NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3 ‘Eccentric Ensemble of Creatures’
‘Gods, this is annoying!’
Turning around, Leion growled at the little fox nibbling on his tail. The sharp teeth barely hurt, but it was the sheer persistence that grated on his nerves.
‘Leave me alone!’
With his attention diverted, another slightly larger fox took the opportunity to tackle him. This resulted in Leion flipping him onto his back paws up. A bad position.
He was completely pinned.
Swiping at the gathering crowd of foxes, Leion attempted a quick escape. Unfortunately, just as he managed to free himself and stand, the biggest of the three pounced on him. Feeling his new limbs trembling due to the added weight, Leion mustered up all his remaining strength.
Sadly, it was simply not meant to be.
The now-free remaining foxes took the time to swipe at his hind legs.
Leion collapsed in the snow.
‘I’m so done with this!’
Curling up on himself, Leion decided to wait. The cubs should lose interest… eventually. To fight them right now was only encouraging them with their play.
‘Where did their mother go!?’
The first time Leion was assaulted by these cubs, their mother stepped in and rescued him. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck—not unpleasant as it sounds—she placed him a safe distance away. She did this a second time too, as well as a third. However, the fourth time, she laid uncaring in the snow, observing their surroundings.
‘What a terrible mo- OW!’
A light bite on the ear reminded Leion of his current situation.
He really was going to just have to wait them out.
It was finally over.
Sneaking a peak from his position, Leion eyeballed the cubs a few feet from him.
He had underestimated them greatly. Or, more accurately, he had overestimated himself. Naturally assuming he was a fully grown tiger was his first mistake.
‘Well, I can’t be entirely sure they aren’t freakily huge foxes’
Yeah, no, that was the least likely thing going on here. The entity that sent him down here loved story-telling. Cliché stories tell by the sound of it. Suspense, sorrow, and sadness, it said. What sort of cliche story started with the “hero” fully capable?
‘What are they doing over?’
Freeing himself from his thoughts, Leion fully turned his attention to the fox family. It… it looked like the cubs were feasting on some milk.
Leion shivered.
With the way they were shoving each other, you would think they were starving. Perhaps, noticing his intense glaring, the fox mother perked up in his direction. She gave a short bark while looking down at her feeding cubs.
‘Is she inviting me?’
Leion couldn’t help but feel a little disturbed. The behaviour of that mother fox was really odd. From saving him from her cubs to inviting him to feed, nothing about the way it acted felt right. It felt too intelligent, too calculating for a measly fox.
It was tempting for Leion to chalk its odd behaviour due to his unique situation. After all, becoming a new creature would naturally change the manner in which he viewed and understood the world. It wasn’t like Leion was truly used to this body. He still randomly felt overwhelmed by the flood of sharper, different senses. The mere scent of the fox cubs caused him to freeze for a moment. But, regardless of those points, there was one thing he knew for certain was odd.
Why didn’t the fox kill him?
Wasn’t it only natural for a creature to take out a future threat?
Standing up, Leion warily walked over to the mother fox.
Such behaviour was simply unnatural.
Arriving at the mother fox’s location, Leion debated his next course of action. It’s been two days since he woke up here. In the time, he has consumed scare of anything besides the snow he gorged on daily to keep the hunger at bay. Leion wasn’t longing to visit the entity so soon. As such, it wasn’t even a real choice.
Lowering himself, he prepared to feed on the last available spot.
The warm liquid flowed down into his gut. It tasted tonnes of foul, but Leion didn’t dare reject it. To would be letting the hunger interfere with his sleep. A few minutes passed with Leion in the position. Sucking it up until he felt his belly full.
‘Blegh, at least I can go sleep now’
Gazing at the fox cubs asleep on their mother’s breast, Leion shakily walked back to his spot. Content under the tree, he closed his eyes. Sleep was slow to come, but Leion waited patiently. His reward was soon due.
An abrupt rumbling in his gut sounded.
It appeared his gut had other ideas. Repeatedly trying to sway him to open his eyes. Leion didn’t concede. Not even his stomach burnt nor when the feeling travelled all the way up his throat. Finally reaching his mouth, Leion’s eyes flew open as vomit spewed forth.
This couldn’t be good.
It was colder today.
Laying opposite his spot around the tree, Leion continuedly munched on the snow present before him.
It was official his third day here. And, put plainly, the hunger was becoming harder and harder to ignore. At this current rate, Leion may actually die and face that entity a lot sooner than he hoped.
‘I can’t believe I’m going to out like this’
Leion had repeatedly tried to stomach the milk of the mother fox. Drinking as slowly as possible in order not to upset his stomach. It didn’t work. He threw up every time. Unable to secure any meal by himself, the outcome awaiting him was looking pretty bleak.
‘A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!’
Standing up, Leion went by the tree and took a bite. If he couldn’t stomach the milk, then he would fill his belly bark. A task considerably easier than wondering around searching for meat. At least with it in his gut, he could trick his body enough to fall back asleep.
Seeing his teeth unable to pierce the silver coating on the bark, Leion quickly came back to his senses and collapsed back down.
This was unbearable.
‘I need to clear my head…’
Deciding to check on the fox cubs, Leion compelled his body to stand once more. Trudging over to the open hole inside the ground a little way away from the tree, Leion peeked inside the surprisingly spacious burrow. In there, three cubs cosily slept.
‘No good weasels!’
The mother fox built this burrow the previous night, when the sky dimmed lightly. The night, unlike what Leion was used to, wasn’t that dark nor different from the day. To call it night felt somewhat extreme.
Leaving the burrow entrance, Leion stared at the cloudy sky. The day looked darker than before. Dropping his gaze, his eyes landed on the figure of the fox mother. She was still out and about, presumably watching for threats. Leion couldn’t blame the fox for the decision. The once distant roar seemed to grow stronger by the day.
The ears of the fox mother perked. Promptly, she stood and turned
Something was here.
Following her focus, silent dread built in Leion.
A leopard had come to visit.
The cub was acting strange.
Seeing it continuously bite at the tree filled the fox with more worry. The cub hadn’t fed well and it was behaving strangely. Observing the cub, the fox was tempted to try and comfort it.
ROOAAAAARRRRRR
A mighty, guttural roar announced the roaming presence of the master. It enticed all who heard it to flee. A once uncommon sound frequently echoed throughout land. Gone was the gentleness it formerly held, replaced by an unknown fury.
The fox chose to continue remaining still. With the gradual approach of the master, keeping a lookout became more vital. Nothing must happen to their cub. The fox couldn’t allow anything to happen. She bet the lives of not only herself but those of her cubs. By now, it was too late to leave and gain any considerate distance from the worsening cold.
The sole hope for the future of her family rested on the master calming down.
The fox snapped to attention.
A faint scent was carried in the air.
A quiet stalker had been eyeing them for some time.
Noticing its discovery, the creature exposed itself. A large, grey-spotted form stepped out from under the snow pile, advancing forward. Baring fangs, the fox prepared. Surprisingly, the eyes of the familiar creature weren’t fixed on the fox. No, they were fixed on the tree behind her.
Blocking the view of the cub, the fox placed herself directly in front of the creature. The creature, for its part, stopped its advance. Highly alert, the fox anchored its sights on the creature, taking its form in. It was then, in this state, did she notice something unusual. Tucked between the legs of the creature was a cub.
Meeting the eyes of the creature, a silent understanding was made. The fox walked back to the tree. Seeing the hesitation of the spotted, the fox barked at it. This wasn’t the first time they were meeting. They had met before and in similar circumstances. At the time, they had both been in desperate spots and attacked each other. It was only when the master suddenly appeared did they cease their battle. It was impossible to fight in front of the master. The calming aura the master carried made it undoable.
Reaching the tree, the fox showed the cub off.
It appeared that the cub really took after the master.