Fox Lost (The Madison Wolves)

by Robin Roseau

  Wolf greetings tended to involve a lot of wet, slimy tongue. I was known to offer the same style of greeting, but I tended to prefer nuzzling instead. I rubbed my face along Scarlett's cheek, then Angels, and they both took a moment to stroke my fur.

  Everyone liked to stroke my fur. I couldn't exactly blame them.

  "May we come to dinner, Michaela?" Scarlett asked. Like they had to ask. I chuffed at them.

  Lara stepped out, still on two feet. She looked around then pulled out her phone. "Are you coming?"

  I heard Elisabeth's response. "Sorry, yes. I'm on my way. Do you have enough security?"

  "Serena, Emanuel, Karen and Eric," Lara replied. "And Angel."

  "I'll catch up," Elisabeth said. "Tell the fox to behave."

  Lara laughed. "You heard her, Michaela. Angel, I'm sorry, but you're on duty."

  "Angel," Serena said, "You're with Emanuel and Eric." Emanuel was the lead enforcer for Rebecca and Celeste. With Elisabeth not there and Karen in fur, Serena was acting head enforcer, at least until Elisabeth arrived. Not even Lara would override her without a very good reason. "Fox, will you be watching over the pups?"

  Silly question. I chuffed agreement.

  "Scarlett, do you mind helping her?"

  Scarlett smiled. "I'd love to." Both girls adored Scarlett, and she loved them deeply.

  "Let's go," Lara said. She shifted right out of her clothes, the same way I had, and Serena was only seconds behind her. Lara howled, and the entire pack took off for the north.

  We quickly split into two somewhat amorphous groups; most of the pack was in the front group, but the pups couldn't run as quickly, and they set the pace for the second group. It was a pace I could keep, but it wouldn't be too many years before my babies could easily outrace me.

  None of that kept Rebecca and Celeste from trying to keep up with the older wolves, but as the faster group pulled well ahead of us, the pups slowed down and became easily distracted. Rebecca stalked a leaf that had blown across her path, and Celeste decided it was time to stalk Mommy Fox. Mommy Fox was more interested in running, so I ran Celeste around the group twice then ran past Rebecca, knowing my flashing tail would catch her attention. Pretty soon I had two wolf pups chasing me, and a moment later, Scarlett was at my side, flashing her tail at the pups as well.

  We all ran.

  Around us, the enforcers kept us safe. We were running slowly enough that Lara was able to take a few big bounds and jumped right over the pups and me in one great leap; she was magnificent. I chuffed at her.

  We ran a couple of miles until the pups began to lag. I huffed twice and pulled our group to a stop. Rebecca and Celeste both plopped down in the dirt, panting heavily. Scarlett curled up next to them, offering a little warmth and protection.

  Lara nuzzled her daughters for a moment, giving them a few licks, then offered one to Scarlett as well. She looked at me and offered a wolfy grin. I yawned at her and sat down, not interested in the game she wanted to play. Lara bowed to me, but I lay down instead of bowing back.

  Sometimes Lara pushed it, making me play even when I didn't want to. I didn't mind playing, but I couldn't watch the babies and play with her at the same time, and it wasn't fair to make Scarlett babysit them while we played.

  I let the pups catch their breath, then I shifted to human for a minute. "Lara," I said, "Do you think they're old enough to learn how to hunt rabbits?"

  She looked at her daughters, cocking her head to the side, then chuffed at me.

  "Fox style or wolf style?" I asked.

  She walked over to me and gave me a quick lick. Fox style it was.

  I turned to the pups. "Celeste. Rebecca." They both lifted their noses to me. "Do you want to catch a rabbit?"

  They both jumped to their feet, exhaustion forgotten.

  "Come here," I told them. It was only two steps, but I didn't want them running around again. "Sit back down and listen." I waited. They were only two and a half, but they understood. And obeyed. They didn't always.

  "We're going to be very quiet," I said. "You will both do exactly what I do. When you're older, Mommy Wolf will teach you how to hunt like a wolf, but today you're going to learn to hunt like a fox." I looked at Scarlett. "You too."

  She chuffed and grinned at me.

  I looked around at the other wolves. "I wouldn't suppose you guys can be quiet as mice?" I knew they couldn't, but maybe they would at least try.

  The pack had for years kept deer farms to raise deer for release on pack lands. A year ago, they added rabbits to the list, my preferred prey. When I was hunting here only sporadically, it hadn't been necessary, and it probably wasn't really necessary now, either, but by periodically releasing wild rabbits on the pack lands, I could hunt more often without depleting the supply. Still, we wouldn't find any very close; the trail we were on was well traveled, and the rabbits stayed away from the wolf trails.

  "We'll go west," I said, pointing. I cocked my head, listening. In the distance, I could hear the rest of the pack. There were a variety of birds, and I thought I heard a squirrel in a tree to the east, but I didn't hear any rabbits yet. That would change if we headed west a half-mile or so.

  "Let's go," I said. I shifted back to fox and turned west. The pups immediately began following me, joined immediately by the rest of the wolves. I took three steps then turned my head to look. Celeste and Rebecca were following me, but I wanted them beside me.

  I stopped then did a human gesture. I patted the ground next to me. Rebecca raced her sister to reach the spot, and they tussled until I huffed at them. I nudged them apart then stepped between them, nudging them further apart so I had room to walk between them. Then I took two steps and made sure they walked alongside me.

  I used my ears to track everyone else. Scarlett was off my left haunch, watching, and the rest were arrayed behind me, letting me take point.

  I began trotting through the undergrowth, leading a route with few obstacles that would cause noise.

  Scarlett knew how to walk quietly now, so when she disturbed some leaves, I knew it was intentional. I froze in place and everyone else froze with me. I licked both my daughters once, hoping they would know they should stay where they were, then I turned around and stopped in front of Scarlett.

  Both girls sat and watched.

  I nosed the leaves she had disturbed then gently batted her nose. She hung her head, feigning embarrassment. It was a lesson for the girls, and I licked her once in thanks for giving me the opportunity. Then I stepped between the pups and turned us west again.

  Every time any of the three of them made noise, I turned to them and huffed very quietly. Pretty soon, all three were as quiet as I could expect them.

  I knew baby wolf attention spans wouldn't be very long, so I used my ears while I led us to a little clearing that frequently had rabbits near it. I kept everyone far quieter than we needed to be; I would hear the rabbits long before they would hear us, and as long as we weren't horribly loud, we could be almost on top of the rabbits before they would bolt, anyway.

  But moving quietly was good practice for all of them.

  I glanced over at Lara. She offered a wolfy smile at me. A glance at the enforcers showed them alert but calm.

  Then I heard Elisabeth on our back trail, and she wasn't being particularly quiet. I froze and huffed annoyance. But without making noise of our own, there wasn't any way to ask her to move more quietly. I froze us in place again.

  If the pups hadn't been along, I wouldn't have worried about it. But I wanted them to have a reward for their patience, and I was pretty sure it wouldn't last much longer. I shifted to human and pulled them both closer.

  "You two are both being very good," I whispered to them. "We'll wait for auntie Elisabeth, and then we'll go catch that rabbit I can hear. If we're very, very quiet, we'll be able to sneak very close, and then we can pounce on them. Are you two ready to pounce?"

  For that, I got a couple of licks.

  I nuzzled both of them, gi
ving them affection while waiting for Elisabeth. She arrived a minute later, and it took her only a second or two, looking at all the adult wolves, to realize the game. She held back and I looked into her eyes. She chuffed once, letting me know she understood, and I turned back to the pups.

  "If we make a little noise, the rabbits won't hide," I said, "but as we get closer, we need to be very, very quiet. If we scare them away, anyway, we can try again another day." I pushed them both back into position beside me then shifted back to fox. I fluffed out my fur, listened, then began moving forward at a careful pace.

  I hadn't actually heard any rabbits yet, but I knew I would soon, and my confidence was confirmed a minute or two later when I heard a couple of rabbits right at the edge of my hearing.

  I froze and cocked my head. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rebecca mirroring me, although I knew she wouldn't be able to hear anything. I looked over at Lara, but she yawned. She couldn't smell them yet. They were right at the edge of my hearing, and there were a lot of smells between them and us, so I wasn't surprised.

  I listened for another moment then changed our direction. I lost the sound, but I had a pretty good idea where they were. I took us to within a hundred yards, and I could hear their little hearts beating. I kept us quiet but not overly quiet until we were about fifty yards, then I froze us.

  Both pups were sniffing like mad, and Celeste was practically quivering with excitement.

  Lara, stepping very carefully, moved closer, taking a position off my right, on the other side of Rebecca. Scarlett was watching Celeste.

  After that, I took one step at a time. It wasn't necessary to be that careful, but it was good practice, and I knew it would be harder for the wolves to be silent. I had to circle us around a clump of bushes; I could have gone under them and made almost no noise, and the pups were small enough they could have followed me, but it would have been nearly impossible for the wolves to move through silently.

  We reached the edge of a small clearing, one hardly worth mentioning. There were two rabbits just on the other side of the clearing. I froze so the rest of my little hunting party was still hidden from view. By now, everyone knew where the rabbits were, even though they couldn't see them. The wolves wouldn't have their positions as accurately as I did, but it was close enough.

  I couldn't decide if it was best to let Celeste and Rebecca chase the rabbits. I was pretty sure they wouldn't catch one on their first try, after all. Or was it more important for them to see how it was done.

  Lara decided for me. Taking very careful steps, she poked her nose into the clearing, and I saw her muscles tense. We were going to show the pups what to do. Lara could probably leap on them from where she was, but she probably couldn't see them yet.

  I stepped into the clearing, moving silently. I was proud of my little pups; they moved with me, equally quiet, moving through the grass. Lara let us get ahead of her.

  I took us to within ten yards. The rabbits froze. I froze. They had heard one of us. I tensed my muscles.

  I wasn't sure who leapt first. It may have been Celeste, or it may have been Scarlett, seeing Celeste couldn't control herself anymore. But suddenly there were two wolves after one rabbit.

  Rebecca, not to be outdone, dashed after the other one. Lara made two bounds and caught Rebecca's rabbit. Rebecca leapt onto the rabbit as well. Scarlett caught the first rabbit, and Celeste was fighting her for it.

  I bounced forward, huffed once at Celeste, then tapped her very gently when she didn't release the rabbit.

  We don't fight over food.

  Celeste still fought Scarlett for the rabbit, so I pounced on her, rolling her onto her back and taking her throat. My baby immediately went limp. I squeezed very lightly, and she whimpered at me, so I released her and climbed off.

  She rolled over onto her stomach and sat up. And that was when Scarlett dropped the rabbit between her paws.

  Celeste looked up at me, and I chuffed at her, so she threw herself at the rabbit, working at the neck. I glanced over, and Rebecca was doing the same with the rabbit Lara had caught while Lara watched her, a huge wolfy grin on her face.

  I shifted back to human. "Celeste."

  She stopped growling at her rabbit and froze.

  "We don't fight over food."

  She lifted her mouth from the rabbit and looked at me. Rabbit blood tinged the fur around her mouth.

  "I better never see you fight another wolf for food. Do I make myself clear?"

  She hung her head and chuffed once, very quietly.

  "Good. Now, go thank Scarlett for letting you help her catch the rabbit."

  I wasn't sure what she would do. She climbed off the rabbit and stepped up to Scarlett, then rolled onto her back, exposing her throat. Scarlett leaned over and gave her a quick lick.

  "Good girl," I said quietly. "And you were both very good during the hunt." I turned to Lara. "Pack shares, but this is hardly enough."

  Lara shifted herself. "Can you quickly find two more?"

  "Of course." I cocked my head. "The rest of the pack is heading this way. They'll scare the nearby game. I'll need to get some distance."

  "Serena, who else do you need?" She meant for my guard detail. Serena stepped over to Angel and bumped her.

  "How long do you need, Michaela?"

  I hadn't heard any other rabbits. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes," I said. "Less if Angel helps catch one."

  Serena huffed. Angel was on guard duty. I would have grabbed Scarlett, but Lara would want her with the pups.

  "Meet us back at the house then," Lara said.

  I turned around, jumped, and shifted to fox in the air. I loved doing that. I came down on four paws and headed west, Serena and Angel following me.

  I ran us west for five minutes at the best speed I could make without growing winded, then stopped and listened. It didn't take me more than a few seconds to identify more rabbits, and five minutes later, I had two more. Angel carried one of them for me. I shifted to human and said, "Serena, we'll move faster if the big wolf carries the second rabbit instead of the little fox."

  She huffed at me but picked up the second rabbit. I flowed into fox and set a path for the compound, the two wolves flanking me.

  Then I froze. I thought I heard something, a sound that didn't belong. Serena and Angel came to a stop next to me. I cocked my ears then turned around, facing back west, listening intently.

  The woods were quiet, quieter than they should be. There was a light breeze blowing through the leaves. I tuned that out. I tuned out the sounds Angel and Serena were making: breathing, their hearts beating, strong and sure, the blood whooshing through their veins.

  It was too early in the year for insects, but there should have been birds.

  In the distance, much further away than would have caused the birds to grow quiet, I could hear the other wolves moving towards the compound. I swiveled my ears away from them and tuned them out. I took two steps forward; Serena and Angel matched me. I turned to Serena, reaching out to draw a line in the forest floor. I did the same in front of Angel.

  Serena huffed. She wasn't going to let me leave without her. I didn't intend to leave; I only wanted them quiet. I drew the line again and took three small steps forward. Serena and Angel stayed where they were, but I was pretty sure if I went further, Serena would be at my side.

  I listened.

  I heard birds in the distance. I heard the trees groaning lightly. There were a couple of chipmunks to the south and, faint, more rabbits north of us. There were birds east of us, but I couldn't hear a single bird to the west or northwest.

  I listened for heartbeats. In these conditions, I could hear a mouse heartbeat at a hundred yards or thereabouts, and anything bigger than a mouse even further.

  Nothing.

  I looked over my shoulder at Serena and made a point of sniffing madly, then drew another line in the forest floor. She dropped her rabbit and stepped up to me. I stepped back two steps. Serena began sniffing carefully.
>
  I could tell right away she smelled something. She grew alert, and she continued to sniff. I stopped watching her and went back to listening, but I couldn't hear anything I shouldn't.

  Serena flowed into human and turned to me.

  "Something died out there," she said quietly. "I can't tell what. It's faint. Do you hear anything?"

  It was chilly, and I didn't feel like flowing into human skin to talk. I yawned, a calming signal. It was a good way to say 'no'.

  "So, whatever you thought you heard, it's too far away to pick up a heartbeat?"

  I yawned again.

  "Maybe a car on the road?" she said. While the pack owned the land immediately around us, there were roads that passed through our territory. They weren't used that often, but they did get some traffic. I didn't know what I'd heard, but I didn't think it had been a car. But it was probably nothing. I yawned and looked over my shoulder towards the compound.

  "Michaela," Serena said, "You're not normally given to false alarms. You know I take you seriously."

  I looked at her. Then I looked at Angel. There were only three of us, and I was worthless without my silver. If there was anything out there that needed investigating, this wasn't the right group to do it. I turned towards the compound and took two steps.

  I heard as Serena shifted back to wolf. I waited for her to pick up her rabbit, but instead she stepped over to a tree and lifted a leg, marking the tree. I'd seen the wolves do that before, but it was rare; it scared the game. But any of the wolves would now readily find this tree. I huffed quietly, just once, and then Serena picked up her rabbit, and we turned towards the compound.

  I listened carefully the entire time. After a minute or so, the forest immediately around us was filled with all the right sounds.

  But back behind us, I still didn't hear any birds.

  When we arrived at the compound, everyone else was already there, still in fur, but they had waited for us. Serena and Angel dropped their rabbits next to the others. I shifted to two feet, grabbing a blanket from the edge of the porch.