Rais stared at the creature for a long time. It wasn't moving. Was it dead?

She reached out to touch it with a paw... and it moved.

She jumped back, startled, her poisonous fangs ready to attack, if needed.

The creature didn't seem bothered by her. He yawned, showing several baby teeth. His eyes blinked open, and he stared at the landscape for a while before stretching and wobbling to his paws.

He turned around, and noticed Rais. He jumped, growling. "Who are you?!"

"Who are you?!" Rais shot back. The creature stopped growling. He looked around for a moment and shivered.

"It's colder here than I remember..." he whispered.

Rais felt a pang of pity for the young creature. She padded up to him and sat down close to him, shielding him from the wind.

"What do you mean, remember?" She asked curiously.

The young male shrugged. "I went to nap on this mountain... I was really tired, you see. My tribe was gone, and I was all alone, at mercy with the Ramfoxes, Balance Bears, Carnivores, and Hawks. So I slept."

He looked around once more. "There wasn't any snow when I last was awake... it was much warmer. The mountain was almost entirely green!"

Rais gasped as a sudden realization hit her. "I know what happened!" She said quickly.

"What?!"

"When you fell asleep, it must have been a long, long, time ago. The rocks and ice piled up around you, and kept you safe all this long time. You've been asleep for maybe thousands of years!"

"But... how did I get food, water, and how did I not age?"

Now it was Rais's turn to shrug. "That I don't know. But how about you come back to my tribe, with me? I think you'll like the company."

The young creature nodded, standing up.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Rais." She replied without looking back. "What about you?"

"Vanvan."

"Well, nice to meet you, Vanvan." Rais said.

They began to walk, but Rais noticed a change in the noise. It shouldn't be this loud.

"Stop dragging your paws." She said to Vanvan.

The creature looked confused. "I'm not."

"Then what's making all that noise?"

"Probably my tail!" He squeaked, lifting it up for her to see.

On it was a huge, rock-like piece of armor. He swung it proudly back and forth. He could obviously inflict some serious damage with it.

"It's a hammer tail!" He said. "You look like you haven't seen one before! Surely a few of your tribe mates have one?"

Rais shook her head. "I've never seen a hammer tail."

As they combined to walk, they smiled at each other.

"You know?" Rais said. "You're one interesting creature."