Disclaimer: "The Fox and the Hound" is property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Company, not mine...unfortunately.
Frostbite-Obsessive Idiot: Thanks for the compliment! Yeah, I get what you mean about the sequels and all but it just BUGS me when they make a sequel to a great movie and it ends up being some "corny sing-a-long". Keep reading!
The Next Political Dynasty: Lol, I know what you mean by "hectic", I've been getting ready for college all week! Keep reading!
Lioness-Goddess: Wow, glad you liked it! I hope you stay with me!
Anonymous but Impressed: Here's another "powerful" chapter for you to read, so I hpe you enjoy it!
Forever Young: Thanks! I read your "greenhorn" story, and I loved it! Copper and Chief's my favorite characters, so I totally liked it. Keep reading, writing, and reviewing!
The Fox and the Hound 2: Friends in Need
Chapter Eight: A Sense of Foreboding Danger
"I'm telling you, I saw a mountain lion up there!" argued a heavy-set hunter sporting a thick red beard. "Me and my dogs gave up across him about two miles east of camp!"
"You're crazy, there ain't no mountain lions around here," Amos insisted, taking a drink of water from his mug. "I think you were just imagining things."
"I swear to you, a big old lion jumped down from a boulder, looked straight at me before high-tailing it through the bushes!"
Copper had no idea what the conversation was about, but judging from the tones of voices being used by both men, he figured that something wasn't right. The man with the beard was talking like he was scared of something, and that gave the dog a sense of worry. But Amos didn't seem bothered by anything, so he decided that it couldn't be anything to fret over.
The two dogs standing beside this man, a handsome pair of Plott hounds, looked about as anxious as their owner. They kept muttering to each other something about "a devil cat", which Copper had never heard before.
"Excuse me," he interrupted them. "Did you say devil cat?"
"Sure did, boy," one of the Plotts answered. "Them fellers are awful dangerous, and I feel for the sorry sap that comes across one alone."
"Yeah, we were lucky that he went the other way, instead of making us his supper," the second Plott added, and then they said no more about it.
This statement was being said about the time Chief came up, and needless to say, he didn't quite believe that those two had really seen a "devil cat". Copper still didn't know what the heck these two were going on about, so he said,
"I've never heard of a devil cat before."
"That's just fancy talk for a mountain lion, sonny," the older dog explained. "And as far as I know, there hasn't been any around here in ages."
"Those two acted like they had seen one though."
"Oh, please. They're just making the whole thing up to get attention. If they really had seen one, their Master would have killed it for a nice trophy, instead of running of like a whiney baby to tell everybody what he saw."
Although Chief did make some sense, Copper had this foreboding sense of fear that there really was a huge cat running loose in the hills. This thought made him worry about Tod and his family. What if the devil cat came across them and decided to have fox for dinner?
These thoughts were interrupted by a deep booming voice coming from—it was apparent enough, it came from Buster. He had overheard all the talk about a mountain lion and he had come to add his two cents.
"A devil cat, ya'll say?" he asked in a all-too-confident voice. "How very intriguing! If I had run into him, I would have gone after him and taught him not to come prowling around here anymore!"
The huge Rhodesian plopped himself in the middle of the talk and continued to boast, saying, "In fact, if I'd been the one to run across him, you boys would be at my place at this very moment looking at his head mounted on the wall. A very nice piece of decor, if I say so myself."
"Then why don't you stop bragging about it and go after him?" Copper dared to ask. "If you think you can catch him, prove it."
Buster laughed deep in his throat. "That's exactly what the devil wants you to do! Go after him, lost your strength, and then he'll be able to get you. No, if he wants me, let him come to me. If he's not scared that is."
He laughed some more, then rose to leave, taking his boastful ways with him. Copper let out a sigh of anger, sick and tired of Buster strutting around and acting like Mr. Big Shot all the time. One of these days, that dog was going to get his comeuppance—all villains do.
Hm, now we have a mountain lion running around! Will this cause any problems? Will it come after Tod's family? Will Buster really get a comeuppance? Gotta keep reading to find out, and PLEASE review!