One-shot, Book 2 of FoxCamp Series!

Series 1-Book 2: Blood And Death

I have no clue where I am. It's dark. Okay, I'm scared now. Did I go blind? Realization hits me, and I snarl loudly. Ash. That mangy, flea brained traitor! I hate him. So so much.

A fox comes up to me. I gasp as I see who it is. "M-Mother?" I stammer.

"Oh, my sweet, strong cub." My mother murmurs. "My little cub..."

I perk my ears toward her. "Oh, you've suffered so much, my daughter. Much more than your brother. Come to me, my love."

I curl next to her, but she doesn't curl back. "Mother, am I alive?" I whine.

My mother nuzzles me softly. "Oh, my cub." Her gaze clouds. "I'm so, so sorry."

Fear makes me hiss as she fades away from me. I'm suddenly surrounded in darkness again.

Alone.

It's still dark, but I hear voices that I feel like I know. I try hard to open my eyes. Still darkness comes through me, and I immediately close them again. What happened?

Him. That rotten, melted brain. That rotting, disgusting piece of longleg dung. Ash. He did this to me. I realize I can't breathe. Am I buried in... dirt?

No. He thought he killed me. He buried me. That disgusting..

My thoughts run wild. I can't breathe. I can't see. I'm going to die. I will never see Forest again. I will never see Stone either.

Suddenly, claws scrape my face. I screech weakly, and a voice gasps with horror. I open my eyes, and I'm grateful to see light. A blurry face is in front of me.

"Bloom? Bloom! Oh, great Elders, who did this?" A familiar voice strikes me. Is it Forest?

"Forest." I croak, my voice as small as a mouse's. Forest carries me by the scruff out of the hole. Pain sears through me from everywhere. Something is wrong.

"Bloom..." Forest breathes, and his eyes are blurred with strong emotion. I want to thrust my muzzle into his soft fur, but I can't even move.

"Something's wrong with me." I gasp weakly, buckling my legs. My eyes narrow as I see someone.

"You. Ash. YOU!" I scream, rage giving me strength to yell. "You tried to kill Forest! You thought you killed me, and BURIED me! You worthless piece of-"

Forest's hard growl cuts me off. "You didn't do this." He growls, glaring at Ash. "How could you?"

Ash snarls. "I will never bow to a fox like you. I should've killed Bloom while I could! Then your precious mate would be dead!"

I can't talk anymore. The pain is making me light headed. I hear Forest snarl with such a strong protection and fury. "You tried to kill her!"

I feel my heart pound. I've never seen Forest so mad in his life. Ever. "Now, I will kill you!" Forest snarls, leaping onto Ash. I gasp as shreds of Ash's fur are scattered across the floor. Forest is doing this for me. But he's killing Ash. I never knew Forest would kill.

Forest pants, and I can tell Ash is dead. I try to stretch out a lick his muzzle with admiration and pride, but I go limp, weakness stabbing be from everywhere.

"Oh Bloom, your leg. Your ear." Forest murmurs with misery, carrying my on his back. I stiffen. What's wrong with my ear and my leg?

I look down, horror making me gasp. My front right leg is crippled. I paw my left ear. The tip is gone, but I know it'll grow back. I look down at my leg again.

"I'm a lame fox." I whisper, horror making me wail. "My leg! How will I run? How will I hunt?"

Forest shushes me softly. "It wasn't anything worse, Bloom. Let's go back to camp." I hush myself, letting myself fall asleep at his rhythmic pawsteps.

I wake to concerned yelps. I blink blearily, staring at all the faces. My eyes widen as I see Stone and Grace. "Bloom? Bloom, please be alive!" Stone cries. Grace is trying hard to comfort him.

"Give her space!" A growl silences them all. I'm grateful it's Feather. I wearily get up, looking around. I let out a small whine of weak comfort as Stone nuzzles my jaw.

"You've been asleep for awhile, Bloom. About two days." Feather yelps with relief and fear. My bad ear twitches with shock.

"Your ear is fine." Feather explains, then looks down. "I've done everything I can to fix that leg. You will be able to run and jump slightly. But sometimes the leg will burst into pain. It'll be back to normal in a sunhalf (half a year)."

I sigh, glad that nothing major happened. Then I come back to my senses. "Ash." I snarl hoarsely.

Every foxes' eyes widen with shock. Except Forest's, of course. He jumps onto the rock and howls a call.

"Foxes. Ash has done this to Bloom. He is the one who had tried to kill me and Bloom." He snarls with rage.

Once again, a flinch. I'm still not used to seeing Forest so angry. But it's only to protect me. He wouldn't get mad at me.

Every fox growls with hatred. "Did you kill him?" Stone yowls.

"Yes." Forest growls, but I can tell that now he looks a bit ashamed. Then he lightens up again. "Two other foxes accompanied him. Who are they?"

A pang of horror leaps into my chest as Strike steps forward. He clearly looks ashamed. "Forest, I took part of this." I hear Grace's gasp of horror and misery and Feather's low whine of terror.

"Strike." Forest murmurs. "You, of all foxes?"

Strike holds a paw up indignantly. "Let me explain." He growls.

"I had gone hunting with Ash. He told me that he could give me everything I wanted, which was to make Grace happy." He pauses, giving Grace a glance, then continues.

"Ash had told me to follow him. I was young at the time, and foolish, so I did as said. He then put glass through your throat, Forest, and I was horrified. Ash told me that if I told any fox, I would be dead along with Grace and Feather."

I feel sympathy churn through me. He was only trying to help his mother after the death of Quick. Forest nods slightly. "This wasn't your fault. You may return to normal camp life."

His face then turns harder. "Who is the last fox, the fox who hasn't confronted to me?" He snarls.

I growl as I see Night edging away from camp. "Night!" I hiss. "Where are you going?"

Night snarls. "I am the third fox. But I don't want to die!"

Forest screeches with fury. "Kill him!"

I gasp with shock. Forest wants to kill Night? But none of us have even heard his side of the story! I follow Forest as he pins him down.

Night yelps with fear. "Please let me expla-" His voice is cut off by a strangled choke, and he is dead.

I hiss with disbelief. Forest killed him! He was going to explain! Maybe it wasn't his fault! As every fox returns to normal, chatting about how they had taken down Night, I nudge Forest sharply.

"You never had to kill Night!" I snarl. Forest's eyes flash.

"What do you mean? He was a bad fox!" Forest growls.

"Well, maybe Ash had done the same thing to Night as he did with Strike!" I hiss back.

Forest's eyes gleam with hurt, and my throat tightens as I see anger in them. "You think I was wrong?" He challenges. "You doubt my decisions?"

"No, I'm just saying-"

"You think I'm nothing, right? You think everything's about you, and your thoughts. You shouldn't even be my mate, if that's how you feel."

"No..." I choke, backing away from him. "I love you more than anyone else."

Forest snarls, raising a paw. "You liked Night so much, right? Well, I'll kill you. You can then be with your stupid mate."

I blink back tears. "No," I whisper. "He isn't my mate. You are."

Forest hisses, but I see a flash of loss, hurt, pain, and regret in his beautiful green eyes. "Think again." He growls, then whisks around, running to his den.

My stomach is a knot of loss, hurt, and agony. Didn't he understand? He never had to kill Night, just punish him. But now, everything is ruined. I've lost my mate.

I flee into the forest, tears leaving a trail behind me.

Days past. I don't know how many. I've stayed in this little den I made for awhile. I'm surprised that Forest hasn't come to comfort me yet.

Maybe he hates me. Well, yeah, he hates me. I remember the moment clearly, and his harsh words.

'Well, I'll kill you, then you can be with your stupid mate'. The words repeat in my mind. I shudder, not wanting to think about it.

Maybe it was a mistake. A plain mistake to join this camp. Cold realization pricks my fur.

Forest has turned into a corrupted fox. And it's my fault. He's become overprotective of me, and that's driven him to a point where he would kill any fox for me.

I have to explain that to him. If I can explain it to him. There's no way I'm going back into that camp.

I think about Stone. All alone, fearful. He probably doesn't know where I am. I can almost hear his trembling voice, calling me.

Wait, I'm not imagining things. That may actually be Stone. "Bloom? Bloom? Oh, please don't leave me!" He cries.

I can't take it. His pleas almost make me wail. I feel horrible. I howl quietly, and I think that drags his attention. I can see his paws. They're entering my small den.

"Bloom!" He sighs with relief, thrusting his nose into my shoulder fur. He then licks my cheek. "I thought I lost you. Why aren't you in camp?"

I growl sadly. "Don't you know? Forest hates me."

Stone's eyes widen. "Forest said that you'd be back soon."

My heart cracks, but anger surges through me. "Well, I'm not coming back anytime soon. Forest will never speak to me."

Stone hisses. "I'm staying with you, then."

My whiskers twitch with surprise. "What about Grace?"

Stone then backs away, his ears flattening. "In the past seven days, the camp's been dirty. Forest is always in his den, and your gone. Foxes are ill. Feather can't handle it all. He's grieving because Grace.." He loses his voice.

My face twists with pain. "No, she didn't." I gasp, my heart beating.

Stone whines. "Grace died." He chokes out, his voice a mere whisper.

Such a strong pang of sorrow tightens my throat. "I'm so sorry, Stone."

Stone whimpers. "She said she was going to have my cubs, Bloom. My own cubs."

Loss and pain makes a knot in my stomach. "I'm going back, then." I declare. "I'm going to save any other fox."

Stone hisses again. "Don't you understand, Bloom? Forest is least bothered, your here, I'm here, Feather, who's too stressed to cure the only ill fox in camp, Strike."

I snarl. "The camp is small."

Stone whines. "Follow me."

I slowly follow him, thinking of Forest. What is he even doing in his den? What about the camp? He could've saved Grace!

I enter the camp, and horror lights my gaze. Vines grow from every spot. Feather is leaning over Strike, who is moaning on the floor. Grace's body is just lying there.

"Stone, bury Grace. Feather, get a grip of yourself!" I snap. "Grace may be dead, but you can save Strike!"

Feather looks at me, a renewed light in his eyes. "Okay. Thanks," He adds, "I needed that."

I cut vines off with my jaws, herding them into a pile. I clean up the dirty moss all over the camp, putting that on top of the vines. How could all this happen without me in seven days?

But the time I throw all the dirt in the camp away, it looks spick and span. Grace is buried, Strike is in a den, Feather is with him, and Stone is with me.

I feel eyes burning into my pelt. I already know who it is, and I don't look up. It's Forest. I dare to see him from the corner of my eye. He's squalid. His usual shining red fur is a shade of faded red with dust all over him. His usual green eyes are red. I look away, not believing what I've seen.

I go check on Strike. He looks ill. I look at Feather. "What happened in seven days?" I ask him.

Feather shakes his head. "Forest was busy, I don't know, doing stuff in his den. He's barely checked on us. Strike caught a bad piece of prey, and he shared it with Grace. It must've had poison in it, because it killed her." His voice is choked at the end.

I decide not to tell him about her expecting the Cubs of Stone. That would make them jealous. They should see Stone as a father. "I'm sorry, Feather. But you have Stone. And Strike."

Feather nods shortly. His gaze is still soft as he looks at me. "Thanks, Bloom. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I realize that he still loves me, and he always will no matter what. Well, maybe I should get closer to him. I mean, Forest hates me, so...

I just nuzzle him, then turn to talk to Stone. I look for him. He's picking flowers. I know that he's probably going to lay them on Grace's grave.

Now every fox is busy. Except me. And Forest. Why does it have to be me that isn't busy? I should get busy before Forest comes up to me.

Too late. I see him bounding down the rock. Every fox stares at him, surprise is their gazes. I don't look at him; I simply walk the other way. Forest started this. He shouldn't have killed Night. This is his fault, not mine. I can't always be the nice one and take the blame.

Oh, he's still following me. Unbelievable. I turn to face him. His face is unreadable and dirty. I snarl quietly, trying not to drag the attention of any other fox.

"Kindly stop following me, okay? Why don't you just go back to your den and do what you've been doing for the past several days? I don't know what in The Elders your doing in there, but your doing something against our camp. Thanks to you, Grace is dead!" I snarl.

I see the flash of shock in Forest's eyes. I guess that's normal, because I've never lashed out at him before. His body sags.

"I know. I was in my den grieving. I didn't think I could lose you." He admits.

A pang of shock shakes me. My leg gives in, but I force myself to stand up. "I don't care. If you don't look after this camp, you can...You can leave!" I hiss. "Something you said about me is true. Not everything's always about me. So follow your own words! I can look after myself! You don't have to kill other foxes just for my safety!"

Forest's eyes widen. "But it was all for you. You are my life, Bloom."

"Well, if I'm your life, STOP KILLING OTHER FOXES!"

That was me. I screamed that loud. Forest recoils, and I feel every foxes gaze boring into me. Now, I feel guilty. But what I'm saying is true.

"Your overprotective of me," I explain in a softer voice. "Your so overprotective that you'll kill just for me. Don't you see? That's wrong!"

Forest sits down, his face thoughtful. "I see. I'm sorry, Bloom. Forgive me." He whines.

I growl. "You'll have to do more than that for my forgiveness. Go and help any fox that needs it. And when your done with that, you can clean up any spot you see in camp!"

Forest twitches his ear, and I catch a flash of amusement in his now glowing green eyes. "Same old bossy Bloom. Okay."

Ah, I can't take it. I have to admit, I missed him. "First, clean yourself!" I purr, licking his dirty ear. Forest nods, running off to a grassy area.

A day passes by. The camp is cleaner than ever. Forest is back in shape, his red coat and white chest fur gleaming. I pad towards him, leaning against him. "You don't know how much I missed you." I murmur.

Forest sighs softly. "I could say the same thing. Seven days seemed like torture." He paused. "I turned into a vicious monster, didn't I?"

I blink slowly. I'd like to say that that's true, but that would be plain rude. "Monster isn't the right word..." I muster.

Forest takes in a breath. "Bloom, I'll always feel guilty about what I did. But now, I can't change anything! I can't make Night come back to life! I can't make Grace suddenly be alive again! I can't stop Stone from grieving!"

I let my cheek brush against his soothingly. "It's okay, Forest," I murmur. "You've been forgiven. Every fox still adores you."

Forest doesn't respond; he just licks his paw in submission. "Want to go hunting?" He asks casually.

I blink. "Sure," I say. It's been awhile since we've hunted together. It'll be nice. I quickly tell Stone to look after the camp, then follow Forest.

Forest freezes, and I sniff the air. Deer. That could be good or bad. Deer are hard to catch. Thankfully, it's a deer fawn. I give Forest a signal to take the behind. I'll take the front. I creep up onto the deer. It's ears twitch innocently. I almost feel sorry for it. It's mother isn't anywhere near the fawn. I crouch, getting ready to leap.

Forest jumps first. He holds the deer's legs. It screams with horror, and I leap for it. I claw its flank, then give its neck a sharp bite. I hear the pawsteps of a bigger deer. I look up, licking the blood of my muzzle.

It's the mother deer. Her ears are flat, and her hooves kick back, spraying dust across the ground. I glance at Forest. His eyes show no fear. He bares his teeth, and the deer is immediately scared.

I leap at the mother deer. She flees just before I can bite her neck. I'm panting as I reach Forest. "Sorry I couldn't kill her," I gasp, out of breath.

Forest's tail runs across my back soothingly. "It's alright. This fawn is enough prey for the Pack."

I lick his ears softly before dragging the deer back to camp. Of course, Forest helps. I sigh as I set it down on a few rabbits and mice. I then go to Forest's den, tired. Forest follows, and he curls around me as I fall asleep.

"That was a successful hunt," I whisper to him.

Forest rumbles quietly with affection. "It was, my love. Rest, now. Tomorrow, we have to check on every single fox in camp. Okay?"

My eyes droop, and it takes awhile for his words to click in my head. "Okay," I breathe.

Forest curls around me tighter. "I love you, Bloom."

I nuzzle him softly. "I love you, too."

I wake to the sound of birds chirping. My jaws gape in a huge yawn, and I stretch my legs luxuriously. Forest is still sleeping beside me. I paw his ears playfully, and his eyes flicker.

"Why do you wake me up so early?" He moans good-naturedly, and I purr with amusement.

"We have to check on every fox, remember?" I remind him gently.

Forest buries his muzzle into his paws. "Later." He mumbles.

I tussle into him playfully. I get up, blinking innocently. "I'm just following my leader's orders." I say.

Forest groans, getting up. "Fine. Let's go." He mutters, but briefly brushes his cheek against mine before heading out of the den. I look up. It's sunhigh. We slept for quite awhile. I look around. I decide to check on Stone first.

"How's it going, Stone?" I ask softly.

Stone slowly lifts a paw. "Not too well. I'm really missing Grace. And the cubs are growing up so fast... they don't really need me anymore."

I feel sympathy surge through me. Grace died with Stone's cubs, so he has a right to grieve. "You'll have to move on, Stone," I say comfortingly. "We survived the death of Mother. We survived the death of Quick. You still have the cubs, Stone. But now, they have responsibilities to take care of. You can't always grief over Grace, brother."

Stone sighs. "I know," he looks up at me. "Thank you."

I touch my muzzle to his briefly, then look at the other foxes. Forest is with Feather, so that leaves me with Strike. I pad to the recovered fox. "Everything alright, Strike?"

Strike looks up. His eyes are blank, but a flicker of guilt shines through them. "Bloom, I feel horrible about teaming up with Ash and Night. I'll never make it up to you or Forest."

I touch my nose to the top of the young fox's head. "Relax," I murmur. "The past is the past, Strike. You've been forgiven. Your the cub of Quick and Grace! Be strong! Besides, it wasn't even your fault. You had to protect Grace and Feather." My own voice croaks as I think about how Forest almost died. Would I really want Grace and Feather alive instead of Forest?

Strike's eyes cloud. "Oh, Bloom! I miss Grace so much! And Quick! They both died!" He cries.

I lick his ear soothingly. "You have Stone. Isn't he like a father to you?"

Strike blinks. "Of course he is!" He exclaims. "Oh, now I feel bad! I've been so busy being ill and hunting and patrolling that I haven't visited Stone!"

I smile. "Then you can go visit him right now." I see my brother sitting alone, licking himself.

Strike gives me a grateful look. "Thanks, Bloom!" He says before running off to Stone. I see my brother's expression light up as Strike nuzzles him. I turn, looking around. I decide to talk to Feather, even though Forest has already done that.

"Hey, Bloom." Feather mumbles through a mouthful of herbs. I can see he's busy sorting them out.

"Hey," I murmur. "How's it going?"

Feather blinks. "It goes fine, Bloom. Just a bit busy, that's all. And some grief, but I've learned to push it away."

I feel a pang of surprise shock my chest. Did Feather mature that much? He was very young to go through grief without thinking about it. "That's good, Feather." I say gently.

Feather looks at me politely, then his expression sort of changes. In a bad way. It's twisted with confusion and then shock. "What?" I ask, backing away from him.

Feather immediately runs to his storage of herbs. "Nothing." He says simply, his tone flickering with amazement. I blink.

"Um, okay... I'll leave you to it." I yelp quietly, backing away.

"Wait!" He yelps, carrying a blue flowery plant with him. "Eat this." He stumbles for words. "It's called borage."

I tilt my head. "What does it do?"

Feather's eyes gleam with happiness for me. "Bloom, it helps milk come."

I'm confused. Very confused. What in all the Elders? "Why would I need milk?" I ask.

Feather rolls his eyes. "Bloom. What do cubs drink when they're little?"

"Um... milk." I respond, clearly knowing the answer. "I remember you, when you where little, drinking milk from Grace."

Feather nods embarrassedly. "Okay, so why would I want to make your milk come?"

I munch on the herb, swallowing it. "I don't know, why-" Then it hits me. The world is suddenly a blur of excitement and shock and fear.

"You don't mean...?" I breathe, my heart racing.

Feather purrs. "Your expecting cubs, Bloom. Forest's cubs."

Oh. My. Elders. Is this really happening? "Is this just a dream?" I ask, biting my leg. "Ow! No, not a dream."

"Bloom. Your having cubs. You should probably rest." Feather murmurs. I'm surprised he isn't the least bit jealous.

"Feather," I whisper. "Will I be a good mother? Will the cubs survive? What if Forest doesn't like the idea? What if-"

Feather hushes me. "Yes, hopefully, he most likely will, and no more what ifs. You'll be fine, Bloom. You should break the news to Forest soon, before it gets a bit too obvious."

I blink my gratefulness. "Thank you, Feather," I murmur, then run out of the den. The moon is high in the sky. I look for Forest. He is at the fresh-kill pile, getting two rabbits, which I'm guessing is for me and him. I go into the den.

Forest greets me with a loving grunt, pushing a rabbit in front of me. "How's it been?" He asks a bit warily. I can tell he's worn out after hunting with Stone, patrolling with Strike, and helping Feather before I got to him.

"Great." Is all I say. "Everything is great. You look tired," I add.

Forest licks my muzzle. "I am, actually." He says, stretching. "I'd rather fall asleep then eat."

"Okay. Rest and eat in the morning." I say. I'll tell him tomorrow. When he's fully alert and ready.

I eat some of the rabbit, then take both rabbits to the fresh-kill pile. It's mostly gone, remaining with a mouse and some deer. I go back to the den, curling around Forest. He murmurs something, then falls back asleep. I slowly fall into a deep, black sleep.

I wake to coughing. I twitch my ears, my eyes still not open. I want to sleep, but the coughing isn't stopping. I finally open my eyes, annoyed. What in-

No.

It's Forest. He's coughing.

No. How can he be sick? He can't be! My joints ache, and my stomach hurts.

Forest blinks as I stretch awake. "Bloom, I think I'm sick." His voice is utterly hoarse.

"It's fine." I say, trying not to let my voice shake. I can't tell him now! Not when he's sick! I'll just tell him in a few days, when he feels better. But by then, it might be obvious.

"It's fine." I repeat. "I think you should rest for a few days. I'll get Feather."

Forest shakes his head through a coughing fit. "No. He should check on the other foxes-" I'm already out of the den and talking to Feather.

"Don't tell anyone I'm expecting cubs," I say. "Forest is ill. I don't want to tell him while he's sick."

Feather follows me into Forest's den. He's having a coughing fit again. Feather blinked. "It's just a bad cough. I'll get Chickweed, which helps coughs, Feverfew, to lower the fever, and Honey, to soothe your throat."

"Thank you, Feather." I murmur thankfully. Feather nods, leaving the den briefly. He comes back with two batches of herbs and honeycomb. I blink as Forest eats both herbs and licks the honey.

"It's sweet." Forest comments. I nuzzle my mate's ear.

"Thank you, Feather." I say again. Feather leaves quickly, probably not wanting to ruin the moment between them. I curl around him while he's licking the honeycomb.

"You'll be okay," I murmur in his ear. Forest nods , lying down. I feel bad for him. He could be so happy right now, overjoyed at the thought of me having his cubs. But he doesn't know. And he won't. Not until he's fully better.

Two days pass. My stomach has grown slightly, but no big change, really. Forest is definitely recovering. He has one coughing fit every three days. I guess that's good. But I'm still going to wait awhile. Only for two days. By then, he should definitely be as healthy as a newborn cub.

Forest leans on me, and I flinch. Ow. That definitely hurt. "Did I hurt you?" He asks, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine." I mutter, licking my growing belly.

"I didn't know you had sensitive joints," he remarks teasingly. I don't respond. Smh. Little does he know.

"So, are you fully recovered?" I ask casually.

Forest nods. "Yep. Two days sure did me good. I feel like a new fox. My throat doesn't hurt at all."

I suddenly can't wait. The urge to tell him. The words are on the tip of my tongue. Forest tilts his head as he looks at me. "Is everything alright?" He asks.

I suddenly feel very shy. "Everything's fine." I murmur. "Better than fine."

"Are you sick?" Forest asks, his voice cracking with worry.

"No, Forest." I purr. "Quite the opposite."

Forest sits, confused. My heart pounds as I stare into his eyes. I hope he'll like what I have to tell him. I hope he'll understand.

"Forest, I'm expecting your cubs!"