The sky was a clear faint purple tint. The larger of the two suns was high in the sky, whereas the smaller one was just clearing the black points of the mountain. The evergreen trees glinted with white snow, now frozen to the tree limbs. Moon Stone could see her breath in the frigid air. The snow under her feet had a thin layer of ice on top so that with each step there was a slight crunching sound right before the snow gave way.

Moon Stone was following a trail of footprints through the evergreen trees that led to a very popular gathering spot for the welps. Noel and Susan had gone on a quick trip to see if they could do a little bit of foraging. But they should have been back.

The closer Moon Stone got to the small meadow the more worried she got. She did not see any tracks leading back to the village. So the two welps had not come back and were still in the meadow. The trees soon thinned then disappeared all together. The meadow looked far different now with it's blanket of white then in the green of spring and summer.

Moon Stone scanned the meadow but she did not see any sign of Noel or Susan. She knew that Noel might be hard to spot but she at least thought that she could see the Yellow Tark'ee.

"Susan! Noel!" Moon Stone called. She listened as hard as she could but there was no sound.

"Susan! Noel!" Moon Stone called louder. Suddenly a yellow Tark'ee head popped up from beneath a tree.

"Moon Stone! Is that you!" Susan shouted. "I am so glad you came. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't leave her here to freeze while I got help."

Moon Stone's blood chilled like the air around her. 'Something did happen.' She rushed toward Susan. Her long sharp claws digging into the snow and leaving long gashes in the white blanket behind her.

When she got to the edge of the tree she peered down into a hole where the tree had protected the ground from the snow. The snow had piled up around the tree creating a pocket. Susan had curled her long body around Noel.

"She tried to climb a tree, I-I told her not to. But you know her. She wouldn't listen to me. She said if she fell the snow would help cushion her if she fell. She was climbing down when her back foot slipped. She hit a branch on her way down and I-I heard a crack. I think she broke her leg. " Susan said tearfully in between hurried breaths.

"It's ok." Moon Stone said gently. She needed to calm Susan down so that she would be able to help when the time came. "You did good. You knew that someone would be along shortly and kept both you and Noel warm.

"I am coming down." Moon Stone warned. Susan tightened around Noel so that she was covering more of her friend.

Moon Stone slipped down the side and landed next to the yellow tark'ee. She dug carefully around the two of the welps so that she could make the room she needed.

"Ok Susan, I need you to unwrap enough so I can see the leg." Moon Stone instructed. Slowly Susan unwound from her friend until her coil was loose enough that Moon Stone could see the leg in question. The leg did look swollen. And if she had to guess it probably was broken but the only way to know for sure was to get Noel to the clinic and get it x rayed. But first Moon Stone needed to stabilize the leg just in case.

In her digging from before she had unburied a broken branch. Moon Stone searched for it.

Finding it she measured and broke the stick into half then she had Susan hold the sticks snugly to Noel's leg while she took out a thin rope that she always carried in her pouch. She wrapped the rope around the leg securing them to Noel's leg.

"That should stabilize it while we get her back." Moon Stone sat back for a minute to figure out her next move. She needed to get Noel out of the hole. Maybe with Susan's help the two of them could lift her out.

"Alright Susan. I need you to climb out of this divett and then wrap your lower part around Noel. I will push her up from down here." Moon Stone instructed.

Susan didn't hesitate. She shimmied out of the hole and then lowered her bottom half and gently wrapped herself around Noel.

It took both of them working hard to finally get her out.

"What's going on?" Noel slurred when they laid her on the cold snow.

"I don't think you're going to climb trees very soon." Susan said to her. Relief in seeing her friend coming out of it.

Noel didn't seem to hear her friend. Her eyes closed and she once again was out.

"I am worried about a concussion too. But first we need to get both of you to the village.

With a lot of help from Susan they got Noel on Moon Stones back. Susan walked next to Moon Stone and helped balance Noel so she would not fall.

It was slow going but they finally made it to the village. The large sun had just set and the smaller one was just going behind the black mountains. Even though it was slightly paler than the larger one it cast enough light.

Moon Stone took Noel immediately to the clinic and for the first time took an x-ray by herself.

As she waited for the film to develop she got both Susan and Noel in a bed covered in warm blankets. Noel started to come around when she started to warm up much to Moon Stones relief.

"Looks like you did break it. But it's a simple break and should not require any surgery. A simple cast to immobilize that leg till the bone heals." Moon Stone told Noel when she had a good look at the film.

She got out the supplies she needed and started the process of casting Noel's leg.

"I get to draw on it first!" Susan said from her own bed.