The Vixen's Gamble

[nikki]

The fox kit huddled in his mother's arms, eyes wide as the vixen sped through unfamiliar territory. Belladonna Nightbrush was fast, yes, and clever, yes; their pursuers, however, were dogged, high-stamina little beasts, creatures who knew the terrain well.

Belladonna, by contrast, was lost and tiring. The kit listened to her ragged breath and racing heart, his overlarge infant ears laying back against his skull as he began to whimper.

"Hush, Frenner."

She was trying to keep her voice soft, trying to soothe him, but there was a harsh tension in his mother's voice the kit had never heard - or at least had never heard directed at him. He fell silent, bewildered, as both foxes listened for the shrews' approach.

After the long and very entertaining trek into Mossflower, the world had suddenly become confusing indeed for the foxbabe. Somehow or another, there had been less food than usual; he had heard his parents remark that the local beasts were 'ready for them', something he didn't understand; he knew only that he was hungry more often than usual, that there was tension in the older beasts of the band of thieves.

Then, less than an hour ago, the adults had opted to attack a group of little gray creatures. Frenner had been kept out of the fighting - he was only a babe - but the fierce little creatures had given chase, and his mother had snatched him up and fled.

Now she was tired and frightened, and Frenner was frightened by her fear, and the gray beasts could be heard approaching.

Frenner began to whimper again, but his mother clamped a paw over his mouth as she got up to move.

Their pursuers were coming.

He could tell that his mother had decided something, but he understood too little to do more than huddle, eyes wide, as he listened to her ragged breath and racing heart, and the shouts of their pursuers.

[Django]

Nik sped easily through the underbrush, his labored breathing coming out hard through his nostrils. He could hear the Guosim warriors behind him struggling for air, as well, but they followed their chieftain doggedly, weapons at the ready. The vixen was up ahead, carrying something in her arms, it looked like.

But then she was lost among the trees. Growling below his breath, Nik picked up his pace, taking out his sling. He caught his deputy's eye and made a signal to the right. He repeated the signal to the shrew on his left in that direction. Two shrews went right, two left, and three kept right on the vixen's trail.

Loading a stone into the leather sling, the chief began swinging it over his head. He let it fly, but missed as the vixen made a sharp turn further into the woods. Cursing silently, Nik put away the sling and drew his rapier. He scanned the woods for the vixen, but she was once again lost to sight.

Altering course, Nik made a sign to the two shrews still following him. They nodded in understanding and sped off to either side to help the two groups try to surround the vixen. Nik suddenly stopped, having heard a noise in the brush. What was that whimpering? He crept towards the sound, keen eyes searching a thicket nearby. Moving a wide branch aside with his blade, his green eyes went wide with surprise and anger. It was the vixen!

"You," he growled, his blade at her throat in an instant. But it was then he noticed the kit in her arms. His scarred features registered something akin to shock. Then his gaze went hard again. "Ye'd best disappear, fox. I ain't inclined to make this kit an orphan."

((I can change it if you want me to, but I thought it might be a fun little twist if Belladonna and Nik made the arrangements. And then Nik would lie to the other Guosim and say Frenner was abandoned.))

[nikki]

((I'm good with it... it DOES sound interesting. |3))

She narrowed her eyes, stepping smoothly back as she tried to control her panic, keeping her voice cool with only the faintest touch of panic.

"You're halfway there, shrew."

"Sh'ew?"

The kit stirred in his mothers arms, golden eyes fixing on the shrew's as curiosity mingled with fear. Frenner's large ears came upright as he squirmed about for a better look, only stilling when his mother shushed him gently.

"A band cannot travel swiftly with a youngling. Other survivors will know this."

Belladonna's gaze was considering now. She had heard tales, oh yes.

"There are those of these woods who would take in any lost one. Even a fox."

The shrew would take her meaning, or he wouldn't. She waited, listening for other members of the group as she tried to keep the foxbabe still and silent.

[Django]

Nik tried to slow his hard breathing, glancing behind him at the sound of a yell. He understood the vixen, but he knew the rest of the Guosim wouldn't. He crouched before her, sheathing his blade and speaking in low tones.

"Will ye come back fer 'im?" the chieftain asked, glancing the fox babe over. "I could only keep 'im fer so long. Then th' tribe'd kick 'im out whether I said so or not."

It felt odd to him, to be having this kind of conversation with a vixen. But desperate times called for desperate measures. This situation required quick thinking on both their parts. He could tell she wanted to spill as little blood as possible, just like him.

"Wot's 'is name?" the shrew asked casually, tilting his head to one side. This was not going to be easy to explain to the others, but what mattered was that lives were spared. The fox band's crimes were hardly anything to kill over in Nik's mind. But the Guosim held grudges way too easily.

[nikki]

"I will come back." There was an odd softness in the vixen's voice. "But I cannot care for him so well as a woodlander can. Not now."

She crouched as well, arranging the shawl holding the kit; the foxbabe blinked large golden eyes first at her and then at the shrew, squirming again.

"Sh'ew?"

"Yes," his mother said distractedly. She looked at the Log a Log then, relief in sharp features.

"Frenner. A Nightbrush, like myself." She shifted the shawl just enough to how how her son's tail was tipped in black rather than the typical white. The babe, begining to relax in response to their quiet tones, giggled and reached for his own brush before looking at the shrew again.

"Sh'ew!" Confident this time, pleased with himself. He had no idea how dire the situation was, or that his future was being discussed between the two.

[Django]

She would come back. Good. Nik nodded in acknowledgement of her words, regarding the little fox babe in her arms again. He kept himself alert, lest the other shrews find them and end their talking unexpectedly.

"I'll take 'im in," he solidified the agreement, leaning forward as they both crouched in the thicket. He opened his arms to receive the kit, glancing furtively behind him at the sound of creatures crashing through the underbrush.

"Ye got one minute, Nightbrush," he warned softly. It wasn't a threat. It was simply an urgent warning. If she didn't run now, she may never get the chance to. "He's in good paws."

((Short, sorry))

[nikki]

The vixen nodded once, placing the kit in the shrew's arms. Frenner, not certain he liked this development, squirmed and fussed briefly; Belladonna touched his muzzle lightly to shush him before looking up at Nik.

"Thank you."

The phrase was spoken as if foreign to the fox, but spoken nevertheless. She lingered only a moment more before turning to flee, vanishing into the brush.

Thus was the Lolalog left with a small, squirming bundle of fox. Little Frenner made puzzled little sounds, babbling mixed with babywords, before he finally tried to shift to look up at the creature holding him. The kit tilted his ead as well as he could from his awkward position, large ears floding down to either side of rounded skull as he tried to decide what to make of all of this.

"H'llo sh'ew?"