Stella looked down at Claude as he reassured her they would find Jerome, nodding slowly but with some doubt. "Maybe we should hurry up. I have a bad feeling about him wandering off like that.." she suggested. Gently tapping Snow's flank, the white mare took off at a leisurely trot towards the open gates. Following the trail left behind by Jerome, Stella hardly noticed as the wind started to pick up slightly and Snow sped up to a slight run. Something started to overcome Stella, a bad feeling that things were going to start growing worse for the small search group.<br/><br/>"Jerome!" Stella called out his name as she pulled Snow to a stop. The wind had caused fresh snow to begin covering his tracks and now they were hardly visible. Looking at the lifeless, white forest around her, she searched for any sign of their recently lost man. Carefully edging Snow forward, Stella could feel it as the horse became steadily more uneasy the farther they went. Soon it was impossible to get the horse to move, so with a heavy sigh of frustration, Stella slid off the mare and took the reins tightly in her hand. "Come on Snow, we have to find Jerome...and the others...which...aren't here..." she said slowly, a frown creasing her features as she suddenly realized she had left the others behind.<br/><br/>Panic, for a moment, began to set in as it dawned on her that she was completely alone with a horse that wouldn't move and a forest that was known for people never returning from. Turning in a complete circle, Stella jumped and let out a small squeak of fear as she heard a hardly audible, gurgling sound coming from the other side of a small hill. "Hello?" she called out, hesitating before she let go of Snow's reins and ventured over the top of the hill.