Short Story: NPC Fox
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:09 pm
It was a dark evening, the soft wind running through the branches of the barren trees making an eerie, almost haunted sound. It was spring, but the tenacious tendrils of the long winter still clung to the landscape like leeches, guarding the icicles and promising another night of snow. There were few creatures moving about in the icy, slushy landscape. Most elected to stay in their dens and nests, huddled up with family, or if they had been lost, friends.
There was still one solitary figure though, laboriously heaving mouthful after mouthful of straw into the old log. There wasn't much time left, and she knew it, and she still hadn't finished. Her mate had disappeared days ago, probably to run off with some other fox, and had left her to bear the weight of children alone. The idiot. She should have known all along. She used to sometimes wonder what she was lacking every time he returned with the smell of another girl on his fur, but that had turned into wondering exactly how many other females he had courted, and when he vanished, that had quickly dissolved into a thick, black anger that followed her like a shadow, creeping into every step she took, and every word she uttered to every poor passerby she encountered.
That didn't stop her from moving on though. She no longer cared about him, and she found it almost liberating. There would be nobody stopping her from creeping into a dumb bobcat's den and slaughter all her cubs in a night, nor one to preach to her about leaving the wolves alone.
There was just this one last responsibility that held her down. The occasional kick in the stomach reminded her of it whenever she forgot.
The fox heaved another mouthful of straw into the den, then groaned and sat for a moment. No more time.
She glanced into the log before crawling into it, leaning against the side. From beneath her, the cold wood kissed her skin gently, sending chills creeping up her sides. There wasn't enough straw here. Not for all of them.
--------------------
And that, my friends, is what happens if you mate with multiple females to try to get your score up. <3
There was still one solitary figure though, laboriously heaving mouthful after mouthful of straw into the old log. There wasn't much time left, and she knew it, and she still hadn't finished. Her mate had disappeared days ago, probably to run off with some other fox, and had left her to bear the weight of children alone. The idiot. She should have known all along. She used to sometimes wonder what she was lacking every time he returned with the smell of another girl on his fur, but that had turned into wondering exactly how many other females he had courted, and when he vanished, that had quickly dissolved into a thick, black anger that followed her like a shadow, creeping into every step she took, and every word she uttered to every poor passerby she encountered.
That didn't stop her from moving on though. She no longer cared about him, and she found it almost liberating. There would be nobody stopping her from creeping into a dumb bobcat's den and slaughter all her cubs in a night, nor one to preach to her about leaving the wolves alone.
There was just this one last responsibility that held her down. The occasional kick in the stomach reminded her of it whenever she forgot.
The fox heaved another mouthful of straw into the den, then groaned and sat for a moment. No more time.
She glanced into the log before crawling into it, leaning against the side. From beneath her, the cold wood kissed her skin gently, sending chills creeping up her sides. There wasn't enough straw here. Not for all of them.
--------------------
And that, my friends, is what happens if you mate with multiple females to try to get your score up. <3