Inside the forest of an unincorporated town in Deerbrooke county, a mouse sought shelter from the oncoming rainstorm. It had just begun to drizzle as he started to think about things a married mammal approaching their five-year anniversary would think about: dinner, date, and who would watch over their newborn offspring. Their anniversary coincided with the Zootopian film festival, so that gave him almost a month to plan their week-long event. His plan so far consisted of the following: go to Zootopia the day before the festival, take his wife out to dinner, and enjoy some independent films that were slated to be screened there.
The small mammal took shelter under a nearby tree both to escape the rain and to try to finalize his plans. He wanted this milestone anniversary to be perfect so once he was settled, he got to thinking.
Somehow, he failed to notice something stalking him, preparing to pounce from inside the peppermint bush beside him.
As the nine-year old red fox got ready, he remembered the advice that his dad gave him.
"Remember Sport, one bite, clean around the neck, and remember what your claws are for as well if it comes to that."
Eyeing the mouse, drooling with hunger, and with his father's advice in mind, he pounced.
He missed wide right, placing him directly in front of the intended prey. This, of course, startled the mouse, who relaxed somewhat after seeing that it was a young fox.
"You almost gave me a heart attack kid, Hi there!" The mouse said, attempting to strike a conversation with the fox in front of him, who began to close the distance between them very slowly.
"If you miss, best not to waste your strength being the first to run, let them run first. Better to catch them that way."
"Kid, you're starting to scare me. Everything alright?" The mouse said after the fox failed to respond. The fox paused, as if waiting for something.
"Do you know where your parents are?" The mouse once again tried to talk with the fox, unaware that one of the kit's parents, his father, was watching from up a nearby tree, completely bare apart from a belt where two rabbits that he had killed a day ago were hanging by their necks from. The adult fox was prepared to make the kill for his son if he wasn't able.
"I've got to get home to my family; why don't you come over and we can find your parents? Plenty of space." The mouse offered the fox in a gesture of support, not wanting to leave the fox pup to himself. When this failed to get a syllable from his muzzle, the mouse took it as a 'yes' and prepared to walk back out into the rain, which had just begun to pick up, heading home. The fox followed on all fours and took a nip at the tail.
"Hey! What was that for?" The mouse said, startled.
The fox growled, bearing his teeth, prompting the good Samaritan to think that the fox had gone savage. His natural response was to run.
Big mistake.
The juvenile fox took off on all fours, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the fleeing mouse by taking advantage of the forest that he had known like the back of his paw. The mouse was fast, but the kit was faster and eventually, the mouse was caught in the jaws of the fox.
An extreme jolt of pain shot up the rodent's frame as canine teeth found their way through him. He found himself struggling to breathe as the fox began to shake violently to and fro, breaking ribs and tearing him open.
This happened for a while before the pup dropped the thoroughly broken mouse. This gave the small mammal one last chance to escape but when pain, once again, shot up his frame as he tried to get up and blood began to leak out of his mouth, the rodent knew he was done for and began to recite the Lord's Prayer. Struggling to speak, he put his hands together and prayed
"O' Father, thou art in heav—"
The young vulpine didn't give him a chance to finish it and snapped the vermin's neck with his jaws, giving him one last shake for good measure. As the smaller mammal went limp, the thunder clapped. Satisfied that the mouse was no longer moving or breathing, the youthful predator got up on his feet and used his hands to strip his prey of every article of clothing, down to his bare fur. His father, having been watching the entire time, leapt down from the tree and landed in front his son.
"Congrats Sport. Your first kill. My little boy's growing up on me." The fox playfully teared up, ruffling the fur on his son's head.
"Dad", the fox pup said, giggling of embarrassment and the pride that came with his father's praise.
"Let's get home to mommy and then you can eat, before this storm gets too bad." the older fox motioned and the two foxes headed deeper into the forest with the mouse still hanging from the younger fox's paws.
The father and son duo made their way to a large oak tree where they entered into a burrow. Inside this burrow was a clothes rack that held two sets of clothes, a pit where a small fire could be safely lit, and a pregnant vixen who was waiting for her favorite two favorite boys. The adult male unhooked the two rabbits and handed one to his wife who greeted them with concern that their fur and the pup's clothes had become damp.
"Hi Mom, look what I got!" He said, showing off his kill to his mother, who was beaming with pride and love for her son.
"That's great dear." his mother said warmly with her tail swishing. "Was it too much trouble Martin?"
"Not at all; our little boy's getting to be the best hunter ever, isn't he?" the father bragged, looking over to his son, who had laid his kill on the ground in front of him and was taking off his clothes so that he could hang them out to dry.
"Yep," the pup nodded vigorously and his tail swished with pride. "I'm gonna be the best hunter EVER!"
"Alright, let's eat before it gets too late." The vixen said, motioning her son to come over. He grabbed the mouse, went over to his mother, and curled up against her. Both of his parents then took their turn planting a kiss on his forehead.
The kit started first, giggling in response to the show of affection with a toothy grin. He eagerly began to devour the mouse while his parents began to devour the rabbits. The delightful sounds of bones crunching and flesh slopping echoed throughout the den.
As the pup worked on the mouse, all he could think about was how much better a fresh kill was compared to the meat that his parents feed him. Maybe it was the fact that blood, bone, and marrow mixed in to enhance the flavor or maybe his dad was right and prey you kill yourself simply tasted better. Either way, the mouse tasted much better than anything he ever ate before and he couldn't wait to do this again.
Who these mammals were before they became dinner meant nothing to the skulk of foxes as the last limb of each mammal went down their respective predator's throats, their bones having been crunched up to make swallowing easier. Making sure that there was not a trace of prey left, the adults licked the blood and remaining meat off their muzzles and the ground before them.
"Remember, waste not want not. Understand?" The vixen reminded her kit. He nodded eagerly as he cleaned himself and the ground, leaving no trace himself.
After their meals, with the rain getting more intense, they decided to call it a night. They could go hunting again hours later, when it got dark and mammals became more adventurous.
The father joined mother and child in the cuddle pile and soon enough, the adults fell asleep and the pup relaxed to the sounds of the rain hitting the leaves and the ground. He nuzzled into the warm embrace of his parents and was asleep himself soon after.
The clothes that were removed from the mouse lay forgotten at the spot where he was killed, to be washed away by the rain.