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way that made Bran's whiskers tingle not unpleasantly at the sensation. At first it was a pin prick of feeling at the edges of his conscious awareness expanding gradually into more of a noticeable sensation that soon would require his full attention. He allowed it, laying with his back curled into a fluffy contented ball, his black twitching nose poking out in a haphazard way through his hind paws and his fluffy tail. His gossamer coat was silky and had only just been cleaned, his humans having just given him a bath a few hours beforehand. An amused smirk graced his muzzle as he thought about how annoyed they would be at him now for allowing himself to get all wet and dirty again.\n\nUnfolding himself he slowly got to his paws and gave himself a shake before stretching out first one hind leg and then the other. He lived for this!\n\nBeing a smooth collie he was athletic and fit, his slightly longer narrow snout just below two golden brown eyes and above those, two button half mast ears that flopped over themselves for a majority of the time, one of the features that at times gave away his personality.\n\nOne flicked forward at the sharp sound of squawking to the east. Then the other followed suit as he strained his eyes and focused all of his attention towards the sounds. At first there was nothing and he tensed up, the air heavy and laced with tension even as the booming sounds of thunder roared overhead and lightning forked across the sky. Then just at the pinprick of vision, barely visible came a shape, stumbling along and trying to make its way closer and closer.Scuttling along with the faint sounds of distressed clucking along the wind. \n\n\tBran bolted towards the lone figure, leaping out into the deluge and woofing an alarm though he doubted anyone towards the homestead would hear him over the cacophony of the storm.\n\n\tAs he neared he recognized what his nose had already told him. \n\n\tIt was Emory, the residential rooster for the ranch. He was an older bird though stout enough and plucky as you please, a regular rhode island red. However his saffron comb had always been tilted slightly more to the left side, providing him a more bedraggled worn out look to him than perhaps warranted his true age which wasn’t all that old. \n\n\tEmory at most times made no bones about playing up being older however, whenever the opportunity presented itself for him to garner sympathy from anyone who paid him mind. He strutted around the hen house and went about pecking away at the ground much like any other chicken and had no trouble crowing early each morning in his screechy, warbling way. But when it came to running races or play or anything that took a bit more energy he was the first to pull the age card. Bran had had it happen quite a few times himself when he had tried to enlist the rooster into a game of tug of war or racing out in the pastures. \n\n\tThe answer had always been no because Emory didn’t have time for that sort of nonsense anymore and had a reputation to uphold or something along those lines.\n\n\tNow though he truly looked worried and beat up, feathers askew and some of them lost as he made a mad dash towards Bran. The metallic tangy scent of blood permeated the bird as Bran neared, pungent and fresh and accompanied with several scars along his feathered body. \n\n“Help! Help! Bra…..Bran!! Thank goodness!!”\n\n\t“Emory ... .what's happened!?”Bran woofed. \n\nThe rooster gave himself a shake and in the process nearly collapsed. \n\n\tUpon closer inspection Bran could tell that he was absolutely exhausted, his chest heaving and beak parted in a slack jawed way as the bird tried to catch his breath. \n\n\t“It’s that fox again! She…….she’s ravaged us….the entire coop!” \n\n“Oh no….”Bran said, his ears flicking to the East and towards the woods off in the distance, somewhat impressed that the old bird had made it so far in his mad dash. \n\t\n‘Probably helped by adrenaline and being terrified’ he thought to himself.\n\n“You stay here and rest. I’ll go see what can be done! She hasn’t run off yet has she?”\n\n“Last I knew she still was in our house” Emory squawked. “She came in and I confronted her, being the head rooster and proprietor of our fine establishment and wouldn’t ya know it, she attacked me. Didn’t let me get two words in edgewise or get around ta’ askin her what she thought that she was doing waking us all up in the middle of the night! The nerve of some folks!”\n\n“I’ll see what I can do!”Bran woofed as he dashed past Emory. \n\n“Hurry young buck! She was a fixin’tuh fight and steal as many of our hard earned eggs as she can! Don’t let her get away with it sonny boy!”\n\n“I won’t Emory!”Bran said, yelling back over his shoulder as he hurried on, his voice drowned out by a particularly loud clap of thunder.\n\nThe old rooster was still saying something else but but then Bran couldn’t hear him, the old cracked and worn voice fading behind him as he threw himself forward, sailing over the fields and through the pastures, every while his paws completely leaving the ground as he leapt through and over fence poles, just narrowly missing them but navigating his way through with the practice of and muscle memory that comes with someone familiar with their layout. \n\n\tHe was grateful that his days spent jumping over or through them were paying off now as he soon passed by the saddle shed, the machine shed and the stables before making his way up and slightly to the north east, the hen house situated just where the edges of Grandiloquent Ranch met Hikum Farm. Stealthily he padded over towards one of the edges of the fenced in enclosure, sniffing along the ground and finding exactly what he was looking for almost instantly. \n\n\tAt first he didn’t pick up much more than a wild smell that didn’t belong. \n\n\tAnd then it grew and was accompanied by a set of smaller paw prints next to the longer, wiry tracks left by chickens. \n\n\tThe set didn’t fit in and were a stark contrast to the many trails that evidenced the paths of the fowls in the barnyard, very much like his own save that they were smaller and more delicate, nearly feline in their utility and patterns of motion. \n\nThey were wild and belonged to the one vulpine who lately had become more bold in her ventures as well as daring in what she was willing to risk. \n\n“Sestria~”\n\nHe breathed the name in almost a whisper as he barely suppressed a growl from rumbling up through his throat and giving himself away. More than anything he wanted to keep the element of surprise on his side,ideally being able to stop the vagabond in her tracks and before any true damage was done though it didn’t seem likely that that outcome was a realistic one. \n\nSlipping under the chainlink fence and timing it so that its rattle sounded during a loud thunderclap he shivered inwardly remembering how beat up and bloodied Emory had been.\n\n\tCreeping forward, head cocked and muscles tensed he made his way round the little hoval, the smell of wet wood and fowls accompanied again by that wild stench that clawed at his nose, not unpleasant but striking. The rain coming down had made the ground which was well trod mulching and muddy, his paws not completely sinking down into it but creating a squelching noise that he had to be mindful of not making. In an attempt to ease the amount of it and not give himself away he lifted his paws carefully, wary of putting too much weight down and sinking far in both because of the noise and because of the potential of it to hamper him should the need arise for him to be faster and cut in. \n\n\tA snarl came from within followed by silent and apprehensive clucking as he rounded the corner and made a small leap up the ramp that connected to the entrance, ducking down and shuffling himself inside. \nLightning illuminated a crowd of hens bunched together in one back corner, huddled together and quaking in fear and striding forward much like she owned the place was Sestria, the wood vixen, sure of herself and casually toying with her prey.\n\nShe was a reddish orange in color, her under pelt along her muzzle, inner neck and undercarriage cream white while her legs and ear tips were covered in midnight black. Two golden green eyes slanted in amusement twinkled above an elongated muzzle, pink tongue sweeping across it as the fox licked her chops.\n\n“My my my what a feast you all look and I almost was able to take care of your rooster as well~”\n\nThe chickens for their part didn’t reply, just gave off more fear scent at her words, some of them bracing themselves for what was to come next though Bran knew that they wouldn’t be fast enough. They weren’t built to be and that was why he had to act now! \n\n\tWith a growl turned snarl he leapt into her sailing through the air and tumbling into Sestria in a wild cacophony of limbs and teeth, the inertia of his pouncing her sending them both into the back wall, avians scattering in a bewildered mad dash to get out of the way and to safety. \n\nSestria was faster, her sharp teeth scoring along his paws and into his sides but he was heavier and in close quarters he used his bulk to slam her along the ground, scuffling straw and crashing into walls. \n\nAt one point they nearly locked jaws in a sparring match though he knew in that arena he would be the victor because of his considerable size advantage. \n\nHe could tell the moment that the fight went out of her when with a great heave he used a grip that he gained along her scruff to toss her against the side way, once, twice, thrice, a few good solid times before she slumped down, the last of his efforts earning a high pitched yip of pain as she lay there dazed. \n\n\tShe staggered to her paws and he followed before she fell out of the coop, to crash to the ground outside and he followed her pinning her down as she tried to roll over and onto her paws. \n\n\tIt was no use.\n\n\tHe had her in the worst possible position and they both knew it, her limbs relaxing as he placed a massive forepaw along her fluff chest, pinning her down in place and ensuring no escape.\n\n“I….should’ve known! The big blundering guard would be coming along at any moment to spoil my fun” she churred in some bemusement. “You just couldn’t have waited a bit longer and let me slake my modest appetite. No you just had to come along and spoil my fun and my dinner!”\n\n“The chickens aren’t yours to eat” he woofed back showing her his fangs. “They aren’t your fun nor to be attacked like you have tonight…”\n\n\t“Yeah and who’s going to stop me every time? You?” \n\n“It only takes once” he growled back. “I can hold you here until my humans come and then they’ll put an end to this!”\n\nShe shook but only in mock terror before laughing in his face, her bushy tail lashing along the muddied soil beneath her. \n\n“Why you’re no fun at all…..you attack me, won’t let me have dinner, beat the crap out of me and then have pushed me into the mud and made a mess of my fur and on top of that you’re going to hold me here and not let me up until your humans get here?” \n\n\t“That about sums it up Sestria. You picked the wrong ranch and the wrong chicken coop.”\n\n“Can’t blame a girl for trying” she whined in a coy way that he wasn’t sure he liked at all. “Mr Guarddog……”\n\t“It’s Bran.”\n\n“Right….Bran, is there some sort of a deal we could work out between us, just you and me? I have quite a few things I could bargain with, knowledge,remedies ....”\n\n“No, there’s nothing that you have that I would be able to bargain with even if I wanted to, which I don’t” he growled going nose to nose with her. “The chicken’s belong to my people, not me and they don’t bargain with anyone who kills their chickens. They punish…..\n\n\t“Yes yes they punish” she interrupted, taking him aback. \n\t\n“I bet that they punish you as well even though you live to serve them and live every moment of everyday at their beck and call, watching over their lands, guarding the other animals here weaker or more vulnerable than yourself~”\n\n\tShe studied him pensively, a coy smile growing along her narrow cunning snout. \n\n\t“They’ll no doubt punish both of us if you allow them to, me for killing chickens and you for not being faster responding and stopping me.” \n\n\t“I ‘HAVE’ stopped you” he growled with certainty. \n\n\t“Is that what you think, my adorable puppy? You really believe that you got here in time?” The vixen chuckled before it became a full blown laugh, her slender frame shaking slightly under his paw. It rankled him and made the fur along his spine stand on end, his hackles completely raised, his eyes widening as the implications of what she meant crashed down on him. \n\n\tIt was driven home further as she controlled herself long enough to motion her head back towards the coop and the southern edge of it, his gaze following where she was nodding towards to the limp form of a particularly plump hen, laying mangled on her side, eyes staring blankly up into the sky. Blood spattered the ground as another crack of thunder shook the sky above, making the scene stand out more starkly, his heart sinking and his blood running cold. \n\n\tHe turned back to her, ready to pummel her and take vengeance, only to find she wasn’t there. \n\n\t“Much as this has been fun dog, I must be away now.”\n\nShe quipped, already bounding off towards the forest to the east. \n\n“Tah tah friend! Hahahahaha hahhh!” \n\nTricked!\n\nWith a snarl he bounded after her, the rain pelting them both as they flew over the ground. Part of him wanted to hurl insults her way though he knew it was probably more wise to conserve his energy to keep up with her and eventually catch her. \n\nAdrenaline coursed through him as they passed the farm and then neared the tree line as he pushed himself more intensely, knowing that once they entered the forest it would be more difficult and far less likely that he would be able to catch up to her. The flurries of wild wind lashed the foliage above them, white cedar, red maple and tamaracks blurred as he entered the dark of the woods. He cursed under his breath as they went further, knowing that his chances for getting justice were dwindling away even as the tongues of wind rolled the leaves above like the waves of an unforgiving green sea.\n\nThen it happened. \n\nUp ahead Sestria cleared a log in a giant leap, her paintbrush white tail gliding over it in a flash of burnished red, muted by the blue haze of the stormy night. Branches up ahead and vines hung down at odd intervals here and there and as he made his own jump over the same log he nearly stumbled over some of them draped over it in a wet mesh that met his paws and unbalanced him before another, whipped into his face and sent him sprawling into the undergrowth on his side, the skid causing him to yelp in pain. \n\n“Ses…..Sestria! Where….where are you? SESTRIA!!”\n\nSomething whizzed past his face before hitting the back of his head hard causing spots to dance along the edges of his vision, then came the second blow and the world faded away into blackness~\n\n\n******\n\n\nDark shapes followed by bursts of color, whirred through his vision accompanied by throbbing pain at the back of his skull. Blearily he tried to get to his paws before crumpling down onto his side, the effort making his legs give way beneath him as his bulk splash into a puddle that had formed along the soft giving ground around him. The rain hadn’t stopped, if anything it seemed to have continued on and become more intense for however long he had been out. \n\n‘What….what was that? What happened to me?’\n\nGroggily he huffed and took a moment to gather his thoughts while studying the few stars that poked through the dark black cloud banks above, small white hot pin pricks of light a long long ways away. Sestria had escaped him. \nThere was no other way around it. \n\nThe fox had managed to kill one of the chickens and then gotten off scott free without so much as a scratch. He had been close to delivering justice and getting revenge or at the least teaching her that there was a price to pay for intruding on his territory and that of his family. But then he hesitated for some reason he wasn’t sure of. It hadn’t been because he wasn’t capable or felt bad for her in the slightest, his time growing up had been filled with expectations of always protecting his ranch, his humans and the other animals that he was entrusted to safeguard. \nEven back in his puppyhood it had been drilled into him day in and day out that he wasn’t allowed to falter in his duty to wherever he ended up. \n\nGrandiloquent was his to safeguard and tonight he had allowed one of the chickens to be murdered and the culprit that he had caught red pawed to escape, though the more he thought about it the more and more a sliver of unease gripped his heart and made his stomach twist with uncertainty. \n\nShe had slipped away from him too easily almost as if she had planned out every move, talked and diverted his attention just long enough to be able to wriggle away. After that Sestria had kept just far enough ahead of him to lead him into the forest and then just as he was about to close in the forest had acted almost of its own accord, though he somehow doubted that that was the case. It was too convenient for the vixen and too much of a coincidence that something had attacked him, the movement that he was ready to corner her.\n\nThere wasn’t a possibility that it had been the log or his miscalculating how far the jump over it was though it had been a close call. Nor was it the fox herself. \n\nWhatever it was that had bashed into him before he lost consciousness and been big, heavy and moved faster than he had had time to register, nothing but two blurs of motion that had deftly sent him tumbling and allowed Sestria to get away. \n\nIt had been something or someone that either was supporting her and had helped her in a pinch or maybe a mistake or blunder made by an unsuspecting creature.\n\nAfter some time he picked himself up and began following his own scent trail back the way he had come, before too long coming to the edge of the trees and once again out into the open. \n\nFiguring out the extent of Sestria’s support would probably be paramount priority in the coming days once things had settled down. He only hoped that he’d be able to resolve whatever conflict with the vixen lay ahead soon and bring her to justice for what she had done….\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "   Bran
A Grand Beginning



A light misty drizzle came down, descending in such a way that made Bran's whiskers tingle not unpleasantly at the sensation. At first it was a pin prick of feeling at the edges of his conscious awareness expanding gradually into more of a noticeable sensation that soon would require his full attention. He allowed it, laying with his back curled into a fluffy contented ball, his black twitching nose poking out in a haphazard way through his hind paws and his fluffy tail. His gossamer coat was silky and had only just been cleaned, his humans having just given him a bath a few hours beforehand. An amused smirk graced his muzzle as he thought about how annoyed they would be at him now for allowing himself to get all wet and dirty again.

Unfolding himself he slowly got to his paws and gave himself a shake before stretching out first one hind leg and then the other. He lived for this!

Being a smooth collie he was athletic and fit, his slightly longer narrow snout just below two golden brown eyes and above those, two button half mast ears that flopped over themselves for a majority of the time, one of the features that at times gave away his personality.

One flicked forward at the sharp sound of squawking to the east. Then the other followed suit as he strained his eyes and focused all of his attention towards the sounds. At first there was nothing and he tensed up, the air heavy and laced with tension even as the booming sounds of thunder roared overhead and lightning forked across the sky. Then just at the pinprick of vision, barely visible came a shape, stumbling along and trying to make its way closer and closer.Scuttling along with the faint sounds of distressed clucking along the wind.

\tBran bolted towards the lone figure, leaping out into the deluge and woofing an alarm though he doubted anyone towards the homestead would hear him over the cacophony of the storm.

\tAs he neared he recognized what his nose had already told him.

\tIt was Emory, the residential rooster for the ranch. He was an older bird though stout enough and plucky as you please, a regular rhode island red. However his saffron comb had always been tilted slightly more to the left side, providing him a more bedraggled worn out look to him than perhaps warranted his true age which wasn’t all that old.

\tEmory at most times made no bones about playing up being older however, whenever the opportunity presented itself for him to garner sympathy from anyone who paid him mind. He strutted around the hen house and went about pecking away at the ground much like any other chicken and had no trouble crowing early each morning in his screechy, warbling way. But when it came to running races or play or anything that took a bit more energy he was the first to pull the age card. Bran had had it happen quite a few times himself when he had tried to enlist the rooster into a game of tug of war or racing out in the pastures.

\tThe answer had always been no because Emory didn’t have time for that sort of nonsense anymore and had a reputation to uphold or something along those lines.

\tNow though he truly looked worried and beat up, feathers askew and some of them lost as he made a mad dash towards Bran. The metallic tangy scent of blood permeated the bird as Bran neared, pungent and fresh and accompanied with several scars along his feathered body.

“Help! Help! Bra…..Bran!! Thank goodness!!”

\t“Emory ... .what's happened!?”Bran woofed.

The rooster gave himself a shake and in the process nearly collapsed.

\tUpon closer inspection Bran could tell that he was absolutely exhausted, his chest heaving and beak parted in a slack jawed way as the bird tried to catch his breath.

\t“It’s that fox again! She…….she’s ravaged us….the entire coop!”

“Oh no….”Bran said, his ears flicking to the East and towards the woods off in the distance, somewhat impressed that the old bird had made it so far in his mad dash.
\t
‘Probably helped by adrenaline and being terrified’ he thought to himself.

“You stay here and rest. I’ll go see what can be done! She hasn’t run off yet has she?”

“Last I knew she still was in our house” Emory squawked. “She came in and I confronted her, being the head rooster and proprietor of our fine establishment and wouldn’t ya know it, she attacked me. Didn’t let me get two words in edgewise or get around ta’ askin her what she thought that she was doing waking us all up in the middle of the night! The nerve of some folks!”

“I’ll see what I can do!”Bran woofed as he dashed past Emory.

“Hurry young buck! She was a fixin’tuh fight and steal as many of our hard earned eggs as she can! Don’t let her get away with it sonny boy!”

“I won’t Emory!”Bran said, yelling back over his shoulder as he hurried on, his voice drowned out by a particularly loud clap of thunder.

The old rooster was still saying something else but but then Bran couldn’t hear him, the old cracked and worn voice fading behind him as he threw himself forward, sailing over the fields and through the pastures, every while his paws completely leaving the ground as he leapt through and over fence poles, just narrowly missing them but navigating his way through with the practice of and muscle memory that comes with someone familiar with their layout.

\tHe was grateful that his days spent jumping over or through them were paying off now as he soon passed by the saddle shed, the machine shed and the stables before making his way up and slightly to the north east, the hen house situated just where the edges of Grandiloquent Ranch met Hikum Farm. Stealthily he padded over towards one of the edges of the fenced in enclosure, sniffing along the ground and finding exactly what he was looking for almost instantly.

\tAt first he didn’t pick up much more than a wild smell that didn’t belong.

\tAnd then it grew and was accompanied by a set of smaller paw prints next to the longer, wiry tracks left by chickens.  

\tThe set didn’t fit in and were a stark contrast to the many trails that evidenced the paths of the fowls in the barnyard, very much like his own save that they were smaller and more delicate, nearly feline in their utility and patterns of motion.

They were wild and belonged to the one vulpine who lately had become more bold in her ventures as well as daring in what she was willing to risk.

“Sestria~”

He breathed the name in almost a whisper as he barely suppressed a growl from rumbling up through his throat and giving himself away. More than anything he wanted to keep the element of surprise on his side,ideally being able to stop the vagabond in her tracks and before any true damage was done though it didn’t seem likely that that outcome was a realistic one.

Slipping under the chainlink fence and timing it so that its rattle sounded during a loud thunderclap he shivered inwardly remembering how beat up and bloodied Emory had been.

\tCreeping forward, head cocked and muscles tensed he made his way round the little hoval, the smell of wet wood and fowls accompanied again by that wild stench that clawed at his nose, not unpleasant but striking. The rain coming down had made the ground which was well trod mulching and muddy, his paws not completely sinking down into it but creating a squelching noise that he had to be mindful of not making. In an attempt to ease the amount of it and not give himself away he lifted his paws carefully, wary of putting too much weight down and sinking far in both because of the noise and because of the potential of it to hamper him should the need arise for him to be faster and cut in.

\tA snarl came from within followed by silent and apprehensive clucking as he rounded the corner and made a small leap up the ramp that connected to the entrance, ducking down and shuffling himself inside.
Lightning illuminated a crowd of hens bunched together in one back corner, huddled together and quaking in fear and striding forward much like she owned the place was Sestria, the wood vixen, sure of herself and casually toying with her prey.

She was a reddish orange in color, her under pelt along her muzzle, inner neck and undercarriage cream white while her legs and ear tips were covered in midnight black. Two golden green eyes slanted in amusement twinkled above an elongated muzzle, pink tongue sweeping across it as the fox licked her chops.

“My my my what a feast you all look and I almost was able to take care of your rooster as well~”

The chickens for their part didn’t reply, just gave off more fear scent at her words, some of them bracing themselves for what was to come next though Bran knew that they wouldn’t be fast enough. They weren’t built to be and that was why he had to act now!

\tWith a growl turned snarl he leapt into her sailing through the air and tumbling into Sestria in a wild cacophony of limbs and teeth, the inertia of his pouncing her sending them both into the back wall, avians scattering in a bewildered mad dash to get out of the way and to safety.

Sestria was faster, her sharp teeth scoring along his paws and into his sides but he was heavier and in close quarters he used his bulk to slam her along the ground, scuffling straw and crashing into walls.

At one point they nearly locked jaws in a sparring match though he knew in that arena he would be the victor because of his considerable size advantage.

He could tell the moment that the fight went out of her when with a great heave he used a grip that he gained along her scruff to toss her against the side way, once, twice, thrice, a few good solid times before she slumped down, the last of his efforts earning a high pitched yip of pain as she lay there dazed.

\tShe staggered to her paws and he followed before she fell out of the coop, to crash to the ground outside and he followed her pinning her down as she tried to roll over and onto her paws.

\tIt was no use.

\tHe had her in the worst possible position and they both knew it, her limbs relaxing as he placed a massive forepaw along her fluff chest, pinning her down in place and ensuring no escape.

“I….should’ve known! The big blundering guard would be coming along at any moment to spoil my fun” she churred in some bemusement. “You just couldn’t have waited a bit longer and let me slake my modest appetite. No you just had to come along and spoil my fun and my dinner!”

“The chickens aren’t yours to eat” he woofed back showing her his fangs. “They aren’t your fun nor to be attacked like you have tonight…”

\t“Yeah and who’s going to stop me every time? You?”

“It only takes once” he growled back. “I can hold you here until my humans come and then they’ll put an end to this!”

She shook but only in mock terror before laughing in his face, her bushy tail lashing along the muddied soil beneath her.

“Why you’re no fun at all…..you attack me, won’t let me have dinner, beat the crap out of me and then have pushed me into the mud and made a mess of my fur and on top of that you’re going to hold me here and not let me up until your humans get here?”

\t“That about sums it up Sestria. You picked the wrong ranch and the wrong chicken coop.”

“Can’t blame a girl for trying” she whined in a coy way that he wasn’t sure he liked at all. “Mr Guarddog……”
\t“It’s Bran.”

“Right….Bran, is there some sort of a deal we could work out between us, just you and me? I have quite a few things I could bargain with, knowledge,remedies ....”

“No, there’s nothing that you have that I would be able to bargain with even if I wanted to, which I don’t” he growled going nose to nose with her. “The chicken’s belong to my people, not me and they don’t bargain with anyone who kills their chickens. They punish…..

\t“Yes yes they punish” she interrupted, taking him aback.
\t
“I bet that they punish you as well even though you live to serve them and live every moment of everyday at their beck and call, watching over their lands, guarding the other animals here weaker or more vulnerable than yourself~”

\tShe studied him pensively, a coy smile growing along her narrow cunning snout.

\t“They’ll no doubt punish both of us if you allow them to, me for killing chickens and you for not being faster responding and stopping me.”

\t“I ‘HAVE’ stopped you” he growled with certainty.

\t“Is that what you think, my adorable puppy? You really believe that you got here in time?” The vixen chuckled before it became a full blown laugh, her slender frame shaking slightly under his paw. It rankled him and made the fur along his spine stand on end, his hackles completely raised, his eyes widening as the implications of what she meant crashed down on him.

\tIt was driven home further as she controlled herself long enough to motion her head back towards the coop and the southern edge of it, his gaze following where she was nodding towards to the limp form of a particularly plump hen, laying mangled on  her side, eyes staring blankly up into the sky. Blood spattered the ground as another crack of thunder shook the sky above, making the scene stand out more starkly, his heart sinking and his blood running cold.

\tHe turned back to her, ready to pummel her and take vengeance, only to find she wasn’t there.

\t“Much as this has been fun dog, I must be away now.”

She quipped, already bounding off towards the forest to the east.

“Tah tah friend! Hahahahaha hahhh!”

Tricked!

With a snarl he bounded after her, the rain pelting them both as they flew over the ground. Part of him wanted to hurl insults her way though he knew it was probably more wise to conserve his energy to keep up with her and eventually catch her.

Adrenaline coursed through him as they passed the farm and then neared the tree line as he pushed himself more intensely, knowing that once they entered the forest it would be more difficult and far less likely that he would be able to catch up to her. The flurries of wild wind lashed the foliage above them, white cedar, red maple and tamaracks blurred as he entered the dark of the woods. He cursed under his breath as they went further, knowing that his chances for getting justice were dwindling away even as the tongues of wind rolled the leaves above like the waves of an unforgiving green sea.

Then it happened.

Up ahead Sestria cleared a log in a giant leap, her paintbrush white tail gliding over it in a flash of burnished red, muted by the blue haze of the stormy night. Branches up ahead and vines hung down at odd intervals here and there and as he made his own jump over the same log he nearly stumbled over some of them draped over it in a wet mesh that met his paws and unbalanced him before another, whipped into his face and sent him sprawling into the undergrowth on his side, the skid causing him to yelp in pain.

“Ses…..Sestria! Where….where are you? SESTRIA!!”

Something whizzed past his face before hitting the back of his head hard causing spots to dance along the edges of his vision, then came the second blow and the world faded away into blackness~


******


Dark shapes followed by bursts of color, whirred through his vision accompanied by throbbing pain at the back of his skull. Blearily he tried to get to his paws before crumpling down onto his side, the effort making his legs give way beneath him as his bulk splash into a puddle that had formed along the soft giving ground around him. The rain hadn’t stopped, if anything it seemed to have continued on and become more intense for however long he had been out.

‘What….what was that? What happened to me?’

Groggily he huffed and took a moment to gather his thoughts while studying the few stars that poked through the dark black cloud banks above, small white hot pin pricks of light a long long ways away. Sestria had escaped him.
There was no other way around it.

The fox had managed to kill one of the chickens and then gotten off scott free without so much as a scratch. He had been close to delivering justice and getting revenge or at the least teaching her that there was a price to pay for intruding on his territory and that of his family. But then he hesitated for some reason he wasn’t sure of. It hadn’t been because he wasn’t capable or felt bad for her in the slightest, his time growing up had been filled with expectations of always protecting his ranch, his humans and the other animals that he was entrusted to safeguard.
Even back in his puppyhood it had been drilled into him day in and day out that he wasn’t allowed to falter in his duty to wherever he ended up.

Grandiloquent was his to safeguard and tonight he had allowed one of the chickens to be murdered and the culprit that he had caught red pawed to escape, though the more he thought about it the more and more a sliver of unease gripped his heart and made his stomach twist with uncertainty.

She had slipped away from him too easily almost as if she had planned out every move, talked and diverted his attention just long enough to be able to wriggle away. After that Sestria had kept just far enough ahead of him to lead him into the forest and then just as he was about to close in the forest had acted almost of its own accord, though he somehow doubted that that was the case. It was too convenient for the vixen and too much of a coincidence that something had attacked him, the movement that he was ready to corner her.

There wasn’t a possibility that it had been the log or his miscalculating how far the jump over it was though it had been a close call. Nor was it the fox herself.

Whatever it was that had bashed into him before he lost consciousness and been big, heavy and moved faster than he had had time to register, nothing but two blurs of motion that had deftly sent him tumbling and allowed Sestria to get away.

It had been something or someone that either was supporting her and had helped her in a pinch or maybe a mistake or blunder made by an unsuspecting creature.

After some time he picked himself up and began following his own scent trail back the way he had come, before too long coming to the edge of the trees and once again out into the open.

Figuring out the extent of Sestria’s support would probably be paramount priority in the coming days once things had settled down. He only hoped that he’d be able to resolve whatever conflict with the vixen lay ahead soon and bring her to justice for what she had done….
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