Home Sweet Home, Where The Buffalo Roam

It was a cold winter night in the middle of December, the snow was flurrying and the pine trees were rustling with the wind. Oh, how the wind wistled and slapped you in the face as you walked along the frozen, ice trodden path, snow crunching under feet.

One step at a time you walked back to your cabin after foraging all day. You meant to head back earlier but it had snowed too much the day before and all the berries and vegetation were covered-- lots of digging and hunting. Fresh powder falls around you, whisping and settling onto your hood and shoulders, peppering your skin with little white kisses before melting from your warmth. You hold your basket in your left hand, a yellowed, illuminating lantern in your right, guiding your path home.

You can see the smoke from your chimney billowing in the distance and the light from your windows shine through the flakes that drift across your vision. I better check on the horses before I head inside to make sure they have enough hay and bedding for the night. You think to yourself, letting out a puff of warm air, like steam in the night.

You approach the cabin and walk around back to the door and shovel a handful of forest berries into your pocket after setting your basket down. Mamekan and Ranch will like these. You smile to yourself, and lantern in hand you trudge along the path you carved into the snow that leads towards the barn.

Upon reaching the barn doors, you grip one of the hefty, old wooden doors and slide it open. It creaks at your touch, catching in some ice before sliding along the tract and opening up just enough for you to slip inside. You close the door behind you to limit the draft as the wind continues to pick up outside, sending flurries towards any open crevice. A puff of flakes enters the barn just before the door clicks shut with another creak and settles.

Mamekan and Ranch whinny at your entry and walk towards their stall fronts awaiting the treats you bring. "How are you boys?" you ask as you fish the thawing berries out of your pocket and hand them over to the greedy little ponies. Ranch takes a mouth full and nudges your hand, spilling some of the berries to the ground. He huffs at his silliness and bends down to pick up his droppings while Mamekan sneaks the rest of the berries from your outsretched palm. You scratch him on the forehead while he munches away and sigh, letting some of the tension of today out of your shoulders after seeing your ponies.

You pull your hand from Mamekan and set your lanter in front of their stalls before walking over towards the hay stacks and grabbing a few flakes for each of the boys. You toss 3 large flakes to Mamekan and 3 more to Ranch, then head into their stalls to pick soiled bedding into the corner and check their waterers to see if they've frozen over. Luckily, the last time you went int town you managed to get heating installed in their buckets so their water remained mostly un-frozen minus the top layer. You break the ice and discard it outside the stalls and finish cleaning before replenishing the bedding, adding an extra bag of shavings to each stall and fluffing it up.

"Goodnight boys!" you chime before gatherin your lantern and heading back towards the house. Once again, the barn door creaks upon opening and spits some snow into your face. You laugh and wipe it off before slipping out the door and closing it tightly behind you so the draft doesnt carry into the stalls and chill the horses.

Trudging back to the house, you shivver at the brisk night air and piercing wind. You're probably going to have to shove tomorow at this rate...

You reach the back door and unlock it before picking the basket of berries and veg up and heading inside. It's warm and the chill of the wind melts from your bones as the fire crackles and warmth seeps back into your body. You set the basket on the counter before removing your garments, careful not to pile too much snow onto the kitchen floor.

You settle in at the sink and wash the spoils of your foraging journey while reminiscing of the time you adopted ranch--

A pale blur floated past the same kitchen window you were standing at now. Startled and confused, you walked outside to see what it was. Before you was a pale, snow colored pony with beautiful blue eyes the color of the sky. Its mouth, stuffed full of the fruit you had just brought back from town. Quietly, as to not scare the creature, you slip around it to try and gauge its friendliness. It hears you and looks up, juice dripping off its chin-- it snorts, its ears up, inquisitive, not scared. It takes a cautious step towards you and extends its nose to meet your now outstretched hand and presses its nose to you. You scratch its muzzle. And thats how you ended up with Ranch.