"Be light on your feet when you run, dear," came Apple's gentle call as the young Chase bounded around the den with her siblings. Her sister, Whorl, was excitedly running after her as they played their normal afternoon game of tag.
Pounce and Hop, her two brothers, were in the midst of wrestling each other. Hop, being the larger one, was easily pinning his brother down as the two dark kits playfully growled at each other.
Rush, meanwhile, sat in the corner, licking the dirt off a paw while their mother looked on.
Chase continued running away from her sister, letting out loud giggles with each skip she did.
Suddenly, she tripped and collapsed right into her brothers, knocking Hop off of Pounce. Pounce immediately took action, pinning his brother down.
"Oi! Watch where you're going, Chase," Hop growled. He the turned his attention to Pounce. "I would've won, you know."
"As if," Pounce teased.
Chase slowly regained her senses and sat up. Suddenly, she felt Whorl's small paw touch her side.
"Tag!" Whorl teased.
"Curses," Chase spat, standing up again. She panted heavily, out of breath from rushing around the den.
She glanced around, watching her siblings interact and her mother watch on fondly. Chase grinned a bit to herself, glad that this was her family. She wouldn't trade it for the world.
"What's all this ruckus I'm hearing?" came a grumble from outside the den.
"Daddy!" came a shout from Rush as she bounded toward the entrance.
Chase glanced up, watching as her father, a tall and broad fox, step inside with a dead squirrel.
"Can I have a taste of meat?!" Hop begged, jumping around his father.
"You kits are still drinking milk," Apple explained.
"This is for your mother," Copper said, dropping the dead squirrel at her feet. Chase glanced longingly at it and licked her lips. She was beginning to tire of drinking milk as well.
"When do you think we can hunt like that?" Whorl whispered.
"I hope soon," Chase replied.
"I'm afraid none of you will be hunting for a while," Copper explained, sitting beside his mate.
"Well, when will our coats be red like yours?" Pounce wondered.
"Not for a while either," Apple said in between her bites of meat.
Chase glanced at her darkened coat, looking forward to the day that it would glisten in the sun, just like her parents.
"Is it nice out today, dear?" Apple asked.
Copper nodded. "Nice breeze, a good amount of sunlight. Great day for hunting."
"Can we go outside?" Chase asked quietly.
They had been stuck inside the den for what felt like forever. Apple felt it was too dangerous to leave the den. She constantly warned the kits of the dangers that young foxes faced. Chase found it difficult to believe, considering that she had not faced an inch of danger in her life.
Whorl let out a whine beside her sister.
"Why don't you let them just sit outside the den for a bit?" Copper asked. "I can watch them."
Apple sighed. "I suppose I just don't want all of you growing up too fast. It can't hurt to step outside for a bit."
Chase wagged her bushy tail in excitement. She finally was going to see the outside world! Or outside the den at least.
"Follow me, pups," Copper said, stepping outside the den. "But don't wander off, you hear?!"
All five nodded and stepped outside with their father. As Chase's paw stepped onto soft grass, she winced, the sunlight nearly blinding her. As her eyes adjusted to the light, there was a sharp intake of breath.
The day truly was beautiful. The sky was more blue than ever with wisps of clouds floating through the sky. The grass was a bright green, and as Chase moved her paw over it, she felt how soft it was.
Immediately, she collapsed onto her back, rolling around in the grass. It smelled sweet, and there was just a slight scent of the forest air lingering on it.
She glanced up at the trees overhead, noticing pink and white blossoms that had sprouted.
"Wow. Colorful," Chase murmured.
A gust of wind knocked a few off, and one pink flower slowly drifted down until it landed on the tip of Chase's dark nose.
She glanced at it in awe before letting out a gigantic sneeze.
"It'll take some getting used to," Copper joked as Chase stood up again.
While their den was situated in a small clearing, she could see the mass of large, leafy trees in the distance and the faintest outline of mountains. She wondered what else laid ahead their little den.
I'll find out one day, she reminded herself.
She glanced around, realizing each of her siblings seemed to be taken aback as well. It only lasted a few seconds before they began wrestling each other again. Chase, though she loved to play, sat to the side, admiring the view.
"Isn't this a lovely forest?" Copper asked.
Chase nodded. "Will this be my home forever?" she asked.
"It can be," he told her.
Chase grinned, her paws itching with excitement. She couldn't wait to explore the forest one day.
"Is everyone behaving?!" Apple asked, peeking her head out of the den.
"They're right here, dear," Copper assured her.
"You didn't tell me the outside was so beautiful!" Chase exclaimed, running up to her mother.
Apple chuckled. "I suppose it's a bit difficult to explain in words. Besides, you've always been able to see outside the den."
"But I've never been able to feel the grass or sniff the air," Chase argued. She leaned forward and buried her head in her mother's warm chest.
"Chase, are you crying?" Apple asked, her tail brushing her daughter's side.
"I never want to leave this place," Chase murmured into her mother's white chest.
She felt Apple gently lick behind her ear. Chase glanced up and grinned at her mother before turning back around to take in the spring air.
"I'm afraid it's not always this nice, Chase," Apple murmured. "The grass becomes brittle in the fall, and in the winter, everything is coated with snow."
"What's snow?" Chase murmured, still looking at the landscape.
Apple giggled. "I suppose you'll find out when you're older. You might even have a mate by then."
Chase tilted her head.
"Nevermind that. But I will warn, even though it looks pretty, there are dangerous animals in the woods. But the worst of all are the humans," Apple murmured quietly so that the other kits wouldn't hear.
"Humans?" Chase asked, the word foreign on her tongue.
"They stand upright on two legs and have no hair," Apple explained. "I-I don't want to scare you. We haven't had too many problems here. But sometimes...they kill foxes with scary sticks, and they sit in scary monsters on this loud road. Am I scaring you?"
Chase shook her head. She was well aware that there were dangers in the forest. While she enjoyed the view, even she was moving closer and closer to the den.
"Promise me you will stay safe and not wander," Apple wondered.
Chase nodded. "I promise."
