The sight beyond the bushes was one that caught Judy off-guard. A clearing was before her, a campfire in the center. Several small tents were lining one side of it, the other side having a rope strung up between tree branches. Tunics of various sizes were resting on the line. A few feet to the side of the fire was a big, black cauldron, the smell of stew drifing from it. On the side facing her, she could hear the faint gurgle of water.
"This... Is your camp?" She asked aloud, turning as Nick walked through the bushes behind her. He nodded as he brushed past, giving a whistle.
"It's all good, guys. She's with me!" He called out. It was then that the members of his group left their cover and entered her view.
A small fennec fox in the same outfit as Nick emerged from the bushes to their left, lowering an appropriately sized crossbow. A thin tiger walked out from behind a tent, sliding a longsword into its sheathe. He wore a stained white tunic, and tan pants held up with a rope belt. And, dropping in beside her, was another red fox in a black cloak. He nodded to Nick and looked over Judy before walking to the stew, stirring it with a wooden spoon.
Nick shook his head and brushed past the rabbit, stopping by the fire. "So, how's it coming along?" He asked, receiving a gruff sound of acceptance as a result from the other fox.
Judy took tentative steps into the camp, ignoring her growling stomach as she did so. The white fennec fox walked past her with his arms ladened with sticks. "Hey, Nick!" he said, making Judy jump – the small creature's voice was ironically loud and deep. "Mind telling us why you brought a cottontail back with ya? And where's the gold at?"
Nick turned around and rubbed the back of his neck, his other paw coming up take the cap off his head. "Well, ah, about that... She and I kind of ran into one another, and uh... Some of the loot was lost."
The smaller fox dropped the wood beside the fire, mouth open. He then shifted his gaze from the rabbit, to the fox, then back to her, then the fox. She shifted uneasily. "You did what?" he cried, starting to look around for something. He settled with a random stick from the pile at his feet before approaching the fox. He swung at him once, making the red-furred reynard yelp out and jump back.
"Hey, hey, easy there Finnick!" He said, paws up defensively. Finnick kept swinging at him.
"Ya big fool, we needed that gold! We can't make it otherwise!" he shouted. As they neared the pot of stew, the larger of the three foxes reached out and grabbed Finnick's stick with a growl, yanking it from his paws and snapping it in half over his knee before tossing it into the fire.
"Look," Nick said. "I didn't get all of the gold, but I got something. And, it was either take the gold, or take the bunny, and we all know that you can't put a price on a life."
Finnick scowled. "The king would like to say otherwise," he spat. "Got a well over a hundred on me for just stealing some bread!"
"You took a whole cart of it!" The tiger said, walking over. He crossed his arms and stared down at the fennec fox, who glared back.
"It's still jus' bread," he grumbled, before turning and walking for a tent. The tiger rolled his eyes and started walking for the clothes line, leaving Judy alone with the two red foxes.
Nick was currently hovering over the cauldron, smiling as it was stirred by his silent companion, asking him questions about what was added, how close it was to being done, and if his favorite spices were added. Each question was met with a nod or shaken head. It wasn't until her stomach growled again that the black-cloaked fox pointed to a stack of bowls and spoons by the clothesline. Nick walked over and grabbed them, returning with haste. He licked his lips as the other fox began scooping the stew into the bowls and setting them aside.
Finnick and the tiger both came out and sat beside one another at the edge of the fire, Nick sitting on the side opposite them. Judy was given the next bowl, and a spoon to go with it. Left with little else she felt she could do, she walked over to Nick and sat beside him, watching the other fox sit beside the cauldron with his own bowl.
They ate in mostly silence, the occasional slurp interrupting the otherwise peaceful evening. The crackling of the fire increased slightly whenever the tiger or Finnick threw in some more wood, and the gurgling of water in the distance caused the rabbit to relax.
Most of the group, save for Nick and Judy, finished their stew quickly and went to go do other things. Finnick walked into the woods, while the tiger went back to the tents, and the taller fox began cleaning up.
"So," Judy started, taking a sip as she paused. The stew was wonderful: Seasoned with several herbs, such as basil and rosemary, and filled with all manner of vegetables, even celery and carrots. It warmed her body and she wanted more, though she knew the one bowl would likely fill her. "Who are all they?" she asked, gesturing to where the other mammals had gone off to.
"Mm, well," Nick said, pointing his spoon to where Finnick had wandered off to. "That's Finnick. Short, angry, loud, but a good guy at heart. That," he said, pointing to the tiger, "Is Damon. Nicer than Finnick, but a bit quieter. He keeps everything together for us."
Judy nodded, pointing to the other fox as he walked back from the direction of the stream. His brown tunic and pants showed under the black cloak he wore. "Doesn't seem to be too talkative," she commented.
Nick nodded. "We don't really know his name, so we just call him Red. He can't talk, because he had something cut part of his throat a while back. He has a really hard time saying anything. Surprises me he's still alive, but he cooks for us and knows a bit of smithing."
Judy nodded, looking around the camp again. Darkness had settled well, and most of the camp was becoming enveloped in darkness as the fire began to die down. Judy shivered at the cold wind that swept through the area, setting down the now-empty bowl and spoon.
There was another few moments of silence, before Nick suddenly took in a breath and stood up. "Alright, well, Carrots. It's getting late, and we should all be getting some sleep soon. We'll figure out exactly what to do with you come morning."
Judy stared up at him in bewilderment. "Wait wait, just like that?" she said. He looked down at her with a set of curious emerald eyes. "Just, 'let's all go to sleep?' What if I decide to just up and leave? Or take the gold back?"
Nick smirked at her, but in the light of the fire it held a slightly sinister tone. "I don't see that being a problem, given that not everyone sleeps at night. But you're free to try," he said, turning for one of the tents. He waved at Judy for her to come over as he walked, the flustered rabbit shaking her head before climbing to her feet with the stick. She hobbled after the fox, quiet as she debated what to do. Ultimately, it seemed that she would be better off listening to the fox.
The inside of his tent was surprisingly nice. In one corner was a small chest, and beside it was a crate that supported a teapot and a few random objects: a broken sword, a rope with a hook, a fork, and a closed locket. The opposite corner kept a rug, stack of clothes, and a cap with a red feather sticking out of it. Nick walked over to his bedroll and picked up what Judy had initially assumed was a pillow, but turned out to be a second bedroll.
"Here you go," he said, rolling it her way. She stopped it with a foot and looked down at it. Cotton, stuffed with hay, as was evident with the random stems that stuck out of it. "I was using it as a pillow, but you need something warm to sleep in," he said, crouching down to roll up part of his bedroll to compensate for the now-absent roll.
With a muttered thanks, she kicked the roll to the other side of the tent and began to undo the ties that held it in place. When it fully stretched out, it proved to be much shorter than expected – barely long enough for a fox to fit into, with most of the bulk coming from being over-stuffed. Judy rolled up a small part of it at the top to use as a pillow, before crawling into it. She was having second thoughts about sleeping so close to a fox, and a stranger no less, but exhaustion alone overpowered her instincts. The roll weighed down on her, the warmth being a stark contrast to the cold she had fallen asleep to the previous night, quickly drawing her to the warm embrace of sleep.
~ óÓÒò ~
When Judy opened her eyes again, it was dark. Moonlight streamed through the top of the tent, giving the rabbit just enough light to see by. She had the incredible urge to go to the restroom, and she sat up. The movement caused Nick to shift in his roll, grumbling as he rolled over. Judy froze, examining the fox carefully.
He was in just his tunic and pants, curled up beneath the top of his own roll in a fetal position. His paws covered his snout and his eyes were squeezed shut, his legs occasionally twitching as he dreamed. To Judy, the fox seemed like a kit. Young, innocent, yet vulnerable.
With pursed lips, she rose and hobbled out of the tent, looking around for any conscious members of the group. At finding none, she began to walk for the forest, the idea of simply running off forming in her mind. She stopped when she saw a set of ice blue eyes peer at her from a bush, just barely able to make out the silhouette of a fox under a black cloak. Red emerged from the bushes, staring at Judy in a fashion that was both threatening and curious.
"I'm... Just going to the bathroom," she said, barely able to keep her voice under control. Here, in the dead of night, with an imposing fox, she felt somehow more afraid than she had at meeting Nick's entire group. The reynard grunted and nodded, walking for the other side of the camp before disappearing from view.
Judy shook her head lightly and walked to the treeline, taking cover behind one to do her business. It wasn't long after when she walked back into the clearing and made for Nick's tent, stumbling slightly as clouds began to cover the moon. It wasn't until she had tripped over the fox's prone form that she realized just how poorly she could see now, opting to grope around in the dark for her bedroll. Surprisingly, the interaction hadn't woken the fox.
She found something warm and fuzzy beneath her paw and, assuming it was her bedroll, gave a gentle tug. A sharp yelp called out, making her let go and recoil in fright as Nick scrambled to his knees and looked around. The rabbit could just barely make out the sight of his ears swiveling and his head turning, before he turned to her, his emerald eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Carrots," he groaned. "My tail might look soft and fluffy, but it's not a toy. I gave you a bedroll."
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I got up to go to the bathroom, and it got dark and I couldn't see. I thought that was my bedroll!"
"Uh-huh, sure," the fox muttered before letting out a massive yawn. "It's in the corner. Now go back to bed? Else I'll figure out what to do with you real quick," he said, licking his lips. Judy shuddered in horror and scrambled for her bedroll. Even the heavy warmth could not cease the shivers that ran through her at the thought of the fox's sharp teeth. Now she was second-guessing her ideas to ignore her instincts when they told her to flee the camp.
Yet, despite herself, she couldn't help but smile at the image of the sleeping Nick she had seen before. Could a mammal like that really be so dangerous?