AN: Chapters 14-20 have been revamped. Vast improvements on grammar and sentence structure, repetitive lines removed, etc. Story is essentially the same, although a few smaller things have been added to make the story a bit more cohesive and immersive.

This chapter was intense, and I very much enjoyed writing it. Hope everyone has a good week! :)

Weathering The Storm Part II

-A few minutes earlier-

Nick had been diligent in his task. Every scrap of fruit and vegetable he could find, a few bits of meat and bugs, little bits of cloth and needles, everything essential, he shoved in the knapsack. He had plenty to choose from, his wintry storage was far from sparse, but sadly almost everything would have to be left behind in the wake of this attack.

They would only be able to escape their den with what they could carry.

Our den…

His heart twinged at the loss. Just a few days before he had opened up his den to them… He had told Judy that he wanted them to live with him… to make a life with him here.

This place was supposed to be where they would make beautiful memories… where they could belong as a family. Where he could watch the kits grow and play and live without fear, and where he could wrap Judy in his arms and hold her… and maybe even feel her lips pressed to his again…

He stared forlornly at the abundant supplies in front of him.

He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. There was hope still, he couldn't lose sight of that. They could rebuild their lives even during this cold winter as long as…

Please Karma, please let it still be there.

His paws clenched tightly around the bag, whether it was from his anxiety or at the latest string of worrying noises from the entrance tunnel, he couldn't say. Both were unsettling, but the thought that his bunny was in the midst of all the noise from the tunnel soon took the forefront of his concern. He did his best to block out the intermittent growls and furious shouting from above, not wanting his instincts to overwhelm him and force him to abandon his task and go to the defense of his bunny.

She's strong, you know she's strong… just- just let her do this. Trust her.

He loosened his grip trying to relax.

She's doing her part. Just focus on-

He frowned as his ears picked up the whimpering from the little rabbits in the basket.

Focus on them, they need you more than ever.

He certainly wasn't wrong. The kits couldn't comprehend everything that was going on, but they knew full well what animal made these terrible sounds and what they could do to their family. And it showed… Each time a particularly frightening noise or shout came from the tunnel, their cries sharpened. With each terrible growl, they relived their worst nightmare… only this time they were trapped just how their family had been.

Karma, Why do they have to go through this again?

Nick closed the knapsack and strapped it shut. It was about as full as it was going to get, and he couldn't stand for them to suffer alone any longer. He stood up and hurried over to the bed where the kits were.

He was almost ready to call Judy back to the den. Now, he just had to calm the little ones enough so they wouldn't try to jump from the basket or panic while he carried them in their escape. It would be a nightmare in its own right if one of them jumped from the basket out in the snowstorm and ran, or scrambled out while he carried them through the escape tunnel.

Quickly, (and a little too roughly,) Nick snatched the basket off the bed and carried them towards the storage enclave. The sudden movement had startled the little kits something fierce, and with an increase in their cries and frantic movements under the blankets, Nick was quick to set them down and coo his reassurances.

"Hey, hey, it's just me, everything's going to be alright, okay?"

He at least hoped it would be. They had a plan, they had a way out, he knew where to go and was confident that even in this storm he could get there. As long as the place was still intact, and nothing unforeseen stops them everything would be alright.

We can get through this.

His familiar voice offered support to the kits, and after a long moment of verbally consoling them and petting the top of the blanket gently, their cries died down.

Okay. Now for the hard part.

Nick had to talk to them and make sure they wouldn't do anything unexpected. He dreaded taking away the security that the blanket gave them, but he knew how crucial it was that they wouldn't panic when he would be carrying them through the storm.

I won't lose them.

He steeled himself, paws hovering over the top and ready to find a way to gently unravel the cloth and commiserate the bunnies from the loss of security. However, before he could act, movement from underneath caught his eye.

Two long white ears popped up from the basket, followed by the speckled white head of the oldest of the kits. Ollie peeked her head out from the blanket, fearful brown eyes locked with the fox's worried but loving greens.

Like her elder sister, Ollie was brave… and like her sister she was scared too. For herself yes, but much more so for the two quivering bunnies with her. Nick could see the outline of her little paws underneath the blankets. Gently, the little doe petted her distressed younger siblings trying her best to soothe them.

It broke the fox's heart that she had to be so strong for her young age.

No kit should have to go through so much.

"M-mister Nick-" She almost burst into tears at the relief of seeing the kind fox. The situation was just too overwhelming. "Wh-What's happening, wh-where's J-Judy?!"

Little Ollie put on a brave face and kept her lip from quivering, but sobbing when under so much pressure was reflexive for a child so young. Tears ran down her cheeks freely, and with both paws already taking care of her siblings, she couldn't wipe them away.

"Hey, hey," His voice was soft and his paws settled on the sides of her face.

They were massive compared to her small stature, but he was gentle as he framed her face. His touch covered over her ears as well, and muffled the frightening noises around them. Like the blanket, she felt a layer of safety from how his paws sheltered her. Ollie's crying eased as Mister Nick gently hummed little encouragements and wiped away the stray tears that settled in her fur.

Nick gave a sad smile when Ollie found the courage to look up at him again.

"It's going to be okay, Speckles." He hoped the use of her nickname would make her smile, even in this dark situation. He wasn't disappointed, even if it was only the tiniest of slivers to grace the bunny's lips.

Nick sounded more optimistic than he felt, his worry for Judy nagged at his instincts constantly. "Judy's just… doing her part for us."

It was tough for him to admit that. Even though it was their best option to let her fight, he still hated it. Even injured, he would've preferred to defend his bunny… to defend his...

Mate.

The word reverberated through his mind. He swallowed his anxiety, now was NOT the time to explore that avenue of thought.

Softly, he scratched Ollie's ears with his claws and continued, "And… Judy's counting on us to be strong and do our parts too. Okay?"

His voice was a boon for the little doe, and the gentle scritches made her tense body slacken.

"Strong?" She questioned, courage daring to inflect in her voice.

The fox nodded his head in affirmation. He knew that would catch her ear.

"Judy's counting on us all to be as strong as we can, Ollie. Do you think you can do that for her?"

Judy's counting on us!

The very thought made the doe want to leap into action for her sister! ...But as quickly as she perked, another string of terrible sounds came from the tunnel, followed by angry shouting from above and terrified whimpering from the siblings next to her.

She deflated… The scary noises, and her frightened siblings were quick to bring her back to reality. Tenderly, she scratched Ashes' ears trying to soothe the buck.

"But- but I'm n- not strong enough t- to do anything Mister Nick…"

Another tear rolled from her brown eyes. She wanted to help, oh so badly she wanted to help, but she wasn't strong enough. And she knew it.

"I- I can't help anyone." She whimpered against the fox's paw.

His clawed thumb wiped another stray tear.

"You make Judy stronger, remember?" He said softly.

That morning Ollie had broken down, realizing that she'd truly lost her family… She had felt so weak for bursting into tears like that.… It had taken the rabbit she looked up to the most to convince her that it was okay…

'Even I need to cry sometimes' Judy had told her. Her strong sister cried too… Judy felt fear and sadness the same as her… but what kept her strong was-

'My family that loves me.'

Ollie sniffled lightly, pulling herself together again, "Judy's strong be-because we love her."

"That's right." Nick smiled at the little doe, "You're doing everything you can for her already just by loving her and staying safe for her."

Mister Nick's words made sense… but even so, Ollie's ears drooped at not being able to do more. She wanted to help more than that, she wanted to be there for someone.

"You know," he placed a careful paw on one of the trembling masses next to Ollie, "Judy's not the only one who needs you to make them feel strong, Speckles."

He could feel the little Ashes underneath the blanket shiver in fear. The poor kit was definitely the worst affected having actually seen the wolf chase them into the den.

"They need you right now."

As Nick removed his paw, the little buck under the covers leaned in closer to Ollie for support.

They need me… Ollie knew she wasn't strong enough to fight, and wouldn't be useful in packing anything… but she knew what she could do…

The little doe put on a brave face, "I- I'll love them, Mister Nick! I'll keep them safe!"

And just like she had heard Judy and Mister Nick promise them, she made a promise too, "N-no matter what!"

With pride, he smiled again at the little rabbit tucking under the blankets. She had more courage than any mammal her age had the right to be, and undoubtedly she had learned it from another rabbit he had grown fond of.

One day she really is gonna be like you, Carrots.

Nick's ears perked as he heard tiny whispers of encouragement underneath the blanket… Little promises that things were gonna be okay, that Judy was gonna beat up the wolves, and that Mister Nick was gonna take care of them… and that she wouldn't let anything happen to them because she loved them.

He was more than confident that Ollie would keep them calm through their escape and the storm. Her little assurances even snaked into his own heart.

He spoke softly, "I'm gonna lift you guys up now, okay?"

There was a second of hesitation before he heard the little, white bunny answer,

"Okay, Mister Nick," Ollie responded, "I got them."

He lifted them up.

For a second he heard scared whimpers from little Cotton and Ashes, but Ollie was quick to stifle it. "It's just Mister Nick, he's gonna get us outta here and later he's gonna let us cuddle with him and Judy and-"

Little Ollie kept on talking, she was a light of hope for the little ones and even for Nick. He found himself believing her just as much as the kits were.

The courage helped him as he focused on his task. With his free paw he forced the false backing off of the escape tunnel. Numerous supplies had been knocked from their shelves to the floor beneath him. It didn't matter, he wouldn't be able to take any of it anyway.

With a thunk, the piece of wood that concealed their escape dropped from his paw onto the floor, along with a number of miscellaneous goods that had been in its way. The dark, rarely used tunnel laid open. As ominous as it looked, it was their ticket to living another day, their shot at surviving as a family.

Gently, he set the kits in the mouth of the hollow. He wouldn't have any trouble moving the basket along when they retreated from the den. Everything was in position, he turned back ready to call for his rabbit, they were ready to-

The sound of his bunny's frantic shouts interrupted his confidence. A pit grew in his stomach at her words,

"Stop! You have to stop-"

He didn't register much else after he heard that. And immediately his instincts tried to take control,

She's in danger! Our mate is in danger! His hindbrain screamed at him. Your fault! She's in danger because you put her there!

He shook his head clear, he had to fix this, had to save her. He had to-

His foot bumped against the clutter that had fallen to the ground. It wouldn't have registered at all if not for the strange clink his claw had made against the item. Not the sound of stone or wood, but the familiar noise of the only glass item that he owned.

Shakily, his paws reached down and tugged loose the one culprit from the clutter. He had never needed it before. For years it had sat on his shelf waiting to be used for this very purpose, and for as long as he had been packing… it had been right in front of his muzzle. He looked at the crude, glassy structure settled in his paws. The purple liquid was as viscous and intimidating as it had always been. The one difference he noticed was that it felt heavier now, as if the weight of guilt he had for panicking and forgetting about the damn thing had added to its total mass.

You stupid, stupid fox! Karma! H-how could you forget something so important?!

His paw clasped around the vial tightly as another long growl came from above. Nick could hear Ollie doing her best to ease her siblings through it, and he could hear a terrible commotion from the entrance tunnel, worse than the many previous ones.

He closed his eyes tightly shut. This, this better work, Duke.

His attention turned to the pile of clutter on the floor, quickly locking onto what they were looking for. He snatched up the spare fishing spear, thankful that Judy had taken the slightly shorter one that belonged to his mother.

He moved in a blur. The whole process of pouring the sticky, viscous liquid in one of the kit's (former) bowls and drenching the end of the spear was lost on him.

He had to be quick as he saturated the nasty liquid on the tip of the spear.

The only input his mind asserted was the warning from the Duke. 'Don't touch the damn stuff, kid. 'Less 'yer just itching to kill yourself. In that case I won't judge… just wait for me to leave first.'

He hadn't intended on using it for that, well at least most of him hadn't at the time. But that didn't matter anymore, he certainly wasn't going to make that mistake now.

He flicked an ear in the direction of the entrance tunnel… It had almost suddenly become silent, even the intimidating growling from above had ceased again. He could discern tiny mutterings, but from who he wasn't sure.

None of it eased his anxieties… Judy had distressedly yelled stop… and now it was quiet. His stomach twisted at what that could mean.

She's everything. His hindbrain reminded, You can't lose her.

His paws tightened around the fishing spear, careful not to get anywhere near the purple-tinged end of it.

Desperate to see if his bunny would come back to him, he yelled into the tunnel,

"Carrots! Judy!"

-Present Time-

Judy's ears perked up at her fox's voice from the den.

Nick!

He was calling to her! They could finally take the kits and leave and-

She felt a tremble from the arms wrapped around her. Her heart dropped again.

And… This poor mammal would be alone. And judging by what she had gathered so far… she might even be leaving it to die.

She knew she could practically do nothing for it, but… it would be another innocent mammal's blood on her paws… only this time,

I … I'm here…

With her family she hadn't been there, and she still blamed herself for what happened to them… But now… now she's here. She's in the very situation she had wished herself to be in for her loved ones… and she was thinking about abandoning the poor mammal to its fate.

She was supposed to make the world a better place for her family… but if she left this poor innocent mammal to die, if she stood by and did nothing for others, would the world ever improve for them?

Her stomach hurt. Nick might've been right… maybe what happened to her family was out of her control, something she couldn't stop from happening… but… this time was different. She was here, and what if-

What if… What if I can make a difference?

She found herself holding the wolf a little tighter,

"It's okay… I'm not going anywhere…" She whispered to the wolf again, "That's just Nick. He's… a friend."

Antony relaxed at her cooing voice. The little creature spoke in sureties. It was quiet now, except for her soft voice. It had a way of calming him down, he had been spoken like that since he was little. He missed it.

He focused on her last word,

A friend? It made him sniffle lightly and nuzzle into the longears with the bottom of his muzzle. He had always wanted a friend. The word gave him hope, like when he connected with Mister Wolford earlier that day.

If they were his friends would they help him? Would they keep Marcus away for good? Would they hug him like this forever? She did say she wasn't going anywhere, did that mean she-

He tensed in fear at the loud shout in front of him,

"JUDY!".

Antony had initially thought it was Marcus… He didn't think anyone was louder than his brother, but that wasn't Marcus the voice was too different and his body didn't hurt any worse than it did before…

In fact, now that he thought about it, Marcus was being quiet again… It gave Antony relief. But whoever this was that was yelling still frightened him terribly. His heart beat hard again and his head began to feel dizzy, the only thing that kept him anchored was the kind longears tightly pressed against his sore neck. She was so nice to him, he could stay here forever.

"Nick! I'm okay!" Judy yelled back, "Come here! But-"

How the heck am I going to explain all of this… The bunny asked herself,

"But for the love of Serendipity, please DON'T PANIC! I'm alright."

Hearing her voice cutting through the quieted tunnel eased him.

There was a lack of canid noises now… no growling from above, no howling in the distance… just the voice of his rabbit, himself, and the basket of kits behind him.

Nick did his best to keep a lid on his instincts as he crawled in the tunnel to retrieve her… He had hoped that she would come to him… if he had to come to her that could only mean one thing…

She's hurt.

He hoped he was wrong, but what other reason could there be?

Carrying the spear in his front paws hampered his movements slightly as he crawled the short distance. However, that wasn't a problem. He would crawl in any condition and with any weight to reach her. Nick dragged himself right to where his bunny was… Supposed to be.

He had thought her being injured was the worst case scenario, but he had been wrong.

Nick fraughtly scooted back at the sight of a crimson-smeared face that greeted his entry.

His rabbit was nowhere in sight, instead he ran into an opened cavern occupied by a blood soaked wolf!

The sight evoked many emotions in the fox. Fear, confusion, heartbreak, sorrow and anger all surfaced up in his chest and throat like bile.

Judy was nowhere to be seen, and a predator covered in blood was where she was supposed to be. His paws clenched tightly around the wooden spear, and for the first time the warmth in his eyes iced over.

I… Carrots, where are you?!

Worry and despair snaked around his lungs, squeezing the air from him. Was he still breathing? He had to be breathing because he was growling through his gnashed teeth at the dangerous predator in front of him. Where was his bunny? He didn't see her. He had excellent night vision, but it was hard to see when everything was looking so bleary and his vision had watery streaks in it.

"Carrots! Where's Carrots!" The words came out loudly even though his teeth were clenched together tightly…

His rational mind had almost entirely checked out, leaving his instincts to take over to do what felt natural. His arms moved of their own accord, it wouldn't matter what the wolf would say to get out of what was coming to it. Not unless it told him where his bunny was and only if she was okay. Even then, he wouldn't be satisfied until he heard her voice, saw her with his own eyes, and felt her in his paws. He knew a wolf wouldn't be interested in that. His arms thrusted forward with the spear, aiming at the neares-

"Nick, don't!"

Jelly. His arms turned to jelly at the relief of hearing her voice. His caution wasn't gone, but the seed of hope that had died at the sight of the wolf had sprouted to life again. He jolted back to reality. His glazed over eyes regained a semblance of their former color.

"Carrots?!"

His eyes searched for her, but they caught nothing but the white and red of the deathly still wolf in front of him.

"I told you not to panic!" She yelled again.

He tracked her voice until he saw his beloved patch of grey… and that seed of hope was strangled just a little once again.

Wrapped up in two massive, intimidating arms and right under the wolf's muzzle was his rabbit.

Nick's hackles raised on their own accord, but the distressed warning yip that ripped from his throat was completely conscious. It had his bunny! His mate! He readied his spear again, and the growl in his throat returned with a vengeance. Nick Wilde would fight tooth and claw for her, he wouldn't let anything hur-

"Nick! Stop it, you're scaring him!"

Judy's ears had picked up the tiny, frightened whimpers coming from the injured wolf's throat. They felt a lot weaker than earlier, a little more distant, but they were there. To the canine's credit, it had stayed as still and non-threatening as possible, but Nick was definitely unprepared for it all the same. Judy kept petting the thick fur of its neck, keeping it calm and at ease..

It appeared the wolf had more than Nick's bunny, it also had his senses. He furrowed his brow at what he thought he just heard Judy say.

Scaring him?!

It was invading their home and trying to kill them! What's gotten into his bunny?! Didn't she know what was going on?!

He watched in a dazed shock as his rabbit calmed the wolf down. His instincts demanded that he get her away, and defend her from the threat, but her behavior and her pleading with him had left his mind a disorderly jumble.

He was short circuiting. His instincts shouted to defend her, and his mind and soul told him to give total trust to his mate like she had given full trust to him.

Stuck in his tracks, his instincts and mind battled over what steps he should take for his rabbit. The only faculty that the two parts of him had agreed on was his sight. Thoroughly, his eyes raked over his rabbit, or at least what wasn't covered by massive paws and underneath the maw of the wolf.

...It's… it's not her blood. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

He scrutinized how the wolf's arms held her; it wasn't a threatening hold, and likely one she could escape from if she tried. That only perplexed him further.

His eyes widened as they found what he assumed was the main source of blood, a nasty gash on the wolf's forearm, undoubtedly done by his rabbit. She had likely nicked something important considering the amount of blood that had come from the wound. Even now it still oozed slowly, likely only slowing thanks to the congealed blood stuck in its fur.

His ear flicked as he listened to Judy talking softly to the wolf, "Nick won't hurt you, he's just worried about me. It's okay. It's okay."

Despite his bunny being okay, the kindness she was showing to the wolf, and the obvious fact that something had changed without his knowledge, Nick wasn't feeling at ease with the beast holding her.

How could he be? His instincts demanded that he get her away from the threat by any means. The only thing that kept him from lashing out at the other predator was his absolute trust in Judy.

He held his hindbrain at bay; his mind told him to communicate with his mate, to figure out what was happening. However, his instincts were apparently not giving up yet, and instead of a question, a warning growl slipped from his muzzle.

"Nick, stop it! He's not gonna hurt us!" Judy pleaded.

He would stop it, his mind told him to stop, but his instincts had to make absolutely sure that the other predator wouldn't try anything. The two parts of his brain called it a compromise.

It was unheard of for a fox to demand submission from a wolf, and this was certainly a first for him, but he had risked Judy's safety enough by forgetting to give her the Nighthowler poison to fight with in the first place. He wouldn't take another chance with her life like that. So, he gave in a little to his protective nature.

Nick had witnessed wolven behaviors one time in his life many years ago. He had stumbled upon the large canines one time before when trekking out on his own for the first time, (and had luckily been downwind of them.) He hadn't forgotten witnessing the angry growls and tense body language they would use to establish dominance. And in such an anxious situation he thought he would give it a shot.

He continued to growl, he was pretty sure that was one way of challenging another canine. He stared down the wolf as it weakly lifted up its muzzle to meet his gaze. Assuming by the flicked back ears and slow, frightened response, he was pretty sure he was winning too.

He only hoped that the dangerous predator would get his messa-

Nick's growl died in his throat as he met eyes with the other canid. He had expected an angry, bitter stare, or perhaps the look of a deceptive predator looking for a way to outsmart him, or damn, anything else than what met his vision.

But no, it had to be that pitiful, naive gaze…

The same look that had been on Ashes after his nightmare, and on Cotton when she cried on his chest the day before, and on Ollie trying to be tough this morning when she couldn't… His ears folded, what he saw was that familiar hallmark of anguish and fear only found on a traumatized child. He studied its face, and his chest tightened, the wolf's face was accented by the telltale underdeveloped shape of the canine's muzzle and ears, yet to be fully grown into.

Nick's stomach sank and his body felt weak...

He may have not been as little as the three in the den, but he was undoubtedly young. Certainly not in his teens, only a juvenile…

Now that his eyes were focused on these little details, Even the blood that marred the wolf's face and coat couldn't hide the reality of what he was looking at.

Nick knew what the face of a frightened child looked like.

Karma, its… he's-

"He's a kit. Carrots, he's just-" Nick's throat went dry.

He had known immediately that the other wolf outside had been an adult… a vicious and merciless adult ready to steal his family from him.

But this one, wolf or not, was just a child.

A million thoughts were racing through his mind:

'Why did the other wolf send a kit to do this?'

'Where's the other wolf now? Did it leave?'

'Does Judy know what's happening? How did she find out he's just a kit?'

'Was I-'

His eyes widened,

Was… Was I about to-

Nick's paws began to shake. His eyes caught the purple tinge of the spear.

I- I was gonna k-

Nick was beside himself for a moment. The spear found itself pushed angrily to the side of the narrow tunnel. It wasn't possible to push it far from him, but the repulsive thing was at least out of his paws. He involuntarily wretched and just barely had managed to hold down the contents of his stomach.

…I almost killed a child… and if he had given it to Judy, she would have done it without realizing. The weight of guilt rested heavy on his shoulders. For once he had been glad to mess up.

One paw soothed his throat after gagging, and the other dug into his tunic's pocket looking for a familiar piece of cloth.

What would you think about me, mom? He sighed deeply, perishing the thought.

Instead, he replaced it with an almost inaudible apology, "I'm sorry."

The apology was for the kit, as much as it was for his parents. Undoubtedly, he had disappointed them. His mind flashed to a scared beaver kit, he had promised to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy… he had promised not to scare a kit like that ever again.

He squeezed the neckerchief that found its way into his paw,

I'll make it right, mom.

Quietly, he crawled a little closer, careful not to touch the discarded spear as he went by.

Nick hadn't caught the distress his strangled words had put on his rabbit. Judy hadn't known the wolf was just a child. There weren't any indicators since it hadn't talked much and she couldn't make out details in the darkness…

She had already deduced that this wolf was innocent, but…

A kit… Her heart ached all the worse. I… I hurt a kit?

Judy's ears drooped heavily as she continued to pet the side of the shaky, whimpering wolf. It was calming down again now that Nick had stopped growling, but that did little to ease her distress for how she had hurt it. The doe kept a lid on her own tears for now, she had to focus on comforting the kit.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry I hurt you." She pressed her face into his neck as she hugged a little tighter.

Her eyes widened as she did. For the first time since she made contact with him, Judy could feel the skin give as she pressed against it and hear the wolf whine in mild discomfort. Only now did it dawn on her how swollen and puffy the poor child's throat was under his fur.

Someone… someone hit him.

And hard. Hard enough that the little wolf could barely speak at all right now. Her heart hurt all the worse. It was another piece to this terrible puzzle, this one telling her why the wolf had been so quiet.

She tried to ease off of the sore wound, but the little kit wouldn't let her. He only pushed her further against him, increasing the tightness of his hug.

Her heart quivered, he's just a scared little kit.

"I- I'm sorry, I-it's going to be okay." She meant it too. As unrealistic as it sounded, she wanted to make the world a better place for this child too.

She was sick of the cruelty in this world, sick that so many mammals, especially kits, were living damaged lives. Sick with the fact that if she stood by and did nothing or if she ran away, more kits would end up getting hurt like this one. She wouldn't let that happen.

"I'm here, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere." Softly, she ran her paw against the sore part of his neck, "Everything's gonna be alright."

She didn't know how everything could turn out alright, but it had to. Serendipity, Karma, and whatever other deities there were owed it to them all. If the gods held up to their names in the least, they had to fix this.

You're supposed to be there for us, Serendipity, you can't be blind to this! It was a cry borne out of desperation and anger.

And it was in that cry to her deity that the rabbit finally noticed what both the fox and young wolf had noticed earlier. Silence. The wolf above had been deathly silent, and the approaching wolves had stopped howling.

She wasn't sure if that was a sign of goodwill by the gods, or an ominous omen for her anger at them.

Either way, with or without divine help, Judy had come to a conclusion,

I have to help him.

Tenderly, her paws brushed against the side of the wolf's neck, exploring the poor things injury as carefully as she could.

What Judy didn't understand was that she had already offered more help to this wolf than he had ever dreamed of. Much like Nick, Judy had shown him trust, kindness, compassion, and hope in one action. They were sentiments that had been lost on the others or suppressed. Feeling them so raw and true was more than he could ever have asked for.

Despite the soreness in his neck, little Antony only nuzzled into her further. He wanted to feel more of this. It was strange how being forced into this shallow hole was both the worst thing and somehow the best thing he'd ever experienced…

He felt safe here. He had dug and dug and dug… and a part of him even believed that he had truly gotten away from Marcus. It was so quiet, and warm here. Everything was right in the world and he couldn't think of anything that could make this better…

Until he felt a new paw touch his arm.

This touch was bigger than the rabbits, and at first he thought it was Marcus coming back for him again. Antony pinched his eyes closed and shrank away from the contact, expecting for it to cause him distress.

Was it all just a fantasy again? Was Marcus back again? Was he going to lose his new friend?

But the sting of pain never came. Instead, he was greeted with a soft voice,

"'I'm sorry I scared you, big guy, it's okay I'm just gonna look at your arm. "

His eyes opened slowly to see a russet paw carefully resting over his crimson-stained fur.

It was the redtail that had been so angry with him!

But… he didn't look mad anymore. His eyes were soft and a little sad as they looked at him and the longears against his neck. Antony's head was fuzzy, but he was sure the redtail looked as scared as he had been when Marcus had first hit him.

Just like the bunny had been scared, so was this fox, and now Antony understood. The fox had done all that because it was scared.

Scared for her. Antony settled down, his body loosened up again, the redtail's voice wasn't harsh or angry anymore… Instead, he seemed scared but… kind. Kind of like Mister Wolford.

A little part of him hoped that what the rabbit had said earlier was true…

'He's… a friend.' Maybe… they'll let me call them my friends. Maybe Dad will… let me play with them… and… we can… be friends together… forever…

Antony closed his eyes and rested again. He felt a distinct tiredness now, and was a little too dizzy to think perfectly clearly. Maybe he could just take a nap for a little while… Maybe his friends wouldn't mind.

Nick noticed that the wolf relaxed at his words, and when the big guy closed his eyes again, the tod began to examine the wolf's cuts. The forearm was badly torn from the rough fishing spear, and it wasn't the only wound. He followed crimson stained trails in the white fur to another wound on his paw. This was bad, and judging by the wolf's state, not his only injury.

Nick's ear flicked and his chest tightened at what he was hearing… the change in the kit's breathing, the poor thing had passed out most likely from blood loss.

This was bad. And he wasn't the only one to notice.

"Nick," Judy whispered, "Is he gonna be okay?"

She could feel the wolf ease his grip on her, and her ears easily picked up the shallowness in his breathing.

He could feel the guilt riddled in her voice, and it killed him to tell her this, but he had to be blunt, lying wouldn't help anyone.

"He's- Carrots, he's lost a lot of blood… we need to patch whatever cuts we can, NOW or he might-."

He didn't finish that sentence. It wouldn't do either of them good.

There was a deathly silent pause between the two, the only sounds coming from Judy unraveling herself from the pup's paws as fast as she could, and Nick taking off his tunic to use for scrap bandage. Judy scrambled out of the kit's arms, a fact that only worried her more as the poor boy had been holding onto her so tightly before.

The doe crawled down next to her fox who was now only covered by a loose shirt and a rough-stitched underlinen that went to his knees. Her small paws put pressure on the largest cut on the wolf's forearm. It wasn't bleeding profusely, but it definitely had been a steady enough ooze that it had taken a toll on the wolf. She listened to the sounds of the storm outside, listened for the dangerous wolf that had hurt this poor child so badly… but there was nothing… Distinctly, nothing. No growling, no distant howls approaching… just nothing.

It wouldn't just leave, would it?

She listened more intently, but only caught the sound of tearing cloth from her fox ripping apart his overclothes. She tried to listen past it, but was derailed by her fox's voice,

"Judy, what the hell is happening?"

-0-0-

Marcus had been pleased to hear his brother's cries again and again. He had been even more pleased to smell the abundantly present metallic odor emanating from the foxhole. It was a deep, permeating fragrance, and at this point so present he could almost taste it as a vapor when he placed his muzzle near the den's entrance. He inhaled deeply, it was a high for him to be sure. He loved it, and the fact that his brother's blood had been spilt by a lower species had made it all the sweeter.

He smiled at his handiwork. His designs were being accomplished, and when his ears picked up the growls of another canine in the tunnel it only grew. Little Antony was too much of a coward to growl, it sounded like the fox would join in the desecration of the little pelt.

The fruits of his labor were paying off, and with the strong scent of coppery goodness penetrating the air even in this storm, he knew the first goal of his plan was all but inevitable. Antony wouldn't survive in this condition. His cunning was immaculate, unparalleled, superior!

Except there was a clear problem arising. A problem that stole his well deserved grin…

The howling had stopped.

Already close, father. You always like to ruin what I have don't you?

It had already been closer than he had liked, but now that it stopped altogether it was clear that they must have reached the general vicinity. They already knew he wasn't going to answer them, so they were likely searching the area already.

He listened to his surroundings, drowning out what was happening beneath his feet. That didn't matter anymore, he knew the runt was as good as dead… as long as he made sure the other wolves couldn't reach him in time to treat him, the hole would be his grave.

Marcus suppressed his growl, very careful not to make a noise. In this storm he wasn't sure how close they were to him.

No hints, father. You want to find your 'special' son, you do it on your own.

A wicked grin settled on his muzzle again. Marcus knew he couldn't quietly get to the rabbit and fox now. The prey were loud and he was even louder, and that would give away their spot too early, and as easily as he could slash the runts throat, that still wouldn't do. It wouldn't be an 'accident' that way, nor would Antony receive the shame he deserved if he died by his hand.

True, he wouldn't get to cash in on the full capital of dispatching the desecrator and her fox himself or the pleasure of watching the light leave the pelt's eyes… but he would get to watch Julius discover what happened to his precious son. He would get to see the horror and shame and sentiment of his father when he would pull the little Ant up from the makeshift tomb and find him ruined just like Sapper.

Oh the shame! Oh the wonderful shame that would be on his brother and father!

And what could Julius say? 'You're not fit to be a leader because you sent a weak wolf to do a strong wolf's job?' Oh his genius! Marcus was pleased with himself, he could imagine the dismay of the Alpha as he pointed out that he only followed his father's example…

What had you said about Sapper, father? He acted out the exchange in his head, Oh that's right…

He recalled when Wolford had asked to retrieve Sapper's body, 'The weakest of us all. He couldn't even survive against a longears.'

Oh the delicious irony! An absolute delight he had been gifted by the Ancestors! Even if he couldn't kill the longears and redtail himself he would accomplish the more important goal flawlessly!

They'll see your hypocrisy and your sentiment clearly! You'll lose either way, dad!

He shook his head, at the word. That was a word for emotional wolves like Antony. He wouldn't ever be like that again! He lifted his head with pride. He would follow the way of the Ancestors, he would stay true to the hardness and strength that wolves were known for, and he would lead the pack back to the correct path. Sentiment and empathy will be extinguished again, and those who embraced it will be a byword, nothing but scorn and vitriol will be shown for their behavior!

With pride, Marcus sat there quietly. It would take them at least a little while to find him in these conditions without help. That familiar, cruel grin slid into place, oh but they would find him. They would find him, and he would be glad to show them what had been wrought. The fruits of his labors, and the consequence of their sentiment.

I'll be waiting for you, father.