I. - Late summer; Early August…
The morning blossomed over the trees from which Todd stood behind. He watched light spread in gentle arcs through the branches, gliding down in a bright haze to engulf all of the farmland spread before him. The place where he sat was where he and his best friend had played long ago, it was where he and Vixie sometimes visited. The fox sighed deeply.
"You know, Todd honey," a voice spoke from behind, "this is the trail your mother took when she escaped from hunters with you," He bowed his head, "and on to the fencepost."
"She must have been very brave," Todd said quietly, "To do what she did."
"She was baby," Big Mama alighted to the ground and took him under her wing.
"What if I can't be a good parent, Big Mama? I barely protected Vixie when…" his voice trailed as his hazel eyes fell to the sunlit land below and he smiled in bittersweet memory.
"Well, Todd, I was wrong about one thing." She said in her normal cheery pitch.
He turned to the owl quizzically.
"Sometimes friendships can last forever."
As they turned to leave, the door to the wooden cabin down below opened and two hound dogs exited the building. One was a resigned-looking honey-brown canine with a few big patches of brownish-black down his back, the other a proud-looking cream-colored hound with a round underbelly. The male turned to her and breathed heavily as she went by him.
…
'We don't hunt anymore,' Copper thought to himself, 'so what else can a hound dog do?'
…
The path leading up to where the fox's borough was had formed a sort of dirt trail as an eager Todd paced up and down it; their curious onlookers did nothing to diminish any of the anxiety he felt. For all the fox cared, there might as well have been a whole gathering of woodland creatures of every different species the way they all snooped. Todd sent the animals a stiff glare. 'What is this? Subjects gathering for the crowning of some prince?'
"So, is it true?" a possum asked him. Todd couldn't get out a quick enough reply.
He angled his body sideways as a curious porcupine also came closer to hear his answer.
"I'm… sure I don't know what you're talking about miss."
"You're the fox who saved a hunter and hound dog?" The spiked-back creature prodded.
"Well, I um, don't really…" Todd looked around frantically at the advancing clusters.
"All right! All right!" Big Mama suddenly interceded herself, "Back up, move along…"
The fox sent her a grateful look as she swept the now disgruntled audience away.
"Todd!" Vixie's voice rang from the hollowed out earth.
He started to go in.
"Oh, no no no." the owl waved him back as well, "You wait here, dear."
As she disappeared into the open mouth of the borough, Todd noticed some sort of weird movement out in the distance. He squinted his eyes, looking hard and intently into bushes that ran the length of the small field. The fox was about to dismiss this when a creature at least a foot taller then Todd stepped out of the thick greenery and that's when he noticed something that really bothered him - all of the animals around the area had vanished now.
"No." He whispered frightfully. "No." his body instinctively crouched in defense.
The creature was brown and gnarled-looking, it's eyes roamed the ground restlessly with the intent to scavenge. Todd tried not to make eye-contact with it as he backed slowly to the edge of the borough, keeping his breathing even as he attempted to get to his family and alert Vixie and Big Mama of the impending danger. That's when a fox kit squealed.
"No!" Todd yelled. "Vixie! Bi-no!"
The wolfed creature launched itself at him and he found himself tussling with the toothed animal. This wasn't like the bear, this creature was more of Todd's size and able to get a better hold on the fox. It's muzzle moved in a frenzy of motions, trying to lock a hold on him. He tried hooking his paws between the gaps in its teeth and prying its jaw away from his white chest. But the creature only bore down harder on him before it threw his arms to the side and flew at him with its opening teeth onto his rump as he tried to scamper away.
Todd howled in pain.
From the sides of his now blurring vision he saw animals cowering as they watched this savage animal take a huge bite from the helpless fox. He bared his own teeth at them at their refusal to assist, but a surge of energy allowed him to roll around within the wolfed creature's hold and start pushing up at the furred jowls to try and free his painful behind.
An unfamiliar screech of fury rose from behind him and he turned to see a flurry of brown feathers dive into his attacker's face. Todd moved away quickly as his defender managed to block the rabid animal long enough for him to hurry into the borough and see Vixie.
"Honey," He stopped short at what he saw.
Vixie had a stricken look on her face, seven bundles of red fur were enclosed between her head and her tail as she stared up into his eyes with something he recognized - fear. Todd started to rush to her and she moved with him to the front of the borough to stand at his side. A pang of pride hit his chest as the two flanked the sides of the entrance, waiting.
"Big Mama," the vixen spoke in a hush, "where is she?"
"I don't know," Todd matched her pitch, "Whatever it was she-."
There was a loud, grizzly screech and a blur of brown went by them from outside. They ducked down and pressed their ears to their heads, watching and anticipating the creature to come at them. Todd squinted hard through the shadows that surrounded them and saw something that made his jaw drop - three feathers were floating purposely to the ground.
"No," He mouthed in horror.
"Through the back, Todd." Vixie said to him urgently, "And," her voice caught.
"What Vixie?" Todd questioned at his normal volume.
She shuddered noisily. "Just… take our daughter. I've this boy… out of the five."
"Vixie!.?" He turned on her incredulously. "The other-."
A snarl erupted from the ground above and they turned abruptly to see that a fury of fangs and fur was pressing down at them. The two foxes flew at the animal and caught it about the ears. Taking chunks around it's temples out, Todd kept forcing himself in front of his mate and children. He wrapped his body around its neck as it continued to holler in pain.
There was a sudden presence again and something dug into the creature's backside. Both Todd and Big Mama managed to wrangle the animal outside of the borough and bide the vixen enough time to gather as many of her children as she could and take exit the back.
II.
Todd groaned, struggling to get a hold on what was going on around him. He breathed in deeply and started feeling around but when he opened his eyes nothing but dark splotches of color staining the grass met his eyes. His eyes perked up instantly and he headed right over to the opening of the borough. Everything had fallen around the tunneled opening of the once well-constructed home. Todd paused when he saw that the daises that had been placed around the entrance were crushed even as they had only begun wilting, and except for the tiger lily Vixie had given him, everything else was destroyed. Even, he saw as he stepped inside, those who had mattered most to him. Todd backpedaled at the motionless figures at the back of the borough. 'It…' he shook his head in absolute disbelief. 'They-.'
A small moan came from nowhere.
"Vi-Vixie?" Todd managed to speak clumsily. "Vixie? Big Mama?" he shivered.
The moan sounded again.
Todd stepped over slowly to where a pile of straw with the tiger lily lying on it lay.
"Vixie?" He said with nervous hope. "Honey…"
Everything else around him was quiet. Nothing else moved or made noise except for him and whatever was under the strands of yellow. Todd, crestfallen now, began to pick about the straw until a pair of deep brown eyes peered right up into his. He stepped back, almost unwilling to believe anyone except himself had survived but the creature mewled for him.
"I'm not sure… I can't be left alone with you. I'm not ready to be… your…"
The small fox kit squeezed its eyes shut and mewled louder.
Todd shuddered at the thought of rearing his child alone.
"Vixie!.?" He called out, his voice strained with emotion. "Big Mama!.? Help!"
The sides of his eyes turned moist and he was panting when he turned over to the fox kit that was slowly approaching him. Todd sighed shakily and hovered over his daughter in an attempt to calm himself. When he looked up to the graying sky, however, he knew he had to find a safer place - somewhere that was well away from here. He only knew one…
…
As the storm clouds gathered, it was a relief to Todd when the sight of the familiar stump came into view and the small opening just above it's base signaled the perfecting shelter for the oddly compliant fox kit. When he looked down at her, she stared with some sort of fixation up at him. Todd could feel his heart warming towards the infant as he slid the red lump of fur into the opening and sat down with his eyes still on her. She blinked at Todd.
"I guess this is it." He tried mustering a grin.
His daughter curled up and slept through the rain that pelted her father.
To be continued…
