Foes to Friends

Chapter 2 Lukas

"Hey Chase, can I go exploring in the woods," I asked my big brother, Chase, hanging on part of the doorway. We were in the kitchen and my brother and his girlfriend, Sherah were cleaning up from lunch. "Please," I added.

"Okay," he replied, running a hand through his dark red hair, "just make sure you get back before dinner." He made eye contact with me to make sure I understood. I nodded.

Sherah looked from Chase to me and added, "and you are coming with us to the village tomorrow," Chase wrapped his arm around Sherah's waist, "to try to make some real friends."

"Okay, bye," I said, getting out of there before they make out any more. I turned into my fox form and ran into the woods. I slowed down, to see how much time I would have in the woods to explore. A few hours I think, at least. I went further, then I came to a clearing.

I took a deep breath, smelling the nature around me. The smell of peace, beauty, and most of all freedom. I looked around me and I saw a flower. It was red. It had a darker red around the edges of the pedals. The green stem was covered with sharp thorns. A touch of those thorns could draw blood. Who knew something so small and beautiful could be so sharp and dangerous.

Then I saw a pretty yellow butterfly. I followed it for a while. After, like, fifteen minutes of following it, I stopped and watched it fly away.

I looked around at my new surroundings. Trees, all around me. A few bushes here and there. It wasn't big enough to be called a clearing, but it wasn't too tight. It was more of a small opening.

Just then a bunny rabbit jumped into my path. I crouched down ready to pounce. I started to count down in my head. 3 ... 2 ... 1!

I pounced. The rabbit saw me coming and hopped out of the way. Just in time for me to miss and tumble into the big bush behind it. When I tried to get out, one of my back paws got stuck between some of the bushes branches.

I struggled to free myself. I twisted and turned so much that I shook the whole bush. Finally, I heard a snap and tumbled out of the bush and into another clearing.

There was a creature staring at me in a pounce position. I straightened up and tried to look intimidating, so I growled. I bent down ready to pounce. For a moment, we just stared at each other. The strange creature growled. I could take her on and win. I'm not as strong as Chase and I have never actually won in any of our brotherly battles, but if I attacked first I could surprise her and pin her to the ground.

I studied the creature. She had dark gray fur. Her fur seemed to get darker front to back. She had white fur around her chest and stomach. There was a dark gray sign on her chest that somewhat looked like a crown. Her eyes were blue. Which was weird, because most foxes have brown eyes I have never seen a fox with blue eyes or gray fur. Maybe she isn't a fox, maybe she is something else.

I figure that later after I pin her down. I looked for the best way to pin her down. I could pounce on her back and push her down from there. Which might work and it was my best option.

I pounced, landing on the creatures back. I dug my claws into her back to stay on and to start to push her down, but she was smarter than I thought. She rolled over squishing me against the ground until I had no choice but to let go. She rolled back to her feet. I struggled to get up. The creature circled me.

"What do you want," she growled.

"Nothing," I replied as I finally got off the ground. That hurt. "What do you want?"

She stared at me, "I don't know," the creature started to slow down, "you attacked me first."

Oh yeah. "And," I looked at her, "you're the one with the weird fur color and blue eyes." Is she a fox or not?

"What do you mean," she looked at me weird, "My fur is the normal wolf color, unlike yours."

"Wolf?" What is a wolf?

"Uh yeah," She stared at me like I should know what is, "that's what we are."

"I'm not a wolf," I said. She is not a fox, she is a wolf.

"Then what are you, and what are you doing in my woods?"

"I'm a fox," I replied, "and what do you mean, your woods,"

"These are my woods,"

"No, they're not," I said, and I could feel my temper rising. Her woods? "you can't just go around claiming thing's yours"

"But they are," she stared at me like it was evil for even saying something like that. "and I don't do that"

"If you weren't then you wouldn't be saying that the woods are yours," my tail started to swish back and forth behind like it does when I'm angry, "your not the queen of the woods,"

"I know I'm not," the wolf glared at me, "I'm the princess of the woods."

I snorted, that was the funniest thing I have ever heard, "Says who," I asked snarkily like.

"Uh, my parents, my sister, my people, the fact that my dad is the alpha," she told me, matter-a-factly, "Also known as the king of the woods, which, you know, would make me the princess of the woods" the wolf sat down puffing out her chest showing her weird marking thing. She acted like I should know this stuff. I've never heard of an alpha.

I sat down across from her and looked at her wonderingly. What if she is the princess of the woods. "Okay, so you're the princess of the woods," I said in a more kind tone than a few minutes ago. I stared at her, my eyes moved down to her chest, "Is that, like marking or a birthmark to show that you are the alpha's daughter," I asked curiously, "or do all wolves have that on their chest?"

"Uh yeah, it's a birthmark," the wolf replied, "only me, my sister, and my dad have it."

"I don't think we ever got each other's names?"

"My name's Kayla," she introduced, " what's yours?"

"Lukas,"

"Nice," Kayla said, then she added, "maybe we can start over, as friends, not enemies."

Friends, the word shot a bolt of excitement through me "Sure," I replied, "how old are you?"

"Twelve, almost thirteen," she told me proudly, "how about you?"

"Thirteen,"

"Really! Cool," Kayla said admiring, "what is it like?"

I shrugged it wasn't that different, "Same as twelve," I looked up again. Our eyes meet. "What is your favorite color?"

"Blue, you?"

"Orange," I paused and thought for a minute, "or red," I shrugged again. I looked up at the sky, "wow, is it that time already, I gotta head back."

"Yeah, me too," Kayla said looking up at the sun's position, "Meet back here tomorrow after lunch."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I said before turning back the way I came, "bye!"

"Bye," she called after I looked back once. She had turned and was running in the opposite direction. On my way home I thought about what happened.

I made a friend!