Yakone had been curled up in a cozy cave she liked to sleep in when it was cold and wet... When she had fallen asleep, it had been sleeting and wet out, and she hated sleet or freezing rain. When she woke, she had sighed, noting it was still dark out by the entrance of the cave. She moved further into the depths of the cave, and curled up. It was the turning of the year, and she wanted to be outside, enjoying the feeling of a new and cheerful outlook on the year to come, the feeling that nothing had gone wrong yet, no one had said anything horrible or evil yet (at least in her presence) and there was so much potential for what could come, what could happen and what she might still do.
A dark and cold, wet day was not the way she had hoped to spend the first day of the new year. She sighed and closed her eyes again, drifting back off to sleep. She did not know how long her nap lasted, but what she did know was that what woke her up was the feeling of warmth on her side, and the not entirely comfortable feeling of light flooding her eyes through her lids. She slowly lifted her head up, eyes blinking slowly open, but into a squint because of the brightness. She did not want to cause damage to her eyes after all. After her eyes adjusted to it, she shook her head a little, a hint of delight filling her eyes, because she saw SNOW, fresh, newly laid snow, and sunshine reflecting off it was what had warmed her and flooded the cave.
After staring outside for a long minute of excitement, she heaved herself to her feet and trotted out into the light, her tail lashing back and forth in her happiness. This, this was what she had wanted! A beautiful sunny day, snow to bound through, and the feeling of newness and excitement that she always looked for to start out the year. She stood just outside the entrance of the cave, stretching her neck up towards the sunlight, as she wiggled happily, gazing out, and planning where she was going to go, what she was going to do today.
Finally, she began to trot through an area where the snow was thinner, letting herself warm up her muscles before she really got moving. Her tail was flagged, her head was held high, and she was heading towards a nearby stream she knew of, one where a hot spring overflowed into cooler snowmelt, creating a warm, easy to drink flow at this time of year. It might taste kind of mineral-y, but it felt nice on her belly, and it did not make her feel sick to drink it, nor did it hurt because of it being overly cold. She made a few happy sounds as she came around a curve, and spotted the stream's edge. She moved to kneel beside it, and drank, before stretching once more... And turning towards a bunch of large snowdrifts. She shifted, wiggled in place... And then took off at high speed, bounding through the drifts, laughing in delight.
This was how to start a new year! Having fun, and just planning out her goals and hopes for the year. And running, playing like this, it was helping her think about the things she wanted to do. She always was best at coming up with ideas when having fun like this. She might not be able to do a massive amount of planning like this, but she could start the ideas running and working their way through her brain, and let her pick and choose the ones she wanted to keep, and focus on.
This was her tradition, really... Having a playful, fun day that set her mind in the right place for the year, and let her have all of the chance she wanted to get her dreams all set up.
After half an hour or so of running and having just the best time, she slowed down, moving with care to let her muscles cool off without freezing up. She had come up with a bunch of ideas for the year. Now it was time to walk and relax, and plan for them. She was thinking she would make sure to visit her loves, spend more time with them... Maybe it was time to think of having her first child or children. She had waited, and she certainly was not going to get any younger... She would have to discuss these things with her dearests, and decide from there.
This was going to be an excellent year, she was sure of it!
