Come home, snowy boy

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch

Your feet sound as you walk through the snow back to your cabin. It's been a long and cold winter-- snow and ice piling ever so high. The wind whips your face as you make your way home, you sniffle and wipe your face with a mitted hand, your breath preceeding you as you hurry past the snowy pines and snow drifts. You're carrying a basket full of firewood on your back and have a satchel full of nuts and berries at your hip, acompanying an insulated waterskin. You sigh, footseps ever crunching.

As you walk down the winding, snow laden path, you hear rustling and what sounds like shifting snow. A small black pony appears out of the brush, stepping onto the walkway, hooves clacking on the freshly fallen flakes. It's facing away from you as it shakes frost off its back, snorting.

Click, click, click, click. Whistle.

You call out, hoping the wind doesnt interfere. The pony flicks its ears and turns its head towards you, acknowledging your presence-- it has striking blue eyes that enrapture you. It seems friendly and turns towards you inquisitively. You smile and reach your right hand towards your side, pulling out some berries to offer it. Slowly, you walk towards the pony, palm outstretched, berries at the ready. The pony mirrors you and starts curiously walking towards you, a little nicker escaping it's lips. Once it sees your hand, it picks up pace and trots gently over to you.

It sniffs your outstretched hand and nibbles at your palm in delight. "That's it," you smile as you bring your left hand up to scratch the pony's forehead. "You like berries, huh?" The pony nuzzles your hand, ushering you for more, eliciting a lighthearted laugh from your chest. Your left hand maneuvers to hold the pony's head gently under the cheek as you finger a couple more berries from your waning supply.  "Looks like I'm all out," you say as you feed the pony the remaining few berries. It snorts at you and it's eyes gleam expectantly as it chews away on its prize. You softly scratch the pony's cheek before nodding towards the smoke wafting in the distance. "Why dont you come home with me? The more the merrier and there's all the berries you could ever want!" you exclaim. The pony nods in excitement as you walk past it to show him the way. 

Your face feels heavy and rigid because of the cold; you pull your scarf up to cover your nose. The little black pony's at your side, gingerly following along as you make your way the final stretch back home.

The log cabin looms out of the snow, frosty and weatherworn, but it's home. The smoke from your earlier fire billows in the increasing gales. Once you reach the door, you set the basket of wood down, freeing your aching shoulders from its burden. The pony steps up behind you, nuzzling your back. You let out a gentle laugh and turn to face him and scratch his forehead sweetly. "Don't worry, I'll get the berries you," you lilt as you let go of his face and walk to the back of the house to enter the kitchen-- the pony no more than one stride behind you at all times. 

"Here you are!" you exclaim, excitedly grabbing a bowl of berries you has saved to make jam and fruit tarts from. The pony nickers and lets out an excited snort as you return to him, bowl in hand. Without a second to waste the pony munches away at the fruit, nearly knocking the bowl from your grip. A few berries spill out and onto the snowy earth.  You adjust your grip so the bowl has less chance of slipping. 

Once the pony's finished licking the bowl clean, you set it down and sit on the stoop by the door to the kitchen. The silly black pony picks at the remaining scraps on the ground in front of you as you admire it. "What should we call you, hmm?" you inquire. The pony twitches it's ears towards you, but busies itself with the berry laced snow on the ground-- no morsel must be left uneated. "Manny?" you ask quizzically, but receive no response, not even an ear twitch or snort. "Cedar?" you ask agani, but to no avail. "OH! How 'bout Mamekan!" The pony's ears swivvel towards you and it pick its head up, finally acknowledging you. You let out a lighthearted laugh and smile before booping the pony's snoot, "Hehe, Mamekan it is!"