even on a cold fall morning

[[ Note: This event takes place before the flooding rains of Terrastella. ]]

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It was a crisp day, the dew frozen onto the blades of grass in the early morning hours. The swamp loomed quietly in the distance, in the far corner of the endless Susurro fields. The mornings were always pleasant on the field - come summer, however, this haven would eventually turn into a wet meadow with all the rain. Equally as fun to play in, albeit significantly... muddier.

But for now, all the wildlife and inhabitants basked in the chilled dawn hours. In particular, one lone red fox lay curled up and sleeping soundly under a cluster of short trees. As the morning light crested overhead and broke through the small canopy they created, nature dutifully attempted to wake her up.

But even as pleasant of a morning as it was... why couldn't the birds and sun just let her sleep a little longer? was the thought rolling through her dreary mind. There was an unpleasant whine that bubbled from her throat as one eye peeled open, both of her fluffy ears flattened back and nearly disappearing in the thick, plush fur of her neck. She rolled from one side to the other, and tucked her face back under her equally as plush tail, trying to block out the sun for ... just... five more minutes.

But nature, as it often does, wasn't having any of it. A large, chilly gust of wind swept through the small cluster of trees, knocked her tail right off her snout and ruffling her fur in all the wrong ways. The whine that had died off earlier kicked up full force, startling the couple of birds nesting in the trees above, causing them to take flight and flee.

Eventually, Acantha rolled over and peeled both of her eyes open, using her small paws to rub the sleep right out of them. Lithe, limber limbs popped her up with 100% times more energy than she had two seconds ago, her elegant but small body stretching and a yawn tearing from her mouth.

As she surveyed the meadows and wondered what was in store for her today, she saw something in the distance. It was tiny - like her! - and she felt instinctually drawn towards it... and not just in a "curious fox" kind of way. She couldn't really explain the feeling.

But she knew it was important, so she bounded towards the figure in the distance, parting the tall grasses easily and jumping up above them whenever she felt the need to check how much closer she was. The chittering from her maw was nonstop, bright eyes trained on them as she neared. Most others, she knew she couldn't talk to - they hardly understood her, if at all. But this one... somehow she knew they could.

When she was just barely close enough, she called out. Her endless fox yammering translated roughly to something like Hi! I don't know how you can understand me, but I think you can!

Acantha sleeps lazily underneath some trees, whining when the morning light tries to wake her up. She rolls over in an attempt to go back to sleep, only to be disturbed by a chilly gust of wind that insisted she get up. She whines as she does, and surveys the rest of the Susurro fields. Eventually, she sees @Ulysses and feels herself drawn towards his unknown figure in the distance. She bounds through the tall grass (occasionally jumping up before disappearing in the grass once more) towards him. Somehow, she knows that he can understand her, and calls out to him when she's close enough to.

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