. She stood up and looked at her family.
   "Ladybug, I'm gonna go out," she said smoothly. Noctur nodded and snuggled closer to Pumcha while she headed to the entrance. "Be good, okay?" He nodded again, laid his head next to his dad's, and closed his eyes.
   Flashie went out and set forth to Daniel's house. Pumcha had showed her where he lives in case something happens. She would never ever thought of going there though. But now it was an emergency. She was convincing herself it has to work—Daniel saved Pumcha once, why could he not save him for a second time?
   When she saw the cabin, she quickened her pace. It was a nice, small house with a much bigger building next to it. It was down in the valley, that meant a way on an abrupt hill for the mulkagra. She ran down, almost rolling.
   She stopped in front of the cottage. Light, wet snow was slowly covering her coat. What now? Should she make a screech? Or a bark? Is he home anyway?
   To her surprise, Daniel himself noticed her through the window. He opened the door and stared at her. He said something, but it sounded like gibberish to her.
   She got frustrated. How is she supposed to tell him about her partner? Was her travelling for nothing?
   Just then she realised—he can understand Pumcha, he must understand every mulkagra then, right? It has to work that way.
   "Pumcha is ill," she said. Daniel's eyes widened with fear. "He fell into the lake. Could you help him?"
   He went back inside immediately. Flashie was startled—where did he go? Could he be scared? Did he really care about his mulkagra friend? Was he not going to help?
   Just then, he reappeared, this time with a jacket, snow boots, hat, and a bag. He locked the door and nodded towards the mulkagra. It was time to go.

Surprisingly for Daniel, their home was not that far from his. Still, he had to be quick. The snow cover was getting bigger and bigger with every minute, thus was not easy to move in.
   Finally, they made it to the den. Flashie entered it first, then let Daniel come closer to the mess. When he saw Pumcha laying there, breathing heavily, he knew instantly something was terribly wrong.
   At first, Noctur woke up. He raised his head and started wagging his tail in excitement. "Daaaaaaah!" he screamed, jumped to the man, and leaned his front paws on his waist.
   "Hello, little one," Daniel said and petted the cub's back. "Nice to meet you again."
   Just then, Pumcha opened his eyes and gasped. "Daniel...?"
   The human let Noctur go to his mother and looked at the father insecurely. "Hi, Pumcha."
   "What are you doing here?" The mulkagra could not force himself to lift up his chin from the ground. "How did you get here?"
   "She brought me here." Daniel nodded towards Pumcha's partner.
   "You shouldn't have come. Go away!"
   "Calm down, fella, I just want to help—"
   "I don't need your help!"
   "But you're sick—"
   "I'm not!" The dark one tried to bite the man but failed miserably. "Go, Daniel, GO!"
   "Hey!" Flashie shouted and growled. Everything went quiet. "Stop this madness, Pumcha!"
   "No, I won't! Throw him away!"
   "Are you genuinely that stupid?!"
   "Wha—"
   "Gaaaaaaaaaaah!" Noctur screamed. Flashie hugged him tightly and licked him a few times.
   "See? Even Noctur can hear you! Stop yelling and let Daniel look at you!"
   "I said I don't need any help!"
   "YOU'RE DYING, PUMCHA."
   Silence again. Pumcha sighed, curled into a ball, and closed his eyes. "I just... don't want to rely on him anymore..." he whispered.
   "Buddy," Daniel smiled and sat next to him, "that's okay. A little help from me won't make you my prisoner." He put out an electronic thermometer and placed it on the mulkagra's head. When it beeped, he looked at it and placed it back to the bag. "How are you still alive?"
   "Am I really dying?"
   "Slowly." He stroked his fur and looked around, realizing, "I didn't bring any medication."
   "That means I'll die?"
   "Yes." He paused. "Unless you stay at my place."
   "What? Daniel, no..."
   "Listen." He made sure the animal is looking in his eyes. "I can let you sleep in the barn. There's a heating and haulm; you'll be warm, well-fed, but still free. I'll just take care of you while you're ill, then you can go wherever you want."
   The mulkagra thought about it. He did not want to die, that was for sure. But leaving his den? Going into the frost again? And what about his family?
   "What about Flashie and Noctur?" he asked.
   "They'll go with us. Someone needs to keep an eye on you if I'm not there."
   "And the cold? I'll freeze until I get there."
   "I'll get my jacket on you. And Noctur can lay on your back or something. Whatever happens, we'll get you there."

Pumcha felt awful. He was shaking, coughing more than before, and overall experiencing the worst hell possible.
   On his right side, Flashie supported his body, preventing it from falling. On the left side, Daniel was making sure his jacket stays on his back as well as sleeping Noctur.
   All four of them were wading in the snow, covered in snowflakes and ice. The path seemed longer than a few minutes ago. But after a while, they finally reached the destination.
   Daniel opened the barn and let the creatures in. After he closed the door, he led them to a pile of haulm. Pumcha laid down, and so did Flashie and Noctur.
   "I'll be right back," the man said and left.
   Flashie snuggled closer to her partner. "How do you feel, butterfly?"
   "Worse."
   "Don't worry, I'm sure Daniel will fix it... He always did, right?" she hoped.
   Pumcha had to agree. "Yes, he did."
   Noctur licked his father's nose and yawned. He was laying before the two, not understanding a thing. What is this place? Why are they here? Why is his dad not responding to his licks?
   When the human got back, he had a bag full of things. Firstly, he threw a huge dead hare in front of Flashie and Noctur. Without waiting, they sailed in it. Daniel meanwhile set a bowl with water nearby and withdrew another bowl, a full jar, a yellow box, and then a striped blanket. He put the cloth over Pumcha's back and kneeled in front of him.
   "What is it?" the mulkagra asked when he saw the man emptying the jar in the bowl, then mixing it with pills from the box.
   "Minced meat, just as you like it. And some meds." He pushed it closer. "You can eat now."
   Pumcha did just that. As much as he loved the feeling of raw, stiff flesh, minced meat was still his favourite dish. It reminded him of his early years spent with Daniel. He could have as much of it as was possible. He would not even know the medication was there.
   When he finished, he could hear the man say, "You can rest, buddy, I'll keep watch." After this statement, he gladly fell asleep.

Flashie appreciated the food. Still, she was not sure she had done the right thing. Pumcha explained to her that Daniel will hide them in a safe place until he's healthy again, but this building did not look safe at all—there were so much pointy things around, and despite it being large, she somehow felt pent-up. This was an unknown place after all. Also, she did not trust the human yet. Well, maybe a little.
   When she noticed her partner being asleep, she instinctively touched his neck in order to feel his fur. But all she felt was a piece of thick cloth. She glanced at the human sitting on the other side and hissed, while he just made a face suggesting it is not a good idea to take the blanket off. She fortunately understood but was not really happy about it. She wanted to gain the warmth of Pumcha's body as always. At last, she hugged her son and accidentally fell asleep. Maybe she somehow knew the man will be awake for the whole night.

Description

Characters in the drawing: Pumcha , Flashie , Noctur and Daniel (no ref sheet yet)

It was winter. In the whole forest, snow was the only thing you could see. All the sugar trees and floury meadows just made everyone's eyes hurt, thus were not really welcomed. But what could the creatures do?
   Pumcha, Flashie and Noctur happily continued with their lives, although the freezing weather made their survival really difficult. None of them have ever experienced this type of cold, no, not this much. It was getting worse every day. It was like a never-ending nightmare.
   It was snowing when Pumcha found a hole in ice covering the lake. Somebody had to be there before him. Since he had not managed to catch a rabbit, he decided to try his luck with fishing. That should be easy, right?
   He stepped on the slippery surface and watched the water. Suddenly, he spotted a big fish. Today is the best day.
   But just when he was about to catch it, he heard a loud crack—the ice broke under his weight, letting him swim with the fish. He screamed and was slapping everything around until he climbed out of the lake and shook the water away. He was shaking—too cold, too cold!
   He completely forgot about his hunger. All he wanted was a warm place and a long life.
   He started running towards his den. The falling snow did not help with the situation, oh no, it made it much worse. His coat had been wet before, he just could not be here for too long!
   He jumped inside, scaring his partner and son.
   "Pumcha!" Flashie shouted. The male mulkagra fell on the ground and stopped moving. She could only see his chest slowly going up and down. "What happened?! Why are you so wet?!"
   Pumcha coughed. "I fell into the lake." He looked around, but his head hit the clay almost right away. He thought the den will be warmer...
   "Hold on!" She dragged him deeper into the hole and sat beside him. "Nocti, come here," she said to her son and he too came to warm his father. "Is it better?"
   "No."
   "Take some sleep, butterfly." She started licking his fur, making the drops go away.
   Pumcha closed his eyes.

A day went by, then two, then three. Pumcha was still coughing and shaking. As much as Flashie wanted to stay by his side, she occasionally had to go out to hunt. Then it was Noctur's job to keep him warm. However, as we can see, nothing seemed to help.
   Flashie was desperate. She knew he can die anytime. But it was nothing she wanted to reconcile with. He was not supposed to die. He was supposed to be with her, raise their child, live his long, long life. She wished there was someone who could help him...
   Someone...
   Daniel.
   She did not wait any longer. She stood up and looked at her family.
   "Ladybug, I'm gonna go out," she said smoothly. Noctur nodded and snuggled closer to Pumcha while she headed to the entrance. "Be good, okay?" He nodded again, laid his head next to his dad's, and closed his eyes.
   Flashie went out and set forth to Daniel's house. Pumcha had showed her where he lives in case something happens. She would never ever thought of going there though. But now it was an emergency. She was convincing herself it has to work—Daniel saved Pumcha once, why could he not save him for a second time?
   When she saw the cabin, she quickened her pace. It was a nice, small house with a much bigger building next to it. It was down in the valley, that meant a way on an abrupt hill for the mulkagra. She ran down, almost rolling.
   She stopped in front of the cottage. Light, wet snow was slowly covering her coat. What now? Should she make a screech? Or a bark? Is he home anyway?
   To her surprise, Daniel himself noticed her through the window. He opened the door and stared at her. He said something, but it sounded like gibberish to her.
   She got frustrated. How is she supposed to tell him about her partner? Was her travelling for nothing?
   Just then she realised—he can understand Pumcha, he must understand every mulkagra then, right? It has to work that way.
   "Pumcha is ill," she said. Daniel's eyes widened with fear. "He fell into the lake. Could you help him?"
   He went back inside immediately. Flashie was startled—where did he go? Could he be scared? Did he really care about his mulkagra friend? Was he not going to help?
   Just then, he reappeared, this time with a jacket, snow boots, hat, and a bag. He locked the door and nodded towards the mulkagra. It was time to go.

Surprisingly for Daniel, their home was not that far from his. Still, he had to be quick. The snow cover was getting bigger and bigger with every minute, thus was not easy to move in.
   Finally, they made it to the den. Flashie entered it first, then let Daniel come closer to the mess. When he saw Pumcha laying there, breathing heavily, he knew instantly something was terribly wrong.
   At first, Noctur woke up. He raised his head and started wagging his tail in excitement. "Daaaaaaah!" he screamed, jumped to the man, and leaned his front paws on his waist.
   "Hello, little one," Daniel said and petted the cub's back. "Nice to meet you again."
   Just then, Pumcha opened his eyes and gasped. "Daniel...?"
   The human let Noctur go to his mother and looked at the father insecurely. "Hi, Pumcha."
   "What are you doing here?" The mulkagra could not force himself to lift up his chin from the ground. "How did you get here?"
   "She brought me here." Daniel nodded towards Pumcha's partner.
   "You shouldn't have come. Go away!"
   "Calm down, fella, I just want to help—"
   "I don't need your help!"
   "But you're sick—"
   "I'm not!" The dark one tried to bite the man but failed miserably. "Go, Daniel, GO!"
   "Hey!" Flashie shouted and growled. Everything went quiet. "Stop this madness, Pumcha!"
   "No, I won't! Throw him away!"
   "Are you genuinely that stupid?!"
   "Wha—"
   "Gaaaaaaaaaaah!" Noctur screamed. Flashie hugged him tightly and licked him a few times.
   "See? Even Noctur can hear you! Stop yelling and let Daniel look at you!"
   "I said I don't need any help!"
   "YOU'RE DYING, PUMCHA."
   Silence again. Pumcha sighed, curled into a ball, and closed his eyes. "I just... don't want to rely on him anymore..." he whispered.
   "Buddy," Daniel smiled and sat next to him, "that's okay. A little help from me won't make you my prisoner." He put out an electronic thermometer and placed it on the mulkagra's head. When it beeped, he looked at it and placed it back to the bag. "How are you still alive?"
   "Am I really dying?"
   "Slowly." He stroked his fur and looked around, realizing, "I didn't bring any medication."
   "That means I'll die?"
   "Yes." He paused. "Unless you stay at my place."
   "What? Daniel, no..."
   "Listen." He made sure the animal is looking in his eyes. "I can let you sleep in the barn. There's a heating and haulm; you'll be warm, well-fed, but still free. I'll just take care of you while you're ill, then you can go wherever you want."
   The mulkagra thought about it. He did not want to die, that was for sure. But leaving his den? Going into the frost again? And what about his family?
   "What about Flashie and Noctur?" he asked.
   "They'll go with us. Someone needs to keep an eye on you if I'm not there."
   "And the cold? I'll freeze until I get there."
   "I'll get my jacket on you. And Noctur can lay on your back or something. Whatever happens, we'll get you there."

Pumcha felt awful. He was shaking, coughing more than before, and overall experiencing the worst hell possible.
   On his right side, Flashie supported his body, preventing it from falling. On the left side, Daniel was making sure his jacket stays on his back as well as sleeping Noctur.
   All four of them were wading in the snow, covered in snowflakes and ice. The path seemed longer than a few minutes ago. But after a while, they finally reached the destination.
   Daniel opened the barn and let the creatures in. After he closed the door, he led them to a pile of haulm. Pumcha laid down, and so did Flashie and Noctur.
   "I'll be right back," the man said and left.
   Flashie snuggled closer to her partner. "How do you feel, butterfly?"
   "Worse."
   "Don't worry, I'm sure Daniel will fix it... He always did, right?" she hoped.
   Pumcha had to agree. "Yes, he did."
   Noctur licked his father's nose and yawned. He was laying before the two, not understanding a thing. What is this place? Why are they here? Why is his dad not responding to his licks?
   When the human got back, he had a bag full of things. Firstly, he threw a huge dead hare in front of Flashie and Noctur. Without waiting, they sailed in it. Daniel meanwhile set a bowl with water nearby and withdrew another bowl, a full jar, a yellow box, and then a striped blanket. He put the cloth over Pumcha's back and kneeled in front of him.
   "What is it?" the mulkagra asked when he saw the man emptying the jar in the bowl, then mixing it with pills from the box.
   "Minced meat, just as you like it. And some meds." He pushed it closer. "You can eat now."
   Pumcha did just that. As much as he loved the feeling of raw, stiff flesh, minced meat was still his favourite dish. It reminded him of his early years spent with Daniel. He could have as much of it as was possible. He would not even know the medication was there.
   When he finished, he could hear the man say, "You can rest, buddy, I'll keep watch." After this statement, he gladly fell asleep.

Flashie appreciated the food. Still, she was not sure she had done the right thing. Pumcha explained to her that Daniel will hide them in a safe place until he's healthy again, but this building did not look safe at all—there were so much pointy things around, and despite it being large, she somehow felt pent-up. This was an unknown place after all. Also, she did not trust the human yet. Well, maybe a little.
   When she noticed her partner being asleep, she instinctively touched his neck in order to feel his fur. But all she felt was a piece of thick cloth. She glanced at the human sitting on the other side and hissed, while he just made a face suggesting it is not a good idea to take the blanket off. She fortunately understood but was not really happy about it. She wanted to gain the warmth of Pumcha's body as always. At last, she hugged her son and accidentally fell asleep. Maybe she somehow knew the man will be awake for the whole night.