11. An Assembly at the Stones
Vixen surveyed the arrangement of animals that surrounded her with mixed emotions, they represented a broad cross-section of animals from across the Farthing Wood community. Some faces she didn't recognise, others she knew as well as those of her own family. She was always happy to see her old Farthing Wood friends, those she had joined on their journey all those years ago. Weasel, Owl, Whistler, Squirrel, were all present, even Adder had made the effort to join her and Fox at the great circle of stones. But it was also a solemn reminder, of just how old they had all become, and of how many of them were now nothing but memories in the minds of those that remained.
Vixen realised she had let her mind wander and she was no longer listening to the voices of the animals present at the meeting, she could see their mouths moving, but in her melancholy daze the sounds they produced were not registering as words in her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head to try and refocus her mind away from the thoughts it was producing.
"Vixen? Are you still with us?" asked Fox.
"I'm sorry, age-related distraction," she replied, failing to hide the embarrassment in her voice.
"We've all been there my dear," said Whistler diplomatically.
"Can we please get back to the point of all this?" called out the loud and unapologetic voice of the large white deer at the back of the circle, it was Trey. "When Laird asked me to attend this meeting he assured me that there would be some importance to it, so far all I've heard is the puerile twittering's of the lives of tiny unimportant creatures that have no relevance to the deer of this park!"
Vixen stifled a laugh as Fox looked over at her and rolled his eyes, even after all these years he still found little ways to make her day better.
"I'm sorry for the wait Trey, we were hoping for one more addition however it looks like he's either late or not coming. Maybe we should just get started?" said Fox with all the respect he could muster. Vixen knew there was an art to handling Trey; don't rise to his anger and treat him like royalty even when he doesn't deserve it. Over the last few months both Fox and Plucky had become past masters of getting him to play nice.
"I was ready to start half an hour ago!" snorted Trey.
"Owl, seen as you are the only animal present with direct experience of why we are all gathered here today, maybe you should do the honours?" said Fox.
"Certainly Fox," replied Owl with a slight bow, before taking a moment to clear her throat. "Many times, have the Farthing Wood animals been victims of the human race, going all the way back to the destruction of our old homes in Farthing Wood. I saw it you know, as it is today, the fields, the trees, it's all gone, replaced instead with human homes of brick and glass. Then, again, during our long journey to our new homes here in White Deer Park, there was our escape from the hunt, the many dangerous crossings we made over roads, motorways, farms, and towns. And, even once we had made it here to this wonderful nature reserve, we were still assailed through poaching, poisoning and unneeded human interference. Never do they give us a moment of respite, it seems we are doomed to always have one eye over our shoulder to see what cruel fate they have lined up for us next."
"What is this, simpleton story time?" interrupted Trey, "I thought I told you all to get to the point!"
"I am getting to the point," said Owl snappily, "it is called setting the scene, you do not just jump to the end of a story."
Trey blew a dismissive snort through his nostrils.
"Apology accepted," said Owl, "now where was I?"
"You were talking about how you've lost your marbles," shouted Weasel before breaking into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"Weasel!" admonished Fox.
"I believe you were talking about humans," said Whistler helpfully.
"Ah yes, the humans. Well, it seems they do indeed have a new fate for us. A new type of poacher, one that captures animals and takes them away to a laboratory."
"What's a laboratory?" asked Squirrel.
"It's a place where humans do experiments," answered Owl.
"They do experiments? On the animals they capture?" said Squirrel as a follow up, his voice was full of disbelief and confusion.
Vixen felt a wave of concern wash over her as her mind wandered again. It conjured visions of frightened animals in cages as they awaited horrors she was unable to see.
"What sort of experimentssss?" hissed Adder.
"I had hoped our resident black fox would be here to tell us," said Fox as he looked around the circle.
"Indeed," confirmed Owl.
"There's still time," added Vixen reassuringly, "maybe he's just late, after all he did agree to come, right Owl?
"I believe his exact words were, 'I'll think about it'" said Owl.
Trey snorted angrily. "He better be here, for his sake, if he's dragged me all the way up here for nothing…"
"Easy Trey, I'm sure it is just as Vixen said," answered Fox before winking slyly in Vixen's direction.
"How is your grandson?" asked one of the hares at the back of the circle.
Vixen recognised the voice, it was Leveret, the leader of the hares living on Farthing Wood land. He was the eldest son of the hares who had journeyed from Farthing Wood and the father of Plucky's closest friend Dash.
Vixen was a little unsure how to answer the question as she didn't really know herself. Plucky had returned home after rescuing Red without saying much, he'd merely nodded along with Owl's description of events before turning in early to sleep. She looked to Fox for a moment in the hope that he might have found the words she lacked, but it became clear all too quickly that he was struggling just as she was.
"He had a difficult experience," said Vixen as she tried her best to sound reassuring, "he just needs a little time to process things. No one needs to worry, he's his father's son and his grandfather's grandson, he'll be fine."
Vixen glanced over at Fox as the final words left her mouth, he nodded his head in agreement.
A moment of uncomfortable silence followed; Vixen felt the mood of the group begin to drop. She began replaying her words in the back of her mind, maybe she could have found better ones. Mercifully it didn't take long before someone broke the protracted silence.
"We appear to have a visitor," said Owl, "late, just as we had assumed."
Vixen turned her head to follow Owl's outstretched wing, there, silently sitting behind the group at the edge of the wood beyond the stones sat Red.
Before Vixen could react, Trey was already on the move, heading quickly over to meet Red at the forests edge. "I'm getting this over with before anyone wastes anymore of my time," he snorted.
Fox turned and followed immediately, clearly trying his best to head the monstrous deer off before he chased Red away. Vixen started to follow but she stopped herself after she had taken all but a couple of steps. Something was off about the way Red was acting, he looked skittish, unsure of himself. Vixen was aware that he liked to keep to himself and avoid contact with others, but those moments where they had interacted with each other he had always seemed so in control, giving off a feeling of complete self-assuredness. Those were not words that fit the animal in front of her.
Red backed away slightly as Trey and Fox reached him at the edge of the wood, Vixen could see the angry discussion erupt as Trey began proceedings. Vixen looked around the other animals present within the circle of stones; she knew they would get nothing from Red if this continued.
"Stay within the circle, all of you, we don't want to crowd him," said Vixen as she carefully and slowly stepped forwards to join Fox and Trey at the edge of the wood. As she drew nearer, she could hear the arguing as Trey attempted to berate the information he required from Red.
"I ought to crush you flat, you nasty little beast!" bellowed Trey as he reared up on his hind legs.
"Trey! Stop!" called out Fox in response, he stepped forward to put himself between the large white deer and Red, "let's try and keep this civil, that goes for both of you."
"I didn't come here for this," answered Red and he turned away and began walking towards the wood.
Vixen could see they were losing their chance to understand the peril the park was now in, if Red left it would be difficult to get him to comply again and their chance at gaining any information would be gone. She quickened her pace, breezing past both Fox and Trey, positioning herself between them and Red.
"I'm glad the hunt didn't catch you," said Vixen.
Red stopped. "How would you know about that?"
Vixen turned and motioned with a paw for Fox and Trey to backoff. Fox immediately stepped away and gestured for Trey to do the same, snorting in defiance the white deer reluctantly followed suit.
"Because we've met before," answered Vixen.
Red turned around, Vixen saw her chance and took a few steps forwards to make sure she was blocking Red's sightline to any of the animals behind her, she wanted to make sure his focus was on her alone.
"You've said that before, you're wrong," said Red.
"How could I know about your run-in with the hunt, how many other animals have you told that story to?"
"Not many," acknowledged Red, "and the last time I did was a long, long, time ago."
"I was there," said Vixen, she felt a surge of raw emotion in her stomach as she pictured the scene, "you were just a cub resting in a tree."
"That vixen, was you? The Farthing Wood vixen?" Red shook his head in disbelief.
"No, I wasn't, not at that time," Vixen fumbled her words as she felt the guilt built up over years erupt inside her, "you looked so innocent, I left you all alone."
"Innocent?" Red snorted, "I was never that."
"I should have stayed and protected you, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? For what? You saved yourself, it's what we are all programmed to do," said Red dismissively, "if you could go back and change things, would you?"
Vixen nodded her head.
"Why? We're both alive. How do you know we'd be better off?" asked Red.
"I don't, I just know I'd have been a better fox for trying."
"Or a dead one," replied Red.
It was hard to accept but Red was probably right, she had no idea if doing things differently would have resulted in a better outcome. "What happened to you, how did you escape?"
"I ran."
For a moment Vixen thought the black fox was being dismissive of the line of questioning, but before she could push back he continued on.
"I ran like I never knew I could, but the hounds, they were quicker. I led them to the town beyond the fields thinking they would turn back, by the time I got there they were all but on top of me. I led them through the streets, between cars and people, I even threw myself into the river. I thought it would be enough."
"But it wasn't?" asked Vixen, her voice croaked a little as she forced back the stone that had formed in her throat as she pictured the poor cub from the tree, left on his own to face what Red had just described.
"Two hounds made it across the water, I made them wish they hadn't." Red had been looking at the floor through most of his description of his flight from the hunt, but he raised his head with that last sentence and looked Vixen in the eyes. His eyes shimmered like he was fighting back tears, and just for a moment Vixen knew she had glimpsed the real fox behind the hard black furred exterior.
Vixen lifted a paw and placed it on top of one of Red's. "It makes me happy to know you escaped."
Red looked down at Vixen's paw as she placed it on his, clearly he was not used to signs of physical affection. Vixen could tell from his eyes that it made him feel safe, but there was a tension in his paw, like he was having to fight an ingrained instinct to pull away. "Where did you go next?"
Red went quiet, he was thinking, trying to recall something, or to describe something buried deep in his mind. Vixen pressed her paw a little harder into his and she bent her head down to try and recapture his gaze. "It's okay, take your time."
Eventually Red found the words to continue on. "After the hounds I was shattered, I'd given everything I had to survive. I found an old earth to hide in, to try and recover, but it was a trap, and they took me."
"Who took you?"
"The men, from the lab." The words left Red's mouth in a stutter.
"That was the first time you encountered them?"
Red nodded his head silently.
"The lab," said Vixen as she started a question she didn't really want to ask, but knew she had to finish, "what happened to you there?"
Red's left eyelid began to twitch. "I don't remember a lot about the first time, just flashes. I remember the grasping hands, the cruel human faces, the feeling of a noose around my neck biting into my skin, the sensation of it tightening, tightening until I blacked out. I remember the rows of cages, the faces of the terrified animals within, each one wondering when it was their turn. I remember a white room with bright lights, the feeling of being frozen unable to move but still able to feel, every cut, every stab, lasted a lifetime."
They had eluded her before, but Vixen could now see the images in her mind of the vile things done to the animals in the test lab. "You poor thing."
"But the second time, the second time, that was far worse," continued Red without the need for prompting.
"There was a second time?" called out a concerned and panicked voice from behind Vixen. Vixen could see Red's concentration immediately shatter, he drew in a sharp gasp of breath and blinked hard before looking over her shoulder at the source of the voice. Vixen glanced back at the animals behind her. During her conversation with Red, Whisper, Plucky and Charmer had arrived unnoticed at the gathering of animals. Whisper, upon hearing Red's description of the test lab had been unable to control herself and had called out in distress.
Vixen felt Red wrench his paw from under hers, and as she turned back to face him he had already moved some distance away from her.
"Red, wait!" she called out.
He stopped briefly, standing side on towards the gathering of animals as if he was trying to decide what to do, before finally turning again and walking quickly down the sloping grass of the field that led away from the circle of stones and towards the boundary of the park beyond.
Fox and Trey stepped forwards to join Vixen at her side. "How did you do that? Get that thing… that fox, to talk?" asked Trey.
"Excellent self-correction Trey, I told you you're making progress, 'fox' sounded much better than 'thing'," added Fox.
Trey acknowledged the critique with a brief and mildly frustrated snort.
"I think we all have upsetting things we want to talk about," said Vixen as she pressed the side of her head into Fox's shoulder, "but we don't always feel safe enough to do so. And there are some out there, who have never felt safe enough to do so."
"Somehow, you always find ways to remind me why I'm the luckiest fox alive," said Fox.