It's everywhere. Stinging my eyes, coating my fur, stiffening my once-agile muscles. I can hardly see for the pebble-sized mounds of white that are hurled from the sky relentlessley, but I push on. Huddled between my forelegs, a pair of kits are setting trembling, tiny paws onto the hard ground. They are the only reason that I have not yet given up entirely. "Dust?" my head jerks up. Through the pelting flakes of snow, a pair of brilliant blue eyes are staring straight into mine. My heart literally stops. So I simply watch as my daughter's final struggle comes to an end.