The Cat and the Fox

Chapter 12

            "MOONSTAR!" he growled. He swept his tail on the ground and groaned. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no," he whispered to himself. That was the Dark Forest Moonstar all along. Why had he fallen for such a stupid trick? Sure he was alive now, but he was a fox!
            "Hello?"
            Stonepaw gasped as he saw another older fox looking at him. "Why are you yelling?" she asked.
            "Um, no reason," Stonepaw replied.
            "My name is Chase. I've never seen you here before," she said.
            "That's because I'm not really a fox! I'm really a cat! Another cat turned me into a fox! I belong to the clans!"
            Chase laughed. "My, you young foxes and your imagination. That's silly talk. What is your name?"
            If he told Chase his warrior name, she would laugh again. It was probably a good idea to make friends while he was a fox. He sighed. "My name is Stone."
            "Nice to meet you Stone. Where are you from?" she asked.
            "Um...another forest far away. I came here looking for new foxes," he said.
            "Well you've stumbled into our hunting grounds. Follow me," Chase said.
            Stone nervously followed Chase behind some bushes. He was shocked when he saw a vast landscape full of foxes and their burrows. It stretched out for miles.
            "Fox paradise, huh?" Chase laughed. "Come on, you should meet some of the foxes."
            Stone followed Chase until they came upon an old red fox. "This is Rock, my mate," Chase said.
            "Who have you brought, Chase?"
            "Another fox. He claims he's from far away. We have some open burrows, don't we?"
            "Indeed. Good to meet you, Stone. I hope you'll join us on the annual hunt," he said. "New-leaf is coming, and soon the vixens will be expecting."
            Stone was utterly confused. What was the annual hunt? "S-sure. I'd love to come," he stammered.
            "Great," Rock said.
            "Rock leads them every year. He's basically leader you could say," Chase whispered.
            Chase led Stone away from Rock until they came upon a beautiful red fox. "Lily, would you come here?" Chase asked.
            "What is it, Mother? Who is this fox?" Lily asked.
            "This is Stone. He's from another forest. He'll be staying in these territories for awhile. Stone, this is my daughter, Lily."
            "How do you do?" Lily asked.
            "I'm good," Stone said. "It's a big place you've got here."
            Lily nodded. "I'm lucky to be raised in such a lovely landscape."
            Chase smiled. "Well, I'm introducing Stone to the different foxes. At least, the ones whose burrows are near here. There are so many foxes!"
            Stone nodded and followed Chase until they came upon yet another two foxes. They were both red foxes
            "This is Daisy," Chase said, pointing to the red fox. "Daisy, this is Stone."
            "Hi, Stone," Daisy said.
            "This is her mate, Arrow," Chase said, pointing to the darker red fox.
            "Hi there," Arrow said. "Will you be joining the other males for the annual hunt in new-leaf?" he asked.
            Stone nodded.
            "Well, I guess I'll find you an empty burrow now," Chase said. "I'll make it close to the foxes you've met since those are the only ones you know at the moment."
            Chase looked around until she found a small, empty burrow, just the right size for Stone. It was only a few yards away from Lily's burrow.
            "Well, I'll leave you to rest," Chase said. "It must've taken awhile to get here."
            "Thanks," Stone said.
            "Oh and one last thing," Chase said.
            "What?"
            "Beware of the greenish-yellow moss. It's deadly poisonous. Just touching it could kill you," she said.
            "I'll stay away," Stone said.
            "Good," Chase said and wandered away.
            Stone sighed and laid down in his burrow. How long would he be a fox? He couldn't contact StarClan at all. Stonecloud would do something, wouldn't she? Stone sighed. He only knew one thing that he could do. He was going to go to SnowClan at sunrise to ask a cat for help.