It was silent in the night, the ambience of crickets chirping filling the silence along with soft steps of a fox's tread. The fox disappears inside of the bushes, followed by the big black blob who seems to not fit inside. The fox takes a glance at the black blob, letting out a chuckle before continuing. "It'll be worth it, buddy." The fox whispered reassuringly, rolling his eyes and prompting the blob to make a small puff in reply.
The two critters shortly reached the burrow, an orange glow emitting from the inside. The fox chuckled, turning to the black blob and giving a slight nod. Upon getting the signal, the black blob swiftly snuck over to the burrow, placing their paws on the roof. The fox waited expectantly, his tail curling around his paws as he watched from the sidelines of the bushes. "Three.. Two.. one...!" The fox whispered, counting down as he signals the blob to do something.
The blob grumbled, making a low growl just loud enough to bother someone.
Inside of the burrow, the she-wolf is sleeping peacefully before the sound of a deep growl disturbing her sleep. Her ears flattened as she slowly turned towards the entrance, opening her eyes and gaining an irritated and groggy gaze. "I swear.. leave me alone, I have no time for... your..." The she-wolf slowly cut herself off as she saw something black peeking from the top of the burrow's entrance. Her eyes widened as she became speechless as something had already.. possibly gone wrong. The black object peeking out of the top of the entrance seemed to ease inside, becoming a drop.. or is it..? It blended too much into the dark for the she-wolf to render this properly.. The she-wolf squinted her eyes, trying to see clearly off the drop to see 10 glowing, pure white eyes staring back at her. The she-wolf gasped softly, backing away as the drop slowly crept up towards her. "H- Hello...?" The she-wolf stuttered, still backing away before her ears caught the sound of mischievous laughter in the back.
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"Hi! I don't know if I've told you earlier, but this is my pet, Grasps!" The bat-fox giggled out in a teasing tone, placing a paw on Grasps' snout. "He's a little hungry right now, and y'know I can't leave him starving!"
The she-wolf still backed away in fear, as the bat-fox patted the snout two times before letting go. Grasps looked at the she-wolf before it swiftly rushed towards her. The she-wolf shrieked, opening her wings out of fear in an attempt to push her backwards. The feathers rubbed against the sticks, setting them ablaze as the burrow was engulfed in fresh flames. The she-wolf pushed aside the burrow, making a little struggle but eventually was able to pull through.
Grasps roared as the she-wolf bolted through the forest, flames rising from her back and jolting out from her wings, her paws hitting the ground at a fast pace with the shadell following behind her. The she-wolf was quick to be careful and not send the trees ablaze, only letting the burrow burn as it was her only chance at escaping. As the she-wolf continued running, she felt a splash of water hit her face and her back, making her crash and stop. The water burnt her eyes, forcing them to stay closed as she tried to ignore the pain.
This was already stressful enough for the she-wolf, she got attacked, and she still is! She tried to get up, her body feeling heavier on the sides.. "S-Stupid wings.." She mumbled, she tried to see through her open eyes, making her vision blurred and hard to notice anything. Hissing from the smoke rising out from her back and wings.. Soon, the she-wolf couldn't handle the pain. She closed her eyes, falling to the ground with a soft thud..
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The she-wolf slowly woke up to the sound of water rushing in the distance. She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself on a comfy moss and leaf bedding. She looked disoriented, trying to recall what happened. The she-wolf didn't bother to move a bit, she still felt weak from the fire and the water taking her down.
Though her eyes and back had returned back to normal, one thing definitely changed. Her wings, instead of being bright and orange, had turned to a heavy gray color, the fuse of her wings had gone out. The she-wolf looked around her, seeing that she is now in a big cave, beside her are two other moss and leaf beddings. Afar from her, she sees a small stash of fish and a wooden bowl of solidified drops.
"Hello!" A young, child-like disembodied voice spoke out, echoing through the cave and startling the she-wolf. She immediately turned to where she heard the voice, to see a small calico kitten with blue eyes and a sprout growing on their head. The calico kitten seems to be holding a piece of prey in their mouth. It's big enough, but only enough so that it wouldn't be dragging behind them and collecting dirt. The she-wolf was confused, wondering why a small kitten was going towards her. "...Hi." The she-wolf greeted the small kitten as they placed the piece of prey down right in front of her. "This is for you!!" the kitten replied, before turning away and leaving the room. The she-wolf didn't bother to eat anything, she wasn't hungry; if anything, she was still tired. She glanced at the exit of the cave, noticing the sun rising in the distance.
The she-wolf sighed, burying her face onto the moss in disappointment. "I did it!!" The kitten's voice could be heard from a distance, from another room. "..Well, good job, Droplet." a new, androgynous voice spoke out in the distance, presumably praising the young kitten. "I'll take it from here." Suddenly, a paw taps on the she-wolf's shoulder, making her jump and look back, to see an otter staring back at her. The otter has odd green-to-purple fur, purple spots present on their shoulder, head, tail and even under their blue, puddle eyes. The otter stares the she-wolf down. "...So, is there a reason why you were running rampant in the Gray Swallow Forest last night?" The otter asked, wanting answers on the she-wolf's behalf. The she-wolf, clearly intimidated, answered with a stutter, "U-Uhm... I.. I'm sorry, I just—" The she-wolf apologized, getting cut off by the otter. "I have never seen you before, yet you managed to even narrowly escape from a shadell's chase, including causing an impact on it.. I'm impressed." "W-Wait- you actually-?" The she-wolf looked up at the otter, hoping that they weren't mad at her for running. "Yes. The Gray Swallow Forest is dangerous territory, I had to stop you from causing any damage further as fire has been known to be a threat to many." The otter replied. This prompted the she-wolf to glance down at her wings, now realizing what they were talking about. "..Oh.. oops." "You're lucky your wings were the cause of the problem. Rest assured, you'll get to use them again, but hopefully with better control." The otter replied, turning away from the she-wolf as they started walking out of the room back to the kitten. "...You can rest here for as long as you'd like." The otter smiled, prompting a slight smile from the she-wolf as well.
"O-Oh-! Wait! What's your name..?" The she-wolf asked, getting out of the moss bedding. The otter looked back, their eyes widening. "...I thought you wouldn't ask. I'm Skipping Stone." Skipping Stone introduced themselves, waiting for the she-wolf to introduce herself as well. "Oh.. well.. It's nice to meet you.. I'm Temple." Temple replied, placing a paw on her chest. "..Temple? That's an unusual name.. It's acceptable.. however you might get weird looks.." They warned, turning back towards the other room. "...Okay.."
Smoke arises from the Gray Swallow Forest, the aftermath of the burrow is all burnt to ashes, Grasps is buried underneath. The bat-fox slowly approached the pile of ash. "... You'll get them next time, buddy." The fox replied, petting the shadell as they grumbled, slowly getting up and shaking the ashes off. "... C'mon, let's get you fixed up."
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1422 words. Not a lot, but it's decent.. This chapter took too long than it seems-
