Seasons The Fox Heart (Book one) Redfire

Chapter 15

"Hey, Redfire, we got to stop." The young leader could barely hear the voice of Arrow over the pouring rain and booming thunder. Several hours after his talk with Peaceaker, the sky grew dark, and it had begun to rain. They were moving a lot slower than usual. This almost infuriated Redfire. Peacemaker told him they were very close to the Fox Heart. Very close to home.
"Redfire," Peony called. "Please slow down." He sighed. They will never make it like this. Peony padded up to him with soaked fur. "The Tribe is having problems keeping up. We've got to stop for the night." The red dog fox looked out into the distance. Their new home was out there somewhere. He could feel it. But as leader, his Tribe came first. Redfire hopped up on a large rock and addressed his Tribe.
"I need a group of dog foxes to go out and hunt while the rest of us find shelter. I'm sorry for dragging you all through the rain like this, but..." He stopped. Could he tell bis Tribe about the Fox Heart? Peacemaker warned him about not telling them about Amber, but she didn't say anything about the Fox Heart. But something deep in his gut told him to keep it a secret.
He continued. "Let's just rest for now." Redfire jumped off the rock and stood next to Peony. He couldn't help glancing down at her leg. Before, it had been badly wounded by Shadow, but it seemed to be getting better. Peony seemed to notice his focus.
"I'm all right. It's feeling better."
He licked her cheek. "Good." Lavender trotted up to them and huddled underneath Peony shivering
"I'm cold," she squeaked.
Peony rubbed her back. "I know, dont worry." Redfire felt a pang of happiness. Peony had always been taking care of Lavender since they rescued her from Shadow. He could tell that deep inside, she had a longing for her own kits. She would make a wonderful mother. Arrow came forward and nudged Redfire almost off balance.
"Hey, I'm taking a group of ten out to look for food."
"Good, please be careful and make sure the Tribe is fed first," Redfire cautioned. Arrow nodded and swept his tail to gather up the ten other foxes going with him. He couldn't help feeling nervous for them. What if they encountered Shadow and her Loners? They would be outnumbered. He thought back to the time he and Peony saw when some of his Tribe mates were mercilessly slain by the humans.
"Redfire," Peony smelled his anxiety.
"Stay with the Tribe and lead them to a safe place. I'm going to check on the patrol," he said quickly.
"Redfire, you can't go," Lavender piped up. His gaze drifted to the kit, then back to the bushes where Arrows group disappeared in. He had never gone out by himself before like this. But they were his Tribe mates his responsibility.
"I'll be back soon," he whispered. He charged over to the bushes without another word. The last thing he wanted was to see dead bodies of foxes again. However, before he could take another step, Peony ran in front of him and put her head up against his chest. Tears fell through his fur as she cried.
"Don't be a fool," she said angrily. "You can not go on your own."
"Peony, I..."
"Shut up!" She lifted up her head and glared at him. Gingerly, she used her tail and tripped him, and pinned him there with her paws.
"Peony," he snarled. "Get off."
Peony didn't heed his cries. "I'm sorry if this is what I have to do to get you to understand. I am not letting you go alone. And neither will they." Lavender, Silverbird, and Lightwing, ran up to Peony and Redfire and glared at him fiercely.
"We are a team, Redfire," Lavender said, stamping a little black and white foot on the ground. "I know we haven't been with you for long, but... we think of you as family." A gasp left Redfire's fur as she stared into her eyes. Family! Ever since Featherfire died, he had no family. His father had already passed, and after his birth, his mother could have no more kits. But hearing Lavender talk so fondly of him, saying she thought of him as family was just... No words could describe this feeling. Salty tears blurred his eyes as he turned his gaze back to Peony. She was his girl, his vixen.  His... He closed his eyes.
"Peony, how would you feel about becoming my mate?" A faint gasp escaped her lips as she backed away. Opening his eyes, he could tell she was stricken by the proposal. He hadn't thought too deeply about it, but he loved her so much he wanted to her his. The silver vixen still would not respond. Was she going to refuse?
"Please," he asked uncertainly. Peony smiled brighter than the sun.
"Yes!"
"Yay!" cheered Lavender. Peony nuzzled Redfire and purred loudly. Lavender jumped up and down, yapping like a dog. Silverbird nudged Peony and licked her cheek. His gaze drifted to Redfire, and his expression changed drastically.
"Take care of her."
Redfire gulped. "I will." Silverbird was Peonys father, so he wanted to make sure his baby was taken care of her. Lightwing had remained silent the entire time he didn't seem to be moved by it at all. Redfire walked over to him and nudged him. "Are you ok?" The old fennec fox sighed.
"Seeing you and Peony now mated its such..."
"It's cause you wanted that. With Amber."
He chuckled. "Yeah, more than anything."
Redfire dropped his head. "I'm sorry about what happened."
"Don't be," he replied. "It wasn't your fault." Redfire thought back to what Peacemaker said about Amber. That her killer was still alive. If that was true, then the killer must not have been their leader. So who was it? A young silver kit ran up to Redfire and bowed his head.
"Leader Redfire," he said. "Me and my friends found a safe spot for the Tribe to rest. Should we go there?"
"Why aren't you with your mother," Peony asked, padding to the kit.
He shrank away. "Uh... uh, because we were really curious, miss, w... we didn't mean to cause any harm."
Redfire chuckled. "No harm done, little kit, now run back to your mother." The kit smiled and bounded away back to the Tribe. Redfire rose to his feet.
"Let's go take a look."