6. Found Friendship

Red awoke to the feeling of a bitterly cold breeze on his face, it startled him slightly as he couldn't quite remember where he was. The events that happened after leaving the test lab were hazy to him at best, he jumped to his paws. "Ouch," he announced to what he assumed to be just himself. He wavered in the wind for a moment before slumping back down onto his side.

"Careful boy, don't you go undoing all our good work now!"

"Is that you Macaw?" asked Red as slowly and with as little movement as he could manage.

"Who else would it be? The famous Farthing Wood Fox? You should be so lucky!" chuckled Macaw "how are you feeling?"

"Like someone dragged me fifty miles on my face," said Red.

"Ho-ho-ho," laughed Macaw "not far from the truth boy, but it was for your own good."

"Really? Because I feel pretty far from good right now," replied Red groggily "where are we exactly?"

Over the next hour Macaw explained in detail both what he had observed first-hand and what he had been told by Autumn had occurred over the previous day and night. Red found the information difficult to digest, hearing details about an event you'd been heavily involved in but had no recollection of had long been a troubling subject for him.

After leaving the lab Autumn had led the two of them deep into a forested area at the crest of a hill overlooking the test lab. Red's lack of memory of these events had been brought on by slow but significant blood loss caused by the wound he had obtained from the test lab door. He'd completely passed out by the time the two of them had reached the hill crest, requiring Autumn to drag his limp body as far into the wood as she possibly could to keep them safe from prying eyes. Macaw had found them not too long afterwards, he'd left the test lab shortly after they had, making sure to occupy the two men just long enough for the foxes to slip away unnoticed. He had arrived at the scene to find Autumn freaking out at Red's crumpled and blood matted body.

"She should have left me where I fell," pointed out Red.

Macaw hopped down from his perch in the Horse Chestnut tree above Red and began peering at him. "Why?" he asked.

"Look at me! I'm blind, wounded and barely able to move!" replied Red venomously "what use am I to anyone!"

"You don't have to be of use to be important to others boy!" admonished Macaw "you've been cared about in the past, you're cared about now and you will be cared for in the future, stop pretending the entire world is against you!"

Red fell silent, he didn't have a clever response to that.

"Feel this," continued Macaw as he picked up and tossed something hard and transparent across to Red.

Red sat up and sniffed the patch of ground where the object lay. "What is it?"

"Touch it," answered Macaw.

Red reached out a paw and placed it on the object. "It's smooth and cold...ouch!" he exclaimed as he pulled his paw away.

"Careful now boy, that there is what I extracted from the wound in your side, it's part of the door you so expertly dismantled," explained Macaw "you're lucky it hadn't gone too deep, it was just on the surface really, but if we hadn't have got it out who knows where it would have ended up!"

Red's expression softened. "Thank you," he replied quietly.

"It's not just me you owe that thank you to," said Macaw honestly "Autumn cleaned the wound out once I'd got that out of you, you owe her as much as me."

Red lowered his head and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You know how she feels about you, heaven knows why with the way you've treated her, but that's the fact of it," sighed Macaw.

"You know I can't give her what she wants from me," answered Red.

"Yet you treat her like that's her fault," replied Macaw as he peered at Red with one eye "did you ever consider talking to her about it instead of getting angry at her?"

Red exhaled slowly. "Where is she?" he asked.

"She went to try and find some food," answered Macaw "don't worry, she promised not to leave the forest."

"You sent her hunting? Alone? Are you mad?" scalded Red as he got to his paws "we need to find her!"

"You boy are going nowhere so sit back down!" admonished Macaw "I was concerned too, but there was no other option, you're blind and crippled and I'm old and domesticated, out of us all she has the best chance of finding food."

Red could see the truth in Macaw's reasoning, he didn't like it, but he knew it was the only option.

"Now get some rest boy, you need to get your strength back, I'll wake you if you're needed," continued Macaw as he flapped his wings and thrust himself back up into the branches of the Horse Chestnut tree.