8. Accurate or not, news always travels fast

Red found himself at a crossroads once again, ahead was the parkland and the cool refreshing water of the pond it contained, behind was a rough and dangerous journey into a town where he had almost died two nights ago. The broad trees overhead cast long dark shadows on the land around him, staining the ground with a dark and sombre tint. Ahead looked bright and welcoming in contrast, unhindered sunlight flooded the grassland beyond, illuminating it like something from a dream. Red was conflicted, Whisper had told him to stay out of the park, Owl however had said the park was for everyone and he was entitled to drink from its waters whenever he wanted.

His survival instincts told him there was only one direction to travel in, but his mind was resisting, refusing to acknowledge a truth he already knew. It wasn't promises that stopped him moving forwards, it was fear. Fear of what running into her again would entail, his mind would much rather avoid any chance of that, pretending it was an issue he never needed to confront again.

As he sat and pondered, something small and hard bounced off the floor next to him and rolled up to his front paw. Red looked down at the object, it was an unripe acorn. He looked up at the tree above him, it wasn't quite Autumn yet, it was odd for acorns to be falling from the trees this early. As he gazed up a second acorn hit him straight between the eyes. Red let out a pained grunt before lifting a paw to rub at his head. A third and fourth acorn quickly followed bouncing painfully off his snout.

"Murderer! Monster!" squeaked an array of angry high-pitched voices.

Red scanned the treetops trying to locate the position of the voices. He could see movement however the thick leaves of the trees above obscured the owners' exact locations. The barrage of acorns continued, each one rattling through his skull as it connected with his head. Eventually Red could supress his anger no longer and he let out an angry snarl before launching himself up into the branches of the tree above him, he was going to stop this one way or another.

Once among the treetops Red could clearly see his attackers, it was a group of young grey squirrels. Red was furious and he threw himself at them like a rabid dog, there was an array of scared squeaks as the squirrels scattered. In his outburst of anger Red had failed to take the time to find his balance and as he pressed forward the volley of acorns resumed. He tried to shield his eyes with one of his paw's however it caused him to lose his balance and he teetered for a moment before crashing back down to the forest floor below.

The fall had dazed Red and for a moment he lost track of where he was or what he was doing, his body ached with pain as the acorns continued to strike him from above. His self-preservation instincts kicked in and he charged forwards out of the trees and into the grassland of the park beyond.

Red was deep within the park boundary by the time he came to his senses. Slowing his pace to a cautious walk he took stock of his situation. The actions of the squirrels had forced him into a decision he really didn't want to make. The pond was now the only sensible drinking location, he just had to hope he could sneak in and out whilst remaining unseen.

Red approached the pond from the conifer trees to its west. The dense dark green trees lined a rocky approach to the pond that terminated at a sandy bank, obscured from the other sides of the pond by thick reeds and grasses. With his body pressed as close to the ground as possible, Red skulked up to the water's edge and began to drink. Before he had taken more than a couple of gulps he heard voices from the opposite bank, pricking up his ears he lowered his head as he tried to peer through the reeds that blocked his view. There was a breeze blowing from the east, and occasionally it would part the reeds enough so Red could see through to the other side of the pond. At first all he could see were white deer, frogs and various types of birds, all enjoying the cool clean water of the pond. It eased the fear at the back of his mind and he relaxed the taught muscles in his legs before lifting himself off the ground to stand at his full height. He turned his attention away from the opposite bank for a moment to begin drinking from the pond once more. As he lent down he noticed a set of eye's appear on the surface of the water, quickly followed by a second. The eyes quickly became full heads as two frogs broke the surface.

"We know what you did, despicable creature. Go away, you're not welcome here," said the larger of the two.

Red growled, baring his teeth, before lashing out at the surface of the water with one of his front paws. The water rippled violently, causing waves to form and buffet the tall reeds near the bank. He watched the water and once it was still again the frogs had vanished. Red found himself alone again, he raised his head and checked the opposite bank one last time. There were foxes there now, foxes he knew, Charmer, Friendly and Whisper. Part of him wanted to turn and run away, but he couldn't help himself and instead he stood there and stared. The three foxes were arranged side by side as they drank from the water, he could see Charmer and Friendly talking and laughing together, interacting like the family he'd never had. Whisper on the other hand looked distant, troubled, like she was just there for the biological need to drink and nothing more. Red felt a wave of sadness wash over him; he'd caused this.

"Well, well, aren't you just a magnificent specimen!" called out an unfamiliar voice from behind.

Its owner slowly drew alongside Red at the edge of the pond. Red's concentration had been shattered at seeing Whisper again and he'd been completely oblivious as the visitor approached him. Red looked to his left, and beside him at the water's edge stood a pale blue fox, a vixen.

"I'd heard there was a big strong black fox in the park, you're even more impressive than I had been led to believe," she continued.

Red remained silent and lowered his head to drink from the water once again.

"Not very talkative, are we?" said the vixen.

"No" answered Red abruptly.

"They also told me you were difficult, abrasive and highly unsociable. I guess they weren't wrong there, were they my dear?"

Red raised his head again, looking out over the pond towards the three Farthing Wood foxes.

"Farthing Wood usurpers, you don't want to waste your time associating with that common riffraff," spat the vixen venomously, "come with me to the blue fox territory, you're special, unique, you belong with us."

The vixen raised a paw and pressed it into Red's fur, Red flinched and stepped to his side causing the vixen's paw to slide back down to the ground.

"I've met foxes like you before," said Red before finally turning to face the vixen, "you use others, get what you want and then throw them away."

"I assure you my dear, you've never met another fox like me before. I just want to help you, you could have a magnificent future here…with my guidance," said the vixen.

"Leave me alone," answered Red, there was a spark of raw aggression in his voice, stirred up by memories of his time with Chief and his family.

The vixen took a step backwards, almost as if her confidence to control the situation had begun to waver.

"I think it'd be wise to listen," remarked Plucky as he emerged from the trees and joined the pair at the water's edge. He leant down next to Red and took a long drink from the pond. Red watched his every move in puzzlement, how many more animals were going to sneak up on him today?

"If it isn't the cub that would be king," remarked the vixen sarcastically, "just how long have you been spying on me from the shadows?"

"Long enough," said Plucky, there was a wry smile on his face, "welcome home, I had no idea you'd come back to the park, does your family know?"

"My comings and goings are of no concern to you or your kind," snapped the blue vixen.

"I think it's really just your goings we're interested in right now," said Plucky with a grin.

The false smile on the vixen's face immediately disappeared and was replaced instead with a scowl of distain. "Someday someone is going to knock some manners into you and your Farthing Wood lot, I just hope I'm there to see it when it happens!"

The blue vixen walked backwards a few more paces, her stare still fixed on Plucky, before turning and disappearing into the forest.

"And that, was Lady Blue, mate of a very ex leader of the White Deer Park blue foxes. She's been at my family and the Farthing Wood animals since they first arrived here," said Plucky as he leant down to drink from the pond again.

"What are you doing?" asked Red, there was an angry and accusatory tone to his voice.

"I was thirsty?" answered Plucky.

"You were spying on me, not her."

Plucky lifted his head from the pond and snorted. "What gave it away?"

"You need to stay away from me," said Red as he turned and bounded up the rocky bank towards the trees.

Plucky began to follow. "Why?"

Red turned around to answer the younger fox however the large rocks towards the back of the bank had raised his elevation such that he was now fully visible from the opposite side of the pond. As he turned his eyes locked with Whisper's, she was staring directly at him. Red felt exposed, compromised, like he'd done something wrong and been found out. He felt a rush of adrenaline flood his system and before Plucky could get any more words out Red bolted into the trees.