Fox Magic

Chapter 8

Aurora's pov

As soon as Twister and Blaze were out of sight, Hunter and I went off in search of water. Which seemed impossible considering everything looked the same. Everywhere I looked I could see nothing past the tall trees and thick undergrowth. At home there's almost no plants, so I could see the horizon far off in any direction. And I didn't even need to find water there, I just ate snow.

Hunter would've been a great help in the search since he's used to this stuffy terrain, but he's not quite old enough yet. I wish I were home. Thankfully, though, I do at least know what water smells like, so that's a start. I guess. I started sniffing around, trying to find the scent with Hunter close behind.

As we're searching, we spot a small mammal, that Hunter calls a squirrel, cross our path. It's chin and front paws look wet, maybe from drinking. It ran off up a tree and I followed the path it came from. Sure enough, there's a pond.

We almost got to the bank when we hear frantic bird screeches and the startled yelp of a fox.

"What was that all about?" I wonder aloud.

"Let's go see!" Hunter says, excitedly, heading toward the direction of the sound.

I follow him and we soon come to a clearing. We stop in the bushes when we see Twister at the foot of a tree. There's yellow and white liquid dripping from his head and he's calling up to someone above him, although I can't make out what he's saying. I look up to see Blaze up in a tree, standing by a nest. He looks like he's having trouble holding on to the branch while trying to fend off an angry bird.

'Wouldn't it just be easier to catch a lemming?' I thought, still watching this odd scene.

"Foxes sure are crazy," Hunter says.

"Nope," I respond, "Just forest foxes."

We turn away to head back toward the lake, but as we walk away I hear a yell and a thump.

'I sure hope they know what they're doing,' I thought as we continue walking.

Hunter and I are soon back at the pond. As I'm getting a cool drink, Hunter jumps in and splashes me. I gasp as the water hits my face. While Hunter's busy laughing, I splash him back. He jumps and stares, stunned, before splashing me again. We both laugh and play in the water, making sure to stay where it's shallow. We were having so much fun, we didn't notice Twister and Blaze coming out of the bushes. We stopped playing as soon as we saw them.

Twister still had that stuff on his head, but he now also carried what looks like eggs. Blaze was holding one paw up as he held the bird he was fighting earlier. But what really struck me was that surprised look they had. Almost like they've never seen me before. That's when I realized the pond water washed all of the dirt out of my fur. I'm now back to my natural color of white with this annoying gray stripe down my tail.

Twister gently sets the eggs down, his eyes still on me, while Hunter runs over to investigate.

"What?" I ask.

"I've never seen anyone so beautiful," Twister replied.

I gave him a shy smile. Blaze snaps out of his trance and gives a look of indifference.

"She's still just a girl," he says, dropping the bird.

Twister shoots him a look, but I can't help but feel amused by Blaze's pup-like attitude. I climb out of the water and begin to lick my fur dry while Twister carefully cracks the eggs open, showing Hunter how to eat what's inside. The rest of us split the bird. It's not quite enough for the three of us, but it's at least something. Besides, it's too late to look for more prey and we're all tired. While we ate, Blaze told Hunter the story of how they got the food. I can tell he's exaggerating, but Hunter is enjoying the excitement of the tale, even though the story changes with every question he asks.

After dinner, Hunter fell straight asleep between the roots of a tree. I wasn't comfortable sleeping out in the open instead of safe inside a den. Twister and Blaze didn't seem too keen on the idea either. So we decided on taking turns keeping watch. With Twister on first watch, I curled up beside Hunter and fell asleep.