1Disclaimer: "The Fox and the Hound" is property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Company, not mine...unfortunately.

The Next Political Dynasty: Things will go smoothly in due time, trust me! But things always get worse before they get better, so keep reading!

Anonymous but Impressed: Glad you liked it! Hope you enjoy this next chapter as well!

The Fox and the Hound 2: Friends in Need

Chapter Seven: Conversations

Copper somehow had made it through the night without any sleep. Nothing had happened, thankfully, that night that required his "bodyguard" skills, so Tod and his family were safe for the day. They had taken refuge inside an abandoned badger hole that night before Copper left them.

The hound dragged himself back to camp about an hour before sunrise. He managed not to wake anybody up, a good thing, and plopped down in his spot to pick up where he left off on his sleeping. This helping Tod idea of his was probably not one of his best ideas. He was literally dog-tired! It didn't take him too long to drift off to sleep.

Which was interrupted about an hour later. He felt somebody tapping him on the shoulder gently, and saying his name, trying to wake him up. Which he did eventually. He cracked his eyes open, and instead of seeing Tod like last time, he saw a Blue-Tick Coonhound—Belle.

"Hey, you awake?" she asked in a whisper.

"I am now," he told her sluggishly, yawning and giving himself a good stretch. "What are you doing up? Sun's not even up yet."

"I know, but I couldn't sleep," Belle confessed. "Look, what you did to Buster yesterday...that wasn't such a good idea. He could've killed you."

Copper moaned. "Ugh, please don't lecture me, Pops over there has already given me one," he told her, nodding his head over at Chief, who was still sound asleep.

"Maybe you needed it. Take it from who knows, Buster is not one to mess with," she warned. "He's pretty sneaky, and he knows how to get what he wants. And he wants first prize this year in particular."

"Well, he's just going to have to step down, because he's not going to get it. Why the heck are you supporting him anyway?"

She looked taken aback. "I'm not supporting him. I can't stand him."

"Then why are you telling me all this stuff?"

"I'm telling you for your own safety. I don't want you accidentally crossing the line and getting your head bit off or something."

So she does care! "Well, uh, thanks," he smiled. "Now, not to be rude or anything, but I've had a hard time sleeping as it is, so could I...?"

"Oh, sure yeah! Sorry." She started backing off to go back to her campsite. "Bye."

"See ya." When she left, Copper couldn't help but think "Wow, she actually talked to me!". After about ten minutes of thinking about this, he at long last got in some more nap-time...forty-five minutes before the sun came up. Ugh.

After Copper had left them, Tod helped Vixey snuggle up with the cubs to keep them warm in the drafty badger's hole. They had travelled about four miles from their original home, which seemed far enough but there was still the possibility that the hunters and the dogs could reach them even from there. Tod had no idea how many more trips they would have to make until they were a safe distance from the party...they probably wouldn't be safe until the hunting parties left in about three days.

"Tod?" Vixey asked, drawing her husband away from his thoughts. "That dog...he looked familiar. Have I ever seen him before?"

Uh-oh, Tod had a feeling she was going to ask that. She very well remembered that dreadful day that he and Copper had a humongous fight in the game preserve, and chased the two foxes inside their den. He was sure Vixey would never forget that horror story, but he had hoped that maybe she wouldn't recognize Copper.

"Well...yeah, you have," he told her a little hesitantly. "But, when you saw him...he wasn't himself. He was mad at me about something personal and we both went a little crazy and tried killing each other. But it's okay now, we're still mutual friends and all."

Vixey started thinking. "Oh, Tod, he's not the same dog that tried to dig himself into our old den is he? The one with the hunter that tried to burn us out?"

Tod appeared fidgety. "Actually...yes."

"Tod! You're friends with that killing machine?"

"He's not a...Vixey, he's an okay guy, trust me. If he wasn't, I wouldn't have asked for his help."

She gave him a sideways look. "All right...but if he even looks at my two children funny, he'd better watch it because I'll claw his eyes out."

He started laughing at the image of his wife trying to rip his friends eyes out. "Okay, you do that, but he's not going to bother Autumn or Swift."

And with that, the family of four snuggled together in the warmth of the badger hole and slept through the night.

Okay, sorry if this chapter was sucky as well, but these little "in-between" chappies are just as necessary to the story as the ones with action in them. Trust me, when we get to the action scenes, you'll be glad you started reading this. Keep reading and please review!