As the cold seasons arrival grew nearer, it's howl stripping the trees bare as the frozen winds cut through the stale air, animals of all kinds began to seek shelter. While larger creatures were able to migrate, some even able to sleep off the deadly weather, other smaller creatures were not able to leave the frozen demesne the coldest of natures wraths ruled. Some, also faced the worst.
"Oh, Krim... The kids are coming down with something... Andrew hasn't moved from where he's laid down for over a day now... What are we doing to do?"
Jennefer was seated by Andrew, one of her small paws gently stroking over his ear. Of course, the small, child mouse turned to his mother to smile, though the small sparkle of life that once beamed in his eyes was dimmed by the frozen air itself.
Going to comfort his wife, Krim rested a paw on Jennefer's shoulder. "They'll be ok... They're strong... Fetcher's have always been strong and... and I have no doubt they'll be ok. Especially young Andy... He's the toughest of them all! Ben will do just fine too..."
As she gave a soft smile, Jennefer nodded her head. "Yes, of course... Then Anita, she'll do just wonderful... She's as tough as any one of the boys... and.. and Zen, he'll... he'll..."
Slowly, her voice began to fade as she looked over at Zen. Zen was the youngest of the litter, but also the runt. His fur was normally brown, but the season's toll claimed more than just the mouselings energy as now, his fur appeared to be gray as well.
Jennefer's voice was soft now, the mouse slowly making her way to Zen. "He's... always had a weak heart, Krim... He... he looks terrible... What... are we going to do? Zen certainly won't last long... and... what about the others?"
As he gave a quick stretch, Krim let out a soft sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Jennefer... I just don't know..."
A quick silence fell over the dead air, air so cold the emotions of the two mice seemed to be swallowed into nothing. Finally, Krim managed to break the silence, as he went to curl up to rest.
"At least Cho managed to get away from this sickness. He'll be fine. I'm also sure he's strong enough to make it on his own."
Of course, Jennefer once again, nodded her head as her mind found an escape from the troubles that now encased her. "Of course... Cho is the strongest of our children... He... he was our very first too... much older than our current young ones... He'll be fine... I.. er... O.. ouc... Ooof!"
Before she could finish, he paws slowly moved to press against her lower stomach... A quick fear shot through he as she looked up at Krim, then let out a soft sigh. "I... I must have eaten something bad... My stomach has been very upset as of late and... I... I'm sorry..."
"Your stomach has been upset for quite some time now... Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes... please, just get some rest. I just need... need some fresh air..."
Having no energy to argue, Krim gave a soft nod before resting his head on the gathered grass and twigs they used for the nest. As for Jennefer, she made her way out of the burrow, only to find a spine chilling wind ushering her towards the south.
Fighting against the wind, she traveled. As it guided by some unknown light, she walked an invisible path through the gusts of frigidness. As she continued to walk, she soon came across a path.
"Jennefer, my God.. You shouldn't be out in this weather! Please... here... Come with me... I'll warm you up in a jiffy.."
As if appearing out of no where, a male mouse, fur whiter than the small traces of snow left from a previous blizzard, approached Jennefer and took her paw in his. Instead of refusing this paw though, Jennefer's paw grasped back as she followed...
As the mouse lead Jennefer to a colony of sorts, she couldn't help but notice his clothing. Soon, scampering up the steps of this large colony, the two mice stopped and Jennefer slowly felt into the arms of the white mouse.
"Oh Henry... I... I'm so glad to see you... This weather it's... it's... so cold it's go-..."
"Oh Jennefer, I know... We haven't see cold weathers like this in years! Please tell me you won't go out there like that again..."
Looking at Henry, she placed a paw to his muzzle, shaking her head. "No, listen... The kids... They're sick... I don't know what to do, but I have to do something... I know about how the colony mice here wear clothes and I need some cloth for them.. Also, It's... it's almost time.. Any day now, it's... it's going to happen..."
Henry felt overwhelmed. He simply looked at Jennefer in disbelief until he finally managed to gather his thoughts. "Cloth? That's... that's no problem, not at all... It's... it's time though? Our child? Sirus is going to be here?"
Jennefer slowly let her paw fall from Henry's muzzle as she leaned forward into his welcoming arms. "Yes... What are we going to do? I just... I'm worried, Henry..."
As he embraced the mouse, he simply stared in disbelief. "Well, it's ok.. Things will work out for the best, just... don't worry..."
As much as she wished, those words were not calming. Jennefer shook her head as he voice was soft. "Henry... Krim is catching on... I think... he's going to find out soon. We have to make a decision by tomorrow... Ok? What are we going to do? I... I don't want to be with Krim... but I can't just leave the kids. They'll die with out me there... and... they're not healthy enough to make it through this weather. Unless I can get them healthy enough to travel, I don't know what to do..."
"Don't worry... Tomorrow at night then... here's what we'll do... It will be simple, ok? I'll come down with some extra blankets and move the kids. They won't even have to move an inch. I'll take care of moving them. Ok?" Pressing his muzzle against Jennefer's, he smiled and gave her a tight hug.
Hugging back, Jennefer let out a soft sigh of joy. Finally, things were going to work out... "Yes... that is ok... It's just perfect, actually... OH, uh... I should be getting back... I... wouldn't be asking to much if you could run and get that cloth real quick?"
Smiling just a moment more before giving a soft kiss on Jennefer's nose, Henry smiled. "That wouldn't be much to ask for at all, mam." Sure enough, Henry had darted off and in a matter of moments, returned with four blankets. "Here, these should work just fine. Bundle them up nice and I think they'll be just fine... Be safe, Jennefer..."
After taking the blankets and nodding her head, she made little time saying goodbye, darting down the stairs to the colony as she made her way back home. The way home was much easier than the way to the colony, for the north winds were now working with Jennefer, rather than against.
Once she was home, she quietly made her way into the burrow and quickly went to the kids. First, she bundled up Andrew, then Ben, then Anita before finally reaching Zen. She didn't like to say she favored any of her children, but she still couldn't deny that Zen had a special place in her heart. He was the runt, the weakling of all the others, but he had such a great heart...
Placing her paw on his forehead, she felt the mouse's cold body... A brief moment of fear flowed through her as she quickly assumed the mouse had passed, but she let out a sigh of relief once the mouse turned to look at her. She was so happy to see he was still alive, but his eyes showed little promise.
As she wrapped him up, she leaned against a wall for a moment, cradling the ill child as tears strolled from her cheeks...
"Don't worry... Things will be better... You'll be strong and healthy in no time..."
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As morning rolled around, Jennefer woke to find the air was even colder. It didn't seem possible that the weather could have been any more cruel, but yet, it was expected. Snow was slowly starting to accumulate on the the ground as large snow flakes danced about in the sky, the wind kicking them about. Of course, the mice were safe in their burrow, but for how long?
Going to nurse her children, Jennefer stretched and slowly moved over to where the kids were laying, finding Krim already up and awake. He was moving towards the entrance before turning back to check on the kids, making sure no cold draft was blowing on them.
To her surprise, Jennefer found that once again, Andrew was not willing to feed. For some reason, he refused. Whatever illness the kids had seemed to be effecting their stomachs for not only did Andrew refuse, the others refused as well! Zen and Anita tried, but had whined and curled up, their stomachs irritated.
Letting the kids rest in their new blankets, Jennefer went to talk to Krim, more concerned than ever. "Krim... what are we going to do? They won't even eat anymore... During the cold season, especially this one, they need to be feeding and growing."
"I know... I just don't know what to do. H... how long can they last? If they get much worse..." Krim's face showed he was upset, but he quickly tried to move past the thoughts of what could be. "What... are those materials you wrapped them up in? It looks like colored cotton. Where did you get them?"
Jennefer felt a slight uneasiness creep through her, but she remained calm... "Oh, I found them... They were just laying around, so I took them... There was a large one I saw that I was going to go back for today... I felt... we might be able to help them a bit more."
Krim nodded his head, though in his heart, he was not pleased. "I see... Would you mind if I came along and gathered this cloth with you?"
"Oh no, Krim... Someone must watch the kids... If... anything were to happen while we were away.."
Feeling a bit defeated, Krim nodded his head and sighed. "I'm... worried, Jennefer... Are you happy with me? I... I know, only five of our kids have lived between three litters, but... do you really think it's me?"
Taken by surprise, Jennefer shook her head and moved to Krim to comfort him. "No, no... Oh Krim, I'd never be any happier with any other mouse... You make me the happiest... And no, it's not you... It... could have been an illness.." In her heart, she felt ashamed that she had to lie to her mate... She wasn't happy with him, and the fact that none of the children she gave birth to lived only strengthened her unhappiness.
Unable to see through her lies though, Krim smiled and hugged Jennefer tightly. "Thank you Jennefer... That cloth now, you... you had better go and get it while it's not too packed with snow."
"Of course dear.. You're welcome..." Getting to her feet, she gently pressed her nose against Krim's before she turned off for the entrance of the burrow and left. Once outside, a sickness struck her. She hated lieing to Krim, but... what other choice did she have?
Unsure of where to go, she decided to pay Henry another visit at the colony. Sometimes, she would travel to the other colony that consisted of purely mice, but she found Henry for the most part would stay at the one rats also inhabited. It was also much easier to find, considering the large stairs leading up to it's entrance.
As she traveled north against the wind, she found herself short of breath, the wind stealing what little air she could breath away from her... The stairs, they were in view, but they felt so far away... Her strength was also starting to leave her for some reason... Before she knew it, she was resting flat on her back in the snow!
Feeling an odd, numbing pain running through her, she looked around as she tried to grasp hold of what was going on, but couldn't figure it out! That pain grew more and more, the mouse slowly starting to rest her paws on her lower stomach as she realized... The pain, the rhythmic, growing pain she was feeling, was the baby...
Trying to remain calm, Jennefer breathed deeply, squeaking as she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth... The pain and contractions continued to grow stronger as she realized just how much of a bad situation she was in. She was... weak. For some reason, her body was loosing strength... Moments after endless moments went by as Jennefer struggled between birthing and staying conscience, and her efforts paid off...
Not before too long, she was holding a baby boy mouse in her arms, trying to keep the cold from harming him. Oh, he was such a beautiful child... In fact, he... appeared to look just like how her young Zen looked when he was born. Although she was so happy to have had her child, she couldn't remain awake anymore...
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As the world slowly started to form in her vision, Jennefer woke to find herself bundled up warmly in a group of blankets along side a small fire. Henry was of of course, tending to her while over the fire was a small pot.
Reaching for the pot, Henry quickly poured some into a small cup and raised it to Jennefer's lips to drink. "Here... Drink this... You won't feel any pain at all once this kicks in, Jennefer... I'm, sorry to say you'll need it... We have to move fast."
Finding she had a bit more strength than she though, Jennefer sat up after sipping on the solution Henry had made. "Wh... what... happened? Uh, the child! Sirus! Where's our ch..."
As she looked around for her newborn son, she found he was safely tucked into the bundle of blankets. He was sleeping away calmly in his mother's loving arms. With a sigh of relief, she turned back to Henry with a look of concern. "Wh... what do you mean?"
Henry waited a moment, then sighed. "With our child now born, we can't keep seeing each other like this.. We have to both move in together. We need to get your kids out and into the colony as soon as possible... I'd go for them, but... How could I get around Krim? There's no way that could work..."
Listening, Jennefer found herself starting to panic. The kids, Krim, they would surely be concerned of where she's been by now! The sky was already getting dark, dark enough that with in an hour, predators could appear making the moving of her kids even more dangerous. The only thing keeping her sane though, was the sound of Henry's voice.
"Here's what we'll do... As soon as you can... and I mean the second you feel up to it, you must go get your children and bring them here... I honestly wish I could help, but a close encounter with Krim would be bad. Anyways, once that is done, we can both get the kids to the colony. As for Sirus, I will take him a well trusted nurse to be cared for while all this happens... so we must act quickly... When the kids are all better and this is all over, we'll move to the mouse colony... It should be safer there.."
With a nod, Jennefer slowly rose to her feet, Henry even a bit surprised at her boldness. Taking one last sip of the medication Henry had made, Jennefer slowly handed Sirus to Henry, keeping him bundled warmly. "Ok... I need to be going then... I... I'll have just enough energy to get the kids here and safe, but... then I'll need to rest..."
Taking up the small mouse in his arms, Henry nodded and leaned forward to quickly steal a kiss from his soon-to-be mate. "I'll move as fast as I can... See you soon, Jenny... Be safe..."
With that, Henry turned and quickly darted out of sight, blending in amongst the last of the vegetation left over from the warmer seasons. Now along, Jennefer started to make her way back to her home, leaving the fire alone so that she knew where to go. As she paced, she felt an odd sensation around her. Everything was quiet, not even a small breeze blew through the air... This sent a slight chill through her spine.
With home in sight, Jennefer picked up her pace a bit more, but stopped once she got to the burrow's entrance. Krim was standing in front of her now, blocking the way in with his eyes full of tears...
"They... they didn't make it, Jennefer... Andrew... B-Ben... Anita... they... they didn't make it. Zen, he's... he's still alive, but... he's so weak... I'm doing everything I can to save him but... Where.... where were you? Why did you leave?"
As Jennefer listened to Krim, her heart sank as she felt everything fade away from her. Her children were dead? No, it couldn't be... They can't be... but as she pushed her way inside to look, she found herself horrified. They were. Zen was resting where Krim normally slept, all the blankets around piled on top of him to try and keep him warm.
Krim went to try and comfort Jennefer, but stopped as he picked up Jennefer's scent. As his eyes widened, what was initially going to be a gentle paw resting on her shoulder turned into a violent jerk, forcing her to face him. "You... gave birth... You gave birth?!? I can smell it! You gave birth to another's child? How... how dare you! Wh... why did you do it?!?"
Now curled up on the ground, Jennefer whined and sobbed as she was overwhelmed yet again with emotion and pain. "I'm so sorry Krim! Please! I... I just... wanted a better life! Y-your... seed wasn't... I... The kids we have had, they... they kept dieing and... you never cared as long as the one you favored lived! They were just trophies to you!"
Krim was shocked... Was his mind playing tricks on him? Did his own mate really just tell him this?!? Jerking two paws forward at Jennefer, he lifted her off the ground by her neck, his mind clouded with his own rage as he shoved her against the wall.
"You think what?!? Can't you see I'm fighting to save my only son? I loved every one of my damn kids and you come here to tell me I don't give a shit about any of them?!? I... I just... lost all of them... all of them but one I'm still trying to save... and you have the nerve to say I don't love my kids?"
Jennefer squeaked out as she was grabbed and thrown against the wall, quickly slouching over as she gripped her stomach in pain. A sense of fear like none other arose through out her as she looked up at Krim. Although she was afraid, another feeling quickly poisoned her mind, tearing at her stomach and insides almost more than Krim was lashing out at her...
She felt guilt...
She realized she had Krim all wrong... He wasn't a bad father, no... How could she have done this to him? How could she have been so blind and selfish? The feeling of guilt quickly spread into shame as she stood there, cowering in fear of the one who once loved her... and the one she once loved. She was nothing but speechless.
Krim's anger quickly grew as his eyes flooded with tears. Shoving Jennefer aside in a large display of power, he made his way to Zen, tearing the blankets off of him as he picked him up by the scruff.
"Well, fine... Then this is it... You go have your nice, perfect life with your other family... but this ends here..."
Yet again curled up on the floor, Jennefer could only watch in horror as Krim neared Zen... but then when he held the mere child by the scruff, her mind could no longer think... "K... Krim?!? Wh... what are you doing?!? No.. p-put... put him down, please! I... Krim! Oh God, please! A... Anything but Zen! I..."
Zen's eyes were wide open, looking back and forth around the room as he cried and sobbed... The sense of fear was screaming through his mind as he found the battle for his own life not in his own hands anymore, but his father's. Krim held Zen close to his chest as he cradled him, slowly managing to calm him.
"Don't worry... I... I'll make... sure to do it quick a.. and painless.." Turning to Jennefer, he narrowed his eyes as he made his way towards the burrow entrance. "He's... been suffering all this time... while you were out trying to find some perfect life... Well... maybe... he'd be better off dead... At least he wouldn't suffer..."
Jennefer struggled to her feet, ignoring the pains she felt as she followed after Krim on all fours. "Krim! Wait.. I... I... Take me! Kill me, just... let him be, please! I... I..."
As he left, he turned back around and glared at his ex-mate. "It's not about you, Jennefer! If I kill you, what good will that do for our son? What if he dies anyways? He'll either suffer with out you or he'll die... Besides... I don't think you know what it's like... to be holding your child and watch them pass... I don't think you know what I went through while you were off in paradise!"
Jennefer fell silent as slowly, she found herself growing faint. The pains she felt were there, but... she no longer could feel. She could hardly even hear. As if the world was slowing to a stop and everything was shutting down, Jennefer's mind could no longer handle the pressure she was feeling. In a burst of tears, she darted to grab her child, managing to at least strip him from Krim's paws, but she herself could not escape with Zen...
Krim started mercilessly attacking Jennefer, teeth and claw tearing into flesh and striking against her! Jennefer could hardly defend herself as she found the snow around them turning red with her own blood! Moments of the attack seemed to last more than hours... The only thing Jennefer could do was beg Krim to stop... but by the time he did... it was too late.
Now leaving his dieing wife, Krim went to search for Zen... but found he was no where in sight. Saying his last words to his wife in a sad, almost frightened voice, Krim went to find Zen...
"I... I loved you... and our kids... You WERE my paradise... but... it's... it's all over now..."
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As Jennefer lay in a growing pool of blood, her eyes slowly started to close... but they wouldn't remain closed. She didn't want to die this way... She wanted to die at peace, not... whatever it was she was now buried in. As her breathing grew faint and her vision grew less, she realized someone was pushing at her cheek.
Thinking it was Henry, she didn't know what to do. Tears started to flood her eyes as her breathing picked up more, but a soft, high-pitched squeak silenced her as a tiny paw brushed away one of her tears.
"M-mo... mom? I... l... love... you..."
With that, the small mouse beside her darted away. Although Jennefer could hardly see anything around her, she was able to catch a quick glance of her son, running away. Although she was sad everything came down to this... although she was tortured with never being able to see her three sons, Cho, Zen and Sirus, seeing Zen in her last moment relieved her mind... Zen, the weakest mouse of all of her children, survived... He would make it...
As a soft smile spread across her face, Jennefer closed her eyes...
"I love you, Zen..."
As she took her last breath, she opened her eyes one last time. The world was beautiful... Snow was falling from the sky slowly as the sun slowly set off in the distance... Such a beautiful world... but her eyes were now shut... Those blue orbs never to see the world again...
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Epilogue
Henry eventually found Jennefer and her kid's, his heart shattered at his discovery. Finding Zen was not with them, he prayed that the young mouse was alive, though he had his doubts. To honor Jennefer, he gave Sirus the middle name Xin. He remembered how Jennefer favored Zen and wanted him to live on. He felt it was the least he could do for her before moving to the mouse colony.
Sirus eventually grew to become an intelligent mouse in the mouse colony, creating machines to help better the lives of everyone there. Having been told about his missing half brother and mother, he has high hopes that his half brother is still alive and someday wishes to return home to search for him.
Zen managed to live on his own from the time he ran away up until the time he was more mature. He married Terri, a mouse from the rat colony he often resided. He had three healthy children with her that he raised happily. In honor of his mother's sacrifice for him, he started to search for blue objects. The one thing of his mother's appearance he could remember was her blue eyes.
Krim was never heard from again. It was rumored that he was washed away with a flood or that he had committed suicide, but no one could say for sure what had happened to him.