Chapter 12
'The Long Ride Home'
It had been a few weeks since the dilemma of crossing the frozen lake and for those last few weeks the band of animals had endured much more hardship. It was the peak of winter... more extreme snowfall... ice cold rain... freezing winds. Despite the danger, and the growing belief between them all that Mother Nature was determined to kill them, through adversity and with courage in all their hearts, they continued to travel onwards.
The group only travelled through the day as the heat from the sun was mainly the only thing that kept them warm. During the night they slept, either finding an abandoned fox earth or badger set, or sometimes they all worked together to dig or build a temporary shelter. If it was any other season they could sleep in the open, but this winter was relentless. Plucky and Dash had experienced one harsh winter in White Deer Park as did Bolt in his adventures. Scarlet had experienced a winter too, but not one as harsh as this, not from where she was from, but this was Perry, Woody and Jester's first winter, as they were the youngest of the group, having only been born the previous spring.
Plucky was also having trouble sleeping; the last few weeks he had feared for the safety of his friends, more so than his own. Although he didn't show it in his face or actions, he was beginning to feel cynical about this whole journey. He was beginning to feel as if this journey was more trouble than it was worth. However, as the self and group proclaimed leader of the band he was the last one of them who could be having these feelings, but his night-time sleeplessness hadn't escaped Scarlet's attention.
It was currently midday, and the sun was at its highest point in the sky... despite still being low due to the season. At midday they knew they had to follow the sun, as it was dead centre in the south of the sky, which was the direction they were travelling. The group of animals had reached the first patch of land in a month and a half that had no snow on it, only the slushy remains from some recent rainfall.
They all travelled at their usual steady pace. Plucky and Scarlet carefully scanned the surroundings on the ground for any danger and Perry scouting ahead doing the same. The falcon kept a weather eye around him and soon noticed an owl flying far in front of him. He swooped down to let the others know.
"There's an owl flying about around here."
"Ok," Plucky answered and then turned to the hares and squirrels, "Everyone, stay close..." But was then cut off by a distinctive hoot of an owl.
"Hoothoo," an elderly owl called out to the group, startling them. The Owl had perched on tree branch above them, "Now here is an interesting sight... predator and prey banded together as a group of travelling animals..."
"Call it like you see it if you must, we've been through a lot... and we all stick together," Plucky answered defensively.
"Well I am forced to repeat myself... it is certainly interesting," the owl chuckled and continued, "Where might you be heading, if I may ask?"
"Why should we share that information with you? We don't know you," Scarlet said warily.
"No of course not, but I am an owl... you'll be pleasantly surprised by any information I can lend."
"So you're offering to help us? Very rare for an owl..." Bolt interjected.
The owl pompously pushed his chest out in a way to shrug off Bolt's insult, "I think you've been grossly misinformed about our species then, actually we can be quite helpful, and of course... wise."
"Yes, of course..." Plucky said sarcastically, out of earshot of the owl.
"So, where might your travels be taking you?" The owl asked again.
"We're travelling to White Deer Park, it's a nature reser..." Dash began.
"Ha! Trying to make your own legend are you then?" The owl interrupted.
"Excuse me?" Dash said offended by the owl's interruption.
"I know all about the legend of the Animals of Farthing Wood... their valiant quest to a new home in White Deer Park... yes certainly an interesting story."
"Do you happen to know how far away the park is?" Plucky questioned the owl impatiently; obviously the bird had been around a lot.
"Oh heavens above... a long way from here still... you'll be travelling until summer at your current pace."
"But... we've been travelling for weeks..." Woody exclaimed.
"And my paws are killing me!" Jester exclaimed too.
"I thought we were making good progress..." Dash spoke forlornly.
"Apparently not good enough..." Perry added on negatively too.
"Well the longer we spend taking breaks and resting, the more time it's going to take us, we should keep moving..." Scarlet cut in.
"Scarlet's right and we've already come too far to give up now!" Plucky asserted, feeling the growing negative thoughts in the group.
"If I might interject? Seen as my assistance hasn't had its desired effect," the owl spoke to them all, "If you need to get a long way in a short time... you could take the train."
"Train?" Plucky asked confused.
"Yes, it's a human machine... a transport vehicle particularly."
"How are we supposed to get on a train full of humans?" Scarlet said judgementally.
"This train isn't... it transports cargo, supplies... usually it's just full of boxes and such... no humans in sight," the owl continued.
"Still, how are we supposed to get on if it's moving?" Scarlet judged again.
"There's a part of the railway not too far from here that goes uphill, the train always slows down to ascend it. One comes along every afternoon, you could run alongside and jump on, there's always one of the carriages with a door left open... humans are often careless of such things."
"How do we know when to get off?" Plucky now spoke.
"It slows down through the towns, I think the sixth one down the line is Whitehaven... it's right next to White Deer Park... it'll be morning before you get there though but you could get to the park by the end of tomorrow if you're lucky!"
"Well that's settled then," Dash said excitedly.
"Which way is the railway?" Plucky asked the owl.
"Just another couple of miles that way, you can't miss it," The owl said, pointing his wing in the direction they were already travelling.
"Thank you so much, err... sorry... we never asked your name," Plucky began.
"It doesn't matter," the owl chuckled, "Not like you'll be seeing me again."
"Well you can join us if you wish?" Dash asked the owl.
"Oh goodness no... I'm far too stubborn to take such an oath..." the owl laughed, "I'm just glad to lend a helping wing... I will bid you farewell and good fortunes on your travels!"
"Yes you too!" Dash said thankfully.
The group continued with renewed confidence after thanking the owl. If they got on this train they could be at White Deer Park by the end of tomorrow and their perilous journey will be at an end.
"Oh, just be sure to get off the train...! If you reach the big city you've gone too far!" the owl called out before flying off himself, he was unsure if they had heard him or not but he took off, and continued on his own adventures nonetheless.
With this new opportunity, the band of animals had become more enthusiastic and soon reached the railway line travelling swiftly. The rails cut across the ground down in a large ditch with two high banks either side. The group were still at the top of the bank where there were a number of trees but closer to the edge it was clear and full of luscious green grass.
"Perry! What do you see!?" Plucky called up to the flying falcon.
"Nothing yet, tracks completely empty," Perry announced after flying down.
"Well we're perfectly ready for it when it comes," Bolt said keenly.
"Does this mean we can go off and forage for a bit?" Jester asked.
"Yea... I'm quite peckish," Dash said.
"Me too," Woody added on.
"Very well, but don't go too far... and be careful!" Plucky ordered.
The two squirrels and hares went off around the place looking for food. Woody and Jester quickly scurried up a nearby tree while Dash and Bolt went wandering together through the grass. It was alright for them herbivores, able to find food almost anywhere, now at least, seen as there were only patches of snow around here. Plucky, Scarlet and Perry would have to wait till they had the chance to hunt to satisfy their hunger.
"I'll keep an eye out for the train," Perry announced, taking off into the sky.
"I will too," Scarlet added, who then turned to Plucky, "you need some rest, you look tired..."
"Oh, thanks..." Plucky said a little insulted.
"I didn't mean it like that Plucky; I know you haven't been sleeping well."
Plucky stayed silent and looked down before responding assertively, "I'll sleep better once we get on that train..."
"Speaking of... I can see it!" Perry shouted swooping past them both, "It's still far off though!"
"Can you round up the others!" Plucky ordered.
"Will do!"
Perry soon rounded up the others and they made their return to the bank. The train was coming up the hill, slowly as the owl had said, almost walking pace for the travelling animals. As the beast of a machine moved closer, the polished steel rails of the track started to whisper eerily with vibrations from the approaching train. As the engine passed them the classic clickety-click of the wheels along the rails and the loud groaning of the struggling diesel locomotive was all that could be heard.
"There! There's an open carriage!" Perry called down, bringing attention to an open cargo door on the side of a wooden carriage near the back of the train.
"That owls information didn't disappoint," Bolt said surprised.
"Right, let's go, we don't have much time!" Plucky commanded the others and they quickly ran down the bank to match the trains speed.
Perry remained in the air next to the train staying vigilant for anything that could cause concern. Down on the ground the group were scuttling alongside the open train door, Scarlet leading and Plucky at the back making sure they all got on before he did.
"Jump on!" he shouted from behind them.
Scarlet quickly pounced up and to the side and landed on the dry wood floor of the train. The squirrel twins jumped next, Jester jumped perfectly but Woody didn't jump enough and was hanging from the door until Jester and Scarlet pulled him up. Dash was next and jumped up perfectly, if not a little too much when she fell over embarrassing herself. She quickly composed herself and helped up Bolt who struggled over the door frame after he jumped up.
Now Plucky was only one left running, safe in the knowledge that the others were onboard and safe. He was about to jump but suddenly the carriage started to pull away, forcing him to quicken his pace. This was the fastest he had had to run since sustaining his shotgun wounds and the scar on his front left leg suddenly started to give him some pain the quicker he ran. The plucky young fox just gritted his teeth and continued to run.
"Plucky go faster! It's speeding up!" Perry shouted from above having noticed the locomotive had crested the top of the knoll and was now facing downhill.
"I Know!" Plucky shouted irritably, "I'm going as fast as I can!"
"Come on Plucky!" Scarlet shouted frantically from the train carriage while the others watched worriedly.
Plucky was panting heavily as he ran, "I think I can... I think I can..." he muttered under his breath. He put all his energy and force into his legs and was once again alongside the open door and made his leap with a "Gah!"
He managed to lift most of his body onboard but began to slip and dug his claws into the wood floor as his hindquarters where still dangling outside. He just needed something to push his legs off but there was nothing there to do so. Thankfully the others came to his aid; Scarlet had him hook his paws around hers and dragged him up with help from the rest of the group too. Now all securely aboard the train they ground dwellers all either sat or lied on the floor to catch their breath.
"That was close..." Dash proclaimed, still breathing heavily.
"You don't say," Plucky panted.
"You ok?" Scarlet asked Plucky worriedly.
"Yea... I think I'll take that rest now though," Plucky paused, still catching his breath, "where's Perry?"
"Over here," Perry answered from the opposite side of the carriage perched on some wooden boxes having flown in from the door on the other side.
"You don't know how lucky you are to have wings!" Plucky joked.
"Oh believe me I do! Watching you guys running and out of breath makes me very thankful I have these things!" Perry laughed, indicating to his wings which the falcon then spread wide to show off. The others all laughed at his comment of how much easier the journey was for him having the ability to fly.
"Seen as you two are bound to this carriage for the night I'll go hunting for you," the falcon continued, talking to Scarlet and Plucky.
"Thank you Perry, but don't strain yourself," Scarlet said warmly.
"Don't worry it's not a trouble, I'd prefer not to be cooped up in here all the time."
"So, when are we getting off again?" Jester suddenly enquired.
"That owl said it was the sixth town along," Bolt answered.
"But we won't get there till morning," Dash added on.
"Until then I think we just lay back and enjoy the ride," Scarlet announced, grateful for a now long rest.
"Well... that's fine by me," Plucky huffed jokily, exhausted, and lied down on the dry wood floor of the rocking train carriage, content with the fact they would reach journeys end very soon.
The train continued across the land on its route, now with its group of hitchhiking animals onboard. Across snow covered grassland, tunnels under hills and bridges over rivers, hour by hour the train took them further than they could have got in months.
They were on the train from the afternoon onwards during which they tried to occupy themselves. Woody and Jester, being squirrels, were happy clambering over the mass of piled up wood crates and cardboard boxes at either end of the carriage. Plucky and Dash stuck their heads out the open door of the train feeling the rush of wind in their face's. It gave them both a great sense of freedom, something they both craved. More than once though did they bring their heads back in and out again when some high speed commuter trains screeched on past their rickety transport. While this was going on Scarlet and Bolt were chatting while lying on the warm floor of the cabin. Meanwhile Perry was flying alongside or high above the train... because he could, like he said he didn't want to be cooped up in the train all day, though he would often fly back in for a breather.
As the sun began to fall lower in the sky and darkness began to descend across the land Perry went out to hunt and brought back a couple of doves for Plucky and Scarlet and then he went out again for himself. While the carnivores satisfied their hunger, the two hares and squirrels where racing, sprinting from one end of the carriage to another. The races were very quick and completely unpredictable, the winner usually the one who got the best start off the line but it was amusing to watch and provided some dinner entertainment for Plucky, Scarlet and Perry.
As the sun started to dip below the horizon the whole group sat and watched out the side of the train, basking in the glorious beauty of the glimmering sunset, the light rippling as they went past a line of trees. After the glowing orb disappeared from view the sky turned a dark navy blue and the group were tired from their travels. One by one they went off to sleep. Perry was the first to slumber, having tired himself out flying most of the time, perched on one of the piles of boxes. Next went Dash and Bolt after Dash let out a large yawn and reluctantly agreed when Bolt suggested going to sleep, after joking about it. The couple went to shelter between some boxes and drifted off to sleep. Woody and Jester soon went too one after the other and climbed to the top of the clump of boxes.
Eventually it was just Plucky and Scarlet left awake. The fox and vixen swapped their attention to the opposite side of the carriage where a deep black sky was littered with stars and a bright crescent moon that cast a silver radiance across the land as the train carried on creeping along it.
"It's such a beautiful night," Scarlet said warmly.
"It certainly is," Plucky agreed, both of them not removing their gaze from the moving image from the train carriage.
"Wish we could go hunting out in this, would be perfect."
"We?" Plucky enquired, turning to look at Scarlet..
"Well... I'd like us to go hunting together again," Scarlet replied looking back at him.
"Don't you remember the last time we went hunting together?"
"...We got in quite a big fight... literally," Scarlet said a little glumly before she continued in a positive tone, "That was a long time ago, we know each other better now."
"Yes we do," Plucky smiled, before asking warmly, "But I still don't know much about, who you are, or where you came from."
Scarlet was silent for a moment before she spoke, "There's a lot to tell really... some of which I'd rather not talk about."
"We got the time... and you never know sharing it might help you," Plucky coaxed softly.
"I guess..." Scarlet said unconvinced.
"So tell me about you, do you have family? Friends?"
"Well... you guys are my first real friends," Scarlet said with a small smile, which then disappeared, "But... family is complicated... I have three brothers... Prowler, Scamp and Rebel, Prowler and Scamp are a year older than me and Rebel."
"What about your parents?"
"My, err... mother died, not long after having me and Rebel, she became very ill and well... just couldn't hold on anymore..." Scarlet said sadly, but she kept her composure and continued while Plucky listened intently, "After that my father was the one that looked after us, until he..." she couldn't stop a tear this time, "was, killed protecting me from some wolves when I was still a cub..."
"Wolves?" Plucky questioned, having never heard of such an animal.
"Yea... they're like us... but much bigger and stronger..."
"They don't sound so tough..."
"Just wait till you see one... though I hope you never do... I'm scared to death of them..." Scarlet shuddered, but then continued, "But anyway... both of my parent's deaths Prowler and Scamp blame me for... they hate my guts... they were the ones who started calling me a jinx... Rebel though... I don't know what he thinks, he used to always put me before him... but now I'm not so sure," Scarlet explained, and continued again, "Prowler took charge after that, being the oldest, and we began travelling... not too soon after we ran into Caesar... and Tyran... and their troop of grey foxes."
"Oh right... Tyran must be Caesar's son then?"
"Yea... wai- how do you know about them?" Scarlet asked surprised.
"Um... err... I... kind of met them once," Plucky said awkwardly.
"What!? When did you meet them?"
"It was before I met you, and..."
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Scarlet interrupted, keeping her voice low to not wake the others who where sleeping.
"I didn't think it mattered!" Plucky said in defence, also trying to keep his voice low to not wake the others.
"Of course it matters! Did they tell you that I was bad luck and that they were hunting me down...?"
"Yes for deserting them! But it's not like I believed a word of it... especially not after I met you."
"So... you knew all along about me...? Why didn't you turn me over to them? Scarlet asked anxiously.
"Because you needed help, and I wasn't about to hand someone over to their death... that's not what we do, those of us that have taken the Farthing Wood Oath," Plucky explained forcefully.
"Oh yes... of course," Scarlet conceded, "Well if you did meet them you'll probably have seen my brothers too."
"I do recall seeing some other red foxes."
"Yea... that'll be them..."
"Why did you desert the troop in the first place?" Plucky asked.
"When we ran into them it was over a year ago and... after, another period of bad luck centred around me... Prowler made a deal with Caesar that I was to be betrothed to Tyran... and we would all be placed under their protection, and obey Caesar's orders."
"I'm assuming things with Tyran didn't go so well then..."
"No, not at all... and if you think Caesar is bad then you don't know about Tyran... he's a monster... he's the one who gave me this..." she paused, pointing out the three inline scars on the left of her face, "last spring he..." She then suddenly tensed up and whimpered, trying to hold back bursting into tears, "He even tried to force himself on me... until Caesar beat him off."
Plucky was horrified to hear that someone could have acted so cruelly, but he continued to listen carefully to Scarlet's story. He felt a little guilty for asking about it, it was very obvious it was hard for her to speak about it.
"It was after that when, surprisingly enough, it was Caesar who told me to run away," Scarlet continued.
"What? Did he trick you into doing it so he would be forced to kill you?" Plucky said suspiciously.
"No he genuinely advised me too, but did warn me he would be forced to hunt me down and kill me if I did."
"And you left obviously."
"Yes, but I ended up tricking him... I left without him knowing... gave me a good head start..."
"Sounds too suspicious... like he wanted you to run anyway,"
"No... He took pity on me... not that I wanted it..." She stuttered, and regained her confidence before speaking again, "Don't get me wrong though, Caesar isn't a bad person... he's only upholding the laws of his ancestors and kin, and he'd do anything to accomplish it... which doesn't bode well for me..."
"I'm not so convinced he really had your best interests at heart," Plucky said solemnly.
"I don't know what to believe really... but I would rather be dead than forced to be Tyran's mate."
"I can understand... he sounds horrible... he seemed horrible when I saw him too..."
"Yes... well... ever since that last spring I've been travelling the world on my own... until I met you of course, but you already know that."
"Yea... you must have come a long way then..." Plucky lead off.
Scarlet nodded silently, but then quickly asked, evidently wanting to change the conversation. "What about you then? I imagine you have family and lots of friends."
"Well in here, yes," Plucky chuckled slightly, referring to the rest of the group, "and back in White Deer Park... I kind of have to know everyone, being leader and all... though... I don't think I'll be entrusted with that again once we get there..."
"Well I'm sure your family will understand..."
"I don't know... maybe, but I can probably expect the scolding of my life from my grandfather when we do get there," Plucky said awkwardly.
"Well once we tell him all we've been through he might let off," Scarlet tried to cheer him up.
"Hopefully," Plucky said unconvincingly.
"So about your family?" Scarlet asked again.
"Yes... well... you met my mother, and then there are my grandparents, Fox and Vixen, my aunt and uncles, Charmer, Ranger, Friendly and Russet, and all their cubs... my cousins."
"They're all still cubs?"
"Well, probably not now... but I'm still a year older than all of them."
"Did err... your mother... like me?" Scarlet asked anxiously.
"Yea, she thought you were very sweet," Plucky affirmed with a smile.
"Well that's a relief," Scarlet said cheerily, "what about your father?"
Plucky stayed quiet a while before he answered, "Err... well I..." he paused and sighed, Scarlet could tell she had unintentionally struck a nerve with him, which became clear when Plucky spoke again, "I never knew my father... he died before I was born."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..." Scarlet said guiltily.
"Well I try not to think about it much... let alone talk about it... I wish I could have met him though, or at least know what he looked like... " Plucky said sorrowfully.
"I couldn't imagine not knowing my parents, I mean both of mine died when I was young but I still remember them..."
"Yea I... I get it... can we change the subject though..."
"Of course, I'm sorry..." Scarlet apologised, feeling that she had been a little insensitive.
The fox and vixen stayed sitting in silence for a bit after that, watching the night engrossed world pass by and listening to the clickety-click sound of the train along the rails.
"I'm a little cold..." Scarlet suddenly muttered.
Plucky knew this was 'girl code' for she wants someone to keep her warm, so immediately obliged and moved closer to her. Plucky suspected that she was lying as when he pressed his body against hers and wrapped his tail around her, she was warmer than him.
"I guess in here we forget it's still winter out there," Plucky joked, causing them both to chuckle.
After a while again Scarlet broke the silence, "So... what's White Deer Park like?"
"You know, you've been there," Plucky replied jokily
"I was passing through remember, not exactly much time to explore it..."
"Yes I suppose... there are even some places I haven't explored yet, not since it was extended last year."
"It must be big then."
"Yea, there's plenty of land of all kinds of terrain, and it's safe-ish,"
"Why do you keep saying that?" Scarlet enquired, having noticed that it wasn't the first time he'd said that.
"What?" Plucky asked puzzled.
"That the park is safe-ish, it's either safe or it isn't."
"Well it is... from humans, but other animals... that's a different story."
"How so?"
"Well when my grandparents first arrived there with all the other animals from Farthing Wood, there were... complications."
"Have you ever seen Farthing Wood?"
"No, but when Owl... one of my friends, came back from leaving the park, she had been there... and it was all gone, no trees... just houses that humans had built..." Plucky said a little glumly.
"No wonder they all left there originally, but what sort of complications did they encounter then?" Scarlet enquired further, and Plucky continued to explain.
"Well, when they arrived, this was all before I was born... in fact it all started before my father and aunt and uncles was born too... but anyway, there was already a group of blue foxes that lived in the park. Their leader, Scarface... didn't like my grandparent's presence in the park and he went around killing some of the other animals, including Dash's grandmother and one of my grandparent's cubs."
"That's horrible... what happened in the end?"
"My grandfather challenged Scarface to single combat, and beat him, but didn't kill him. Both of them took some wounds from it... but in the end... Adder killed Scarface; bit him right in the leg."
"Adder of course being another one of your friends?"
"Yes, she's an adder, as you could have probably guessed."
"Yea, snake with venomous bite; I've never seen one before though... so what happened after?"
"After Scarface was killed the blue foxes left the park except for two of them, which my aunt and uncle had taken as mates... But then of course peace was short lived when last year the park was being invaded by rats," Plucky huffed snidely about the last statement.
"They couldn't have been too difficult to fight off..."
"Not when there were thousands of them... I hate rats," Plucky said almost maliciously.
"I can imagine," Scarlet stated.
"But apart from all of that it's as safe as safe can be... it's a... 'grass is greener on the other side' kind of place," Plucky quickly continued positively to change the mood, "we all look out for each other and care for each other, all of us on Farthing Land of course, the rest of the park isn't protected by the oath, nature just takes its course."
"It must be difficult... protecting animals you would normally hunt..." Scarlet asked almost uneasily.
"Not as much as you'd think, but I've grown up like that... when you go hunting you just have to be careful," Plucky reassured her.
"It does sound wonderful though, I'd like to get away from humans, particularly after the stuff we've gone through..."
"Well I think I came off worse," Plucky joked, referring to the scars across his face and on his leg, and the nick in his left ear.
Scarlet didn't find it funny though, she only sighed and looked down, full of guilt, and moved away from Plucky slightly. She still felt responsible for the event when they escaped the fox trappers on the moors.
"Hey..." Plucky grabbed her attention, "Don't tell me you still feel bad about that..."
"Of course I do...! It's my fault you got hurt..." Scarlet said miserably, "If I hadn't been such an idiot, you wouldn-"
"Scarlet look at me..." Plucky interrupted, grabbing her attention, "I might have these scars... but I'm alive and you're alive... all of us are alive... and by the end of tomorrow we'll be safe and sound in White Deer Park," Plucky reassured her, and she was easily consoled.
"Yes... we will," Scarlet smiled.
There was long pause before Plucky spoke, "Actually, I was wondering... when we get there, are you going to stay?"
"I've thought about it... but if Caesar or Tyran find me..." Scarlet stuttered, starting to become hysterical.
"You've got me now, I'll protect you!" Plucky assured her forcefully.
"I can't ask you to do that for me Plucky," Scarlet argued.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to you as long as I'm here."
"Plucky I appreciate it but I can't be putting my problems on others! You know that's why I've been alone since I ran away."
"Nevertheless, you are..." Plucky paused being very careful on what he was saying, "...my friend... and I don't want anything to happen to you," he knew now, if he was going to tell her how he truly felt... this was the moment to do it.
"Plucky please... I don..." Scarlet began again but was quickly interrupted.
"Scarlet... I should... I should have told you this the moment I met you..." Plucky paused, letting go of his argumentative assertive tone and continued in a calm soft voice, "You're the most beautiful vixen I've ever met,"
"Come on... you must have met others," Scarlet shrugged, but was obviously flattered.
"Well yea, there are others in White Deer Park..." Plucky replied.
"And what's so different about them?" Scarlet asked, her heart sank slightly from Plucky's last statement.
"Well... they're just so boring! Not really fun or out going... not like you..."
"Plucky... I..." Scarlet began, both flattered and almost speechless.
"I lied to you Scarlet..." Plucky said, looking down in guilt, and paused as Scarlet listened intently, "When I told you why I left the park to travel with you, I didn't leave for adventure or freedom... there's plenty of that in the confines of the park," he lifted his head and smiled, "I left for you..."
"But... you just abandoned everyone..."
"And left them safely in my aunt's paws... of which I know she'll do a good job."
"Plucky... I don't know what to say..." Scarlet stated her speechlessness.
"When I first saw you out of breath in that clearing in the park..."
"Wait I remember that... were you stalking me?"
"No... all I did was look to my right one time when I was racing Dash... and there you were... alone in that glade, just popped into my life..." Plucky admitted, and continued in an affectionate voice, "and I looked at you and knew, I thought... to myself... this is the one for you..."
Scarlet just sat there speechless, and continued to listen to Plucky's confession of his emotions.
"I loved you from the moment I first saw you," Plucky said tenderly and went on to ask the question he'd wanted to say for months... "And if you do stay once we get there... would you stay... with me... as my mate?"
Scarlet stayed quiet, there were so many thoughts rushing through her head. If she'd say yes, if she'd say no, what would happen depending what she said, both now and in the future. She was completely surprised Plucky had asked the question so suddenly, even though she had been toying with it herself for ages. After a time, she gathered her composure and set aside her thoughts. For the first time in her life she listened to her heart and pursued the path that she wanted to take, not what she had to take...
"Probably scared you off now hav..." Plucky began solemnly before he was interrupted, by the one word he wanted to hear.
"Yes..."
"What?" Plucky stuttered in disbelief.
"Yes... I will stay, as your mate," Scarlet answered with an emotional break in her voice, and she continued in the same loving tone Plucky had started with, "Because... I realise now... I love you too..."
Both Plucky and Scarlet looked affectionately into each other's eyes. The amber colour glimmered in the moonlight; and without a moment's notice, they both nuzzled and embraced the other, engulfed in the love they now both shared between them, a bond that would tie them together for the rest of their lives. They nuzzled each other for a while, lovingly and intimately, content with the others scent and touch as they ruffled their fur together, entwining their bushy tails and pressing their bodies closer, feeling the warmth of the other much more deeply than ever before. It had taken them a long time to admit it, but they now both realised it from the start, this was love... true love.
After being lost in their new relationship for some time, they soon both decided it would be best to get to sleep; though the journey's end tomorrow wouldn't be long, they wanted to be refreshed and energetic for their return. The fox and vixen left the view out of the train door and nestled in a small alcove of the wooden crates, lying together in each other's embrace and, eventually, drifted off to sleep together. Meanwhile the train continued on its journey through the blissful winter's night, taking the group of, now sleeping, travelling animals ever closer to home.
