Hatee-Ho friend! The fox has edited chapters 1-3 of this story, so if you've read these before read em' again. Trust me, you'll get so much more from the edits! And once again, thank you so sooooo much for reading this silly fox's ideas and sending your reviews! They are most helpful 3~ Hope you enjoy what I have to offer!~
Blood Before the Snow
"It's when your heart meets the barrel of a silent shotgun. You swear you've been hit, but there is no bullet."
Those were the words mother used when I asked her what love was as a wee kit. I quickly started to doubt that it existed when his shotgun rang out and I felt something deathly sharp and white hot hit the left side of my torso.
The man with the wild brown hair had an unusual habit of leaving grapes on his porch in the backyard every afternoon. I thought the gesture meant he was paying respects to me for ridding him of those pesky cabbage eating hares, so I gathered his offerings and shared them with my kits. Mother used to tell me stories about how man-humans expressed their love for someone in weird ways, and for a while I thought that was what he had been trying to do with me by leaving out the grapes. I clearly wasn't thinking straight, it should've been very obvious that this was a trap he'd laid out to gut me like the deer he brought home occasionally for his dinner. Several bullets rocketed towards me as I dodged and fled into the deep wood, some ricocheting off the trees, chucking bark with them. One had found its way into my left side and I howled in great displeasure at the excruciating pain of the impact. In the distance I heard the feverish barking of a hound dog behind me. He hadn't housed a hound in the previous day. By acquiring that groveling lackey, he had prepared for this encounter.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!" the man shouted as he fired more bullets into the thicket. He rushed to the back of his cabin to untie his more than overexcited hound dog. "GO SICK ER' EMMETT! I WANT THAT DAMN VIXEN'S PELT!"
Said hound tore through the dirt on the ground racing towards me. Blood poured from my wound and I winced at the sharp pain shooting up my side as I pressed my paws into the ground but I wasn't willing to die today. My kit's needed their last meal before they were to leave the den and I was going to give it to them, even if it took my life in the process. Those kits were the duty mother had passed down onto me after she died, her pride and joy. I was to make sure they grew up nice and strong, thus making mother proud.
The hound was fast, but I was quicker, cleverly dodging jutting branches and sharp boulders as the clumsy hound dog attempted to mimic my movements. It was only a matter of time before the dog became confused and dizzy, butting head first into a young maple tree and knocking itself out cold. Hounds are ridiculously oafish creatures.
"Shit...just perfect," spat the man with the shotgun who stood at his porch with a large scowl. He would've gladly participated in pursuing the fox alongside his new dog if he hadn't run out of ammo for his gun. A whine came from the direction of the woods as the hound dog, named Emmett, made his way slowly but surely back to his master's cabin, head hanging low. The canine knew that coming back empty mouthed was sure to make his master more than upset.
"Fucking useless hunting dog you are! I'm convinced that jittery breeder sold me a damn poodle. GO ON', GET 'fore I shoot YOU dead for dinner!"
The hound whimpered as it retreated to its place in the backyard after catching sight of his masters enraged expression. Before the hunter went back inside to call up the town dog breeder and give him a piece of his mind for selling him a malfunctional hound, he managed one last glance at the woods and noticed a haphazard blood trail leading from the front of his cabin into the forest. With a devilish grin spreading across his face he muttered, " You can run but you can't hide forever, crafty little bitch."
I halted in my fleeing and leaned against a fir tree to assess my wound and surroundings. The den was nowhere near this part of woods; I must have gotten lost in my chaotic getaway from the mad man's home. My whole left side was throbbing with pain; my head dizzy from fatigue and blood loss. I tried to run some more, but it was a futile effort. My movement was sluggish and I felt heavy. I knew I wasn't going to last long.
"I'm sorry my kits. I'm afraid I might not be coming back home today..."
A rugged white haired man with a worn black leather coat, mud-stained boots, and rather apparent poor back posture slammed the door of his truck shut with a loud thud, looking very displeased with what he was witnessing. The Death's End Gun Shop is only ever insanely busy during one time of the year; on the brink of an oncoming winter. It's when all the hunters scramble to catch their last chance at landing big kills before they disappeared for winter hibernation. Ol' man Grimm; the most skilled hunter in the area took great pride in running a good service for the hunters in their little town. His son, aptly nicknamed 'Kid' Grimm, took after his retired father both in hunting skill and business smarts. This year, old age and the issue of weakening bones had caught up to his father, rendering him unable to maneuver anywhere much. Because of this, Kid sought the help of his friends and his father's old pals to run the store. By the looks of it today, some major hell had broken loose.
"Damn Kid," he cursed. "I really don't need this shit. Since when was there a line the length of the great wall for this place?"
The man with the leather jacket had no trouble asking people to move out of his way so that he could make his way into the store. Many of the townsfolk assumed he was bad business with his head full of white hair, those blood red eyes and his sharktooth snarl. They just moved out of the way automatically in fear, and he muttered insincere thank yous under his breath as they did. He was just wanted to pick up the new shotgun scope Kid promised him in a hunting bet from God knows how long; not to start any quarrels.
"YOOOOOOOOOOO SOUL MY MAN, THAT YOU!?"
Speaking of trouble…
"Oi. Yeah Black it's me, calm the hell down. You'll scare up the grizzlies with that damn yelling."
The slightly brawny equipment specialist with absurd electric blue hair scoffed at Soul's response to his greeting behind the counter.
"Pssh, no bear comes close to a match for this God!" he replied with a cocky grin. "Not even that damn demon Ragnarok this town fears so much!"
Soul let out a hearty guffaw. Black was someone he considered a friend, but could be an absolute egotistical idiot.
"First of all, you are no God," Soul replied and snorted when he saw Black's grin contort into an offended scowl. "Secondly, Ragnarok would tear your scrawny ass in two. I reckon you saw what he did to that guy Mif a while ago? That little girl of his too, she's fatherless because of that damn monster."
"Yeah I know what he did to Mif, don't remind me of the gruesome pictures they released on the newscast. Me and Mif went a ways back. He was a good friend of mine, we hunted in competition all the time." Soul nodded understandingly as Black proceeded to talk about the incident. "Baki and I actually made the decision to take Angela in a month ago. Shes a pissy little thing too, but I promised her I'd kill that bear and she calmed down a bit."
Soul leaned over the counter dumbfounded. Since when was Black Star ever willing to take in homeless kids? He knew Black and Tsu were an item for a while now, but couldn't imagine him trying to be a father. At least not yet anyway. Then again, he'd disconnected himself from most of the people he considered friends in town, so he wasn't aware of any changes in their lives that occurred. "You and Tsu took her in? I didn't know about that."
"You'd know about a lot if you came down to town and talked more often, damn recluse," Black responded, catching Soul off guard. "Seriously man, you need to keep in touch with the human race. What have you been doing with your life lately? The only time you come around is if you need something for hunting. I mean, did you forget you had friends?"
Soul shrugged, choosing to change the subject. "That's cool Black, I'm happy for you and Tsu, but now you have a kid to feed during the winter as well as yourselves. That's gonna be some trouble no?"
Black shot his friend a confused look, mulling over the question before going to help a rowdy fellow with a machete. When he was done he answered, "Nah man we're good, no problem this God and his Goddess can't solve haha! Got in some good kills before snow starts to fall; two deer bucks and a caribou. Baki did well with her crops in the backyard patch, and we got some canned goods stocked up in the basement."
"You got a caribou!? You lucky bastard Star. I've wanted to hit one for a month. Only been able to catch some doe and stray hares. Speaking of hunting, where's that damn Kid? Only reason I'm here is because he owes me a new scope shot."
"Hey Soul, long time no see! He's in the back dealing with inventory!" A tall blonde lady in a white coat called out from the back end of the store. "And Pat's been keeping a present of sorts for you here since forever!"
"Hey Liz!" Soul returned as he started to the back room of the shop. "Thanks, I'll be right over!" He waved at his friend. "Catch you later Star."
"For sure!" Black shouted. "And HEY, dont be a stranger man! The Goddess is making rabbit stew tonight, you're welcome to stop by and get some grub!"
"I'll think about it Black, I'm kind of busy today!" It was only half the truth. Soul did have to pick up groceries before going back home to tend to his recent kill, but truth be told, he didn't feel at all sociable today. He followed Liz to the back of the shop while various customers gave him the evil eye for having the privilege to cut the line. He really couldn't give a damn what others thought of him, he was just here for his gun.
"So Soul, you think Kid still remembers that bet huh?" Liz offered as she pushed her way through the packed space.
"Kid never forgets any promises he makes," Soul replied. "I know him well enough."
Liz laughed. "You sure about that, ghost-boy? It's been like what, weeks, months since we've seen you? Did you die and come back to haunt us for unfinished business?"
"That's not it Liz," Soul scowled at the tease. "I've just been really busy lately." Liz just rolled her eyes at his rather weak comeback. She'd noticed something had been off with Soul's behavior as of late. His response proved her superstition true.
"Sure, there's so much to do up there on that secluded hill you live on."
Soul sighed. Everyone wanted in on his life and he wasn't willing to be sociable about it at the moment. "Look Liz, I am busy, going through a lot of stuff. I know you care, but don't feel like talking about it right now."
Liz nodded in understanding, and dared not to push for more out of the frost-haired man. In her few years of acquaintance with the young Evans, she had learned that Soul wasn't one to be open about his feelings to many people other than his brother.
They both came to a halt and she opened a door, revealing a very disheveled young man with black hair screaming at a woman who had no idea what she had done to make him upset.
"PATTY, what is the meaning of this?!" Ol' man Grimm's son had a ferocious grip on the young woman's shoulders as he proceeded to chew her out. "I told you we needed an extra order of White Lightning Chambers, NOT to order Bazookas! What on earth is anyone here going to do with a Bazooka Patty?!"
"Blow shit up, Kid, that's what!" Patty shouted back with a deranged grin on her face. She thought it was a pretty cool idea to sell them. Kid needed to have more fun with his job as manager of a gun shop. "Those are way better than dumb old Chamber guns!"
Kid sighed and dropped his head in exasperation. The younger Thompson sister would surely be the death of him someday. "Great, I have a surplus of un-sellable weapons and the amounts of each gun are not the same. This is all wrong, my inventory is no longer perfect!"
"Lay off the strict order thing and loosen up a little, Kiddo!" Patty shoved the young Grimm playfully. She caught a glimpse of the office door open with Liz and Soul staring wide eyed at their quarrel. "SOUL!"
"I'm going to let you handle this one…" Liz mumbled, shutting the door behind her, going back to help Black with the frantic customers outside.
Kid looked up and was shocked to see that it was, indeed, Soul Evans standing in his office. "Well what do you know, he lives."
"Hey Kid. Patty," Soul greeted his old friends.
"Soul, It's been so long!" Patty chirped. "Where have you been all this time? Ooh, I have a thing for you in the back, let me grab it for you!"
"You really didn't have to Patty," Soul offered her a small smile, "but I appreciate the gift. Thank you."
"No probs!" Patty shouted as she entered another room door, rummaging about for the item.
"So Soul," Kid sighed and sat down at his desk, organizing the stray order receipts into neat piles. "Where exactly have you been these few past few months? I hardly ever see you anymore."
"I'm in town Kid," Soul stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, putting on his cool front. "I just buy my groceries and hunting gear in bulk when I get the money, so I don't have to make too many trips out. Gasoline is expensive these days, and I just recently had to fix my truck."
"Must be an errand run today, yes?" Kid inquired. "I take it you're here to pick up some rounds?"
"Actually Kid, remember that bet we made a while ago on who could shoot the buck with the biggest rack that day? I'm kind of taking you up on that offer now."
"So, you still remember!"
"Do you?"
"Absolutely, Soul. I never forget a bet," Kid reached down under his desk and pulled out a long, brown cardboard box. "I owed you this scope shot, correct? It would seem it's been collecting dust over the past months."
"Yep that's the one!" Soul took the box labeled 'Meister 100: Shotgun Scope' and weighed it in his hands. "It's feather light."
"That it is, but it runs quite smoothly and it's much more silent than most scopes," Kid smiled as he watched Soul play with the box. "I look out for you when I can."
"Thanks Kid," Soul returned. Patty emerged from the backroom with a heavy brown paper bag and handed it to Soul with a wink. "It's not much, but it's something to tickle the trachea~"
Soul raised an eyebrow slightly at her comment before thanking her with a nod. He glanced at the clock on the wall, it was getting late. "Well, it was nice seeing all of you, but I have to go finish up for the day. Thanks for the stuff guys!"
"Not a problem" Kid assured. "Be sure to ask Star for a box of scope rounds on the way out. It's on the house. Oh and Soul?"
He was about to open the door when Kid's question caught him. "Yeah?"
"Are you doing alright?"
Soul pondered over his answer. "Um, Sure?"
"We worry about you here you know." Kid started. "I haven't had small chat with you like this since, well... since the incident."
Soul froze in his place. Why would he bring that up now out of all times? He didn't need those memories coming back to him right now, or anytime soon for that matter.
"I'm fine Kid, really," Soul replies as he turned the knob on the door, jerking it open.
"You have friends, Soul," Kid reminded him, aware he had managed to hit some sort of nerve in his friend. "Remember that."
Soul, taken aback by Kid's words, nodded silently with a straight face and left the office. Still, he felt like the issues he was grappling with currently was something he needed to take care of one his own. He didn't want to drag others into his life struggles.
It turned out Patty had managed to hit a sale at the liquor store a while ago and gifted him with a large bottle of Grey Goose she'd gotten buying 100$ worth for her sister's upcoming birthday party. Liz's younger sister was six ways to Sunday crazy, but she shared his love for the science of booze and knew he liked that good shit too. Knowing also that it had been sitting in the office for nearly a year, he couldn't wait to enjoy the bottle when he got home. There was an invitation to the party inside of the bag, and Soul was glad the date hadn't passed. He'd feel like an ass if he missed Liz's birthday, or anyone's for that matter, even if he couldn't end up attending. It made him wonder if he missed any of his other friends' birthdays, but he cut those thoughts short to save himself the trouble of feeling like shit for not keeping in touch with them all enough. He hated to admit it, but Black was right about him being a recluse. It wasn't a title he found honorable, but he kept his distance from civilization for good reason.
It was getting dark. The few road lamps whizzing by began to flick on one by one, casting a dim, sickly orange glow onto the pavement. Soul never liked riding on the roads at night because he could barely make out anything in front of him with his car's dim headlights or the little light the lamps offered. Bucks and moose come out around this time of the day, and he'd already had his share of deer in headlights causing him broken windows and a dented hood. It cost him a load to fix all that up, using a hard earned raise from his bartending job to do so. Not a happy affair at all.
Just as he was about to turn up his radio to calm his nerves, Soul caught sight of a blurred figure emerging out of the bushes. Then it just dropped dead in the middle of the road.
"THE FUCK?!" Soul yelped as his foot slammed on the breaks. His truck barely came to a halt before reaching the thing...whatever it was. Sighing in relief on how he managed not to hit the thing or fuck up his car, he reached a shaky arm over to the back seat to retrieve his gun and slowly opened his car door to see what the hell he almost killed. He crept his way to the front of his car and immediately aimed his gun at the figure he could now make out in full.
"A fox?" He exclaimed. He relaxed a bit as he examined the creature and saw that there was a bullet wound in its left side. "Ugh, secondhand kill." He regretfully inhaled the stench of drying blood. "Looks like someone got to you before I did pup." Soul gave the fox a thoughtful look-over. It sported a rather lovely coat of cream, unlike any fox he'd ever seen. The foxes he'd come in contact with were only either orange or grey. This fox looked absolutely pitiful, and Soul was surprised to see that it was still barely breathing. A shot in that area was awfully close to vital organs and should've ended its life by now. He wasn't the kind to bring home near-road kill, but he felt obliged to put it out of its misery. Steeling his gaze like he did every time he went in for a kill , he pointed the barrel of his gun to the fox's heart, steadying his finger on the trigger.
He was about to pull until the fox's head moved, staring weakly but intently into his eyes. For the first time in his life, Soul began to feel some sort of trepidation about killing an animal. He tried to steel himself a second time, pressing the gun deeper into the fox's coat, but the vulpe's eyes, an usually vivid shade of emerald, seemed as if they were trying to bore a hole into his soul. All of a sudden, he completely lost his resolve to kill the dying creature. He couldn't. He could kill any animal he wanted any other day, but he couldn't end the life of this one fox. All because of those stupid green eyes.
Soul lowered his gun to the dirt floor and breathed a deep irritated sigh. He turned back to get in his truck, planning to drive off and leave the fox to die a natural death, but stopped and asked himself, "What the fuck am I doing?"
"I thought you were going to kill me."
Soul nearly jumped out of his pants when he heard a voice coming from where the fox lay. Only when he turned his eyes saw no fox, but an unconscious stark naked woman lying in its place with the same color hair as the fox's fur, the same bullet wound, and the same alluring emerald colored eyes.
"HEY KID, I NEED SOME FUCKIN AMMO FOR MY ARACHNE 800, PRONTO!" A man with wild brown hair slammed his gun down on the counter, hard and loud enough to catch everyone's attention in the store.
"Wait in line like everyone else, balls for brains!" Black screamed back at the man with equal gusto. "Who the hell are you to just waltz in here like you're the queen of Sheba or something and demand shit?!"
"You wanna go you damn blue haired monkey!?" The man sneered at Black Star. "I'll carve ya up real nice and feed you to my hound, he could use the weight!" The customers in the store slowly retreated to the exit not wanting to be involved this particular brawl.
"Why you son of A-!"
"Is there a reason you are frightening away all my customers on this fine day's night, Giriko?" Kid emerged from his office to examine the racket outside, successfully cutting off Black's rage before it turned into a messy fight. Giriko was a loyal customer, but he was also a royal jack of all asses when it came to common courtesy and many other common sensical things.
"There you are man, 'bout time I got some service!" Giriko strode up to kid with his chest puffed up. "Hell yeah there's a reason. I need some more ammo for my baby here!" He patted his shotgun.
"If I were you Kid, I'd send his princess ass home without shit!" Black screamed from over the counter.
"Shut up asshole!" Giriko back sassed.
" That's all?" Kid inquired. "Well if that's the case I'm sorry but you do have to wait in line Giriko. As you can see we have a full house here, and we could use all the business so calm down and stop scaring my customers away."
"But you don't understand Grimm, I need those bullets right away! I found the forest vulpe!" Kid looked at Giriko like he'd grown two heads. He couldn't have been talking about that, could he? The town had an old story parents passed down to children, telling of a part of the forest that was overgrown, inhospitable and filled with an explainable magic. No human being could ever enter this forest, otherwise it would swallow them whole. It was dubbed the 'The Wild of No Return,' and everyone knew to steer clear. There had been recent talk of folk claiming to have witnessed a girl with shape shifting abilities passing in and out of the area. They said she had the ability to turn into a fox, and believed that she was possessed by the mysterious magic of the forest.
"That's a bunch of crazy Giriko! That animal is nothing more than a town myth!" Liz offered her commentary as she sold a used, polished the rifle to the customer in front of her. "Why would you even bother chasing after a fairy tale? Aren't you a grown ass man?" The whole room erupted in laughter as Giriko's face turned the utmost hilarious shade of beet red.
Patty emerged from the bottom of the counter laughing with a box of rounds and slammed it on the top. "Here you go you crazy fucker! Shoot up all the fairy tales you want!"
Seething in anger, he shouted at Liz and the whole staff.
"SHES FUCKING REAL AND I'M GONNA PROVE IT TO ALL OF YOU WHEN I HAVE HER PELT ON MY WALL! I already shot the shit outta her and I'm gonna go searching for her half dead ass in the morning!"And with that, the obnoxious hunter threw his money over the counter, took his crate, banged the entrance door open and left.
"Kid, how serious do you think this clown is really!?" Black*Star outburst. "That's just a stupid old tale, isn't it? He probably just saw a regular ratty old fox, haha! Dumb shit."
Kid eyed the crazy looking man from out the window as threw the box of shotgun bullets into the backseat of his truck with a proud huff.
"I actually don't know Star." Kid chuckled good naturedly. "With that lunatic, you never do know."