Zootopia- Forest of Secrets

{2} Sly Fox, Dead bunny?

Red.

That was all his saw as he bore his gaze into the two rabbits.

Nick dropped into a hunters crouch, his unsheathed paws cautiously moving around the forest floor, avoiding the frost ridden twigs that threatened to snap under his weight.

The red fox weaved past the base of the oak tree, his tail tensing as he studied his future meal. Out of the two, the hare towered impressively over the doe, and he could see muscle rippling under his pale grey coat. Stripes ran through his face and ears, and he stood protectively over his mate. The smaller doe seemed agitated, her purple eyes flashing with rage. Nick was surprised at how beautiful they were, the vibrant color the same as the tulips that filled the field where he was born. He froze as he watched the doe leap into the bushes, which, to his delight, were directly on front of him.  

Kill, his thoughts urged him to slaughter the unbeknownst rabbit immediately but he twitched his whiskers patiently. If he was lucky, he'd sleep with a full belly. He just needed to wait until the two rabbits were together again.

A few moments passed when Nick suddenly felt a shooting pain in his tail. He whipped his head around to see if caught in one of the bramble, tugging it off roughly and sending the vines back with a rustle. His heart dropped. He already saw the doe spiriting away in fear, the hare following behind her.

Cursing under his breath, the fox raced across the tree-lined clearing, sliding under a broken stump that was rotting away between two shrubs. The smaller rabbit was closing on him, much to his delight, but the hare was still speeding down the forest floor without slowing his pace.

Suddenly, the white tail flashing on front of him scotched unexpectedly as they reached a sea of yellow flowers. Nick's strides quickened, taking the opportunity to lunge and slam his paws down on the terrified doe. The prey's body twitched violently as it struggled to escape his grip.

But that's when he noticed her rounded flanks and the sweet scent coming off her in waves. She was heavy with kits.

The fox stared at her, dumbfounded, his claws retracting back into their sheaths. The soft, cream underbelly of the doe was plump with her litter, which was no wonder why the rabbit was squirming so wildly.

Nick realized he couldn't kill a pregnant animal.

No matter his biting instinct yelling at him to rip her throat out, he remained unmoving, staring into the bunny's brilliant, yet terrified, amethyst orbs. He wasn't heartless. In fact, he was going to do this rabbit a favor and save her from the cruel reality of a dying litter.

The doe let out a blood curling scream, surprising Nick as his ears darted back. It was a horrible noise that would forever haunt him. Without any further hesitation, he sunk it teeth gently but securely around her scruff and sauntered off into the thick woods with an untouched meal in his mouth.

~•~

All throughout the day he had received funny looks from his fellow predators. Mintsy, a spotted lynx, had almost snatched the rabbit out of his mouth. Nick had to give her a good scratch across the ears for her to leave them alone.

Finally, they reached his den, which he had scraped up by digging under a dead willow tree. It was a cozy place that had moss bedding and was very roomy. Most importantly though, the larger predators couldn't fit though the entrance and it was away from danger.

As he squeezed past the bracken entrance, he carefully laid down the doe on the soft bedding.   Thankfully, the rabbit was out cold, either asleep from fear or from exhaustion. He'd go with the second option to make himself feel less guilty.

Her small form lay peacefully, and he finally took the time to study her. Her fur was a pale gray with cream markings on her underbelly, eyes, and around her muzzle. The tips of her ears were charcoaled. Nick's pelt prickled with unease as a thought crossed his mind. She was the most beautiful rabbit he had ever seen in his life.

Sighing, he decided to get some rest. He smelled frost lingering the air and sensed a snow storm would strike by morning. He was about to settle at the edge of the den, a few lengths away from the pregnant rabbit, but then he saw the bunny's body trembling against the cold. The red fox twitched his whiskers in sympathy, and padded towards the bunny. He laid down beside her and curled his body around her shivering figure. With a lick to her head, he tucked his tail securely around the doe and drifted into sleep.

Too bad he woke up to a scream.