Nine Tales of Love (ErrorxInk)

Tale 1: Fearful Fox

A cool breeze gently ruffled the fur along Ink's ears- in response they flicked downward to prevent the wind from tickling the sensitive hairs on the inside. The sharp bite of the wind caused Ink to groggily open his eye sockets. Blinking slowly, Ink allowed his vision to swim as his eye lights adjusted to the darkened sky.

Firmly shaking his skull- to clear away his sluggishness- Ink stared ahead into the surrounding forest. Shuddering at the chill in the air, Ink realized that the sun had disappeared and that night had descended upon him.

Seems I was asleep longer than I had intended. He glanced briefly at his tails to see all nine of them glowing with their rainbow pattern, the one that had previously turned white- with the use of his healing magic- rejuvenated thanks to his nap.

Thankfully, a majority of them were still bundled into a tight ball- two firm weights on the bottom one's confirmed the presence of the kits inside. Small soul beats from them could be felt, and the resounding beats put Ink's own at ease. However, the lack of presence of the parent that the two kits belonged to caused him to grimace.

He had expected Pail to return a couple hours after leaving them, and had thus dozed off in hopes of her waking him up upon her return. Surprisingly, she had yet to come back, and it was instead the chill of the air that awoke him to find the sun long gone, and the realization that he had slept the entire day away.

Pail's been gone for an awfully long time now. It's night for goodness sake! I would think she would have immediately rushed back to her kits once she was done eating. She couldn't have gotten that bad at hunting, could she?

Ink hesitated at the thought of Pail trying to chase down food and failing miserably. Pfft. There's no way. She's one of the fastest foxes I know in Nidwons. It's not like she couldn't catch a measly rabbit or something. Her motivation should be at the max anyways, with the extra mouths she has to feed and all.

Ink clenched his teeth as the minutes turned into hours- the moon gradually rising higher and higher until it reached its peak. With the wind getting stronger as midnight progressed, Ink curled the remainder of his tails around him in a blanket of warmth. The gentle tinkling of the golden bell around his neck, alerted him to look upwards- massive black clouds had started to cover the stars and moon in a curtain of nothingness.

A storm is rolling in fast and it's almost midnight! Where could Pail have gone? I swear, if she abandoned her kits on me... Slight irritation bubbled in him, and Ink gave his ears an annoyed flick. Feeling his eye lights change, Ink could imagine them being a pair of two red skulls to showcase his scorn.

A muffled cry brought him out of his stupor and reminded him of the precious cargo he was still in charge of. He could feel small movements as the kits- apparently now awake- rolled and nipped at his bundled tails. Smirking at the tiny nibbles, Ink opened his tails and let the kits stumble out into his lap. Their fur was long enough that the night air would not bother them immediately, thus, Ink allowed them to come out.

They must be starving. I suppose it is way past their regular meal time. Ink meekly looked down at them as they chirped and whined- likely calling for food to feed their hungry bellies. Gently stroking the ear of the smaller kit- the one with similar coat pattern to Pail- Ink felt his soul tighten with pity.

"I'm sorry little ones, but I don't have anything to give you right now. Your mother should be back any secoo...nd..."

Ink abruptly stilled and quieted himself. Jerking his skull upwards, his ears swiveled around with surprise. What was............there!

Ink flicked his ears in a Northeast direction and focused. As if carried by the wind itself, a shrill scream traveled on the edges of it and faded into the distance. His eye lights flickered in distress, and Ink subconsciously let his tails puff up. Listening closer, Ink noticed that the scream wavered in tone suddenly, and then separated into multiple ones.