(Authors note: Hi all, I'm back. I'm extremely sorry for the long wait, but I have had a crazy year. I fell in and out of many things and some just faded away a bit. However, I am back to stay again. This is a continuation of "Upbringing" so please refer to that book before reading this. This installation follows Fyre's outburst in search of the truth about his fathers death. Tod, Vixey, Chief, Copper belong to Disney, the rest are property of jerod2447 and myself)
In the long run, the most unpleasant truth is a safer companion that a pleasant falsehood.
Theodore Roosevelt
Fyre stood at the feet of his mother, whom he had just demanded the truth from. His eyes were a tell tale sign of the pain he had suffered, the furious streams running down his face, the hair of his back at attention. His small ears standing straight, awaiting a word to be said from his mother, but nothing fled her muzzle.
His father, sat motionless mere feet away, understood more than his kit ever could. His soul had been sitting, fighting, waiting for a chance to be able to talk and communicate with the living world. His energy had died down, knowing what he had to do, but it was not for him to answer.
Copper and Chief sat beside one another as they watched in silence. Copper did not have a clue how Fyre knew his mother had been feeding him lies. The pain he was in physically from his encounter with the mountain lion, was now dulled out by a fight his between his heart and his mind. Should he intervene, or is he stepping over boundaries? His eyes watered over as his glance shifted to Chief, who shared a look of fright and dread.
Vixey, however, was the one most in shock. Her anger had evaporated, leaving behind the guilt of knowing she had done her kits wrong. Telling them the truth would have been too much for them to understand, let alone deal with. Her heart sunk as she looked down at her young son, the feelings he had, his choices, she should've known sooner that he was desperate for the truth.
"Fyre, I..." She started, only to stop half was as the realization hit her. This was not going to work on her own. "I really don't..." Her explanation was cut off as a crackling sound from the bushes behind her caught everyone's attention. She swiveled around and crouched down, ready to leap for her kits safety. Copper tried to stand up and prepare for what was to come, only to be stopped by a shooting pain in his leg from the cut he received.
As everyone was focussed on the bush, it became apparent that more then one creature was there. An orange, fluffy mass poked up out of the bushes, followed by a second. Seconds later, out shot 5 fox kits, dashing for the kit behind his mother. The group had settled down upon recognizing the kits as Vixey's and Tod's.
They jumped at Fyre, bursting out all the questions they had about his disappearance, but stopped shortly after they turned to a strange fox sitting only a few paces away from them. They eyed over Tod. Never having seen him besides pictures, his spiritual appearance threw them off recognizing him.
Lily scrambled around her mother, unsure of what to expect. "Mother, who is that fox?" she asked apprehensively.
"Yeah, who is he?" asked Sky.
Vixey, who had now believed Fyre would not tell the rest, had to rethink her strategy. Now I have to tell them all. How am I going to do this? Telling Fyre only would have been alright, but all of them need to know the truth. Tears started rolling down her face, she was trying to prevent them, but her efforts did not pay off.
Chief and Copper had noticed this. Chief looked at his adopted son, and the bloodhound knew the look in the old dogs eyes. Copper swivelled his eyes back to Vixey, who's eyes were still dripping. She was to preoccupied to acknowledge anything else around her. His only form of approval, would be Tod himself.
Tod nodded his approval. At this point, he knew the situation was out of his hands.
Copper nodded in thanks. He knew this would not be an easy task.
(Authors note: Yes, I'm sorry to leave this on a cliff hanger, but I needed something to remind e to come back. Thank you all for reading and being so patient with my work. I really appreciate it. Please favourite, follow and review. Until next time)
