42Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Author's note: This is a prequel to Play the Fox, but can also stand alone. It will be all in Bella's point of view.
Old Foxes
Chapter One: As Pups
'Old foxes want no tutors.' – Thomas Fuller
I could remember the taste of my mother's milk, filling my stomach with warmth and making me feel content. She would gently lick the fur around my ears, before moving onto the ears of my brothers, lavishing them with the same nurturing feeling.
My father was part of the hunting party, always heading out to catch more mice or birds, sometimes even finding some berries that he would specially save for our mother, knowing it would sweeten her milk, becoming a treat for her and us. He was always taking care of us, unlike some of the other males with offspring, who would watch over their kin from a distance, never truly becoming a part of their lives. But we were a family, the five of us… well, six, really.
About two seasons before our birth, our grandfather had gotten very sick. We had never really been told how bad it was, but we know that it was bad enough for him to lose his hearing in one ear and dim his eyesight. The leader of our leash, Lewis, had taken him out for a hunt, to see how his abilities were with his diminished senses. Unfortunately for our grandfather, he was told that he was a liability, barely being able to catch a mouse, let alone protect him our another member from harm. So he was grounded to the den circle, only allowed to leave the circle when he was with another member of the leash.
Though we were sad about him being told he couldn't hunt anymore, my brothers and I loved all the attention he gave to us. He was always telling us stories about his youth, such as when he caught his first mouse, when he got his first taste of the sweet berries that grew by the riverside, and when he had gotten into his first scuffle with a fox from a different leash. We sat captivated as he told us the story, not wanting to move even when our mother approached with promise of more milk.
I never bragged to my brothers, but I had always known that our grandfather had a soft spot for me. He would sometimes look at me with a loving expression in his eyes, before they would flash with the knowledge of a secret. When my brothers and I were finally old enough to go on our first hunts, he pulled me aside and weaved a tale of shape shifting animals in my mind, telling me the legends of those who lived long ago.
I listened to his story, before bouncing off after my brothers, eager to catch a nice, meaty mouse. But, as I did, I had a feeling that the legends that my grandfather had spoken to me would have some kind of profound impact on my life. I guess I would just have to wait and see.
"Hurry up, Bella!" My brother, Reese, called out to me. He was always complaining about how slow I was, but everyone knew he was the fastest in the leash; he wasn't named something that meant 'running' for nothing.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I said irritably. I'd woken up with a slight sniffle this morning, the damp of the Dying Season was starting to set into my fur and my paws, and I didn't like it. My brothers had always had thicker fur than me, though, even though it was a long way off until our adult coats started growing in. Kemp, our other brother, was prancing around this morning without a care in the world, though he did ask me once or twice if I was sure I was okay enough to go hunting, which I said I was.
Caron, our mother, had fawned all over me like I was a kit from her womb, even though all three of us had just celebrated our second month anniversary. She had tried to convince me to remain in our den, but I really wanted to go hunting, sniffle be damned.
Unfortunately, as we had all gotten used to in the past couple of days, the cold and dampness of the Dying Season not only had an effect on the immune systems of members from our leash, but on the prey in the forest. The little amount we did keep were all plumped up for the Dead Season, all fat and juices and little meat, which is what truly satisfied us. It had also been weeks since our father, Liam, had managed to find any berries to pick, and so the little milk that Caron still managed to cram into our mouths was no longer sweet, instead just the familiar warmth and comfort we had known all of our lives. We were aware that soon the trickle of white liquid would stop, and no longer would we be able to go to her for a quick meal, instead having to hunt for all of our food, like the others.
As I caught up with Reese, needing to wait only a second before Kemp was also at our side, we walked into the den circle side by side, heading towards our den to share our kills with Caron and Cathal, our grandfather.
"More overfed mice?" Cathal asked disgustedly as he took stalk of the scent we brought in with us, looking through his blurry vision at the prey we had caught.
My brothers and I rolled our eyes at each other teasingly, knowing that Cathal wasn't truly disgusted with our catch. He would eat anything nowadays, wanted to 'fatten up' for the Dead Season. Plus, there was the bonus fact that he always had a sparkle of pride in his eyes whenever we returned from hunting, even more so when he turned towards me. My brothers and I had only been hunting since our first month, but already we were quite well-trained and no longer needed a supervisor while in the woods. Liam had told us that, many a time, it took well over six months for a young fox to be left in the forest, but it seemed my brothers and I were the exceptions.
"Sorry, Cathal," I told him, smiling at him as best I could, showing off my sharp teeth. "We couldn't find anything else," I shrugged.
"Ah, well; I don't mind, then, little one, as long as you three did actually try to look for more prey, instead of just sticking with what was close and easy," he gave us all suspicious looks, laughing when we all looked away. "Just what I thought, you lazy pups."
We all smiled at him as he dug into his portion of our hunt, before deciding to share a rather large mouse between the three of us, leaving another one for Caron, which she took easily as she smiled.
As my brothers and I lay side-by-side together, as it had always been, I wondered about our life here in the forest, and why – staring at the quickly deteriorating warrior that was our grandfather – it suddenly seemed so short.
Is this interesting so far? Yes, Bella had brothers, brothers that she loved deeply. As it was hinted at, she was very rarely away from them – they all stuck together.
A little fox terminology – a 'leash' is a group of foxes, in case you didn't guess. And once baby foxes are old enough – at least, in my story – they refer to their family members by name.
Next chapter should be up soon, but until then… review, and remember me.