Schrödinger's Fox

Prologue

" Nothing is ever truly pitch black...
and nothing is ever truly pure white.
There is always an exception. There's always a gray. The gray just sort of blends in... But you can truly find it, if you look hard enough... Sometimes all it takes is to be at the right place at the right time; or the wrong place at the wrong time."

-Anonymous

 It was so dark...
 The darkness was almost suffocating, nearly taking your breath away, but not in good way. It felt like one of those times where you got hit really hard with something, and had all the air forced out of your lungs, except this was not nearly as bad. You could almost feel the darkness swallow you whole, wrapping around you and nulling your senses. As if it was contaminating you, like some sort of toxic poison or disease. You didn't feel like yourself, kind of like how you'd get a bad cold and feel sluggish, and not wanting to do anything except curling up and sleeping. Except you got this feeling without having a runny nose, a sore throat, or stomach pains.
 But more importantly; where were you? Why was it so very dark? You could even look down and see your own feet properly. The answers to these questions were very much unknown to you at this point in time. You squinted your optics and looked around. All you could see was am almost endless horizon of black void. Suddenly, a faint blurry shape was seen out of the corner of your eye, it was nearly indecipherable to tell what or who it was, indeed. But nonetheless, it was there before your eyes to look upon.
 Whatever- or whomever it was, appeared to be sitting down, or at the very least, slouching or hunched over. It was hard to tell, the figure was quite a distance away from you, and honestly, in this situation, you weren't about to go running at this ominous figure, or shout at it. Goodness no, you weren't that naïve or impractical. Only a fool would run at this... whatever it was; this 'thing', for a lack of a better word. You took a very hesitant and timid step forward, or what you assumed was a step. You weren't quite sure, your body was just numb, and you were unsure whether you were standing on solid ground, or just sort of suspended.
 Then whatever the thing was, appeared to crane their head over their shoulder to look towards you, as if hearing your hesitant step. You froze, and your body was in a state of conflict of fight or flight. It wasn't exactly the thing turning around that scared you into a stand-still position, it was the things eyes. They were wide, and luminous. They glowed brightly, the only source of light you've encountered so far. They glowed like circular fireflies in the distance, and they were fixated on you. They stared unblinking, it's eyes large like an owl's, and focused, like a cat in the dark that was about to pounce on a mouse. You weren't exactly sure how long it was until they blinked one of their eyes. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, just by looking into their eyes. Was it anger, curiosity, hunger, or something else? You weren't sure, all you knew was to not break eye contact, in fear of what would happen if you didn't.
 Suddenly, the figure straightened themselves and turned their body towards you, where their head was facing; which was toward you, like an eagle's head locking in place while their body was moving about. It was then that they broke eye contact, and you exhaled in relief. Their gaze flickering across the 'ground,' as if pondering or thinking about something, before their eyes were on you once more, except now they were much more narrow, like their eyes had widened upon seeing you, and only now returning to their normal almond shape.
" A... visitor?" The figure finally spoke, the words echoing and thrumming around you, almost resonating within the space you were in. Their voice was that of disbelief, and it was then that it dawned upon you; had this thing been alone this entire time? If so, how long were they in here? Why were they in here, and how long have they even been alone? 
 It seems you got somewhat of an answer, as the figure spoke once more," It has been so long.... so very long since I've seen somebody else." Their tone was wistful, not malevolent or insane, as you had expected, and suddenly you felt a shred of sympathy for this thing, whatever or whoever it was."... I've nearly forgotten what other beings even look like.." They said sadly," I've been so lonely, so incredibly lonely here." Their voice croaked slightly," Its nice to see somebody else. But I am not that callow to think you've come here from the kindness of your own heart. I've been here long enough to know that. Everybody has their own personal reasons for coming to this place, and though I wont speak on your behalf; I assume you're the same?"
 You were honestly hesitant to nod your head. If you had known you would have come here through selflessness. Not to mention this thing seemed much bigger and stronger than you, as well as fully capable of harming you, and you didn't want to anger them. You were snapped out of your thoughts once more when the being spoke again," No need to be afraid, young one. I cannot hurt you here. Nor do I have any reason to. That'd be incredibly rude of me to do to my first guest in a very long time." You froze slightly, could this thing read minds?
" No, I'm not some clairvoyant." They said once more, which made you inhale sharply. The being before you laughed, which sounded like multiple small brass bells resonating all at once, which was a surprisingly pleasant sound." It was apparent by your hesitance to answer, and your surprised expression. If your goal was for you to look inconspicuous, it didn't work very well. People often take me for granted, and think I'm unintelligent. But I'm not. Goodness knows my life would be much easier if I was." You cracked a small smile, and felt much more at ease. Maybe they really weren't that bad after all.
 " I know why you're here to see me, young one. You desire the truth." It said simply, sitting down once more. You sat down as well, nodding at their words. They were right." Shall I start from the beginning?" You gave a hesitant nod of your head.
" Very well. The story is long indeed, and sad it might seem. One thing you must know, is nobody is that nobody's intentions are as clear, and black and white as they may seem, or as the person themselves might believe. Everybody's intentions are gray, and gray they shall forever stay..."