Chapter 1

My Mistake

Eddie lay on the powdery white cushion of a snowdrift next to one of the glacial walls of the valley in which he and his family lived gazing eagerly into the river of tiny glimmering white specks that populated the late evening sky. Finally a clear night, free of the obscuring white mass of cloud that for the past several months had completely denied he and his brother any clear view of the stars above.

"Geez it's quiet," said Crash, as he too lay in the snow drift, a few feet away from Eddie, "When's it gonna happen again?"

"Mom just said it would happen some time tonight," Eddie answered.

"And you believe her?" asked Crash.

"I guess."

"How'd she find out again?"

"She said the vultures told her."

"You believe them?"

"They told everyone else the same thing."

"Sure they just didn't wanna bring everyone out into the open so they could count 'em again."

"Why'd they do that again?"

"Like I know, they're just freaks."

Eddie laughed.

"True."

"Where is mom anyway?" asked Crash.

"Looking after Ellie, she's sick remember?"

"With what?"

"A cold or something, whatever it is I bet we won't catch it."

"Hah, the glory of being a possum."

Crash paused for a moment and Eddie could hear a shuffling in the snow next to him, which was most likely the sound of his brother sitting up.

"Oh great, my tail's frozen again."

Eddie sniggered.

"Don't laugh, this is serious!"

"I told you to to keep rubbing it with your hands like mom said."

Eddie felt a sharp impact on the side of his body as Crash proceeded to kick him.

"C'mon Ed, let's go, nothing's gonna happen."

"Yeah you're probably right."

Eddie felt Crash take hold of his right arm and he was quickly pulled to his feet. Before him was a small gentle slope of powder white leading down to base of the piled up snow-drift on which he and his brother had spent the last hour or so gazing expectantly into the night sky in the hopes of witnessing the passing of a comet. Unfortunately it had so far turned out to be a complete waste of time as far as he was concerned.
Admittedly Crash had made it clear from the very beginning that he wasn't all that eager but Eddie couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, after all he'd called shotgun on the wish.

"C'mon Eddie lets go see if the pond's still frozen," Crash said, as he turned and gazed at the sloping mass of snow, "Belly-sliding race; last one to the forest edge has too lick it. "

"Lick what?" Eddie asked suspiciously.

"The pond silly."

"Oh, well in that case," Eddie with a chuckle, "You're on."

He took a position on all fours next to his brother and began staring down the drift, toward base where the first staggered line of snow laden pines stood.
Thankfully there didn't seem to be any foreign objects on the path sticking out of the slope by which he might injure himself. Just the thought of which brought back chilling memories of one such incident where Crash had slid right over a particularly sharp tick that had left him with a nasty gash across the front of his body. He'd been bleeding so badly that their mother had actually thought he was going to die but, much to Eddie's eternal delight, by some miraculous turn of fate Crash had managed to pull through it without anything more than small scar that was only clarly visible if someone actually parted the fur to look at it.

"Ready Eddie?" Crash called.

"Set!" Eddie replied.

"On three, 1-2…"

Suddenly he leapt forward and began belly-sliding down the hill and, cursing loudly and profusely, Eddie leapt off after his brother. He slid down the hill at top speed into the deafening rush off the air on his ears and the chill of freezing snow forcing its way beneath his fur and chilling his bare skin. Ahead he could faintly hear the victorious yells of his brother but it was impossible for Eddie to make out the exact words he was using. The experience was brief but none-the-less exhilarating and he couldn't help whistling excitedly as he came to a stop at the base of the snow-drift.

"Hah, you lose!" Eddie heard his brother yell.

"You cheated!" he cried.

"Yeah, well I heard you say the F-word."

"So what, you cheated."

"There's no rules in belly-sliding."

"Grr, come here."

Eddie leapt from all fours toward Crash but his brother was too quick and immediately dodged right to avoid the flying mass of snow and fur. Eddie landed with heavy crunch in the snow behind his brother and, seizing his chance, Crash leapt onto Eddie's back, took hold of his undefended ears and began to twist them mercilessly.

"Ow! le- ah! Let, g-go Crash" Eddie cried.

But Crash just laughed mockingly and started to pull increasingly harder on Eddie ears while still twisting them painfully.

"AAAAHHHHH! TOO FAR! CRASH! TOO FAR!"

There was nothing Eddie could do but scream and beg as his brother continued to mercilessly torture his precious ears, which were beginning to feet as if they would come off at any moment.

Suddenly Crash let go and Eddie's face flew forward into the snow with a soft thump and he gave out a ridiculously loud moan of relief. Even though he could still feel the weight of his brother still sitting on his back, he couldn't care less now that his ears were free.

"Jeez Ed, that sounded like you'd, well, wet yourself and I don't mean pee," Crash commented, and Eddie felt his brother hurriedly leap off him, "Arrgh, you did wet yourself!"

It was then that Eddie felt an uncomfortable warm, wet sensation spreading from just underneath his lower body and almost immediately the familiar scent of fresh urine hit his nostrils.

"Want a lemon snow cone? Now's the time," said Eddie, his face still buried in cool white powder.

Through the snow he heard the slightly muffled sound of his brother's laughter indicating that his joke must have hit home.

Pulling his head out of the snow and hastily brushing the snowflakes from his eyes, Eddie rose slowly to his feet. Almost immediately the gelid winter air hit the moist, wet fur around his lower abdomen and the icy chill quickly began to bite at his skin as the strongly scentedliquid began to freeze most notably around his crotch area, which he was quick to shield with his hands, much to his brother's amusement.

"Watch out for frostbite," Crash commented derisively.

"Sh-sh-sh-sh-shuddup," Eddie said through his furiously chattering teeth.

He sniffed loudly as his nose began to stuff up from the cold. Crash sighed and Eddie felt the warm sensation of his brother's arm slidearound his furiously shaking shoulders.

"Glad there's no breeze tonight or it'd be ten times worse," said Crash.

"I can't feel my nads," Eddie replied, a statement that could not have been more true at that moment regardless of the weather.

"Hey bro I'm trying my best here but there's no way I'm putting my hands anywhere near your junk," said Crash, "You still up for the pond-skating?"

"No way. I'm freezing my tail off."

"Aw c'mon. Tell ya what, we'll race again this time to the lake I promise I won't cheat."

Eddie sniffed again.

"Do I still have to lick the pond?"

"Not if you win."

After reaching up and wiping off some of the runny mucus which was now pouring from his nose Eddie once again assumed his four-legged starting pose and smiled.

"You're on."