Stripe said goodbye to the other foxes and set off. When he was about 100 meters away from the den he wondered if it his adventure was actually a good idea. He thought about turning around to ask one of the stronger foxes if he would take the quest rather than him, but if he did that he wouldn't be able to live with himself. So he took a big breath and set off.
He trotted in the direction the bat had flown in. After a few hours he decided that he needed to eat. He snooped around and eventually found a rabbit. He pounced and killed it on his first try. And ate it all in just a few minutes. He headed off. After a few hours it was starting to get dark so he dug himself a hole. He climbed into his hole, ignoring the cold, and covered himself in some grass and fell asleep in a few minutes.
He woke up early the next morning to the sound of something moving. He laid completely still ready to strike. He heard the sounds dwindle then he slowly climbed out of his hole. He didn't see any thing then he looked around him and then to his surprise he saw another fox. She was red with a white patch on her chest. She asked him "What are you doing here?" Stripe explained his situation. She said "Well then come into our den." Stripe followed her in. There was two other foxes, both male. One was from the same litter and the other was younger. "These are my brothers." The older brother asked "Who's he?" she said "His name is Stripe he's traveling."
"He's not staying with us, is he?"
"No I'm going with him."
There was a pause. The brother spoke up "Do you mean you're leaving us?"
"Yes."
"But you've never left us for more than a couple hours."
"I know, but you know how to hunt and you are just as capable as me to take care of our brother."
The younger brother perked up. The older brother sighed. Stripe just stood; he didn't want to interrupt or make things more difficult. The brother closed his eyes for a second. "I don't know if I can do it; hunt to feed him and me."
"I do it everyday."
"I know but you are responsible and I'm lazy"
"You'll do just fine." She paused. "I will be back"
"When?"
"When I get back."
"Wait... you just met this guy! What makes you think you can just go off with him without even knowing him? You didn't ask him if he needed help!" She turned to Stripe. "Would you like it if I helped you in your journey. Stripe nodded his head. The brother came forwards and nuzzled his head into her neck and said "Well then I guess this is goodbye."
"Yes" she said and went to her younger brother "Goodbye." The little fox asked "How long are you going to be gone for?"
"I don't know"
"Will you bring me food?"
"Yes, if I can."
"Okay" She nuzzled her nose into him and then her and stripe set off.
They had been walking for a few minutes in silence then Stripe asked what her name was. "Solstice," she responded. They continued in silence. Their first day of travel had been very uneventful and they needed to eat. They quickly found a nest in a tree, snatched the eggs and ate them. They traveled for a few hours more. They saw the sky reddening and they decided to dig a temporary den. They dug out a space just big enough for the two of them and then squeezed in. They fell asleep almost instantly.
The morning came and the birds were chirping which reminded them to eat so they went and caught an unsuspecting bird and ate it quickly because they needed to get going. They walked just a couple minutes when a wolf suddenly leaped out of the brush beside them. The wolf was hunting and they could tell by the way it looked into their eyes so they did what the did best. Run. They were dodging trees and leaping bushes running as fast as they could. They occasionally glanced behind themselves to see the distance between them and the wolf. It wasn't much. Solstice yelled to Stripe "Hard left now!" and they leaped to the left and ducked down, hoping for the best. The best happened. They saw the wolf run right past them, leaving them unharmed. They decided to go in silence for a while until they were sure the wolf had lost them. They eventually went back on track at their usual pace. They were both thirsty and they needed water. They looked around hoping they could find a pond or a creek and had no luck. So they continued walking and walking. Two days had past and it seemed they had made no progress. Solstice asked "What, exactly, are we looking for?" That was when Stripe realized that he didn't know what he was trying to find. He didn't know if he was looking to rescue the baby or to try to kill the bat. He said that he didn't even know. She paused and starred into his eyes for a moment and then said "Well whatever we find, I'm here for you." They ventured on once again and a bit later they saw them. The bats. They were massive, about three times bigger than Stripe or Solstice. They were hanging upside down from a huge oak tree. They just starred at it for about thirty seconds then to their surprise another fox emerged from behind the tree stump. He was dark brown, nearly black and he had no markings besides three scars on his side. It looked like something big and powerful had grabbed him and he just got away. He looked at Stripe and Solstice as if he was expecting them or he had known they were there the whole time. Then Solstice asked "Who are you?"
"I am a fox."
"I see that, but what is your name and why are you here?"
"My name is Chase and I assume you've met one of my bats."
"Yes. He has," she said nodding at Stripe.
"I see. You must be related to the little fox that my bat brought me a couple days ago."
"Yes he is,"
"You must want him back. Don't you,"
Stripe nodded yes. Chase said "Well then maybe we can negotiate. Perhaps your cub for her."
Stripe said "She's not mine to give away."
"I know that but, what I am saying is that maybe she would be kind enough to you to sacrifice her self for your cub."
"Why do you want my cub?" Stripe asked
"A fox like me could never get a mate, you see, when I was young, just a little older than your cub here, I was taken by these bats. That's what these scars are from. But when I was taken, the bats had no master no god and I assumed that they took me to be their ruler. That assumption has become reality, I taught them to obey me and understand me." He paused to think "But when I was older I realized that I could never get a mate because of the life I was living. When I was taken the news of my 'death' was spread around the foxes near me and everybody assumed that I was dead and would never believe me if I told them that I was the cub that disappeared."
"So you kidnapped my cub because you wanted a cub of your own?" Stripe guessed.
"That is exactly right so maybe I can give you back your cub as long as I can have her as my mate."
"Like I said: she's not mine to give away,"
"But your mate would do anything for your cub."
"She's not my mate." Stripe said. This whole time Solstice had been sitting there pondering whether or not she should sacrifice herself. She had her own family, her brothers, but Stripe seemed so helpless. She was torn. Chase went behind the trunk and came out with the sleeping cub by the scruff of its neck. "So which will it be? The cub or the mate," Chase asked. There was silence. "Both," Stripe whispered and just at the moment he lunged at Chase and Chase swiftly dodged him. "I'm afraid that's not an option," Chase said mockingly. That was when Solstice attacked him. She came from behind, sinking her teeth into his neck. Chase tried to shake her of but he couldn't. He fell to the ground unconscious. Stripe ran forwards and grabbed the cub and signaled Solstice to run. They ran through the bushes as fast as they could for as long as they could and trotted until dark. They made another den and all curled up inside of it. Stripe was lying against the wall with the cub by his head. Solstice came in with a couple branches from some bushes with a couple berries on them. "It was all I could find in the dark," she said. "That's all we need," said Stripe. she pushed the majority of the berries to the cub and the cub happily ate them. She curled up right next to Stripe and said "Thank you" and she burrowed her snout into his neck just as she had done with her brothers. Stripe did the same. They were happy. It was over then it dawned on them that they had to get back.
The next morning they all got up and set off. They walked for hours until they finally arrived at Solstice's den. They went in. Her brothers were eating there when she came in. Their eyes lit up and they sprinted to her and crashed into her and were licking her and burrowing their snouts into her fur. They were so happy. "I told you you could do it," she said to the older brother "It was hard but I did it," he said happily. They spent the night there.
The next day Solstice agreed to help them find their way back to their den. When they finally reached the den, they went inside. There was no one there. It smelled like they had left a day or two ago. Stripe looked at this with disbelief. How could this be? he wondered. Solstice said "It looks as if they thought you were dead and that they wouldn't be safe because the bats knew where they lived." Stripe nodded slowly. He was shocked and devastated. He was hoping to come home and see his loved ones, but that was not the case. "What will I do?" he thought out loud. Solstice responded: "You and the cub can live with me and my brothers." he said slowly "Okay," he was shocked and he didn't know how to react. He felt like everything was over. Like he had no meaning. They walked back to Solstice's den. When her brother saw Stripe he asked "What happened?"
"His family left."
"Will he live with us?"
"If thats what he wants."
Stripe said "Yes. I would like that."
"Okay then it's official. Boys, welcome stripe to the family."
THE END
P.S. Sorry it was really long. I liked the whole fox idea. you can immagine the foxes as true foxes or as anthropomorphic animals. Which ever works.
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