It Should've Been Me

Time and Place

(Authors note: Hi everybody. I am sorry for yet another long wait but I'm almost back on track. Thanks to all my readers, followers, favourites and reviewers for the continuous support and motivation. This chapter is the restart of my writing.)

Days form a part of time, and as time roles on, life changes. Wounds begin to heal and feelings slowly fade, but in this forest, time stood still. These days faded away, endlessly giving birth to new days only to be take by the dark night.

It had been days since the accident occurred, yet the wounds ceased to heal. Although Tod may have been healing, with only his leg and scars remaining injured, his soul seemed empty. His life was dull. However, that would all change by a chance arrival. The arrival of someone who would turn this poor foxes small world upside down.

As Tod sat in the living room, his mind began to wonder. These small trails of thought seemed to bug the young fox as they somehow became more and more intreaging, closer and closer to a question he has been asking himself for a while.

"Who am I and where did I come from? I only remember inside the farm. I wish I had some information as to what happened. Big Mama refuses to tell me, and I can't speak human. I don't know what else to do..."

Suddenly, barking in the distance broke the fox's deep thought. His ears may have been deceiving him, but the barking seemed loud, almost too loud. He's experience with Chief and the train seemed to have taken it's toll on him. The sound was more painful than his leg. And yet, his curiosity seemed interested in what was happening.

As the barking became louder, it was clear that only one hound was after something. One hound. A thought Tod took as to good to be the truth. Leaping onto the couch, he carefully raised his injured leg as he tried to see what was unfolding. What he saw confused but angered him to no end. Outside, the hound on the chase was non-other than Chief, and his quarry was an old fox. A vixen whose greyed red coat seemed to shine in the morning sun.

The vixen was of age, that seemed obvious, and yet she moved in a way which masked her years, only revealing it in long sprints. Tod wanted to help, and so he lowered himself back to he ground and made for the door. Widow left a small gap for air, but the space was big enough for the fox to escape into the outdoors.

Once outside, he limped his way to the now cornered vixen. Her hackels raised and ears flat. Her body poised for a quick getaway, with her teeth bared, ready for the inevitable fight. Chief had his eyes set on the vixen, not wanting her to escape. His facial expression showed determination, the kind which could not be stopped. Rustling leaves somehow had taken the Wolfhounds attention, and once he caught sight of the other fox, his mind sopped. His body tensed up and his attack ready face slowly faded, allowing room for confusion.

"Tod?" Chief asked in disbelief as the fox limped closer. He stepped back as Tod started growling. His anger was justified, and Chief knew it. "I can't belie..." Chief was shut down as the young fox stopped mere inches from the pair. The vixen saw this as the opportunity to leave. She slowly walked around to stand behind Tod. With the vixen behind him, Tod slowly turned around and limped off without looking back. The vixen decided to follow her rescuer as far as possible.

"Tod's alive, but it can't be. There was nothin' left of him. I gotta see more of this." Chief thought as he watched the pair disappear into the farm house. He snuck over to the window where he could get a good view.

As the door shut behind the pair, Widow took an opportunity to check in on her fox, only to find that he had a visitor. "Tod, is this a friend of yours?"

Tod looked up at the old widow, longing to tell the truth, but his inability to speak with humans prevented any futile actions. His eyes, however said enough to convince her that the vixen was not going to be a problem. So she left the pair in peace.

The old vixen slowly watched over Tod as he limped back over to his basket, clearly unhappy. His face was hung low and his body dropped soon after finding it's mark, followed by a heavy sigh. The vixen had no idea what was running through his head, but the one thing she did know was that he knew the hound chasing her.

"Tod, is it? Well, I want to thank you for saving me back there." The vixen said as she turned to face the tired fox. He didn't fell like talking, yet he knew her words were sincere. The look on her face showed gratitude he had expected to see from a certain hound, but instead found it lighting up the face of the one Chief tried to catch. His mouth opened as if to say something, but a yawn escaped his tired muzzle.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

"If I may ask, what happened to you?"

Tod raised his head up and looked into the dark eyes of the vixen a short distance away. "What's your name?" he asked quickly, as if trying to find a way of making the answer seem direct.

"Rose."

"Well, Rose, if you ever find yourself in a position to save the thing hating you, don't do it. I saved that mutt outside from a train. I am... was friends with his adopted son, but not anymore. He's a trained huntin' dog, a real killer. I didn't want to believe those wise words, but Big Mama was right."

"Time has a way of changing things?"

"Yea, how did you know?"

"She told me the same thing."

(Author's note: So, what do you thing? I thought a slight change would do some good. Let me know what you think. Rose belongs to me, the rest belong to Disney. See you guys soon.)