A Fox and A Wolf
Oh, God. I’m still tired. When I get out of bed I look at Daniel still sleeping soundly. I don’t know how anyone can be even remotely comfortable in anything after getting ran over. I guess the big lug’s used to crippling pain by now. At least he can be sweet. I go downstairs to get an apple when I see the twins on the floor bundled up together. I guess I wasn’t too quiet since they start waking up and looking around. “G’morning... um...,” Chris starts.
“It’s Elicia. Sorry about him yesterday,” I answered back, referring to Daniel.
“It’s okay. I deserved it. I just wish he looked both ways before crossing the street.”
“Well, he did lose a lot of blood, on account of being shot and all. But there’s one thing I don’t get. Where were you two going in the middle of the night?”
“We were gonna do stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Stuff you do in the middle of the night.”
“Okay then... Well, you guys can get ready to go. I don’t really have any reason for you guys to stay. If you want you can, uh, stop by and help around, you know, since you two owe him and all.”
“Of course, it’s the least we can do. Really, I can’t thank you enough for not trying to kill us.”
“Being worried shitless tends to override anger, at least in the short term. So hurry up before I get a pan and beat you with it.”
After that strange little bit of banter I finally grab my apple and head back to the room. Daniel’s still napping when I return, so I shake him slightly to wake him up. He turns to me groggily and smiles at me. He tries getting up but I push him back down lightly. I don’t want him hurting himself. The big guy’s been through a lot lately. He should relax for a bit. “Hey, big guy,” I whisper. “You’re gonna stay in bed for today. I’ll be here to cheer you up.”
“What? Where... are the... look-alikes?”
“You mean the twins? They’re getting ready to leave.”
“Good. Good. What are you gonna do?”
“Um... How about I tell you a story? I have a good one that I always read at the orphanage.”
“I swear to God... if this is some Three Little Pigs shit...”
“I promise it’s not. Alright. Here’s how the story starts...”
Okay. I’m gonna break the fourth wall now, even though it’s been done a few times already. Isn’t self- awareness amazing? So, here it goes. Long ago, in an eternally wintery forest, there was a lone wolf wandering the lands. He was known as one of the most ferocious hunters there ever was. Scars from countless battles riddled his form, always reminding him of his past. There was no one he could trust, not even his own pack, who had abandoned him for being too bloodthirsty.
It was much later after that event that he encountered a strange sight. As he had been travelling to a far-off lake the wolf spotted a crimson stain on the snow below his feet. The trail led to a nestle of bushes off the path he was following. When the wolf went to investigate he saw a tail quickly retreat into the leaves. He pushed on to discover the sight of a small fox shivering at the roots of a tree. The small pup was wounded, a gash along its hide bleeding profusely. The wolf approached it, hoping for a quick meal when the fox looked up with wide eyes. The fox was not scared, however. She was well aware that she would possibly meet her fate. All the fox wanted was to see who would take her life. The wolf hesitated. Never had it seen something so innocent in these tarnished woods.
