[Comm] A Blizzard is Coming

Rylrith let out a low groan as the older vayron slowly woke up. Faint mid-morning light shone down through the thin curtains that covered the window to his cabin, lining up perfectly to shine directly across the angora puller's eyelids. Slowly and groggily he sat up and blinked the sleep away, before standing up and bowing into a deep stretch. The interior of his cabin was quaint and sparse, barely decorated with more than the basic practical tools and necessities required to be self-sufficient in the middle of nowhere. A few souvenirs from proud days that had long since passed were also hung over the head of his bed. With a massive yawn Rylrith clambered his way out of his cozy bed and over to his kitchen cupboards. The red puller had made sure to stock up on his favorite snacks and cooking ingredients ahead of the large blizzard that was predicted to pass through the area so his kitchen was well stocked for him to make whatever confection he happened to be  in the mood for.

As the old vayron boredly stared at the rows of spice jars and vegetables he frowned as nothing really fit his fancy. With a sigh he settled to make himself a warm cup of tea, thinking that if he waited a little while something might entice him to cook. As he set the kettle to boil Rylrith turned toward the kitchen window and stared through the well worn and slightly dirty glass that had a fine crust of frost forming around its edges. The snow was still lightly falling outside, and he could still see the faint outline of the dirt path his paws and worn into the forest floor. Surrounding his home was nothing but snow and ice covered trees for miles. The little cabin he called home had once been nothing more than an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere but after some repairs, Rylrith had managed to turn it into a comfortable enough place to live. As he continued to wait for his pot to boil, the puller added a few more logs to his fireplace as the ambient temperature of the cabin was starting to feel a little cooler than he would like.

He sat back and just listened to the crackle of the flame as his fireplace steadily warmed his home. Before long his kettle began to whistle as the water inside finally reached the point of boiling. He quickly poured out the boiling water into a small clay pot and placed a small strainer across the top filled with tea leaves. The hot water within the pot filled the strainer while keeping the dry leaves from spreading throughout the pot, allowing the tea to steep without making a mess of his drink. Rylrith set a lid on top of the pot and sat back in his favorite chair before pulling out a small book which he was about half way finished reading. It was a small historical piece on the 5th age, it wasn't anything fancy, just a small tome chronicling the major events that happened on the continent of Roenden in that period. Rylrith enjoyed learning about such things, he often thought about the actions his homelands leaders took throughout history and compares them to his own experiences he had during his youth. Some occurrences hit far too close to home and he found reading about those events to be a small challenge. At the same time it almost felt as if reading what happened to those ancient leaders helped him cope with his own traumas, after all most of them were able to rise far above the fires they had found themselves thrown in.

The older vayron enjoyed a leisurely morning reading his book and enjoying his tea. He did eventually decide to munch on some jerky that he had dried the previous day, since nothing seemed to catch his interest and at this rate he would end up not eating anything. After a few hours Rylrith set his book down and rubbed his tired eyes. He glanced out the window once more and was mildly surprised to see that the snow had stopped. The snow blanketed landscape beyond the window was overcast in a thick gray haze as the storm clouds of the blizzard gathered overhead. The coming storm would surely be a doozy but at the moment everything was eerily calm. The puller glanced at the pile of firewood he had inside and after a little musing decided that it would be better to bring in an extra stack just in case the blizzard prevented him from coming outside. The red puller donned some thick pelts fashioned into an overcoat and pushed his front door open. A wall of cold air rushed over him as he emerged from the cozy warmth of his cabin and stepped out into a deep embankment of snow. The thick layer of snow outside had fully buried the path beyond his door and it was impossible to see the difference between the well worn path and the untamed forest floor around his cabin. 

He surveyed the exterior of his cabin and decided it would be a good idea to complete a few chores in order to keep himself safe during the coming storm.  A thick layer of snow had already accumulated on the cabin's roof. While he knew the supports were sturdy it was questionable whether they could handle multiple feet of snow and ice. Rylrith quickly grabbed a long pole he kept propped against the side of his cabin and quickly got to work poking and prodding the snow on the roof. Slowly but surely the thick caking of snow cracked and slid off the wood shingled roof in large slabs, tumbling off the side of the building and forming small mounds around the building. Once the roof was free and clear of the snow once more he turned his attention to the main path in front of the cabin. It would be dangerous if the path got completely buried and ended up blocking his door so the red puller quickly grabbed a large shovel from his meager set of farming tools and got to work shoveling out a new path. It was tiring, back breaking work and when he was about half way through shoveling the snow away from his door it began to snow again. Large flakes quickly fluttered down silently around Rylrith as he toiled. The snow was coming down significantly faster than it had earlier. The only reason why he didn't give up on his task was that the wind wasn't blowing yet, indicating he still had some time before the blizzard really kicked in.

Eventually the path was mostly clear of snow. There was no way for him to keep it completely clear as the rapidly falling snow was already starting to accumulate on the freshly uncovered mud of the path but hopefully this would help with the upcoming build up. With the two main tasks handled Rylrith finally turned his attention to the task that had drawn him outside in the first place, bringing in some more firewood. Off to the side of his cabin was a small separate overhang that housed a sizable wood pile. Wood that the puller had spent many hours chopping and painstakingly stacking for future use sat ready and waiting for him to claim them once more. As he quickly made his way over, the distinctive ominous moan of high winds whistled through the frozen trees. The blizzard was finally here and it was time to get back inside before the real whiteout started. Rylrith quickly collected a large stack of firewood and hauled it back inside. Compared to the frigid conditions outside, the almost uncomfortably warm interior made his cold nose hurt as he returned and shed the thick pelt coat. He set it up to dry in the corner after beating the large chunks of ice clinging to its bottom. As he set the pile of wood up and off to the side of the fireplace to dry, he glanced outside the window once more to see nothing but darkness as the thick clouds of the blizzard finally blocked out every ray of sunlight. It was going to be a long time until he saw the sun once more.