The Fall

[Poko]

The young ferret?s teeth chattered and her body trembled with the cold. Snowflakes lighted onto her face fur, collecting into a glittery coat that lightened her natural mask. She blinked. Her lashes and whiskers were stiff with tiny bits of ice.

?It feels like my bogies are freezing.? Poko sniffed and clutched the old hedgehog robe tighter around her shoulders, causing the imitation spines to stand up. Gashrock?s costume was not meant to be a coat, but it was the warmest thing Poko could find in her quick search of the actors? cart when the temperature first dropped. Her father gave her a sideways hug, warming her slightly. Her mother shivered on his other side, scowling through squinted eyes at the blizzard. She wrapped a scarf across her muzzle and seized her husband?s other arm. Bunched together it was more difficult to walk but it was warmer, and Poko was happy to see her mother so close to her father, even if only for warmth. Poko knew it was her fault that her parents had argued the other night. Everyone knew. In such a small troupe it was difficult to find privacy.

?You coddle her! That child needs discipline! Why do I always have to be the villain?? Poko remembered her mother?s hard words. Her father had defended her ? like always. Poko specialized in finding trouble, it seemed, and her father was always making excuses for her. Her mother was afraid of being thrown out in the streets again after all her hard work. Pyracantha appeared sympathetic enough, but nothing should be taken for granted. Her father made light of the matter in front of Poko, but she could tell he was concerned as well. Their livelihood depended on the vixen?s favor. They were lucky to be a part of the traveling show at all. Poko credited their fortune largely to her mother?s beautiful dancing ability. She herself had not inherited that enviable grace.
Poko slipped and her father?s supporting arm helped her regain her footing.

?Whoa there!? he chuckled. The mountain road under their feet was becoming icy. Ahead, there was a sudden shriek of alarm as the fancy painted actors? cart began to glide sideways across the snow-coated earth toward the dangerous outward edge. Then it vanished. The actors? cart, along with the strong-armed stoats who pulled it, was gone. The family of ferrets halted, wide-eyed and disbelieving, when a deep rumble and shudder of the earth caused everyone to start shouting in panic. In an instant, the solid ground vanished beneath the group of travelers in a crumbling tumble of dirt, rocks and debris.

Poko felt her stomach rise sickeningly as she plummeted through space, too lost for breath to scream. She felt the crunch as they hit an outcrop. Her body jarred at the impact, and she was sure this would be the last experience of her short life. However, she continued to tumble and roll, pierced by sticks and scraped, battered and gouged by flying rocks until she slammed up against a pile of snow which absorbed the last of her momentum. Poko looked up and shielded her eyes as a mix of dust, snow and trailing pebbles showered down from the cavity in the mountain that used to be a road. A boulder the size of a badger pinwheeled through the air and landed beside her with an awful thud, inches from where her father lay. Panic-stricken, she leapt to her feet, oblivious to the fact that one of her toes was barely attached. Her breath came in quick short gasps as she stumbled around on all fours, staggering at last to the unaffected edge of the forest, several yards from the massive pile of rocks, dirt, and jutting spikes of broken trees. Something warm ran into her eye and she wiped it clear, streaking her fur red. She gawked at the blood on her paw in surprise. Shock and adrenaline numbed her yet to the pain of her many small wounds.

The dust cleared. Poko started thinking more clearly. She ran back to her parents, who were still buried in the rubble. Quaking, she approached the giant rock where she had last seen her father. His body was twisted unnaturally, and he lay in a limp heap like a broken puppet. His eyes bulged and stared blankly, mouth ajar. Snow was beginning to settle on the dull, vacant orbs.  A slow long wail began to arise from deep within the young ferret ? a hauntingly feral howl of grief. She threw herself against the still body of her adored father, clutching at him. He had taken the brunt of their deadly collision with the outcrop. Tears, mixed with drool, snot, and blood dampened the dead ferret?s bright blue cotton jacket.  Poko pressed her face into his chest, wracked with whimpers and sobs. So great was her sorrow that she almost did not hear the moans of her mother emanating from the opposite side of the boulder.

?Mati?? Poko?s voice cracked as she hurried over to the other side of the great rock.

?Poko?my little sprite.? Her mother smiled from her position on the ground, her voice much calmer than it ought to be with a splintered piece of wood the size of an arm sticking through her thigh. The snow around the leg was scarlet and her breaths were coming short. ?Come here.? She reached out, beckoning. Poko approached her mother dumbly, gaping at the bloody spire of wood.

?Oh Mati?? She sunk to her knees and wept bitterly while her mother drew her close, stroking her half-grown daughter affectionately.

?Shh. I?m so glad you?re okay, Poko.?

?I?m sorry ? I?m so sorry, Mati??

?It?s alright. You?ll get through this, my little kit.?

?Papa?s dead. He?s dead, Mati. I?m scared.?

?You?ve got to be smart, my darling ? and strong. Find a safe place ? it?s too cold.?

?I?m not leaving you.? Poko held onto her last surviving parent stubbornly.

?Night is falling?my little sprite.?

?We?ll keep each other warm.? In the dusky fading light, Poko gathered armfuls of pine branches, forming them into a makeshift nest around her mother and herself. She snuggled close, sharing her protective hedgehog robe, but her mother?s body slowly grew cold.