... And before long, came the beginning of Winter's end.
Warm sunlight peeked through the clouds at last, bathing the snow-covered forest in gold and white in a striking contrast. Icicles melting and dripping from long dried branches, some birds returning home and bringing their song of spring with them, waking the animals from their sleep.
Among them, a grey squirrel stepped outside of his home, yawning as he took in the sight of the forest around him slowly awakening from the long winter...
"Bruno!"
"Oh, coming Aunt!" The Young Prince glanced one last time at the pond before following the old doe again.
Just seconds prior he was taking in the sight of himself on the half-melted pond. Ever since that night he couldn't wait until his antlers came out at last, though he was growing a little impatient with how the pair of bumps hadn't grown much and so he'd take every opportunity to see if they came out.
Until Nettla snapped him out of it, of course. Not that he was complaining, of course! Was it normal for all bucks, then? To start feeling a little more confident after gaining their antlers?
"Antlers haven't appeared yet and you already feel like an adult, hm?" She asked with a fairly smug tone. Bruno sheepishly shrugged in response. Not that he could deny that claim, and well, who could blame him? Especially now that he was catching up with Bran — he hasn't seen him or the others since winter started, has he? — it was like Bruno was becoming someone new.
Just then he'd seen how brighter things were. Days upon weeks of a colorless landscape nearly made him forget how the forest was during other seasons. And then some familiar chirping coming from above the trees, and occasionally some smaller animals leaving their homes.
It was a slow progress, but a noticeable one nonetheless. Just how long was it going to last?
"Spring's coming soon... Ugh." Nettla groaned, displeased. "I hope this year's Groundhog Day goes by quietly."
"Groundhog Day?" Bruno found himself asking. And found himself regretting that decision too.
"A day specifically made to see whether spring will come or not, all determined by a groundhog. Do you know how?" She prompted him to ask.
"... How?"
"By whether they see their shadow on the ground or not. No shadow means spring arriving, shadow means prolonged winter." Bruno could only give an incredulous look while she explained. "Yes, it's as weird and nonsensical as it sounds."
"Who thought of this, and why." Bruno said, not even quite bothering to make it sound like a question and not expecting an answer. He got one anyway.
"It's something meant to give a glimpse of hope for animals and their children who had it rough during the season. As for who thought of this..." Some distant caws could be heard, her ears picking the sound and turning towards that direction.
Crows. Of course it had to be them. At that point Bruno could only think of them as either mean, or having crazy ideas. (When he said it out loud, Nettla actually laughed at the statement. "At least the latter is perfectly accurate," she said.) The birds were blabbing nonstop about whatever happened during winter, and their plans for the upcoming season, or at least that's what anyone could assume.
"What are they doing anyway?" Bruno tilted his head, ears struggling to understand the exact things the flock talked about.
"Gossip, I reckon. Typical of birds." Nettla confirmed; Bruno couldn't argue with that. "Ignore them and they won't bother us."
"Unless it's Sybille." He mumbled under his breath, which Nettla still heard anyway.
"... Right. Unless it's her."
Paying the flock no mind, the two deer quietly continued on their way into the woods, enjoying the peaceful air of newly-arrived warmth of daylight.
... At least until it wasn't so peaceful anymore.
Before long, the chirping of birds had grown louder, tweeting and singing the tune others came to recognize as "great news", all flying in the same direction. Quails and bunnies scurried around through the snow as they followed the songbirds, possums carrying their young, squirrels and chipmunks leaving their homes in excitement.
And following the small crowd of animals, a very familiar owl flew above. That was... Friend Owl, wasn't it? All of them were running and gathering to the same location, it seemed.
"... Huh. Interesting." Nettla slightly tilted her head, looking at the passing commotion in amusement.
"What's going on? Why are they running?"
"It seems that Groundhog Day came much earlier than I had anticipated. Or I've truly lost track of time. In any case," she turned to Bruno, "it's best if we keep our distance. I have no patience for this mess right now. Come."
Nettla went ahead, walking away from the gathering crowd and ignoring the increasing chatter as she's always done. And as usual, Bruno would follow her without questioning nor looking behind — that's how it was prior to Winter, and that's how it would always be...
... But not this time.
Bruno didn't follow her this time.
Instead there he stood in the snow, watching as the local residents reunited around a tree not too far away as Friend Owl landed on top of an exposed root, motioning to the others as if asking them to pay attention or something like that. Moving his ears to better pick up the voices, the Young Prince unconsciously stepped forward in deep focus.
So concentrated, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings when—
"Bruno?"
A voice called for him, startling the Young Prince. He looked around to spot whoever spoke up, quickly settling for a grey spot on top of a snowy branch. That spot- no, that squirrel swiftly climbed down the tree and landed onto the ground.
"Corin!" A smile made its way on the fawn's face as the squirrel, his friend approached. Oh, he barely changed since the last time they met... Where was Eike, though?
"No way! it really is you!" Corin beamed at the sight of Bruno. "Just look at that, no spots and growing your own antlers! Bran would challenge you on the spot, I bet."
"Yeah, I guess he would. Have you seen him, or Eurig? And the others?" Bruno couldn't help but ask. Corin's mood dimmed a little.
"Oh, about that. I never saw the siblings again, though I think they're still around. Eike's alright, but she's not coming for the Groundhog Day today, sleepy and all that. And Aydan, well..." Corin paused, seemingly nervous. "I heard she left this part of the woods with her mom."
"... I see. Wish we all could've come together again today." Bruno's ears drooped. Although aware that this was most likely to happen, it barely offered him any comfort. Especially with his last experience with... wolves...
"Right... But hey," Corin stepped closer and patted Bruno's hoof, "I'm happy that I could see you again. That's what matters, right?"
"... Yeah. That's what matters." The fawn smiled again, reciprocated by the squirrel. At the very least, he knew he and two of his friends could meet up once more, just like how things were prior to winter. Not far from them, the commotion among the critters died down a bit, which wasn't left unnoticed by the duo. By the looks of it, Friend Owl started talking about the groundhog's purpose — well, their shadow's purpose, anyway.
"Ah, right. It's about to begin. Wanna come with? The groundhog's gonna appear soon!" With no hesitation the fawn nodded once, and off the two went to join the small crowd.
So excited for the news, they hadn't realized the gaze of Old Nettla had followed them, nor how she silently watched and smiled as the Young Prince decided on his own to accompany his friend.
With an air of understanding, the old doe turned back and left for the den. She trusted Bruno would be fine.
And thus the Groundhog Day began.
