First Snow

It was the middle of the of the week and everything seemed calm. It was quiet through out the zoo and only one thing really seemed off...it was colder this morning. The air was already getting chilly from days prior, but it actually nipped at your nose now. Some chuckling could be heard from the staff here and there. Eventually, it ate away at her curiosity. Teeth got up, stretching her paws as far as she could go. With a slow and steady gait, she eventually made her way to the entrance of her den. Wait. Something wasn't right. The outside was covered in white.

Standing at that very edge, her paws didn't dare touch it. Ears pinned, she looked down at the snow. Lowering head head to it to take a sniff. It smelled like...nothing. Literally nothing. She stood up properly, looking around. The people.
They were just...going through it? Was this not a big deal? What was this stuff? Teeth attempted to pat the snow, batting at it gently. However, that wasn't enough to truly feel it. The Amur Leopard finally tried her luck and put her full paw down onto it. Once she set her weight on it, the cold finally set it.

Suddenly she leapt up, falling back onto herself and turning some head for those nearby. Shocked, she quickly got back to her feet to approach it again. Trying to get it's scent once more and to no avail. She began to growl and pace around before she heard more chuckling. It was closer now. Teeth looked up to see some smaller people approach her enclosure. While they were still far, she could see they were stomping on the white ground too. Were they just trying to show her it was okay? Teeth sat down, observing them. One of them even seemed to slip and fall at one point. She wasn't convinced, but once the pair were gone, she brought herself to her paws to try again.

It was time to be brave, after a couple of more paces, she took a leap. YIKES! It was so cold! No matter where she moves or went this white blanket was cold! Very cold! SUPER COLD! No. That was enough. Teeth darted back to her den. She wanted nothing to do with it. It just wasn't for her (or at least she thought), no point forcing it. More guests arrived as the day continued onward. She could hear the clamoring and whines as she refused to come out. Sometimes when they were too noisy she'd peak out quietly.

"Look it's the leopard!" The small voices chimed.

"It's Teeth! She's coming out!" HA. No she was not.

Just quickly as she would go to investigate, she went back into hiding. Her fur ruffling from the chill getting stronger, she went to plop herself into her bed. When it was time to eat, she noticed there was a lot of movement going on. More than usual it seemed. She couldn't see much from the room she was in, but through the glass she noticed things were being brought into her den.

"Make sure to bring in more of that. We gonna make sure she's warm." One of the staff members mentioned. Two behind him were bringing what looked like another bed. Or maybe a bigger one? She wasn't sure.

"Do you think it's better to move her inside or keep her out here?"

"I think we should just in case, but for now let's just get the bedding out until we can make the full arrangement. Plus, she didn't look too upset, just confused."

"Well it is her first snow. I honestly was doubting it come down like that today. It was just so sudden!"

"Yeah, that's true. Better safe than sorry. Plus, probably nicer for the guests too."

Inside? She had heard of them mention that before, but only regarding her feeding time. That was odd. Just like before though, the staff were quick. Teeth was eventually let back out into her den. Slowly, but surely she inspected all the new blankets and bed. Nothing out of the ordinary. While it was certainly interesting, maybe this "snow" thing isn't for her. She took one more look outside to see there were still people wandering about. Several guests still stopped by. In fact, you could still hear the high pitched voices of kids.

"Awe I wanted to see the leopard!" A little girl cried, her parents nudging her away to another exhibit.

"Sorry sweety, maybe she'll come out later. A lot of the animals are trying to stay warm."

And right they were. Without another question, Teeth made her way back to her blankets and slid underneath. Only her nose and tail slipped out. Taking one last look from beneath the sheets, she quickly fell asleep.