9. Lost Everything
It was early evening before Red awoke, he'd had a troubling rest as far as his dreams went. Each one had been like an outer body experience allowing him to witness first-hand some of the more atrocious things he had done. Some of his dreams were so horrific that they had awoken him at random points during the day. Every time he'd wake gasping for air as if he was drowning. Each of these occurrences would also lead to him inadvertently looking over at Scarlet as she slept. Red felt a strange feeling inside upon looking at her, a warm safe feeling he couldn't quite explain.
Getting up Red visually checked the now dark earth, Scarlet was gone. Red's heart sank, the previous day had been the first time he had ever relished someone's company since leaving his sister Flame. He'd been looking forward to getting to know Scarlet better, but again he wasn't sure why exactly.
As Red began to contemplate his next move he heard a familiar voice that made him very happy. "So you're up at last then? I was just about ready to seal up the entrance in honour of you passing on," joked Scarlet. Red spun around to face the earth's entrance, trying his best to hide his delight at seeing that the young vixen was still around, he failed miserably. Scarlet could see the happiness on Reds face as clear as day and she knew exactly why he was so pleased.
"Well some of us had a pretty exhausting night last night," replied Red.
"You're right actually, I did do a fair bit of walking last night come to think of it," said Scarlet coyly.
"Hilarious," said Red looking up and shaking his head.
"You did kind of walk into that one," pointed out Scarlet, she gestured towards the entrance to the earth "I was just about to go hunting why don't you join me? You can tell me all about this exhausting night along the way."
"Deal, although I'm not really very good at telling stories," said Red without giving it much thought. It was only once the words had left his mouth that he realised his mistake. How could he tell her the full story? She'd leave for sure if she knew what a monster he'd been recently. Once Scarlet had turned her back to leave the earth Red screwed up his face in disbelief cursing his desire to please this new acquaintance. He was going to have to be very selective on the details in the story he was about to tell.
Red followed Scarlet out of the earth and together walking side by side the two foxes crossed the white fields in search of something to eat. Along the way Red told the story of his time in the town. Scarlet seemed mystified by the thought of foxes living so close to humans, she became even more so when Red explained that life was actually very easy when living near a town. He was careful to omit the specifics of the war and what he did during his time there, every time Scarlet asked a question to that effect, he'd find some way to dodge answering it.
The hunting trip turned out to be less than successful. Between the two they'd only managed to find a dead bird and a few roots to satisfy their appetites, it wasn't enough. The pair decided to give up as morning approached, and they returned to the earth. Scarlet again went straight to the back of the earth and Red slumped down in the entrance.
"That didn't go too badly considering the circumstances," chirped up Scarlet optimistically.
"Did we go on the same hunting trip? Because from where I was standing it looked like it couldn't have been any worse," quipped Red as he stared out the earth's entrance. "Wait, hold on I was wrong, it could have been worse we could have been stuck in that, it's snowing again."
"If that's true then why are you persisting to lie down all the way over there? You must be freezing and getting wetter by the minute," pointed out Scarlet.
Red let out a long loud sigh. "Not this again, I told you I'm fine here."
"Well excuse me for showing some concern!" answered Scarlet "I'll leave you to it then."
Scarlet turned her head to face the wall not wanting to talk to Red any further. Red sighed again, he seemed to have become pretty adept at screwing things up recently.
The next few weeks passed quickly for Red. It was the first time he had ever really enjoyed himself, he found Scarlet's company intoxicating. The both of them had become quite close over the time they had spent together, although they were still nothing but good friends. They both desperately wanted it to be more than that but neither of them could find the right moment or the right words to push things to the next level.
Red never wanted the nights they spent together to end, he hated having to go to sleep. There was however more than just one reason for that. Reds dreams had become even more disturbing as the days wore on. He started to see things he never remembered doing, some of them he was sure he had never done. There was one in particular that he didn't understand, it took place within the earth that Scarlet and Red were currently sharing. He'd just killed something and he was looking down at his paws, there was blood everywhere, however no matter how hard he tried the dream just wouldn't show him what it was he had killed.
The hunting trips hadn't got any better either. Red and Scarlet were living off food that would barely satisfy one fox let alone two. The snow was the cause of this, it hadn't receded at all, in fact it had gotten worse. This winter was turning out to be both the first and the worst winter either fox would ever experience. The food problem had really started to worry Red, not because of his own welfare but because of Scarlet. Whereas Red still looked reasonably fit due to the extra stores of fat he had built up during his stay in the town, Scarlet had started to look thin and emaciated. Red was going to have to do something if he wanted Scarlet to survive the winter.
His chance to fix things came one cold dark night, about three weeks after he had met Scarlet for the first time. He was out hunting alone, which was the norm now. Scarlet had become so weak that finding the energy and will to hunt was proving to be very difficult, so reluctantly she let Red do it for her. Red was crossing through the fields around his new home in his usual hunting pattern when a strange scent he had never smelt before came to his attention. With nothing better to do Red curiously began to follow it to its source, perhaps there was food there.
The scent led him to a small farm on the edge of one of the far fields. With inquisitive eyes Red began to watch for movement, there was none. Content that there was no imminent danger Red risked a closer look. He moved slowly forwards until he was at the fence which marked the farm out from the fields beyond, he peered in. Inside were several buildings and huts of all different shapes and sizes. One in particular however caught his attention the most.
Behind a large wire fence was a small wooden hut with a sloped roof. Inside Red could sense movement. Sneaking forwards some more Red crept up to the wire fence. Finally, he saw what had been attracting him, the hut was a chicken coop. Reds mouth began to water, the prospect of finally having something filling to eat was almost too much to bear. Suddenly realising that these chickens could easily be his death if the farmer caught him, Red decided to take a moment to think things through.
First of all Red began to plan a way in to the coop. The fence was the problem, it had no discernible weakness as far as Red could tell. It was too tall to jump, had no weak links and ran deep under the ground. Red had to think hard, then like a flash it came to him. Climbing the fence maybe impossible, as was jumping it, but climbing something else to give his jump greater height was easy. Right next to the chicken enclosure was a shed used for storage, if he could just get on top of that leaping over the fence would be no problem. Next Red began to review his options for escape. The same principals for getting in transferred perfectly to getting out again. The sloping roof of the chicken coop meant that he could climb onto it at its lowest point and then using its highest point he could leap back over the fence. Only one problem remained, the getaway. It had occurred to Red that it was entirely possible that the farmer would follow his trail. That would lead to only one outcome, he couldn't and wouldn't let that happen. He'd have to be cunning to overcome that last problem, luckily cunning is something all foxes have in spades.
Having thought it through Red acted upon his plan. It went like clockwork, Red was in and out in seconds leaving the coop in a ruckus. With a dead chicken dangling from his jaws Red made for the only thing he knew would mask his scent and tracks, water. The going was tough, partly due to the deep snow but mostly because of the weight of the chicken. Trust his luck to pick an overweight chicken to try and escape with!
Taking longer than he expected to, Red finally reached what he had always expected was off in this direction. Looming before him was a canal. He knew the canal from the town must have ended up somewhere around here, he was glad he'd been right. The only problem now was that due to the cold the water had frozen solid. "Great" Red grumbled to himself through clenched teeth. He sat for a moment in quiet contemplation. What to do? he thought. There was a sudden howl of a dog on the wind, the farmer was tracking him.
It only took Red a second longer to make up his mind as to what to do. He'd carry on his plan as he had originally intended and just hope for the best. He jumped down onto the ice sheet below and landed on all fours. Red winced as he heard the ice cracking, but luckily it held firm. He breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to push onwards following the canal as it snaked away into the distance.
Red hadn't realised just how difficult walking on ice was. He fell down more times than he cared to remember, and by the time he dragged his sorry form out of the canal basin he was bruised, cold and aching all over. This better be the best tasting meal I've ever had! Red thought to himself as he scrambled the remainder of the way home.
It was still dark when Red reached the earth beneath the hedge row. Hauling his prize with him Red went down below. Scarlet was asleep curled up nose to tail in her usual spot. Red sat down and watched her rhythmic breathing in a near hypnotic state. He really didn't want to wake her, she looked so peaceful. He was glad when she woke of her own accord saving him that task. Scarlet yawned, "You're back then, how'd it go?"
Red flung the dead chicken down in front of her. "I've done worse," said Red smiling.
"But how? Where did you find this?" stammered Scarlet in disbelief.
"I can be pretty resourceful when I want to be," replied Red, a beaming grin still on his face.
Scarlet turned and looked Red in the eyes. "What did you risk getting this?"
"Sometimes risks are worth taking," remarked Red in response as he returned her gaze.
"I told you once already, don't risk yourself on my behalf, I don't want you to," said Scarlet "besides I'm betting you made a human quite angry by taking this, what if your scent leads him here?"
"It won't, trust me, I made sure of that," replied Red "and what I risk for you is my decision."
Scarlet held Red's gaze for a moment longer before she turned to the chicken once more. "I guess we better eat then," she said.
"It's ok you go ahead, I've eaten already, I'll finish up what you don't want," said Red.
Scarlet instantly saw through this lie like a sheet of glass. After being moved by the complete and utter honesty in Reds previous responses, Scarlet spotted the change in Red's voice dead easy. She wasn't going to let him get away with it, she was going to double bluff him. After eating a little over half the chicken Scarlet feigned being full, and then forced Red to eat what was left. She smiled triumphantly, Red was going to have to do a lot better than that to pull one over on her.
As time went by Red started hitting the farm on an increasingly regular basis. Each time leaving the farmer more and more confused. How was he getting in and then disappearing so quickly? The farmer was clueless. Red knew that he had finally found the food source both he and Scarlet needed to make it through the long winter.
Before long Scarlet began to look even more impressive than Red remembered her looking when they first met. She had regained her weight and a sparkle of mischief had entered her eyes once more. She had also started to hunt for herself again, and although Red wouldn't let her join him raiding the farm she had nevertheless made herself useful. Independent once more Scarlet knew it was time to see exactly where Red saw his future, with her or not.
She decided to find out on their way home from hunting one cold dark clear night. The two of them were walking side by side through the slightly receding snow. The moon was full and high in the sky. Everything was serenely peaceful.
"Red…can I ask you a question?" asked Scarlet as she carried on trudging through the snow. Without warning Red stopped, he sensed she was going to ask something important.
"Sure, hopefully I can give you the answer you want to hear," replied Red. That last comment struck Scarlet like a freight train. She hadn't even thought about him saying no, but what if he did? Suddenly the thought of finding out if Red would be her mate or not didn't seem like a question she wanted an answer to.
"Err yeah ok...thanks" squirmed Scarlet as she tried desperately to think of a different question to ask than the one she had initially intended. In the end she said the first thing that popped into her mind. "Do you think you can beat me in a race?"
Red was totally confused, this question seemed to come out of nowhere. "Come again," said Red screwing up his face in confusion.
"You heard me, don't try to pretend you didn't. Or is it just that you know you'll lose?" joked Scarlet. She was quite happy at how she had covered up her earlier trepidation.
"So, it's like that is it?" beamed Red in response "come on then let's do it, I reckon I can take you," continued Red even though he knew he had no chance in a head-to-head race.
"Three two one GO!" Shouted Scarlet in quick succession as she started to run through the snow. Before Red could even turn to face the correct direction Scarlet had almost disappeared out of sight.
"I love it when competitions are fair," said Red to himself before giving chase.
Scarlet soon had a huge lead and after running for over five minutes she risked a glance back. She knew she had left Red for dust, but she also knew Red was tenacious and was bound to find a way to claw some of her lead back, however he was nowhere to be seen. She slowed her pace, continuing to peer over her shoulder, eventually stopping completely. Nothing, there was no sign of him at all. Scarlet started to back track through the leafless wood she had just left, vainly searching for some sign of the fox she cared so much about. Again nothing, no scent, not even a single track. Something felt wrong and Scarlet started to assume the worst. Had she come so close to having everything she wanted just to lose it all at the last minute?
In desperation Scarlet started to call out. "Red! Where are you Red!"
She continued this for some time before finally giving up. Confused and afraid Scarlet started walking further on into the dead and eerie looking wood.
Scarlet didn't know if it was just in her mind or not but she could swear that the trees were whispering as she passed them by. Something was definitely weird about this wood, it was almost like something was watching her.
As she passed a large Horse Chestnut tree she heard a rustle of branches. Spinning around as fast as she could Scarlet attempted to face down whatever was stalking her, but she was too slow. Before she could shift her head and body to face the direction of the noise she was suddenly struck by a heavy weight from above. Her whole body was compressed downwards into the snow and she felt its icy cold chill through her fur. Unable to see her attacker due to the snow in her eyes Scarlet could only clench her teeth and hope for a quick end. It never came, in fact she felt the weight pinning her to the ground lift, soon followed by an outburst of rambunctious laughter that she immediately recognized.
Still dazed and confused Scarlet rolled over onto her side and shook the snow from her face. Standing over her was the stocky form of Red. He wore a beaming smile on his face and sniggered incessantly.
"If only you could see your face right now," laughed Red "It's like you..." He trailed off. Red hadn't noticed at first, but Scarlet was crying.
"What's wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?" asked Red suddenly feeling a little ashamed of his actions.
"No...I...I, just thought I'd lost you," sobbed Scarlet, and without thinking she craned her neck up and pressed her muzzle into his fur. Red was caught a little off guard by this and although he acknowledged the gesture at first, he did eventually back away. Now Scarlet didn't know what to think. She had basically asked him the question she had been burning to ask, and he seemed to say maybe. Scarlet still didn't have her answer.
"You know what, you almost did," explained Red "after the first twenty minutes sitting up that tree, I started to think you wouldn't come look for me."
"What?" exclaimed Scarlet.
"Well, the bet is still on, right?" asked Red as he stretched his legs. Scarlet still lay on her side trying desperately to comprehend what Red was getting at.
"The bet?"
"You know full well what I mean," said Red as a faint smile crept across his face "I'm about to prove that being the fastest in a race doesn't always make you the winner."
Red stared at Scarlet for a few seconds more, as if waiting for a response, it never came. Then unexpectedly he turned and bolted. Scarlet gazed after him, watching his black form fade into the distance. It wasn't until he had completely disappeared that Scarlet suddenly realised what Red had been getting at. Red obviously thought that she was still racing him. He must have seen her whole tearful display as nothing but a piece of cleverly crafted cunning to try and put him off guard. Just as his disappearing act had been a ruse to put her in the same position. Only his plan had worked, Scarlet knew she had been outsmarted. Strangely enough though she wasn't angry, she felt good. Scarlet now knew that Red was everything she could ever want in a mate, with that in mind she dragged herself up off the floor and made for home.
When she arrived at the earth she found Red curled up asleep just inside the entrance way with the cold night breeze ruffling through his fur. That was it she had had enough, this foolishness was going to stop right now. Scarlet moved forward into the earth, stopping between Red and the tunnel leading outside, she sat staring directly at him. It didn't take long for Red to wake, and when he did he looked up at her questioningly. "What are you doing?" he asked failing to see the significance of Scarlet's body position.
"If you're going to lie here and freeze then so am I!" remarked Scarlet.
"Not again! You're so stubborn you know that!" cried Red in disbelief.
"Wrong, you're the stubborn one for not wanting to move, I'm merely being persistent and demanding!" retorted Scarlet as she turned her nose up in mock disgust. Both foxes spontaneously erupted in to fits of laughter.
"Now I won't argue with you on that," laughed Red hysterically "you win, I'll come quietly." He got up and moved to the back of the den. Feeling like she had finally made some progress Scarlet triumphantly joined him. There they lay together at last, Scarlet couldn't be happier. She looked down at the now sleeping Red, he was everything she could have ever hoped for. He was strong, brave, selfless, cunning and wise. To think she nearly passed him up the first time they met, what a mistake that would have been, she wouldn't be so quick to judge again. Scarlet smiled to herself, she'd really fallen on her paws. Finally feeling the onset of tiredness herself Scarlet yawned and then rested her head across the back of Red's neck and closed her eyes. The beginnings of a grin cracked across Red's face as he felt the weight of Scarlet's head resting on his.
Scarlet slept more peacefully than she had ever done before, sadly the same could not be said for Red. He'd had that dream again, only this time things were a little different. He had finally seen the entire picture. The dead animal was Scarlet, his paws were red with her blood, he'd killed her. Red woke panting hard, he couldn't believe it, he was horrified. Red suddenly felt cold when he realised that this dream wasn't a glimpse of the past at all, but of the future. Red knew instantly what the dream meant too, if he stayed this course in his life Scarlet would end up getting hurt, or worse. He couldn't let that happen, he cared for her too much. But what could he do?
Red looked across the den, there was Scarlet busy preening herself oblivious to Red's awakening. He studied her for a moment, catching Scarlet unawares wasn't an easy thing to do, he was going to savour this moment. She was beautiful, confident, smart and so agonisingly frustrating that he couldn't imagine being without her. She never seemed to make mistakes, at least up until now that was. In Reds eyes Scarlet had made a major error in judgment by choosing him as her mate. She was far too good for him, he was nothing but a blood thirsty killer. He didn't deserve to be cared for by anyone, let alone her. But what could he do, leave her? Would that be the right thing to do? Wouldn't that hurt her too? Red was lost and had no one to turn to for advice. He wished Macaw was here right now. He'd know what to do. Red sighed heavily without realising it.
"Oh, you're up…what's wrong?" asked Scarlet quizzically as she turned around.
"Nothing's wrong I'm fine," said Red trying not to look flustered at getting caught watching her.
"Your face tells a different story, come on out with it, or don't you trust me?" replied Scarlet cocking her head to one side.
"Of course I do! It's just…I haven't exactly been sleeping well recently," answered Red, figuring a half-truth was easier to sell then an outright lie.
Scarlet got up and lay down next to Red, her face was now inches from his. "Why do you think that is?" she asked as she locked eyes with him. In that moment Red felt the sudden urge to let it all out, the dreams, the town, the test lab, his family, all of it. She made him feel safe, like he could tell her anything and she would understand. However it was a fleeting feeling, soon suppressed by automatic defences he was unable to control.
"I don't know," Red answered as he did his best to return her gaze.
"I know you're holding out on me, holding back things you don't want me to know," said Scarlet comfortingly "it doesn't have to be now, but just promise me you'll tell me someday."
Red looked at the ground, managing only a nod.
"Good that's all I ask, now I was planning a little trip to go and see my parents tonight to make sure they're okay, would you come with me? I'd enjoy the company," said Scarlet a little unsure now of what the answer would be.
Red looked up. "You didn't even need to ask, of course."
"Great, this way, come on its not far," motioned Scarlet as she led the way out of the den and into the cold night air. Red followed obediently, his mind still flustered by the decision he needed to make. Maybe some fresh air will help, Red thought to himself as he left the earth.
The journey to Scarlet's parents earth was much shorter than Red had expected. It appeared to Red as if Scarlet hadn't really left home at all. It was obvious that their family must have a close relationship, most parents would have driven their offspring away fearing a loss of territory, but things were quite different here for some reason. Red couldn't help but marvel at the stark difference this was to his family.
Throughout the journey Red kept mostly to himself, keeping some distance between him and Scarlet. Not too much however, he didn't want Scarlet to start suspecting anything serious was wrong, but what Red wanted and what Red got were two completely different things entirely. In the time the two foxes had been together Scarlet had built-up an uncanny knack for reading him, and she was doing just that. She could see something was seriously wrong with him, his mind seemed preoccupied with something. Sensing Red was unprepared to discuss it with her Scarlet left him alone. She just hoped he would share it with her eventually. Red was focusing hard on working out what he should do from here, what was his best course of action? The fresh air hadn't helped one bit, he still didn't have any sort of perspective on the matter.
By the time the two of them arrived at Scarlet's family earth it was early morning. Standing there on the threshold of Scarlet's parents' earth started to make Red feel a little awkward. He hadn't really put much thought into it before, but this, what he was about to do was a far scarier prospect than anything he'd done before. Red was about to let himself be judged by two foxes he had never met, two foxes who were by all impressions very important to Scarlet. In all his time spent thinking about things recently he hadn't spared a moment to work out what he was going to say. Scarlet looked across at him and smiled reassuringly, Red managed an obviously uncomfortable smile back.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, trust me," said Scarlet as she nuzzled him affectionately "I'll be right back". Scarlet turned away from Red and entered the earth.
The next few moments seemed to stretch on into infinity. Waiting is bad enough, but waiting for something you don't even want is torture, Red couldn't wait till this day was over. Eventually Scarlet and her parents emerged from the earth. The first to emerge was a fox that was obviously Scarlet's father. He wasn't particularly well built or powerful looking, but he did give off an air of authority. His fur was a dark shade of red and he walked with all the poise and grace that Red had been accustomed to seeing in Scarlet. Hot on his heals was Scarlet herself. Red immediately saw the family resemblance. It wasn't so much the way they looked, rather the way they acted. Scarlet and her father moved in exactly the same manner, they seemed to glide over the ground like a bird in flight. The final fox to emerge from the earth was another vixen, Scarlet's mother. The answer to where Scarlet got her physical appearance from was there right in front of him. It was like looking at the same fox at two different times in its life span. It was remarkable just how similar they were.
The four foxes exchanged glances for a moment before Scarlet finally broke the silence.
"Mother, father, this is Red," said Scarlet "Red, this is my father Eclipse, and my mother Crescent."
"It's good to finally meet you Red, we've heard so much about you," greeted Crescent with a smile "I'm so glad you decided to come and see us."
"Thank you, I'll try my best not to be a disappointment," answered Red as he looked at Scarlet questioningly. How did Crescent know so much about him? Scarlet had obviously been a little less than truthful about the reason for this visit to see her parents. Introducing Red had been all that was on her mind. Scarlet wilted under Red's scrutiny, she could tell he'd worked out that this trip had been all one long setup, and that she had in fact visited her parent's multiple times without Red's knowledge while they had been together. She spent the rest of the morning avoiding meeting Red's gaze, fearing the anger that may be there. In reality, Red wasn't the least bit angry, after all she was entitled to a few secrets, Red had his, it was only fair.
The four foxes continued to talk throughout the morning. It turned out to be nowhere near as bad as Red had expected. He hadn't been grilled about his past at all, a few probing questions had been asked but when he'd clamed up the subject was changed. Scarlet had the sort of parents Red wished he'd had, if things had been the other way around Scarlet would have been ripped to shreds by his father, some animals get all the luck, why could it never be him?
As the morning gave way to afternoon the four foxes retired to the earth to rest. Red, feeling a lot more at ease after the long discussion lay down next to Scarlet and closed his eyes. It was almost over, he could go home soon, perhaps then he'd figure things out.
Red awoke to find himself alone, Scarlet and her parents were nowhere to be seen. Red relaxed a little, letting the tension that had built up in his body over the last day escape. This is what he needed, a little space, some peace and quiet. Red let his mind wander, he started playing out every possibility for what he could do next, each one ended up presenting more questions he had no answers for. He gave up, he'd just have to wait for the answers to present themselves, there was no point dwelling on 'what if's'. Red hauled himself up and left the earth.
The evening outside was brisk and quiet. The onset of darkness had brought with it a fresh threat of snow. Red could both feel it in his bones and smell it on the air, tonight wasn't shaping up to be a good one. During his daydreaming Red had failed to notice the shadowy figure perched atop the earth behind him.
"Scarlet had mentioned what a late sleeper you were, but I'd never imagined any fox could sleep this long," said the shadowy figure. Red span round, startled by the sudden and unexpected voice. There he found Scarlet's father Eclipse staring down at him.
"You do know it's not polite to sneak up on someone right?" replied Red, breathing hard as a result of the shock.
"Being polite will only get you so far in this world," retorted Eclipse as he jumped down from his vantage point to join Red at the earth's entrance.
"That's true I guess," conceded Red with a nod.
"Good, a youngster who's willing to learn from an old fox like me, that's a rare thing indeed," said Eclipse with a smile.
"There's nothing wrong with listening to others," shrugged Red.
"That's good, I like that, I think you and me will get on just fine," replied Eclipse "but enough with the pleasantries, you and me have some work to do."
"How so?" inquired Red arching his brow.
"We're on hunting duty tonight, if we want to catch anything before dawn we better get a move on, some of us have wasted enough time," replied Eclipse.
Red ignored the obvious joke at his expense. "Where's Scarlet and Crescent?"
"They had a little catching up to do," said Eclipse slyly showing a crooked grin, from Red's body language he could already guess the next question. "About what I could not say," he jumped in before Red could ask.
"Couldn't or wouldn't?" asked Red.
"Pick one," shot back Eclipse with a blank expression on his face. Red held his gaze, for some reason he couldn't get the measure of this fox at all, was he on his side or not?
Eclipse began to slowly circle Red, "how did you two do it?"
"How did we do what?" questioned Red, his gaze following the older foxes' movements as he circled around him.
"You look like you're living through the most bountiful summer there has ever been," replied Eclipse as he pointed a paw at Red "look at the sheen on your coat."
Red lifted his right front leg and looked down at the fur on it, he didn't really understand what the older fox was getting at, he shrugged.
Eclipse let out a sigh of frustration. "We're in the middle of the worst winter I can recall, catching enough food to stay looking like that during it? Should be impossible."
"True," acknowledged Red. There was a prolonged silence.
"So, am I going to have to guess then? Or are you going to tell me? Scarlet wouldn't even give me an inkling of how," probed Eclipse.
"It's nothing spectacular really, I just discovered a farm close by, that's all," shrugged Red.
"And?" hastened Eclipse.
"There's a chicken coop there," answered Red.
Eclipse's eyes suddenly lit up. "I knew it! It had to be something risky or Scarlet would have told me about it!" said Eclipse excitedly "Details son, details!"
Red began explaining in minute detail where the farm was, and just how exactly he got into its relatively well protected chicken coop. Eclipse marvelled at the ingenuity of Red's simple but effective plan, what worked for one would work for others he thought. This information seemed to have lit a spark in Eclipse's eyes, almost like there was a lingering problem behind them that this information had solved.
"Right, that will have to do for now, it's time we earn our keep. All that free farm food hasn't made you forget how to hunt has it?" asked Eclipse.
Red screwed up his nose. "It wasn't free."
Eclipse grinned. "I'll take the north you take the south, we'll meet back here." The two foxes broke up without another word and went on their separate hunts.
It turned out to be the worst hunt of Reds life, he caught nothing and found nothing. In fact, he didn't even come close to finding anything. Feeling pretty dejected Red made his way back to Crescent and Eclipse's earth. He had really wanted to impress Eclipse with his hunting abilities to try and get him more onside, but that wasn't going to happen now, he was going to look pathetic.
When Red reached the earth he found something quite interesting that took his mind right off his failed hunting trip. As he neared the last bush between him and the clearing in front of the den he heard voices. Instinctively he dropped to the floor and crawled forward till he could see what was ahead. There, sitting together outside the earth was Scarlet and Crescent. Red moved forward slightly, but stopped when he heard what was being discussed. Red couldn't help but sit and listen, the topic was him after all.
"So, you really like him that much then?" asked Crescent.
"Yes, I do," said Scarlet.
"Well then you better make sure he knows that," suggested Crescent.
"I know," replied Scarlet as she sat staring down at her paws.
"You also better make sure he feels the same way," continued Crescent. Scarlet merely nodded.
"What's wrong? You don't think he does?" said Crescent a little shocked.
"No, no it's not that, it's just, just there's something troubling him, something he won't talk to me about," explained Scarlet as best she could.
"I see, then you're just going to have to wait, he'll come to a decision on whatever's troubling him eventually, if he really cares for you as much as you say then I'm sure he'll have your best interests at heart in whatever decisions he makes," said Crescent sagely.
"I guess," conceded Scarlet with a sigh. "I just wish..." she trailed off.
"Shhhh, there's something out there, below quickly!" whispered Crescent. Obediently and without questioning why Scarlet followed Crescent into the earth.
Red could clearly see that he had been detected, he pressed himself closer to the ground in vain hope that he couldn't be pin pointed. He let off a sigh of relief when he saw the two vixens retreat into the earth.
"That was too close," Red whispered to himself.
"You do know it's extremely impolite to eavesdrop," came a voice off to Reds left. Red jumped for the second time that day, steading himself when he saw who the voice belonged to.
"You don't get anywhere in life being polite all the time," responded Red.
"Ha! So, you are learning! You're not quite as big and stupid as I had initially thought," said Eclipse with a grin on his face.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," replied Red sarcastically.
"Quite, so did you hear anything interesting during your little bit of spy work?" pursued Eclipse.
"I wasn't spying! Look, they were talking out in the open! Me being in ear shot wasn't my fault!" said Red gesturing angrily towards the clearing with his front paws.
"Fine, fine, no need to get touchy, son, I was only joking," said Eclipse backtracking a little.
"You're not that funny, so I'd quit trying if I were you," replied Red.
"Wise words for us all I think," said Eclipse dropping all sense of humour from his voice. "Can I ask you a question Red?"
Red narrowed his eyes in puzzlement. "I get the impression my answer to that question is irrelevant."
"Have you ever heard the story of the Beast?" Eclipse continued.
Red stifled a gasp before stammering a shaky response. "The beast?...No…never heard of it." This was a lie, Red knew that name, it was one of the many names the Northern Foxes had given him back in the town.
"The Beast, The Butcher, The Demon," continued Eclipse "lots of names for the same thing."
Red did his best to look confused. "I don't understand?"
"Just stories I've heard from the town, tales really," Eclipse locked eyes with Red "supposedly there's a black wolf there that prowls the streets at night, deathless, unrelenting, preys on the weak and the vulnerable."
Red felt bile building in the pit of his stomach. "Sounds farfetched to me, there's no such thing as wolves."
"Maybe," replied Eclipse "I tend to think there's usually a shred of truth in tales like that, could be it's not a wolf, could be a dog, could be a large cat…could even be a fox."
Red had started to develop a twitch he was unable to control. "Like I said, it could also be totally made up, a story to scare cubs before they go to sleep."
Eclipse furrowed his brow and cocked his head to one side. "Tell me Red, how would you keep your family safe from something like that?"
Red froze, how could he answer that? How would he keep his family safe from himself? The answer had been staring him in the face all this time. "By keeping them away from it…" he muttered as he stared into the snow in front of him.
A faint smirk crossed Eclipse's mouth. "Is that something you think you can do for me, and for her?"
Red remained silent, he was struggling to find the words, the best he could do was a brief nod.
Eclipse paused for a moment before beginning to back away, his theory on who Red was had been proven right. He needed to get Red out of the lives of his family, he knew strength would be no good at accomplishing that task however he could see the conflict in the young fox, all he had to do was stoke his fear. "That's my boy," said Eclipse as his smirk became a full-on smile. "Keep to that and she will never know, I give you my word."
Red let out a confused and defeated whimper, he was finding it hard to breathe. Red tried to take one last look in the earth's direction, but Eclipse was all but blocking his view. "Tell her, tell her I'm sorry," the words came out messy and almost incomprehensible.
Eclipse's smile faded away, the sense of satisfaction at beating the legendary Beast had been replaced with intense feelings of guilt. The Beast had turned out to be no more than a scared and confused boy, there was no victory here. Eclipse nodded at Red. "I'll do it gently I promise."
With that Red turned and ran.