We padded along the forest in silence, my brothers, mother and I, as we had nothing to say to each other. My mother, for she had already given us a suitable tongue-lashing and was "disappointed", my oldest brother, who was lashing his tail in anger, not daring to rebel, my youngest brother, who was brooding to himself, considering our mother's words carefully, and myself; I was thinking about other things, wondering about the leaves and the bugs and the rabbits that darted across meadows of grass, as I often did during times like this. I find it easier to focus on pleasantries than negatives.
By the time I had grown so bored of walking and not speaking to my brothers, Oak, my oldest brother, had worked himself into a state of absolute fury, as he often did. His claws were out, sinking into the soft earth beneath us, his tail was whipping back and forth, and his ears lay flat on his head.
"Mother," he began, his voice calm with an edge to it, like the river right before a storm. Calm, yet darkened by the overcast skies. "I believe you are in the wrong," he continued, "and I'm willing to argue the point-"
"Oak," Mother interrupted, "I am not wrong. You simply cannot understand yet, you are only a kit."
Whatever patience and self-control my brother had was lost in Mother's words. "I am no longer a kit," he snarled, fur bristled. "I am grown, and I can make my own choices. My siblings are still young, but I am not a kit any longer!"
Mother rounded on him, blue eyes flashing. "You will not speak to me in that manner!"
I hurried to my brother's side. "Mother, he does have a point-"
"Silence!" my mother snarled. "My quarrel is with Oak, and he is the oldest. I will speak to him only at this moment." I dipped my head, although my fur bristled with hatred. Why should Oak be allowed to condemn us as kits, when he himself could not control his fits of rage.
I adored my brothers, truly, and enjoyed romping around with them. However, I found Oak's manner to be… challenging, at some points. I was the second oldest, with Silver being the youngest. He didn't understand some things, and seemed to get others even better than Oak.
"C'mon, Silver," I grumbled, beckoning him with my tail. "Let's go hunting." He simply nodded, and followed me away from my arguing brother and mother. We walked in silence, but it was a different silence than before. It was a companionable silence, one that spoke more than words could. We were two clouds floating in the sky; not filled with importance nor truly wanted anywhere. Two abandoned kits, left alone to decide their own fate.
Silver nudged my shoulder. "I know what you're thinking," he said, light dancing in his green eyes. I grinned at him, feeling my spirits lift. Silver does that to you, lifts you up when you're feeling low. "Let's hunt," he suggested gesturing to the rich forestland we were ambling along in. "You did tell Mother…"
I shuddered. Simultaneously, we both dropped low to the ground, creeping forwards on crouched legs, our bellies barely above the dead leaves. Perfectly controlled movements allowed us to stalk through the woods in total silence, ready to catch whatever prey we came across.
My tail flicked back and forth slightly, one of my greatest hunting faults. I stilled it, but eventually just allowed it to do as it wished; I had to focus on my senses.
Silver froze, body pointed off to his left. He fell into a deeper crouch, stalking his prey. I snarled to myself. My kit brother, scent prey first? No way! I scented the air desperately, trying to find a small animal I could kill. There! Behind that bush, the one with bramble tendrils curling around it. Cursing my rotten luck, I began to weave my way through the tendrils, under the thick bush. The mouse, which was fat on late leaf-fall nuts and berries, didn't hear me approaching. You can't hear death, either.
I flashed a paw, unable to pounce under the bush. I squished the mouse down, holding it there, until I crept close enough to deliver the killing bite. I did so, feeling the warmth leave the creature's body. My mouth watered as the aroma of fresh-kill entered my nose. Nevertheless, I carried the dead mouse out of the bush, getting thorns stuck in my pelt, and back to my brother, who had a dead shrew at his paws.
As if we both knew what the other was thinking, we tore into our prey. The fat mouse was gone in what seemed like the tiniest nibble, my brother's shrew was gone before that. We both looked at each other. More.
We began to hunt more, hoping to satisfy our two-day hunger. We had been traveling for two days, not stopping to rest or to eat. This was the first chance we had gotten. I silently thanked Oak. Who knew that him being a total fox-heart and throwing Silver and I to the wolves would allow us to eat for the first time in days? I didn't.
Together, Silver and I caught two more mice, a sparrow, and a vole. We were carrying our prey back to Mother and Oak, jaws practically split to carry it. This forest had excellent hunting, especially compared to other places we had traveled through.
Our noses were flooded with the scent of all the prey we had caught; maybe that's why we couldn't smell it. The bushes rustled slightly, signaling to us that there was more prey to be had. Maybe a rabbit or two. We both dropped our prey, and Silver began to gently brush leaves and twigs over it while I investigated. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched my brother finish his task and begin to flank the bush.
I prepared my legs for a pounce. I hoped to catch a rabbit, but I knew that the chances were slim. My main goal was to scare them right into Silver's waiting claws. I leapt, claws extended, and landed in the small clearing behind the bushes. My claws latched on to fur, gripping as hard as I could.
But the fur was the wrong color, the wrong texture. The prey was too big, even to be a rabbit.
"Silver!" I caterwauled, scrambling up on to the fox's back, digging my claws into his throat, "Silver, come quick!"
My brother, a flash of silver fur, leapt in the clearing, teeth bared and lips curled into a snarl. He slashed the fox's muzzle, while I attempted to rip out its throat. The think, rank fur prevented me for doing so, and I snagged a claw in the process. I leapt off nimble to join my brother on the ground, hoping to simply scare the fox away.
We snarled, advancing with hackles raised and claws out. Silver dove beneath the creature, raking his claws along the fox's belly. The fox growled, stepping aside and picking Silver up in crushing jaws. I yowled loudly, throwing myself upon the fox's face. I scratched at its eyes, nose, and anything else I could.
The fox whined in pain, dropping Silver with a loud, thump. Limp, cut, and bleeding, Silver staggered to his paws. Blood ran down his flank, and his left eye was closed tightly. I joined him once again, supporting him. I lashed out at the fox again, catching his nose.
A rustle behind us. I whipped around, only to see another pair of mean, brown, clever eyes glaring back at me. Red fur, slightly darker than the first, flashed in front of me. Before I could register the pain, I was thrown backwards. I slammed into the first fox, receiving another blow to my face by the black paws. Silver stopped me, although he was woozy himself.
The world swam before my eyes, blurring the edges of my vision. Silver hauled me to my feet.
"C'mon," he hissed in my ear, eyes wide, "we have to go. We can't fight two!"
"No," I slurred back, "never back down from a fight. Stand… your… ground…"
Silver snarled at me, prodding me in the direction away from the advancing, snarling, jaws. When I refused to budge, instead crouching in a messy fighting stance, he began to yowl.
"Mother! Mother, help us, please! Mother, Oak! Help! Foxes! Mother!"
"No!" I cried. "We can do it ourselves! Shut up, shut up!" My vision was clearing, my thoughts refocusing. The humiliation! "Two of us, two of them! Silver, we can do this!" I leapt, snarling, at the second fox, scratching at its eyes. It snarled, biting my paw and wrenching it from its socket. I cried out in pain, nearly passing out. The fox threw me across the clearing again, and I skidded to a dead stop ten feet away.
I heard an ear-splitting yowl, and then watched as a blue and white streak whipped into the clearing, followed by a brown and white one. My mother, blue-grey patched tabby fur raised, streaked in snarling, claws unsheathed. She pounced on the first fox, claws sinking into its throat. It gave a garbled cry before limping away, blood trickling from its mouth.
The second was wary, and circled my mother slowly. Oak stood beside her, waiting for her signal to attack. She did, leaping towards the fox as she had the first. But this fox was smarter than its brother, and leapt forward as well, catching my mother in its jaws. It shook her around, teeth sinking into her fur. Blood splattered everywhere, and my mother let out a cry of sheer pain.
Oak pounced, scratching the creature's eyes, and it dropped Mother in its rage. Oak clawed it deep in the eye, blinding it forever. It howled, throwing him off and again dropping on Mother. It ripped her ears, her fur, and her tail. She was bleeding, gushing red out everywhere. So much blood!
I stumbled to my feet, slashing the creature's nose. It rounded on my, fury in its dead eyes. It snarled, leaping on me, pinning me down. Silver was on its back, scratching up the red fur and trying to distract it. Oak grabbed the fluffy tail, biting hard. The creature howled in a final, desperate cry. It had had enough.
The fox stumbled away, following the blood trail of its brother. We all lay there in an exhausted, blood heap, before we saw our mother.