This story is about to take a turn. Enjoy the next chapter!
The Great Hall had just finished dinner, and Harry walked out the entrance doors of the large castle. He didn't walk too far away from the castle itself, just far down enough so he could look for his friend. The sky was darkening and the first stars were beginning to shine bright. The large forest surrounding Hogwarts grew noisy with its nightly sounds of screeches from hunting owls, cries of herd animals, and the soft growls of something large hiding in the trees. Harry could hear Fang barking all the way down at Hagrid's hut. Harry peered through the darkness, trying to see any bright colors.
"Sam!" Harry called. "Here, Sam!"
Harry listened for any noise, watched for any movement, but no fox appeared.
"Sam! Come on, Sam! Where are you?" Harry tried again.
"Harry, get in here." Harry heard his father call from the doors. "It is far too late for you to be out here alone."
"I'm looking for Sam, Dad." Harry said, turning to face him. "I haven't seen him all day. He doesn't usually not show."
"We've only known him for a few weeks, Harry. This may become an occurring habit of his. And you can't be constantly looking for him on the edge of a panic attack. He'll show up when he wants to." Severus walked over to his son, draping an arm around his shoulders and leading him back inside. "Perhaps he'll arrive after you're all ready for bed."
Harry walked with his father down to their quarters. He changed into pajamas and threw slippers on. Then begged his father for a quick dessert when Severus asked him to brush his teeth.
"I said no."
"Please, Dad. Just one treacle tart? One tiny piece of one?" Harry asked, standing outside his father's study. He used his thumb and index to show just how tiny.
"You're pushing it, Harry." Severus scolded as he tried to focus on grading first-year essays. These particular essays were usually covered in ink blotches and had poor structure and formation, which made them difficult to read. Damn students don't know how to properly use a quill. "Go brush your teeth."
"You didn't let me have dessert at dinner. I've been good all week. I even got an O on my math homework, which never happens. And another O on my science project." Harry continued.
"And an A on your writing assignment." Severus countered.
"It was a boring topic. And there were only a few inky messes and I'm not great at spelling. It was one A." Harry whined.
"Harry, please." Severus looked up from the essay he was grading with a tired look. "Just, go brush your teeth. You'll live without a dessert for one night."
"No, I won't." Harry muttered under his breath as he walked to the bathroom. "I'm going to die a slow and painful death and all because you won't let me have a treacle tart."
Severus couldn't help the smirk as he watched his son head to the bathroom. He listened for the sound of water running before returning his attention on the essays. He stared at the essay, trying to make out the name. Is that an 'A' or an 'O" or . . .
: I believe the name is Adrian Pucey.
Severus, not completely caught off-guard, lowered his quill, and slowly reached for his wand, gripping it lightly in his fingers, listening for sounds in the room, trying to ignore the distracting words in his head.
"And how would you know?" Severus asked.
: It isn't completely terrible writing, sloppy and careless, but not bad. I myself didn't learn how to write until very recently. I never really needed to learn how to write. It wasn't nearly as important as learning skills that would keep me alive.
Severus heard a noise to his left, but he only glanced in the direction with his eyes. There was nothing there. Nothing that could be seen, anyway.
: But of course being a horrible writer myself, I've learned to make out terrible handwriting. Anything more fancy and you'll have me stumped. I can never read yours as a matter of fact. Too neat and sharp. You should try . . .
Severus spun his chair around and fired a revealing charm at the bookshelf, the sound of books lightly leaning into each other from an invisible force catching his attention. The charm revealed the cat-sized fox that had used an illusion to make himself appear invisible. Sam grunted as the spell hit him and dramatically flipped off the books he had been walking on and fell to the ground. He began rolling on his back as if in terrible pain, his black paws straight up in the air. His three tails whipped in the opposite direction his body moved, the white tips thumping on the ground.
: He's killed me. Have mercy, great warlock. I offer you my services in return for spared life.
"You offered that last time." Severus smirked, shaking his head at the fox.
For some reason, Sam began victimizing Severus in a silly game of "try and find me before I disrupt your study." Or office. Or bedroom. Sam would illusion himself to appear invisible and stalk around whatever room Severus may be in, usually a place where Severus didn't appear too busy in. Sam would bring up a nonsensical conversation in an attempt to distract Severus while Sam moved closer to him. The first couple of times, Severus had been unaware of what Sam was doing and carried on the conversations until he was either struck with a harmless ball of bright light that momentarily blinded him or was struck physically with Sam's three tails. The past few times, Severus had managed to fire a charm or harmless spell at the fox, catching him in the act.
Severus didn't mind the games. They helped hone his senses, strengthening them, and he was sure they did the same to the fox's senses, as well as help Sam practice his hunting or his sneakiness.
"Why don't you play these games with Harry?" Severus asked, fixing his chair and returning to his grading.
: The kid doesn't know how to use his senses yet. And he's too full of questions to try and carry on a conversation with. I end up being the one distracted.
"You've tried?" Severus looked down at the fox that came to sit next to his chair, growing to the size of a Labrador dog.
: Tried and failed. He kept asking where I was and when I would be back. Then he asked a bunch of questions related to math. I answered whatever he asked and decided to just go for you.
"That little sneak!" Severus shook his head. "You know, most parents complain about their kids feeding the dogs at the table, not cheating on their homework with the dogs."
: I'm not a dog. And I shall try to encourage him to answer the questions himself next time.
"Dad! I'm done." Harry called.
"Plan on continuing your story?" Severus said as he stood from his desk. He began walking out of the study and towards his son's room.
: I guess. The next part of my story isn't particularly happy. Sam trotted next to Severus, his ears falling slightly, the black tips quivering.
"If you don't want to discuss it, you could skip it entirely." Severus said, noting the fox's uneasiness.
: And confuse the little human? I can tell it. I just need a good place to start. Perhaps the happier moments. Sam ears perked up the smallest bit.
As the two entered Harry's room, Harry smiled at Sam, sitting up in his bed.
"There you are, Sam." Harry watched as Sam jumped onto the foot of his bed, sitting in his usual spot. Severus laid next to Harry. "Where were you?"
: Hunting. Sam said. There are some strange creatures in that forest. None of which I succeeded in catching.
"You don't want to eat anything in there, anyway. I take Harry home to practice his hunting." Severus said, brushing hair out of his son's eyes.
: Yes, I remember visiting your place when I was looking for the source of . . . some kind of magical connection I felt. Sam discreetly winked at Harry. You two had already left for this castle, but I gave myself a tour of your manor and the forest surrounding it. I discovered some delicious deer, though the doe put up quite a fight. Sam licked his lips in memory.
"Quite unnerving to hear that I had an intruder in my home." Severus gave the fox a pointed glare. "Even so, you should join Harry and I on our hunts. You could even help give Harry some pointers."
"Yeah! That would be fun!" Harry said.
: Sounds like a plan. As my father used to say – hunting is an art . . .
". . . And a fine one at that." Akira told sixty-year-old Samuru. The kit was still only half Akira's size when he himself was the size of a normal fox, considering that kits can't change their size until at least a hundred years old. However, Sam was now old enough to learn how to hunt. Sam trotted alongside his father as they entered the forest.
Sam had never really learned how to hunt in his previous life. He had survived solely on his street smarts and thievery. Now that he had a father to teach him the tricks, Sam wanted to learn as much as he could from him. Akira had already shared so much wisdom with him and hunting would be one more added to the list.
"Calm down, Samuru. You don't want any prey to sense your excitement." Akira lowered himself in the tall grass, peering out at an open clearing of short grass and flowers. "Hush down and prepare to pounce."
Sam copied his father's stance. When he believed he mirrored Akira, he growled softly in excitement.
"Sa, hush! What did I say?" Akira scolded lightly.
"Sorry."
"Now, when something passes through here, preferably a rabbit, allow it the chance to become completely calm in its surroundings, and when it's nibbling on a flower, pounce on it. Alright?"
"Got it." Sam said, his tail offering a quick wag. "Let it become calm, nibble a flower, pounce."
"Here comes one now." Akira said.
Sam watched as a small, gray cottontail hopped along slowly into the clearing, hesitantly sniffing around, it's small pink nose and white whiskers twitching. Sam glanced at Akira, but the larger fox had somehow disappeared. Sam swiveled his head around trying to find him but quickly froze when he realized the rabbit had jumped at the sudden movement in the tall grass.
Sam kept still as the rabbit remained motionless, seemingly staring right at him. Sam hardly breathed. After a moment, the rabbit's nose began twitching. Another moment and the rabbit hopped over to a small purple flower, but it still looked over in Sam's direction. It seemed to turn its head as if trying to focus one eye on anything that could be hidden in the tall grass. It hesitantly nibbled at the flower, pulling a petal off and chewing it in its mouth while staring in Sam's direction.
It's nibbling! Sam thought. He prepared to pounce, showing his teeth slightly. That counts right?
Sam leaped out of the trees and opened his mouth to snatch the rabbit's throat. The small cottontail scrambled on its feet for a moment before darting under the fox and leaping away. Sam fell to the hard ground, shutting his mouth a moment too late and hitting his lower jaw hard on the floor, the rest of his face following. Sam flipped a couple times from his overpowered leap and landed up against a tree, upside down, his tail covering his stomach and burying his nose in the white tips.
Sam could hear Akira laughing. Sam pulled his nose out of the hairs of his tail and threw his head back against the rough ground and stared at his upside father, watching the fox roll around in a fit of amusement. Embarrassed, Sam allowed himself to fall over so he could right himself. He growled at Akira, his ears laid flat and his tail curling about him in humiliation.
"Stop laughing at me! It's not funny!" Sam snarled, flashing his teeth and his fur bristling.
"Temper, Samuru. Watch it or I'll nip you." Akira growled, standing.
"Yes, Otousan."
Akira trotted over towards Sam, sitting down in front of his son.
"Tell me what you did wrong." Akira said, looking down at Sam with alert ears.
"The prey wasn't calm." Sam guessed, hunching his shoulders a bit and letting his ears tilt to the side. Just in case he was wrong.
"Yes. That, and you put a little too much force behind your leap. But more importantly, that rabbit was expecting you. It was wary of its surroundings."
"But it was nibbling."
Akira sighed, his eyes closing momentarily. An idea came to mind and he opened his eyes again.
"Yes, but the rabbit was still looking for danger." Akira said, standing once more. "You don't want your prey to know what's going on; to know that you are hiding in the grass, the bushes, the trees."
Akira tightly circled around Sam, gesturing with a tilt of his head to the various places a fox could ambush another animal. Sam looked around, imagining himself in every spot, spying on an innocent creature. Akira began to widen his circle around Sam bit by bit as he kept talking.
"Your prey should feel completely secure in its surroundings, unaware of the foreboding presence around, the impending danger it is about to face, the sudden death it will suffer." Akira slightly snarled d at Sam to emphasize his point.
Sam, greatly enthused, snarled back playfully, though he remained where he sat, watching his father and absorbing the new knowledge eagerly.
"You want your prey to feel as though everything is completely normal. To feel safe in the open field, to be relaxed." Akira took a slow, deep breath in through his nose, closing his eyes and holding the air for a moment before slowly letting it out through his mouth, sighing contently.
Sam copied his father, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He held it for a moment before slowly letting it out. He sighed as Akira did, letting his eyes remain closed for a moment more, smiling as he allowed the last bit of any temper he had in him fade. He felt his muscles relax. He could do this hunting thing. He opened his eyes.
"Okay. I think I'm ready to . . ." Sam began but stopped when he didn't see his father. "Otousan?" Sam slanted one ear as he slowly glanced around for his father, standing slightly.
Suddenly, he was forced to the ground and onto his back by a quick, strong force and pinned to the ground. White teeth were inches from his face as the creature snarled at him, it's ears flat against its head and only a single paw pushing down on Sam's chest, keeping him down.
And just as quickly, the thing stopped snarling and smirked in a devilish way, it's black lips curling and its ears pushing forward. The white teeth had disappeared and Sam looked up at his father.
"See how that works?" Akira asked slyly.
"Otousan!" Sam cried indignantly.
Sam struggled to get up and Akira removed his paw and allowed Sam to chase after him, laughing as he leaped away from the half embarrassed, half amused kit. Akira stopped a few feet ahead of Sam and dropped into a bow, snarling at the approaching cub. He allowed Sam to tackle him to the ground, mouthing the fox a few times as he captured him in his paws. Sam growled and tried to squirm out of the hold. Akira jumped to his feet once more and jumped away.
The two foxes chased each other for a few minutes in the trees until they ran into Mai and Natsumi near the river. The girls were also normal fox-sized. Mai had also earned her fifth tail about twenty years back. Natsumi was dripping wet, but she looked very happy, her ears forward and her white chest puffed out. She was roughly the same size as Sam.
"Akira, you won't believe what your daughter did!" Mai began excitedly. "She snagged a trout on her first try! It pulled her right into the water, the dear thing, but she held on with those jaws and she snapped its spine as I taught her. I was ready to jump in after her, but she kept mumbling over her mouthful that she could do it. All I could do was shout at her to be careful and if she was sure she was alright. I mean look at the trout! Her first fishing lesson!"
Sam looked over at the large fish his sister had caught. It was probably a good seven or eight pounds, not the biggest fish he had seen his parents catch, but large for a fox Natsumi's size to kill. And it was definitely bigger than any fish he had ever caught during his fishing trips with Mai or Akira.
"My, what a catch. That's my girl, you let those dogs out there know that a vixen can take care of herself." Akira ruffled Natsumi's head with his chin. Natsumi gave a single wag of her tail and opened her mouth in a huge foxy smile before shaking herself once more, spraying water on everyone.
"How's the first hunting lesson going?" Mai asked, smiling at Samuru.
"Ah, we're working on it." Akira smiled down at Sam as well before looking back at Mai. "It's a jump from fishing, but he'll get the hang of it. He's a clever fox."
"Do you smell that?" Natsumi said as she sat in front of Sam. She dramatically sniffed the air. "Smells like . . . a champion of fishing is in your presence! Oh, Sa, are you feeling well? You look a little green . . . with envy!" Natsumi laughed.
"Ah, beginner's luck." Sam retorted. He might be a little jealous but there was no way he was telling his sister that.
"Just wait till I start hunting. Maybe I'll have a little 'beginner's luck' and catch something on my first try, too." Natsumi said, fluttering her eyes at Sam confidently.
"Fishing's easy. Hunting takes skill. Practice." Sam argued, tossing his head up in the air away from his sister, closing his eyes.
"Just a couple more years, Sa. And we'll see just how skillful you have to be at hunting." Natsumi trotted to her prized fish and tried to pick it up in her jaws. The head and tail of the fish dragged on the ground as she tried to pull it forward by the back.
"Careful, Sumi. Allow me." Akira grew to the size of a large wolf and picked up the trout. He carefully followed the smaller foxes.
Sam followed behind Akira, upset that his lesson was momentarily over. He was still a bit upset that Natsumi had caught a fish on her first fishing lesson and he had yet to hunt down anything. The foxes returned to the den and Mai crawled down the entrance, leaving Akira and the two kits with the large fish.
Akira laid the fish down and shrunk back to normal size. He opened his mouth and breathed a gentle flow of fire on the fish. The smell of cooked fish rushed into Sam's nose and he licked his lips hungrily.
"I want the head! I want the head! I caught it; I should get the head!" Natsumi barked, rising up on her hind legs and holding a begging puppy pose.
"Of course, you get the head. It is your catch, after all, sweetheart." Akira bit down on the neck and thrashed his head, decapitating the fish. Sam huffed. The head was usually the best part of the fish, with the interesting textures from the eyes and the brain, the meaty flesh of cooked muscle and tissue. However, if Sam was going to be fair, he supposed Natsumi did deserve the head.
Mai returned with Rini and Hoshiko in her jaws, having grown to the size of a large wolf in order to carry both kits. Mai shrunk once more after putting the two kits down.
"Natsumi caught her first fish! I want to see it! I want to see it!" Rini cried running over to see the large trout.
"Look at the size of it!" Hoshiko added. "I bet it's just full of juicy, tender meat."
The foxes ate the fish until all that remained was the skeletal features, which Mai and Akira chomped on while the kits rested their full stomachs.
"And for dinner, I'm catching us a large, plump rabbit." Sam told his two younger sisters.
"Really? Yummy." Hoshiko licked her lips. "We haven't had rabbit in a week now. And they're usually the easiest for Otousan and Okaasan to catch."
"If you catch the rabbit, can I have the back legs?" Rini asked.
Sam smiled at his youngest sister. He adored Rini. She was small, innocent, sweet and very much like their mother. Rini looked up to Sam and would follow him around everywhere. Sam had at one point gotten annoyed with her constant following and snapped at her to leave him alone and (hardly, might Sam add) nipped her ear. Rini had cried to their parents, and Akira had given him three nips to his rear. Besides the punishment, Akira also told Sam that Rini adored her big brother and that she only wanted to please Sam by trying to do the same things he did. Sam tried his best to never lash out at Rini again.
"Of course, Rini." Sam answered the pleading eyes. Rini's black lips curled into a small, shy smile. The hind legs of a rabbit were usually very tender and delicious, but Sam would give that up for Rini.
"That would mean that Samuru has to actually catch a rabbit." Natsumi interrupted, sitting down next to Sam. "Otousan is having the time of his life telling Okaasan about how you missed your first catch." Natsumi smirked.
"Eavesdropper," Sam growled at her.
"Lousy hunter." Natsumi returned. "Can I start calling you Flipsy? That's going to be your new nickname." Natsumi decided.
"Don't you dare call me that!"
"What are you going to do about it, Flipsy?"
Sam pushed his sister down, but Natsumi, expecting the attack, crawled out from under her brother and attacked him from the side, knocking him over. Sam kicked with his hind legs, throwing his sister off of him and quickly got to his feet. The two continued to wrestle each other.
"Natsumi, what have I told you about that!" Mai called from her place, quickly swallowing the last of the small fish bones.
"How she teases Sa. I'm surprised he's never really taken offense to anything she's ever said or teased him about, knowing his temper." Akira watched the two kits tousle, noting how gentle the stronger kit was when playing with his sister.
"Yes, it is an improvement. You've taught our little Sa well, Akira. But I'm doing a horrible job with Natsumi. She's a vixen, she needs to start acting like one. She's too . . ." Mai searched for the right words.
"Tomboyish?" Akira supplied.
"Yes. Too tomboyish. Fighting is for dogs." Mai tilted her head to the side in thought, staring at Akira.
"That's our Natsumi, Mai. I don't think she'll ever stop being a little tomboy. She's always had that spitfire in her from the time she was born. That will never change." Akira commented.
"Speaking of things never changing, the hothead and the spitfire have disappeared," Mai commented, smirking at Akira.
Akira groaned loudly, closing his eyes and dropping his head.
Natsumi and Sam trotted through the trees, crawling under shrubs and through thickets. A thorn scraped Sam's side as he wriggled under a rosebush after his sister. He hissed at the sharp pain but it faded quickly. He stopped next to Natsumi who was scanning the trees for a rabbit. They had decided to challenge each other to see who could catch a rabbit first. While their parents were talking, they quickly made their escape.
"Do you see a rabbit?" Natsumi asked.
"Nah. Do you?" Sam said.
"I wouldn't have asked you if I did, would I?" Natsumi stated. "What's that?"
Sam followed his sister's gaze and saw flashes of gray, black, red, and yellow colors moving through the trees. Several objects sparkled in the sunlight. The colors moved closer towards Sam and Natsumi.
Keeping low to the ground, Sam crept towards the colors, Natsumi staying close to his side. When they were right in front of the strange colors, concealed within the shrubs and thickets, Sam gasped. Humans. Men. Hunters. Twelve of them.
They wore long pants despite the hot weather and carried all sorts of weapons: long blades, old types of guns (as those were the kinds up to date), bows and arrows, and knives. They were all Japanese, except for one dirty blond-haired man. This man wasn't a native, but Sam watched him, even though his back was turned to them. Sam strained to listen to what they were saying.
"We've searched these woods for years and I have never seen kitsune in it." One man said to the non-native.
"We've got a few dogs searching around. They'll howl if they smell something." Another man said.
"Why would kitsune be so far out in these woods? We are not that far from the mountains. It must get cold and dreadful at times." Yet another native said. He used a small cloth to clean his long blade.
"I'm sure it was a means of survival, to come out so far and remain hidden." A shorter native wearing a yellow vest like cloth spoke.
"What if we run into Ninetails out here?" The first man who had spoken said. "I hear they are deadly."
"I've killed Ninetails before." The dirty blond man finally spoke. "Over fifty years ago. They tried foxfire, illusions . . . but they were already so weak from days of fighting and running. It was too easy."
The blond turned and Sam gasped. The man had grey eyes and Sam was suddenly hit with a memory of when Akira had saved him, and a long lost memory of who his parents were trying to hide him from. It couldn't be the same man. That man should be dead after all these years. It wasn't possible.
"There are a couple things you men should know before facing a kitsune. When it opens its mouth, raise your shield. When it swings its tails at you, cut them off. Be aware of all of your surroundings, they can illusion themselves to blend in and move objects from a far distance. But most importantly, never look into a kitsune's eyes. If you happen to fall into an illusion, fight it. Don't believe anything you see." The grey-eyed man concluded.
"Yes sir." The other eleven said together.
"One more thing. If we come across a family, remember, I want the oldest kit . . . alive. It'll make a wonderful addition to my collection. And when I have tamed and trained it, I can use the powers it will have when it reaches its hundred years' mark."
Howling could be heard in the distance.
"Let's move." The leader of the group barked. "You know my orders."
The several men began heading north.
Sam was breathing heavy and Natsumi was shaking slightly.
"Are you okay, Sa?" Natsumi asked. She looked at her brothers, near frozen stature, his wide eyes, and heavy breath. Sam nodded slowly as he pulled himself out of the flashback of the man who had hunted his parents and was now hunting his family.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Sam breathed in deeply.
"We have to warn Otousan and Okaasan. Come, Sa." Natsumi said.
Samuru and Natsumi turned around and began working their way back to the den. However, as they crawled under a shrub, a man froze at the sight of them on the other side. Sam and Natsumi both gasped as the native turned his gun towards them. He must have been a part of the group, a thirteenth man who may have been scouting the area. The two kits snarled at the man, their fur bristling. The man seemed to smirk at them.
The sound of running caught everyone's attention, and they watched as Akira jumped over the shrubs and landed before the man, blocking his children from view. He was once again the size of a large wolf. He didn't snarl or growl at the man, nor was his fur bristled.
: Look into my eyes. Sam heard the words enter his head. He watched as his father stared at the man, straight into the dark, nearly black eyes. Look into my eyes. The words said again.
Akira's eyes were changing, Sam noticed. The yellow in his eyes were swirling like paint being mixed, and Akira's pupils were dilating and constricting quickly and repeatedly. The man fell to his knees in a trance, maintaining eye contact with the fox. His own eyes were acting similar to Akira's. The colors swirling and the pupils growing and shrinking.
: Look into my eyes. Akira spoke through the mind one final time.
And then there was silence for a moment as the two merely stared at each other, Akira slowly advancing on the man. When the two were directly nose to nose, Akira finally broke the eye contact and latched on to the man's throat and snapped the neck. The man fell to the ground dead.
Akira turned to his kits who were awed at the strange power that had just taken place. The two snapped out of their own trance and began talking at once.
"Otousan, there's more. There were so many, with strange shiny things! They're looking for us! They're going to kill us!" Natsumi cried.
"Otousan, we saw hunters. They're all armed and they brought dogs. They're looking for us! They're going to find us." Sam cried.
"Hush, hush. It's going to be alright." Akira nuzzled the two kits. "Sa, what did you say you saw."
"Hunters, Otousan. About a dozen. They mentioned dogs." Sam answered.
"Male foxes?" Natsumi asked, tilting her head to the side.
"No, Sumi." Akira said. "A different kind of dog. Hunting dogs. Trained to track . . . and kill foxes."
Natsumi began whimpering, tears forming in her eyes. Sam remained quiet, fearful of reliving a similar nightmare.
"Come children. We have to get back to the den. Quickly." Akira led the kits back home, making sure to slow his leaps so the kits could keep up with him. They weren't too far from the den and arrived in less than a minute.
"Mai!" Akira called. The vixen stood to all fours in front of the den.
"Akira, what's happened?" Mai asked, watching her mate run quickly to the den, their two kits close behind. "What is it?"
"Get Rini and Hoshiko inside. Quickly!" Akira nosed Rini toward the den and used two of his tails to lead Hoshiko over. Sam and Natsumi sat and waited, anxiously looking around.
"Akira . . ." Mai pushed Akira off of Rini by shoving her snout against his. She finally got his attention and gave him a concerned look, her ears falling back and her eyes squinting slightly as she stared up at him. Akira sighed and looked at his two youngest girls and then back at Mai.
"Hunters." Akira answered. Mai gasped. "Possibly a good dozen. I've already killed one, but the rest may have dogs with them."
"No." Mai shook her head in disbelief. "This can't be happening. No. We were so far out."
"We'll be alright. Come, let's get all the kits into the den. I'll collapse the hut and cover the escape exits. Go!"
Mai grew to the size of a large wolf and picked up Rini and Hoshiko by their scruffs. Rini began whimpering and tried to turn to see her father.
"What about you, Otousan." Rini cried.
"I'll be down, don't worry." Akira assured, giving both kits a quick lick.
Mai crawled down into the tunnel with the kits. Akira walked behind the hut like structure of branches, grass, and leaves.
"Samuru, help your sister." He said.
"Come, Sumi." Sam said pausing at the entrance and waiting for her.
"Shouldn't we wait for Okaasan?" Natsumi asked, staring down into the steep darkness.
"Just slide down. I do it all the time." Sam assured her. "Ready?"
Natsumi nodded and together the two kits slid down the entrance to the den. Sam could hear the crumbling of the branches as their father forced the hut to fall, covering the large hole in the ground. Sam and Natsumi fell into the main den as a couple sticks came tumbling down with them. Sam covered his sister as dirt, rocks and sticks fell on them. Standing, the two kits stared at the entrance that was now closed off. The only way out would soon be the five exit tunnels that led to different areas of the forest.
Mai and the two younger kits were huddled together in a corner of the den. The younger kits were shaking and whining. Sam and Natsumi joined the huddle, sitting in front of Mai.
"Are we going to die?" Hoshiko asked. Rini cried harder.
"Nonsense, Hoshi, we will be fine. We have an escape system if we need it, and you four will run where?" Mai asked.
"To the den by the river." All four kits replied. They had practiced the run a few times throughout the years.
"Very good." Mai said. "Your father and I will fight off who we can and then we will join you."
"And if you don't?" Natsumi asked, her ears falling and her shoulders hunching a bit. "Join us, I mean."
Mai stared at her for a moment, her eyes serious and her ears forward.
"Then take care of your sisters." Mai finally said. Natsumi gulped. "Samuru."
Sam couldn't look at his mother. He couldn't lose his family again. Not for a second time. And he was still too small to even attempt to help stop it from happening.
"Samuru. Look at me." Mai encouraged. Tears fell from Sam's eyes. He didn't want to hear what Mai wanted to tell him. He didn't want any of this to be a possibility. He sniffed a few times.
"Sa." Came a deeper voice. Sam looked over to see Akira standing at the tunnel that led to his and Mai's section of the den, his ears forward and his head tilted slightly. Sam looked back at the ground before staring up at his mother. Mai sighed when she saw that Sam was finally looking at her.
"If anything happens to your father and I, and we do not return to the den by the river, you have to promise us that you will take care of your sisters. Promise us." Mai said, stretching her neck so her face was closer to Sam's. Akira entered the den and sat close to Sam, waiting for his answer.
Sam looked up at his father, who offered a small smile. He glanced at Natsumi, who quickly averted her head, tears of her own falling from her tightly closed eyes. Sam looked back up at his mother and slowly nodded.
"I promise. I will take care of my sisters. Always and forever." Sam promised.
Mai smiled at him and gave him a gentle lick on his snout, while Akira licked the top of his head.
"Thank you, Sa." Mai said. "I promise you, all of you, that your father and I will defend our family to the best of our ability. We will try to make it to that den alive."
"I know this will be hard, children. But I have faith in all of you. Your mother and I love you all." Akira said.
Sam lowered his head once more, leaning against his father. Natsumi had moved to lay next to their mother and it was silent for a few moments. And then the sound of barking came.
Akira stood to his feet and looked up, his ears forward.
"Children, lower your heads." Akira commanded.
Sam crouched low to the ground, as did everyone else. Akira opened his mouth and let out a jet of fire that covered the entire ceiling of their den. The flames licked the fur of everyone inside. Akira breathed one more flame in the main entrance tunnel. The entire den smelled strongly of char and smoke, the fox smell completely disappeared. Sam coughed being the only one not burying his nose in Mai's fur. Akira moved next to him, using his head to gently pull Sam against him. Sam kept his nose in his father's fur, ignoring the tickling feeling the soft fur was causing. The barking continued for a few more seconds before it grew quiet once more.
The entire fox family remained silent and frozen.
Then something zipped down the main entrance and into the center of the den. An arrow with a flaming tip. Barking started up again, along with howling, and two more flaming arrows joined the first.
"They know we're down here! Everyone move!" Akira ordered. Mai pushed Hoshiko and Rini to the appropriate tunnel while Akira disappeared down his. Natsumi and Sam ran to the other side of the den.
"Samuru, I'm scared." Natsumi confessed.
"Be brave, Sumi." Sam encouraged. "I'll see you at the den."
Sam smiled softly and Natsumi nodded, offering a small smile. Then the two kits charged into their dens and ran to the escape tunnels.
Sam took a deep breath, trying to muster up bravery himself, before charging forward.
"What happened next? What happened!" Harry asked.
"Harry." Severus slightly admonished. Severus watched the fox closely. Sam had stopped talking altogether. He was probably thinking about how to continue his story. Or if he even could.
: I can't do this. Sam finally said. Not tonight. I need to rest. Think it over. I'm sorry.
Sam leaped off the bed, his ears down head lowered, retreating to the living room where the large dog bed of his lay, his tails dragging behind him.
"Is Sam okay, Dad?" Harry asked Severus.
"He's okay, Harry. Just reaching a hard part of the story to tell. If he's ready tomorrow, he'll tell it. And that's if he's ready." Severus said.
"Okay, Dad. Goodnight." Harry said.
"Goodnight, son."
Severus gave Harry a quick kiss before leaving the room. He walked out into the living room and found the fox lying on the dog bed, his eyes closed, his ears still back, and his three tails curled up around him. Severus squatted in front of the bed and reached out a hand to stroke the fox's head, something he had never done with Sam, but had seen Harry do a couple times. Sam opened his eyes and watched Severus.
: I believe I've told you that I am not a dog. The fox said though he didn't move.
"You're not resisting." Severus retorted. "I thought you'd like a little company. You really are an incredible fox. I'm sure your parents are very proud of how far you've come."
Severus gave the fox one last stroke before standing and heading to his bed.
: Severus.
Severus turned and looked at the fox who had propped himself up on his front legs.
: Thank you. The fox bowed his head for a couple seconds before looking back up.
"You're welcome." Severus smiled.
Read and review! I know, it's a horrible cliffhanger, tell me what you think will happen.
