12. Found Purpose

The day became night before Red moved again, the dizziness had subsided however it had been replaced with a throbbing pain. "Ow!" Red exclaimed as he peeled his face from the wet and sticky floor, he felt like he'd been hit with a building, everything hurt. He forced himself to his paws and slowly looked around. Initially he didn't understand where he was, he was struggling to recall what had happened since waking up at the barn the previous day. It wasn't until he looked out through the moonlit grating above him that the image of Macaw's broken form came back to his mind. He froze for a moment, a cold sickening feeling welled up in his stomach, his friend was gone. Red let out a low growl and pushed himself forwards, maybe he could still catch the remaining wildcat. He bounded towards the wall below the grating, pushing his back legs hard into the concrete he thrust himself up into the air. His intention had been to sail straight through the grate opening and into the alley beyond however his body was not operating the way he expected it to. His head and front paws connected with the grate however the bulk of his body slammed into the wall just below it. Red felt the wind get pushed out of his lungs and he let out an awkward sounding yelp before bouncing back down to the floor below.

"Now that looked more than a little painful," joked a voice from beyond the grate.

Red didn't move or acknowledge the voice at first, he remained where he fell, lying on his side facing towards the wall of the drain.

A black silhouette pushed its head through the opening of the drain, blocking out a portion of the moonlight that shone through it. "Do you need some help?"

"No!" replied Red sharply, he got to his paws and tried the jump for the second time. This try was better but he still landed short, Red's rear legs and body dangled comically over the ledge as he tried frantically to claw at the broken bars of the drain cover to pull himself through. Just as he felt himself beginning to slip backwards into the hole the silhouetted animal reached in with its jaws and grabbed onto one of Red's front paws. Red felt an intense pain in his front leg as the animals teeth bit down, Red began to growl and tried to slash at the animal with his other paw, however before he could make contact he was unceremoniously heaved through the grate and out into the alley. Red and the animal that helped him rolled backwards, ending up in a tangled pile of fur.

"You're way heavier than you look," said a muffled voice that belonged to an animal that was clearly finding it hard to breathe.

Red rolled over and looked down at the animal he was lying on top of, it was a young red fox. His fur was so pale it looked almost orange.

"You're welcome," said the fox breathlessly.

Red paused for a moment and then got up and walked towards the middle of the alley, sniffing the ground until he found the place where Macaw lay the previous day. Red sat and peered at the ground, there was nothing left, everything had been cleaned up. "I didn't ask for your help."

"I like to think everything would be better if we helped each other more often," said the fox as he followed Red into the centre of the alley. "I saw what happened, he was your friend?"

Red slid a paw forward and placed it at the point on the ground where he had last seen Macaw.

The young fox sat down next to Red. "I'm sorry, he moved a couple of times when they took him away, maybe they can save him?"

Red turned sharply to face the younger fox. "Who took him away?"

"The men from the bakery," replied the fox as he gestured to the door in the alley. "After they chased away all the animals in the alley they took your friend inside."

Red stood up and made his way over to the door at the side of the alley. He sniffed along the gap under the door, a strong scent of freshly baked bread and cakes filled his nostrils but there was no sign of Macaw. Red pressed his head against the base of the door and tried to push it open, it was no good, the door was locked up tight.

"Believe me, if there was a way to get in there I'd have found it already!" joked the younger fox "when I first came to this town I couldn't get the smell of that place out of my mind!"

Red ignored the advice and continued trying to force his way through the locked door. "If Macaw is in there then I'm getting him out, no matter how long it takes me!"

"But that's the thing, I don't think he is still in there," said the younger fox "when the men left at the end of the day one of them was carrying a box, ordinarily that wouldn't be unusual however this particular box had holes in the top."

Red stopped pushing at the door and made his way back over to the middle of the alley. "You think he was in the box?"

The younger fox shrugged. "Maybe, it would make sense, right?"

Red let out a long and exhausted sounding exhale. "So he's alive but lost somewhere in this town?"

"I think lost is probably a strong word," replied the younger fox with half a grin on his face.

Red rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Let me guess, you know where the man with the box went?"

The smile on the younger fox's face broadened into a full grin. "Like I said, I know that smell, I've followed it everywhere it goes."

Red shook his head again. "Kid, I think you might have a problem."

The younger fox let out a brief chuckle. "Collecting problems is what I'm best at."

Red snorted. "I'm glad it's not just me."

The younger fox laughed again before getting up and walking to the end of the alley that led into the town. "Come on, I'll show you". Red hadn't noticed it before, but the younger fox walked with a pronounced limp, one of his back legs looked to be injured and dangled in the air as he walked. Red got up and followed the fox out to the road beyond.

"Can I ask you something?" said Red as he walked side by side with the younger fox.

"The leg, right?" replied the fox.

Red glanced back at the young fox's leg. "It looks bad."

The fox didn't answer right away, almost as if he was unsure how to. "It is," he eventually replied.

The two animals walked together in silence for most of the remainder of the journey, Red noticed a marked change in his companion after answering that question, like the weight of the world had suddenly dropped on him. Red decided not to ask anything further, it was obvious the younger fox was trying to think of anything but his own personal predicament.

The road was long and winding, eventually leading up and out of the town. Ahead was a rustic looking two story cottage surrounded by a combination of fences and overgrown hedges.

"If your friend is anywhere, he will be in there," said the younger fox gesturing towards the cottage. Red looked the building over, the moonlight lit up the white walls of the house like it was daytime however the windows looked as black as night. The only exception was a faint glow of light emanating from around the back of the building.

Red looked back at his young companion. "You're not coming with me, are you?"

The younger fox looked back towards the town. "I can't, I've already been away too long, she'll be out looking for me if I don't get back soon."

Red smiled. "Mate?"

The younger fox looked back at Red. "Yes, at least I think so?" Red could see the visible confusion in the younger animal's eyes.

"A piece of advice from someone who has experience of leaving that question unanswered until it is far too late, just get it over with and find out."

The young fox shifted uncomfortably before looking back at the town again. "You wouldn't understand."

Red followed the younger fox's gaze towards the town. "Try me."

"Is she mated to me or what is in my blood?" the younger fox tilted his head to one side as he contemplated the answer.

Red took a step forward to align himself with the younger fox, continuing to look downhill towards the town beyond. "What's in your blood?"

"My family," said the younger fox, his upper lip twitched as the words came out.

"If my father were here right now, he'd try to kill me without a second thought," replied Red.

The younger fox looked over at Red. "Why?"

"Because I'd deserve it," Red said with a shrug "because we're both despicable creatures."

"You don't seem it to me," answered the younger fox.

"I murdered my brother?" said Red. It stunned him a little that the words came out so easily, he'd never shared that with anyone, yet here he was telling a young fox he barely knew. He felt at ease, almost like he was talking to himself.

The sentence hung in the air for a moment before the younger fox broke the silence. "I'm guessing this happened a long time ago?"

"I was a cub," replied Red "doesn't change what I did."

"Maybe, maybe not," said the younger fox "we're all born stupid and violent, those around us shape what we become."

"Family," replied Red "what did yours do?"

"Enough to know I never want to go back there," said the younger fox, an angry scowl had formed on his face.

"Father?" asked Red, the younger fox nodded with a snort. "And your mate wants you to go back there?"

The younger fox nodded again. "I can't do it, when I left I promised myself that I'd never go back."

"You're having cubs?" a smile spread across Red's face. "And she wants to have them somewhere safer than here?" Red gestured down towards the town.

"I collect problems," answered the younger fox.

Red sniggered. "It does appear that way."

The young fox sighed and got to his paws. "I better get going, she'll already be out looking, good luck finding your friend, I hope he is okay."

"Thanks, I hope you find a way to solve your problem too," answered Red "I don't know much about parenting, but I figure all we can do is try to be better at it than ours were."

The young fox nodded and limped a couple of paces down the path before turning his head back to face Red. "It's Bold by the way."

Red looked confused. "What is?"

"My name," the young fox replied.

"That's strangely fitting," acknowledged Red "I'm Red."

"And that name makes no sense whatsoever," quipped the young fox as he pointed a paw at Red's fur.

"Despicable father remember?" said Red whilst holding his front paws out to his sides and shrugging.

The young fox smiled. "If you ever need somewhere safe to stay, come to the tree in the centre of the square in town, that's where you'll find us, at least for the moment anyway."

Red nodded. "Good luck." He watched the fox limp out of view down the road into the town before turning and heading up towards the cottage.

The cottage grounds were much larger than Red had expected, after pushing himself through the dense hedgerow that surrounded the building a vast garden came into view. Red crept across a patch of grass and pressed himself against the side of the house. He could see the faint light ahead, it was coming from around the back of the house. Red felt uneasy, like as if something were watching him. Creeping slowly, he made his way to the end of the wall, there he paused to sniff the air. There was an overpowering odour of dog in the air that made his heart race, he pressed himself flat against the wall and closed his eyes as he fought the instinct to run. An image of Macaw on the ground in the alley entered his mind, he couldn't leave yet, his friend needed him. Red took a deep breath and forced himself around the corner.

There, right in front of him was the owner of the smell, the largest dog Red had ever seen. The breath he had been holding in escaped slowly through the corner of his mouth making a comical wheezing sound as it did so. The dog stared directly at him cocking its head to one side as it heard the odd sound coming from the fox. Red turned and bolted, as fast as he could back towards the hedgerow at the front of the house. He thrust himself into what he thought was the hedge opening he came through earlier and began trying to squirm his way out the other side. It didn't take long before he realised his mistake, he'd entered the hedge in the wrong place and he was now stuck half in and half out of the hedgerow. Red heard the dog bounding up clumsily behind him, he closed his eyes and braced himself to be mauled to pieces. Only the attack never came, Red opened his eyes and tried to squirm forwards again, as he did so a slobbery wet tongue licked the side of his face.

"Eew! What was that!" said Red as he tried to pull away from the source, it was no use he was completely stuck. The dog had forced himself headfirst into the hedge right next to Red and was panting heavily into his face. He felt the tongue lick his face again. "Stop it!"

Red felt the dog withdraw from the hedge. "I can help!" it exclaimed. Before Red could answer he felt the drooling mouth of the dog clamp around one of his back legs and pull. Red felt himself lurch backwards a couple of times before being dragged out of the hedge and flung through the air. He landed hard on his back, his legs splayed in the air comically.

"Too hard! Too hard!" exclaimed the dog as it bounded up to Red, licking his face when he got there.

Red tried to bat the dog's head away with his paws. "Stop licking me!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" replied the dog as it bounced up and down. "You're the one! You're the one!"

Red rolled over and climbed to his paws. "The one what?"

"My new friend the red birdie said you'd come!" answered the dog as it bounded away towards the rear of the cottage. "Come! Come!"

Red winced as he pulled a sharp twig out of one of his legs using his mouth. "Slow down, I'm coming!" he mumbled through clenched teeth.

Red followed the dog around the corner to the back of the house. The rear garden was made up of a large well-maintained lawn with a single tree located close to the back of the house at the far end. Opposite the tree was a large bay window that was currently illuminated from the inside by a light source Red couldn't currently see. The dog was at the base of the bay window and was beckoning Red over to join him. "See! See!"

A feeling of apprehension welled up from Red's stomach, he was relieved to know Macaw was alive however he was unsure what state his friend would be in. Red paused to collect himself before slowly following the dog over to the window. The window was some distance off the ground and Red had to get up on his hindlegs to be able to peer in. Inside was a cosy looking living room with a lit fireplace. The light of the fire was casting flickering images around the room which made it difficult to spot his friend amongst the furniture within. Eventually Red spotted a small table near the door out of the room that had a small perch on top, sat on this was Macaw. Red smiled and began scratching at the window to try and get the birds attention. Macaw had obviously been sleeping and woke groggily to the sound of Red's claws on the window pane, he sat up straight and looked directly at Red. Red's smile faded away and was replaced by shock and sadness as he saw the detail of his friends injuries. The bird's magnificent coat of red feathers looked dull and patchy and his long tail feathers had all but disappeared. Worst of all was his right wing, it was now not much more than a stump, all the feathers on it were missing and it hung limply at the bird's side.

"Are you okay?" called Red loudly into the glass as he continued to scratch at it. "Can you hear me?"

Macaw remained silent and unmoving.

"He cannot hear you," came a voice from above "keep quiet or you will wake the humans!"

Red looked up into the branches of the tree above him, there sat Boss and Talon.

"You followed him too?" asked Red.

"Of course," answered Boss "been doing our best to rescue him too, but there is a problem."

Red looked back through the window at Macaw. "What problem?"

"He doesn't want to be rescued," said boss as he hopped down onto the windowsill next to Red. Red gestured through the window to Macaw, pointing with a paw towards the back door, Macaw began shaking his head.

"I don't understand, what is he doing?" said Red in disbelief.

"Surviving," answered Talon who was now sat on the windowsill at Red's other side, there was a quiver in her voice.

"My new birdie friend told me to find the black fox," interrupted the dog as he pushed up against Red to look through the window. "He said to tell him that the birdie cannot live in the wild anymore, it's not his place." The dog began licking the side of Red's face again, this time Red didn't recoil he just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Through the window he could see a smile creep on to Macaw's face. Red put a paw up to the window.

"The birdie said he would be okay here," continued the dog "he said I should tell the black fox to go find the red vixen."

Red knew what that meant, Macaw was telling him to go find Scarlet. He stared at Macaw for a moment longer before nodding his acceptance of the instruction, Macaw nodded back. Red took his paw off the window and dropped back on to all fours, he took a few paces away from the window before looking back to the three animals behind him. "Watch out for him."

"I always take care of my friends," replied the dog.

"I'll make sure of it," added Boss.

Talon had hopped off the windowsill and was now in front of Red on the grass. She extended a wing out and placed it on the side of Red's face. "Thank you for saving him."

Red recoiled from Talon's touch, he wasn't used to being thanked for his actions, it felt wrong. He took a few paces away before stopping and looking back at Talon. "He's my friend."