This chapter was stuck up out of curiousity a little while back. I didn't expect it to go anywhere and haven't messed with it forever. It's one of the earlier stories I started and I am currenlty trying to fill some time before the usual Friday night goes insane, because everybody seems to go insane on Friday nights and it's homecoming weekend- and I already know I am going to be busy tonight. This story isn't laid out as many of the others I have written. Some chapters are short and I'm just sticking a few up here to pass some time. Must have been in a better mindset when I wrote these things as far as paying attention because I didn't need to do much editing. I'm notincing a pattern I'm going to change because of this one. Hmm...yep, gonna change it...

Forsaken

He was surprised when he found the lynx already standing in the line of fire when he reached the circular room of the council. The cat looked just as apathetic as the fox was attempting to hold his own face as the barrage of questions started coming. A barrage of questions, that came to an abrupt halt when he was asked outright by the albino echidna at the center of semi-circled table if he had found the Equinox. With a flash of eyes he could see this wasn't going to be as simple as just answering a question when the doors closed and guards started inching in to close to circle. The lynx was shifting uneasily from foot to foot a few feet behind him as he let a look of annoyance fall over his face and crinkled his brow down. The council wasn't corrupt by any means, but he had wondered on more than one occasion how long it would be before that changed given the fact that their power seemed to be absolute and they had no desire to let it slip through their fingers. Nor did they have a problem throwing their weight around to make a point and were used to having things go the way they expected them to. Something he could see in more than a dozen icy glares wasn't going to be given up without a fight.

Careless. He had been careless and he mentally cursed himself for it. Standing in front of a questioning authority he wasn't capable of lying to, all he could do was grit his teeth. After several months of keeping up his usual regime he had gotten word from Glee. A simple message that no one would think twice about if they had seen it. "SAFE." After receiving that message he had found himself with Marceline combing through the archives of the great hall for several years. Researching every ancient text of history and piece of literature on legends he could find, he finally made his way to Lenox and was still left with questions he couldn't seem to find answers for. He was sure the answers were there, but it seemed those holding them simply weren't willing to supply.

He stood fast without making any move to make the council or the encroaching guards believe he intended to be a problem. Instead of answering the question he offered an explanation that would explain his change in behavior, and what he knew they were already aware of what he had been looking into. "There has been a development; one I am not sure how to proceed with." A shushed murmur traveled though the group before he was staring into the hazel eyes of a mammal far older than he could imagine and was asked outright to explain himself. "A mortal has absorbed another living beings embers and I need…"

The range of reactions fell between shocked gasps, explanations of disbelief and outright shouts of "No," and "That's not possible." All of which were silenced by the heavy slam of white webbed fingers on hard oak as silence fell over the room. The Great Echidnae rose to his feet and stood towering above the table looking down at the fox. Something that made him feel incredibly small, given the fact of the size of the white spiny anteater.

"It is a legend, a fairytale for romantics that has been passed down through generations as a tale to be told for young lovers and bedtime stories. It is not possible Nicholas. What proof do you have? Who's embers were absorbed? And by whom?"

The fox had turned to glance at the lynx who looked at him pleadingly while pinning his ears back in a "don't do it" look before he simply shook his head back at him with a warning glare. "Mine."

He wouldn't have had time to react if he had planned to. Within a moment a slight shift in hazel eyes had guards shuffling and he found himself and a very angry cat surrounded and being shoved to the ground. Then all hell broke loose as the walls and floor began to quake enough that it knocked many of the mammals off their feet, broke the table in half and gravel like dust began to fall around the room from the ceilings and walls followed by fist sized clumps of stone and earth. Everyone had began to scatter in panic and head for the exits when thick walls of crusty earth thrust themselves out of the ground and blocked every retreat. At the same time those same assaulting guards around him were pushed back by shards and spikes of thick stone that began to grow and lurch away from him towards any threat they may have posed making everyone in the room freeze in an utter since of terror as there was no escape and no other reasonable reaction.

As he stood and spun around trying to make sense of what was happening his attention was snapped to Echidnae who had shaken himself off and was now standing wide eyes with his fingers spread far enough that you could see the light shining through the webs between each finger. His mouth stood open in amazement as he watched the shards growing around the fox before he simply looked him directly in the eyes and said "Ena," in shock.

Ena had not been seen or shown itself in more than an eon. So long that very few in the belly were aware of the fact it was real and even fewer had actually witnessed its true power. The fox was rocked to his knees as a cone shaped dome started to grow up and around him and he panicked trying to crawl out the top as his hind claws dug into the thick earth, only to have his paws at the top pushed back in as it began to curl up around his fingers.

As the top finally closed around him he found himself ramming his shoulders into the sides trying to escape what he could only think was going to end up being his own tomb. In a blinding flash he was levitated off the ground hovering in the center just out of reach of anything solid when he was overcome with a pleasant and familiar warmth. Something old, something remembered but lost in time, something….. not meant to be remembered. A low hum began to reverberate through him that made every muscle fall and his mind drifted away until his whole body was limp in an indescribable relaxation. Surrounded by light the only unpleasant sensation was the burning he could see even through his closed eyelids as a thought began to pull in his mind. Not a thought, a feeling? An idea? A question? No, maybe a memory? Unclear. His mind was filled with images he had never laid his eyes on and visions of events swirled through his brain until all thoughts were gone and there was nothing left but raw emotion. Until every doubt, every worry, every fear was washed away and all that was left was a simple answer in his mind. "Yes."

All that feeling was lost as he fell to the floor in a sudden jolt and hit his ass and thigh hard enough to make him groan as he was plunged back into darkness and complete confusion. A new since of horror overtook him as the chamber began to fill with water that suddenly made him realize he was in his tomb and was going too drowned in it. Within a second the water was up to his muzzle and he was gasping and sputtering through the water as it finally breached the top and overcame him. That burn in his chest for the need for oxygen overtook the logic of not being able to breath as his body sucked in one long gasp of water that had him in a hysterical thrash. One that was shocked away when he realized that what he was breathing in was thick and cool, hard to push in and out of his lungs but didn't deprive his body of the oxygen he desperately needed. As he felt an awed sense of calm finally settle in, he felt that familiar warmth return. As his mind was slowly lost again he felt himself slip into the edges of a raw darkness.

The lynx had tried to step forward when he heard the fox screaming Ena's name, even more so when he heard the desperate cries of "Please," only to be shoved back by the shards that now encompassed the cylinder type cone that had engulfed him. Everyone in the room had reflexively put their paws and arms up in an attempt to shield themselves from the blinding flash and the cat could only watch in horror as the cone was slowly overtaken by a wall of water that swallowed it in as easily as the earth had swallowed the fox. Within the cone of earth he could see a floating fox's shadow beamed through the light that had overtaken the earth and water within it. Another eye slamming burst of light came and vanished to reveal the crumbling earth and water receding back into the ground below it with a very wet naked fox left lying in its place. One branch curled up under his back slightly lifting the fox, making him simultaneously cough up the liquid in his lungs as he gasped for fresh air, only to fall limp and motionless again as he began to breath normally.

Small and medium sized branches began to grow under and around him lifting him off the ground forming what could only be described as a cradle around him as a hot rush of air sprung through them drying his fur almost instantly. One small thin branch curled around and over the side moving his tail to rest over his abdomen as all the spikes and shards began to shrink back into the earth. The branch slowly crawled its way across the area to where the lynx stood gawking and lifted itself off the ground towards him. The cat took a reflexive step back as the branch tipped up over his head, but he knew better than to move too far. As if in response to the fear, the branch slipped itself over the top of his head back around his ear and scratched the back of his neck. The fluffy cat purred in response and the branch slipped around running across his neck in a petting motion before it curled under his chin where the tip brushed across the top of his nose lightly. The little branch dipped down where it released a single drop of liquid that fell onto the tongue of his partially open mouth.

The lynx flinched momentarily before hitting his knees and catching himself on one paw while the other hung in the air as he looked at the now sleeping fox and his eyes began to swell. The branch moved back a few feet and seemed to consider him for a moment until his gaze returned to it and a low hum of concern and question stirred through the air before the cat lost a tear and bowed his head towards it.

Without a moments hesitation the branch had shot to the echidnae and now stayed at eye level with him. It shot out long green thistles and leaves and shook violently in front of him before he hung his head and lowered his eyes. Seeming to be pleased with the reaction the branch rescinded all the sprouts and made its way back to the fox where there now sprung up tiny green leaves and small white and violet flowers all around him and the cradle he was nestled into.

Another hum rose through the air and the earthen walls fell away, opening all the doors, leaving the room looking as if it had never been out of sorts if it hadn't been for the new makeshift bed in the center holding a naked fox and the broken and splintered table around it. The Great Echidnae raised his paws as the lynx began to rise and walked to the fox showing that no movement needed to be made towards the two. The cat looked over the fox to see that his fur had changed to a brighter color, his build seemed to have changed to be smaller and his muzzle and face had lost a great deal of wisdom and time. All in all he looked a great deal younger and none the worse for wear.

The lynx turned to reveal he had picked up the fox and his limp arms swung around as he turned with his head dangling over his arm. He looked at each guard and then at each council member before finally landing his eyes on the echidnae when he let out a loud growl of defiance before it turned into a low rolling threat as he returned his eyes to the unconscious fox. "He has been slated," he said without caring to see the response. Those glim looks of frustration and fear from the council and echidnae turned to somber looks of resolution at hearing the words. The council gathered and silently watched as the lynx carried the fox out into the corridors. He took him to his own room, dressed him as inconspicuously as he could in a pair a khaki pants, a Hawaiian yellow green shirt and a blue tie with pin stripes before carrying him out of the belly. Once he had made his way past the den he walked into the forest and searched the trees. "Sherik!" The name hadn't even left his lips fully before the little monkey was hanging in front of him looking over the unconscious fox curiously. To the cats surprise he didn't seem shocked that he had been stripped of his immortality, or that he was bound for Zootopia. The little monkey and his band simply agreed to keep their oath of service and watch over him in the city.

He was angry and bitter when he woke with a pain stabbing through his head that felt like someone sticking a needle in his temple and a throb in his chest that ached like he'd been whiplashed. He wasn't sure where he was or how he had gotten here, only that he could never return to the life he once knew. So many memories that didn't make sense. He was dying and he could feel it in every breath he took. Memories he shouldn't have kept were swimming in his mind and the questions that he knew would never be answered weighed on him more heavily than the heart he felt pounding in his chest. What had he done that had lead to him being sentenced to a slow but rather blink of an eye kind of death? The fact that he didn't understand or remember why only heated the frustration and fueled his hate towards a world that didn't seem to want him and he didn't feel like he belonged in. Each place he turned he would find hateful glares and suspicion in the eyes of those who watched him too closely. No family, no friends, no connections that made him feel safe or welcome. No place to even hang his head to loathe in his own self pity.

He had ducked under a little bridge to escape the cold of the wet rain when he was startled by a deep voice. "Hey Fox." The sight of the tiny predator with such a baritone voice added to the surprise as the little mammal looked him over thoroughly.

"Ain't you got a home kid? Why you out in the rain?"

"I could ask you the same."

"My vans in the shop until tomorrow."

The little fox watched and saw what he considered a kid shiver before reaching around down and behind himself and pulling out a bottle of brandy that was nearly as large as his own body and thrust it towards him. For all intents and purposes he may as well have been a kid considering how much he knew about this world. "Looks like you might need this more than me kid." The red fox took the bottle in one paw and half rolled his eyes before shrugging his shoulder in a 'why the hell not' gesture and took a large swig from the bottle. One that had him sputtering and gasping for breath before he felt a warm tingle in his stomach that turned into a glowing fuzz he felt through his fingers and toes, all the way through his aching bones.

The large eared predator watched and tilted his head back in a wide smile as the younger fox took a drink too large to be considered a double shot and nearly laughed when he almost choked out, "That's terri…" Grinning as he watched his eyes glaze over slightly as the chill faded from him and he leaned into the cold stones forming the underside of the arched bridge. A cold he didn't feel in the slightest.

"Never drank before hu kid?"

"No, it doesn't do any good for my kind, so it's not around where I'm from, but I understand why mammals do it now." The little fox considered his words for a moment before brushing off the comment deciding not to press someone who was already down on their luck.

"Names Finnick."

"Nicholas."

"Well Nick, welcome to Zootopia."