IKA {Book 1}

Before

The pale moon shone high above in the dark sky, it's opalescent shimmer revealing everything in the shadows of the broad trees of which did not have a name. The trees were surrounded by long grass the colour of spring and marigold, and the birds called heir evening calls as the animals got ready for the night.

Silence.

Silence was all that could be heard, no animals left awake as the moon drifted slowly across the daunting forest. Just as the world seemed to be at perfect peace, a quiet rustling could be heard as a dappled brown she-fox burst out of the strewn reeds. She carried two small cubs in her mouth, their scruffs held by her jaw as she clumsily ran through the tall grass as if she were running away from something dangerous. A few seemingly-long seconds later a larger fox followed, swiftly leaping through the hole the dappled fox had made in the reeds. It was a dark grey male fox, it's broad shoulders flexing as it ran after her like a mouse hunted by a cat.

The she-fox ran as fast as she could bear, panting heavily as her stamina wore out and her legs tried to buckle beneath her. Despite the pain she kept on fighting, ploughing through the silent forest as she tried to lose the cunning male.

It was no use, the rock-grey fox was too ready for this situation, as he calmly and quickly darted through the roots of trees, his adrenaline rising as he steadily up to the she-fox. The dappled brown fox stumbled on, reaching the tall grass on the other side of the forest before collapsing, panting and whimpering as she tried to keep going. Within a heartbeat the fearsome male was on her, his dark eyes gleaming like heartless lumps of coal as his claws extended far beyond a normal fox's. The she-fox had forgotten about the cubs and had dropped them as she had been pinned down. His right paw placed on her weak shoulders

"Now now, don't struggle" the large fox hissed quietly into her ear. "I'll make quick work of you" he raised his left paw, unusually long claws extending as he prepared for the kill.

Nearby in the forest a shadow flickered. It was a pitch-black fox with caring aquamarine eyes. The fox wandered through the long reeds as it returned to its den, but was cut off by a nightmarish wail. It's ears pricked suddenly as it started creeping towards the tall grass, smelling the familiar milky scent of a mother fox followed by the metallic tang of blood. She dashed like a shadow towards it, distressed but curious on what she might see through the grass. She nosed her snout through the grass into a small area where the golden grass had been flattened. Blood. Blood was everywhere, the corpse of the mother wolf still twisted in agony as if it were still alive; scarlet and crimson stains covering the small clearing, whatever had killed was gone. As she glanced around the horrifying scene something stirred.

Two. Small. Cubs. The black fox, without thinking, ran over to them, one was black and one was white. Odd colours; but they were pups and they shouldn't be judged by their looks. She picked them up and ran away from the murderous place.

She ran through the thick  grass and into the forest, where she found a hollow tree stump. The soft squeaks of small fox cubs could be heard as the mother fox slowly curled up around them, letting her own pups feed as she let the two cubs join them; their squeaks quieting down as they started to fall asleep one by one. After a few sleepless hours the mother fox and the pups were all asleep, the black fox's tails around her children like a barrier.

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A fox sat next to a small pool of water, its shimmering surface shining in the dark. The fox's pearlescent emerald green eyes staring intently as shadows danced in the small pool. His seven tails flicked curiously as he watched the mother-fox care her new cubs. He lowered his large ears menacingly and hissed to himself
"Nothing good will come from taking them in..." He closed his eyes calmly as if he was in meditation, then opened them again; his previousy green eyes now a shade of pale grey. The scene in the water paused, and he looked up from the pool. He could hear leaf-rustling from a bush nearby. "Come out, I know your there" he hissed in pure annoyance.

Two lean identical foxes walked out from the bushes, each with two tails. 

"Well" The first one said.
"You caught us" The other one finished as if it had surrendered. they were of medium height, both presumably male with silky white fur and beautiful pale blue markings etched into their fur. Their amber eyes glowing as they smiled in pure triumph.

"Why are you here?" the seven-tailed fox growled after a minute of silence between the three, his earthy brown fur shifting  as he took a step forward.

They were in an extremely odd place, with majestic blue trees and dainty violet leaves. The  soft turquoise grass glowed and even though there was no sun, it seemed to be surrounded by something similar.

"Well you see" "We wanted to know why you're here, Hikaru" they spoke, their voices like fine silk as their eyelids draped half over their eyes giving them an intimidating look. "I think its time. Do you not?" Hikaru replied intimidatingly, his head tilting as he looked at them with a straight face. They took a step back, their teeth clenched and their eyes filled with shock as they took a step backward in surprise. "Wait... You mean" "'Them'....?" they replied quietly. Hikaru nodded, a look of seriousness on his face as looked back at the miniature pool "We need to choose one NOW. If we don't... I don't even want to know what will happen." He shook his head solemnly "We have no choice."