Disclaimer: The Fox and the Hound is the property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Studios, not mine.
So sorry it took so long, but I had to get hooked up to the college's server and it took FOREVER!!! So at long last here's the new story!
A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of The Next Generation. This fic will be divided into two parts–part one will deal with the children of Copper and Tod in the younger days, and part two will deal with the children in their older days. Part two will be much more dramatic than part two, so when I get to that part in the fic, I may have to change ratings on you guys!
The Fox and the Hound 3: The Next Generation
Part One: The Younger Years
Chapter One: A Letter for Amos
Amos Slade frowned when he read the letter that had recently arrived in the mail. It pertained to his younger brother, Calvin, who earlier in the summer had been jailed for the near death of the endangered mountain lion. Apparently, Amos was the only close relative the government could find, therefore the reason for the letter.
It mainly talked about how Amos would have to drive into town whenever suitable and pick up several items of interest from the local police station. Since Calvin was in jail, he could not use any of the things in his house, and it had been taken into the state's custody, so they had no use for any of Calvin's possessions. And obviously, they believed that Amos did.
The elderly hunter sighed, stuffing the letter into his buckskin jacket and heading back into his run-down cabin. He didn't have time to go to town and take care of that ridiculous business. He had work to do around the farm, he had the dogs to tend to...one of which had belonged to Calvin.
Whenever his brother was put in prison, Amos took it upon himself to "adopt" his female Blue-Tick Coonhound by the name of Belle. It didn't seem too big a problem—she had already made good friends with his Bloodhound-mix Copper...they even had three puppies together! The pups, two boys and one girl, were now about a month old and almost old enough to go out and learn how to track down game animals.
At the present moment, the three restless children were engaged in a game of tag while the three adults were sleeping. Ace and Smoky, the two oldest, were laughing and carrying on while their little sister, Beulah, tried hopelessly to tag one of them.
"Don't go so fast!" she complained, starting to grow tired. "I'm sick of being It."
"Not our fault you're too slow!" Smoky replied, barely dodging her swinging paw in an attempt to tag him. "At the rate you're going, you'll be It all day!"
The three of them may have been born the same day and had the same parents, but they each definitely had their own personalities. Ace looked a lot like their father Copper did when he was a puppy, and being the eldest, he was the more mature member of their little platoon. Beulah was of course the baby, and she looked a lot like their mother Belle, and since she was the only girl, she was kind of spoiled. Smoky, the middle one, was black with tan markings and he was pretty misunderstood. He was the rebel of the group, always wanting to be group leader and constantly bragging about how brave he was...that is until something extremely scary happened, and then he would usually be the first one running for safety.
"Well, she has been chasing us around for a long time," Ace had to admit, after issuing a "time-out". "Maybe one of us should be It now."
Smoky made a face. "No way, that would be cheating! I'm not being It until Beulah tags me!"
"But I've been It forever!" the girl puppy exclaimed, shoving her nose in Smoky's face.
"Come on, Smoke, it's no big deal," Ace told him.
"All right, if the little princess here wants to break the rules, let her do so!" Smoky slightly growled, although it wasn't much considering his age.
The three of them got into a squabble, which ended up waking the adult members of their dog family, and made their Master want to jam his ears full of cotton. Those pups sure were noisy sometimes! Maybe he could take the day off and go to town after all. Anything to escape the everlasting yapping.
Which is exactly how Copper and Belle felt. They were proud of their children, naturally, but some days they just needed a break. Parenting was hard work, and since it was a daily job, the two of them were usually dog-tired at the end of the day. Chief helped out too of course (whom the pups fondly referred to as "Uncle Chief"), which helped lighten the load a little bit but it was still a rough job!
Copper turned around in his barrel doghouse to where he was facing the outside and gave a big yawn. "What's all the ruckus about?"
"Daddy, I've been It forever, and they won't let me take a break," Beulah told him, trotting up to him and sitting down.
"Tattle-tale," Smoky muttered, scratching his left ear.
"All right, if you can't play fair, then you guys will just have to think of something else to play," Copper responded, laying his head back down. I definitely need a break from this routine.
"Yeah, let's play hide and seek," Ace suggested. "I'll be It!"
"Thanks!" Beulah laughed. "Close your eyes and count to ten and no peeking!"
"You'll never find me!" Smoky boasted, already spotting a good place to hide.
Amos watched the little pups scurrying about, and figured it wouldn't cause much harm to take a drive into town. Copper and Belle could use the rest (including himself), and Chief was experienced in the babysitting business, so the old hunter decided that later on that day they would go.
Sorry if it seems slow, I kinda wanted the puppies' personalities to be shown a little bit before drowning you guys in a storyline. If you like so far, please review and keep reading!