Hunter would be out in the wet forest, annoyed as ever. Why did it have to rain when he was ready to hunt? Since it was so wet, no birds were out and no larger prey were anywhere in sight. A mouse could suffice, though. Hunter would position his body into a hunter's crouch and focus on a mouse stupid enough to be wandering on the wet ground right now. The scent of the rodent would overflow his senses and he would leap. His jaws would gape open and one moment after, he swiftly would nab the mouse up from the ground and swiftly sink his teeth into its small body, causing it to fall limp. A little bit of triumph would fill up Hunter, giving him the extra boost he needed to not just go back to bed and worry about wolves all night.
Hunter would now remember his dream last night. Who was that fox looking at him in horror? It wasn't one of his parents, that's for sure. But who was it? Why did they look so familiar? It was so odd, it almost gave him a headache just thinking about it. And that Oct fox or whatever her name was. She was a strange Vixen. Remembering her now made Hunter feel alone, despite him being a loner all of his life, why would he all of the sudden feel it now?
"Hey! Who are you? State your name and purpose of stepping on Sun Territory." A loud and confident voice would shoot towards Hunter, startling him. He would get up from the mouse he ate and stare at a bright orange fox with burly features. He was quite large, nearly twice the size of Hunter. He could guess this fox was at least three Terra Cycles old.
"Oh. Seems I have stepped on.. Territory? What does that word mean?" Hunter would the big fox, turning his body to face his. The other fox seemed more disgusted than surprised by Hunter's response.
"You are inside of the living space of the Sun Tribe. If you aren't one of us, then I order you to leave. Now." Hunter would scoff and shrug.
"Look, It's not my problem if your 'tribe' or whatever doesn't know how to mark borders right or something. I smelt nothing walking over here! And my den isn't even that far from this spot." The bigger fox would growl at Hunter.
"Stop blabbering and leave this place. Now!" A smaller fox would walk up from behind the bigger one and put out a paw in front of him.
"Calm yourself, Power. It's just.. A cub." Power would tsk.
"That is no cub, Leap. He is clearly a fully-grown fox. TRESPASSING ON OUR TERRITORY!" Leap would sigh and walk up to Hunter, a calm expression on his face.
"Hey there, cub. I'm Deputy Leap of the Sun Tribe. Can I ask why you're here? Are you a messenger from one of the other tribes? What's your name, too? It'll help a lot."
Hunter would sit down and shrug. "Why do I have to tell you anything? I'm just living my life. No need for me to meddle in tribes. They mean nothing to me." Leap would nod, understanding now. "You are a lone fox. That's not very well known around here. May I see your mark?" Hunter would raise an eyebrow.
"What's a mark?" Leap would sit down now, closing his eyes. "Your mark is a spiritual signature hidden within you. When you focus hard enough and become one with the Earth for a moment, you can summon it to show others who you are kin to and what main attribute you are best in."
After Leap spoke, the air would fall silent.
"What are you doing? We need to chase him out-"
"Quiet, Power."
Leap would cut off Power, focusing once again.
Soon enough, a glowing green symbol would appear in front of Leap. It would hum quite loudly and would have the symbol of a fox jumping high in the air. Another symbol would be above the leaping fox which showed two smaller symbols linked by a line. Presumably, the symbols that created his, then. If that's how this whole "Mark" thing worked then.
"Now, show me yours, Cub. I'm just curious." Hunter would sigh and roll his eyes.
"You know what? Why not. It's not like I have anything else to do right now."
Hunter would close his eyes and feel his paws slowly flatten on the earth below him. After a while, it started to feel surreal. He could hear things he never could before, the breathing of the earth, the chirping of baby birds far away in hidden trees, the quiet burrowing of the eager worms because of the newly wet ground, and the beat of his heart and the Earth's becoming one. After another long moment, a symbol would now appear in front of Hunter. It wouldn't hum like Leap's but rather sound more like a growl. His symbol would glow a light red and would portray a fox standing proud on a rock, looking overhead at the land in front. The symbol would then fade into a new symbol of a fox with long fang teeth and claws that were sharp. The fox's eyes would glow a bright red and blood would cover most of his pelt.
"No.." Leap would trail off, looking up at the smaller symbols indicating his parents.
"No.. It can't be.."
"What is it, Deputy?" Power would ask, walking up to see the symbols himself. Power would gasp now, himself startled.
"This cub is.."
"The son of Deputy Force and Lady Bane." Leap would finish for Power.
YOU ARE READING
Foxes of Silver ForestSon of A Conqueror
FantasyHunter was born into this world without a parent figure to help him grow up. When he was barely a month old, his parents were taken away from him and left him to fend for himself. He fears the future's secrets but is also ready to take on whatever t...
