Anabel was wandering the lands, heading for that cherry tree everyone said bloomed in all seasons. That couldn't be, could it? Cherry trees didn't not stop flowering. No tree lived eternally. Everything had to die eventually. Anabel had dismissed this as just a rumor or a little white lie. Some wolf had made it up to get some fun. It was almost winter, for Pete's sake. Trees wouldn't be blooming! 

Anabel's thoughts dropped away as she approached the beautiful tree. Pink petals swirled around lazily. Branches waved. Anabel was so fixated on the beauty, it took her a hot minute to notice the dead female with ten pups trying to rouse her, sleeping, or attempting to nurse. 

Anabel gasped. Rushing to the body and the pups, she bent her head down to check on the babies. They were fine; the mother hadn't been dead long. But five of the children had wings, and the others had horns. Anabel had never quite seen anything like them in all her years, even with the strange mutations of Dawnshire. 

She felt particularly attracted to a male with a sky blue horn, that was mottled with pink. He was one of the napping ones. Gently, Anabel nuzzled another sleeping baby-then took off to report the pups to Achilles and to Pandora.