The morning took its time rolling around, gentle bright light of the clear wintry sky sneaking ever so slowly into Riley's room.

Like the world's slowest, most ephemeral breaking and entering.

And fortunately, it was also one Riley was ready for, ever so gently brightening room doing a good job at slowly stirring- not even that, slowly poking her awake, each ray of sunshine a single tiny prod, pushing the groggy teen just a bit closer towards consciousness.

For a long while she just rested there, awake but with eyes closed, drifting and flirting with unconsciousness some more as she stirred under the warm covers, taking her sweet time.

At least for a while, before the rest of the world reminded her of its existence.

*knock knock*

"Riley, breakfast!"

After a drawn-out incoherent groan, she finally started the long and arduous process of sliding herself off of her bed, absolutely nailing the landing by account of actually managing to land on her feet this time.

Wasn't the most stable landing in the world, but given her past history of getting off her bed, it was definitely above average.

After taking a brief glance at her current outfit and determining it sufficient for the task of going downstairs and consuming what will most likely be leftover pizza, she slipped on her flip flops and went on her way, slightly ruffled hair going well with a plain tee and gray shorts.

Fashion magazine cover outfit, see you at the stage.

A set of rhythmic taps of her flip flops on the stairs later, she'd reached the dining room, rest of the family opting to wave at her with varying degrees of enthusiasm, most probably because of their mouths being stuffed with leftover pizza.

It didn't mean Timmy didn't try to say hello, but after almost choking on his bite, even he knew better than to rush it.

A couple pats on his back and a few more on his head later, Riley made her way to her seat, joining the gathered skunks in filling up her mouth with a bit less fresh- but still addictively salty goodness.

Nom n-

"So, since Lily's recital only kicks off in the evening and we have a fair bit of time- wanna check out the old playground together?" Rick brought the suggestion up after getting through his slice, seemingly completely unbothered by all the spicy peppers on it, Timmy lighting up immediately afterwards at the indirect possibility of getting to ride his sled.

"Please please please, let's go sledding!" The tyke squeaked out, the excitement dripping from every sound as he looked around for approval, granted with Ella and Andrew's nods, Riley answering in her own way by leaning in to hug the heck out of her squirming brother.

"I-I don't know, wh-what if I trip o-or c-catch a cold and won't be able to do the recital?" The younger sister brought up hesitantly, the skunk mom responding with a soft chuckle as she reassured her daughter-

"Oh don't worry, we have enough thick jackets to fit you out for a polar blizzard, if you want to be sure absolutely nothing happens, we can pad you out to the point where you won't even feel anything." Ella reassured her warmly, reaching her paw over to ruffle her lil' violinist's hair, Lily slowly relaxing from her words and touch.

"Yeah, if you want, I'll just watch over you, you're gonna be alllll safe and sound up until the recital, teehee." Riley added in, earning herself a shy, amused smile from her younger sister as she helped pile reassurances on.

"Alright, alright, I think I'm gonna be fine, hehe." Lily eventually gave in, last traces of hesitation washing from her cheeks as she turned towards Timmy, a sly smirk sprouting in its place-

"So, wanna race down the hill kiddo~?" She asked him teasingly, the kit not catching the slightly teasing undertone in her message, just answering with a squeaking 'Yeah!' as another chance to use his sled was presented.

Riley couldn't help but chuckle at his genuine excitement, quickly resuming her assault on the reheated pizza in front of her, taking a moment to inspect the other kinds strewn around the table in various stages of consumption:

The ones the two younger kits were slowly taking care of looked plain enough- Timmy's the bare minimum of what is even considered a pizza, with Lily's not too dissimilar if having a lot more slices of various veggies, pepper, onion, sweetcorn, mushrooms... fine, veggies with an asterisk.

Ella seemed to be sharing her favorite pizza with Riley- or more probably simply not really knowing what to get her so she just went for what she herself liked, hoping it'd work out. Well it did, all the different ingredients looking unusual on the surface by their own, but working out surprisingly well once combined.

Andrew's on the other hand looked almost as weird less by the virtue of having too much different stuff on it and more so because Riley just had no idea what these yellow, almost fruity-looking chunks were.

But considering that her big bro seemed to be enjoying it just fine, she thought she'd bother him about that on another occasion.

As for Rick's, well, it was already gone and disappeared by the time Riley took a look, but she did remember a bit of chicken, a lot of spicy peppers, and some red, smoky sauce.

The mere sight was enough to make her tongue sting.

Fortunately, by the time she'd finished cataloging all the treats around her, most everyone had wrapped up their portions, Riley joining them herself with a couple large bites, crunching loudly as she cleaned up the crust.

The only one left was Timmy, after all there's only so much pizza you can eat per minute with all the excitement and the... absence of a sufficiently large mouth.

His big sister wasted no time in dashing upstairs and gearing herself up for the cold outside, the stylish jacket she'd grabbed on Thursday plenty sufficient for the nearly spotless pale sky outside and plenty of fluffy snow.

Add onto that the warm dark pants, the thick white scarf and rainbow hat she got from Ella, some slightly thicker shoes... heck yeah, she was rocking it.

Which wasn't really something she was used to thinking about, the new realization making Riley walk up to her mirror and give herself a closer look.

And yeah, she did look good, good in a way she never really remembered, or even considered herself looking ever before. Not really fashionable or anything, that never really interested her in any real regard, but just... feeling good with how she looked.

Not ashamed anymore.

And she was fucking staying that way.

With a determined nod, she grabbed her sleek glasses and slid them on, rolling her shoulders as she instinctively tapped her right pocket, the absence of her knife making her freeze in place briefly before she dashed back into her room to pull the well-worn switchblade out of the pocket of yesterday's pair, taking a deep breath now that it was where it should be.

As she said, she was staying that way!

With her confidence reaffirmed, she strutted downstairs, only to find Timmy still mulling through the crust of his last slice, the sight baffling her for a good moment before she spoke up-

"Why didn't you leave the last slice for later Timmy?" She asked uncertainly as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around the kit, the slightly annoyed kit answering-

"Because I wanted to have pizza!"

"But you can have the rest of the pizza later when your tummy isn't as full anymore."

"But I wanted it now!" There was a clear hint of frustration in his voice as he slowly resolved the conflict between his head wanting more of the rare treat and his tummy not particularly wanting much of anything right now.

As serious as the kit's attitude was towards his little breakfast mishap, his sister was definitely more on the amused side, hiding a smirk before she noticed Ella doing something around the kitchen, still dressed quite homely.

It was only then when she realized she was a bit... overzealous with her excitement about going out to the playground.

"Oh Riley, you're gonna cook yourself in all that in here. I'm just setting the oven to low for the fish before I'll start getting ready myself." Skunk mom spoke up as she caught Riley already geared up for the winter outside, the latter nodding a bit dumbfounded before she got an idea for what she could do during that time...

"Hmm, maybe I can head out there and you'll all catch up in a bit?" The plan was as simple as it was sweet- use all that soft and fluffy snow to make a few snow-skunks and one snow-Riley to show off to the rest of the family before they caught up.

Just something simple as a sign of affection.

"Sure I suppose, whattcha planning?" Ella grabbed Timmy's plate as he'd finally finished eating, sliding it into the dishwasher as Riley responded-

"Oh, just so I don't cook myself like you said." Riley managed to turn her mom's words against herself, making her giggle before admitting-

"Alright, ya got me there, heh. We shouldn't be more than ten or fifteen minutes behind, hopefully." She chuckled and looked knowingly at Timmy who was slowly climbing upstairs, before turning back towards Riley and sending her off with a firm nod.

The girl wasted none of her small advantage, sliding the gloves on and taking off into a slow jog down the path behind their house, the cold waking her up fully and only adding to her determination.

The large abandoned playground was in the same state as she'd left it behind last time, only with even more snow covering most everything up, the firm, fluffy kind that was just perfect for throwing at people and for erecting their monuments.

Riley bit her lip and dashed right in, quickly grabbing a handful of fluff and pressing it into a tight ball before laying it back down on all the fluff and starting to roll it.

The snowball quickly gathered more and more mass as she pushed it on, ending up easily almost a couple feet across by the time it was large enough, suitable to serve as the base of one of the adults.

Now just to roll like a dozen more and she'd be set.

Each ball took longer and longer as the continued effort took its toll on her, Riley panting loudly by the time she'd finished the second adult, the pair of snow statues almost her height.

Alright, four to go. And then all the sticks and stones to make the faces and limbs out of. And tails, also important.

Still, the couple of snow-skunks already in front of her looked well enough, especially with the lil' snouts and rounded earsies she'd added.

Riley admired her efforts so far as she took deep breaths, taking a moment to gather some more strength to keep on rolling and have something to show for herself, ears ringing a bit.

It was only then when she heard shuffling steps a fair bit behind herself, the sudden intrusion making her freeze as her hand slid into her pocket, all the jolliness evaporating in an instant once she heard a man speak up a few meters behind her.

"Riley Williams?"

She flinched at hearing her old name as her body tensed up even more, girl's mind racing at an impossible speed as another realization only added to her shock-

There was nobody who should even know of her old name anymore. They were all either gone, in jail, dead, or presumably making their way over here.

And the man behind her was obviously none of those.

"Who are you!?" Riley spat out as she started to turn around, the grip on her knife tight.

What transpired next happened much too fast for her to get a full picture of until much, much too late. There was a glimpse of a striped tail she knew so well by now,

And the next thing she knew, she was reeling back and throwing up onto the pristine snow, remnants of an eaten pizza painfully evacuating themselves from her stomach.

She felt like she'd just been baptized in liquid fire, almost every sense hurting with a burning pain so intense she wanted to scream her lungs out- before a hacking, retching cough cut her off, her throat seemingly refusing to take in any more air.

Her sinuses felt like they were being stabbed with a burning knife at the reek so powerful, she had a hard time even comprehending it as an actual smell through all the pain. Her skin prickled painfully as her eyes clenched themselves shut, leaking bitter tears at the stinging so intense it felt like her eyes were melting.

Riley was scared, so utterly afraid, at the sudden pain all over her face and airways, at the man who'd appeared out of nowhere just to hurt her like that, afraid of why would he do such a thing.

With all her sapped strength she flung herself backwards, away from the aggressor, trying to get away from all the sudden pain- but it refused to let go, sticking to her relentlessly.

Riley swatted at her face, tossing the glasses away as she tried to rub at her stinging eyes, retching and whining at the chemical assault, almost too preoccupied with all her other senses being set ablaze to hear the quiet shifting of snow as her assailant closed the distance on her.

Almost.

Fueled by instinct and any remaining willpower she could muster, she blindly pulled the knife out of her pocket with her right hand as she covered her face with her left, forcing an angry grunt out of herself as she turned around and started slashing at random.

She pushed herself on in her blind outburst, the brief feeling of triumph at landing a hit on the wanker's arm, confirmed with his sudden, painful grunt, managing to eclipse her overwhelmed senses for just a moment.

At least before he responded back, a full force punch to the side of her head laying Riley out flat and definitely crunching something inside, a pathetic whine escaping her lips as she curled up on her freezing cold bed, bloodstained switchblade ending up a couple feet from her.

She heard him walk up closer still, her frail body shaking in fear at his every step until the man was standing tall over her. He muttered out something that froze the blood in her veins, his voice heated but with a noticeable tinge of doubt in it-

"Bruce sends his regards."

If her throat would have let her gasp in shock, she probably would've done it there and then, while she still had whatever was left of her breath, before it was violently kicked out of her- an intense pain flaring up in her chest as the thug's boot connected with it.

Between the burning and the strong kick, her airways felt completely blocked, Riley gasping for air harder and harder in panic as she realized she was unable to draw any at all.

She writhed on the freezing ground in more pain and fear than she could ever remember feeling, the cold reality that she could very well die there and then, alone and suffering, lighting what was left of her strength, the girl finally managing to take in a pained breath just as another stomp connected with her chest, a sudden burst of sharp, stabbing pain inside her finally forcing out a tormented scream out of her.

The pain was getting too much, Riley's awareness threating to leave her before yet more torment forced her further awake, something cracking in her right wrist as it was stomped on, the girl choking as she tried to gasp in pain.

Why did someone do this to her...

Her mental fortitude was spent, the poor girl just giving up with a barely audible whine as the burning hot pain in her head, throat, and chest struggled against the freezing cold of the world outside, a metallic taste managing to push itself onto the forefront of her mind despite the bitter oil coating her tongue.

Her blood.

She was dying.

She could only wait for the aggressor to continue hurting her before a loud, horrified scream managed to eclipse her torment for just a moment, pushing itself into her consciousness.

"RILEY!?"

It was Rick, sounding so much more scared than he ever did, than a man like him should ever sound like. His voice was distant, but thankfully just its presence was enough to scare the man who attacked her, the creep running off with a mortified 'Shit!'.

Rick screamed again as he ran towards her, his rapid dash through the snow lighting an ember of hope in her, before it was taken away from her right afterwards, the stabbing pain in her chest returning with vengeance as she sputtered out some more blood.

He almost crashed into the snow in front of her, landing on his knees and pulling her in closely, every move hurting more in more in her chest, Riley in too much pain to respond with anything except for quiet whines and sobs as he spoke-

"Riley, please, stay with me, STAY WITH ME!" He was panicking only a bit less than his daughter as he reached in to lift her up, Riley's body laying almost limply in his arms.

She tried to move, to hold onto him- but her body refused, limbs numb from the cold and unwilling to move from the pain, Riley only able to focus on her more and more strained breathing with an occasional squeak of pain.

Her dad quickly stood up and turned in the direction he came from, only letting out a scared, almost shrieking call before taking off in the other direction-

"ELLA, CALL THE AMBULANCE TO THE ORPHANAGE, NOW!"

He ran, ran like mad, holding onto his daughter as firmly as he could, just as she tried to mentally hold onto him as the pained warmth inside her turned into a bitter, alarming coldness that seemed to be spreading through her body, all the pain growing... numb...

No, no, NO!

She squealed in pain as she tried to focus, focus on Rick's steps, his ragged breaths, anything to keep herself awake and breathing.

"Riley, please, stay with me, stay with me, e-everything's gonna be alright, JUST STAY WITH ME FOR GOD'S SAKE!" His voice cracked hard at the end as he sped up even more, exhaustion mixing with panic and an occasional dry cough of his own.

As hard as she tried, she felt her mind slipping away, opening her still burning eyes in desperation just to give herself, a little bit more time despite all the pain that came with it.

She felt the numbing cold tug at her, trying to pull her into its silent, endless embrace, the offer of comfort gnawing at her, luring her in...

NO!

Not now, not fucking ever!

Just breathe, just fucking breathe.

The freezing cold spread in her faster and faster, making her focus all the mental power she had left on holding onto his arm with her hurting hand, the pain keeping her awake just that bit more.

Just a bit longer, please...

A surge of warm relief washed over her as she heard the distant sounds of an ambulance siren, Rick shouting painfully in exertion as he pushed himself further on, as far as he could or even more, if it just meant she'd be alright.

The loud whining of the siren rung louder and louder still, Riley's fading consciousness muffling it out harder and harder, a brief jolt of subconscious terror as Rick stumbled onto the pavement pushing her on just that bit closer, an array of distant determined voices joining him.

The cold had almost taken her over completely, barely any pain, barely anything left. She only felt him stop and her body be moved upwards, unable to hear anything anymore, all the voices muffled and distorted beyond comprehension, as only numb cold remained.

And then, there was nothing more.