Chapter 3
Todd drove to the forest edge, getting as close as he could without breaking any laws. The rain pounded against the car as lightning and thunder mocked each other.
"Do you want me to come with you when you get closer to the den?" her father asked.
She looked thoughtful but then shook her head, "If you can keep the headlights on and give me the flashlight I should be okay. I'm going to drop my shields to find them."
Todd nodded, "Then I will be waiting here with the extra blankets. Just make sure you let the mother see that her pups are all right."
"Yes Papa." Autumn said.
He slowed the car and then parked, not cutting off the engine. He made sure the headlights were pointed towards the line of trees.
"Ready for this? I'll be tightly shielded as I can make myself so you can concentrate on what you intend." He father said.
"Thank you Papa," Autumn smiled at him. Then she dropped all but one of the blankets from her arms and took the heavy-duty flashlight from her father's hand. Then she took a deep breath before bracing herself to venture outside into the storm.
"Good luck," her father added as she opened the door and cautiously climbed. The door swung out of her hand with a strong burst of wind and slammed shut. She winced, but immediately turned her attention to the objective at hand.
The rain beat down on her as if the clouds full to the brim and then suddenly released. Luckily it was only a little cold so she wasn't in danger of becoming sick afterwards. Her long light brown hair, which she had pulled up into a ponytail, was now plastered to her skull. The raincoat was practically useless; the wind whipped around her, pushing the coat aides, allowing the rain to soak her clothes to the skin.
Clicking on the flashlight she held it tightly in her right hand as she firmly hugged the blanket to her body to keep any part of it as dry as she could. She directed the light towards the direction she needed to go and began walking, taking careful steps. The lights from her father's car aided her as well, though just barely into the line of trees.
As Autumn entered the forest she slowly shed her shields, knowing that the storm would frighten many animals. She began to feel the emotions of the creatures the deeper she went. Animals were hiding, trying to find places where the storm wouldn't get to them. Now that all of the girl's senses were open she also received images. Some were through the animals' eyes—everything was gray as the creature stared at the falling rain from inside a type of tunnel. It had to be a rotted out tree log for the solidness beneath its paws was rough and flaky like wood when it dried and then became wet again—and others were just feelings of panic, terror, and a sense to hurry. They hit her all at once, but with the training that she began to receive when she was a tiny child, helped her block and sort through everything.
She continued walking carefully as she began searching for specific feelings and images that she knew would come from the vixen. The closer she got to the fox's den the stronger she could feel the baby-like terror of the fox pups. Then she found three of them huddled together by the boulder she had set her things down by earlier. They saw her with their wide brown/green eyes.
She saw the three pups and she had to smile ever so slightly—they looked like drowned rats with large innocent eyes. But as she turned her attention and gaze towards the tree that contained the den. She discovered that she couldn't sense the vixen or the last pup. A little fear mixed with anxiety rose within her. She swiftly clamped down on her own rising emotions and braced herself.
The rain pounded harder, making it harder to see anything. She was extremely lucky that the den was on the edge of a clearing, no matter that it was small. The blanket was clutched even tighter against her as he adjusted her grip in the flashlight. Water streamed in her eyes but she trusted her sense to guide her.
It took very cautious, small steps and much patience but she reached the den. What was left of it anyway. The den was almost completely flooded. She tuned her senses to the den itself and stifled a gasp.
The vixen and the last fox pup were dead. They had drowned when the mother tried to retrieve her last pup. Autumn felt her tears join the rain that streamed down her face. A heaviness now sat on her chest as she turned towards the remaining pups.
It was then that she felt the presence from earlier. And it was closer than she had sensed it before. But she didn't have time to inquire about it. There were three babies that needed her now. She stumbled towards the boulder and collapsed to her knees beside the blankets.
The three fox pups were frightened as they stared at the human, their eyes as wide as they could go. She set the flashlight down so she could see the pups and began to slowly unfold the blanket she had with her. She put it on the saturated ground; it would have gotten soaked and dirty anyway. When she unfolded it all the way she turned her eyes back to the pups. She reached out towards them, slowly touching the closest one with her fingertips. She felt their fright increase, but only a little. Being as gentle and careful as she could she moved her hand around the pup and scooped it up. She brought her other hand to it to cradle it in her hands.
She projected a sense of calm to all three and began to feel them sooth. Their shaking slowly started to cease, but she knew that without her influence they would be still extremely frightened.
She set the pup on the blanket and gently scratched its head behind the pointed ears. Even through its fright and the calming effect she was using on it, a simple pleasure began to fill the young pup. It obviously liked what she was doing. But reluctantly she pulled away so she could get the other two.
Once all three were on the blanket she scratched each of them to put them in a better frame of mind. But then she knew she should get back to her father before he started worrying. So grabbing the flashlight again and thanking every deity she could think of that there was a strap which she could slip her wrist through. Once it swung from her right arm she gathered the corners of the blanket and bunched the three pups together, making a type of nest around them. They whined, but didn't struggle.
She rose to her feet carefully and slightly readjusted her bundle so she could carry it without dropping it. Managing to point the light using her arms to help brace it she started making her way back to the car and her waiting father.
It took more time to get out of the forest than it had to get in, but she contributed it to the fact of the bundle she was carrying. She was glad the pups didn't squirm or whine much, but she was still projecting calm emotions to them.
Her father hurried to her side with one of the other blankets the instant she emerged from the tree line. He had waited for her, occasionally bringing down his tight shielding very slightly to see if his daughter needed help, but it was never down for long. So he knew when she was making her way back to him.
"How many?" he asked loudly against the wind and rain.
"Three." She replied back.
They went towards the car before he helped her with the pups and other blankets.
She climbed into the back seat, still bearing her bundle, but it was beginning to squirm. She had had to cut off a bit of her emotion-projection when she got closer to her father. She knew that she could still overwhelm him even if he was shielding tightly. So now some of her shields were partway up, but down enough to where she could handle and influence her new charges if need be.