A/N: Inspired by a scene from Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You.

While Claudette wouldn't publicly admit it, she sometimes desired independence from her brothers. Sometimes they were a bit too much... Well, mostly Stinky. Runt was the more level headed one. However, it was this desire for independence that eventually made her question WHY she originally thought going out in the middle of a blizzard was a good idea. The little wolf pup had been lost for hours, unable to see where she was going in due to the thick snowfall. Her movements were stiff, her breath coming out painfully as she struggled to breath in the dry air. A coughing fit overtook her, and a few flecks of red stained the otherwise untouched snow. She collapsed, unable to move any further as her vision began to darken. She wondered how she could have been so stupid. She started to cry as she was prepared to welcome Death's cold embrace. She could even hear death calling her name. Strange, Death sounded a lot like her dad... Wait...

A pair of paws grabbed her, the wolf responsible holding her close in an effort to keep her warm.

"Dad..." Claudette croaked.

"It's okay honey. I'm here. It's okay..."

Claudette blearily opened her eyes, and was greeted by sunlight. The blizzard had passed hours ago. She shifted, still cradled close to her dad. He felt strangely stiff.

"Dad...?" The cub asked wearily. She got no response. "Dad?" She shifted until she got a good view of his face, and panic set in.

Humphrey's were closed, and he was covered in a layer of frost. His entire body was stiff and cold.

"Dad." Claudette begged, tears running down her face. "Dad wake up, please! Wake up!" She shook him, receiving no response. "Daddy..." She begged weakly. "Wake up..."

It was two hours later when the rest of her family finally found them. Kate was in silent shock for a moment before finally collapsing alongside Claudette, letting out a howl of agony while her parents held Stinky and Runt close to them. The two pups confused about what was going on. But Claudette knew full well what was going on. She held herself close to her dad, crying hot tears onto his cold form.

In all their grief, no one seemed to noticed that Humphrey's frozen body bore a smile on his face...