This is an excerpt from The Book of Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Legends of Menewsha: Volume 1 - Bestiary, written by literary historian, Sir Cassian Keane the Third.

Italicized text from an old bestiary Sir Keane referenced in his research.

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Heartface Fox, The
The hart-fase foxe is a creeture of some greate power. They were created to bee companyons to the people of Menewsha and comforte them in their sadnesse and celebrate with them in their joys.

Many tales exist, told in the old days by Menewshian grannies to children about the Heartface Fox. Once, every school-child knew the popular stories like: "How the Heart-Faced Fox Got an Ever-Changing Coat", "The Princess and the Fox With the Heart Face", and "The Hearted Fox Who Became a Man". In more modern times, there are few who know these delightful fairy stories. The following information has been gleaned from surviving tales, ancient bestiaries, and old illustrations.

* Classification
Kingdom - Magus Animalia
Class - Animabestia
Genus - Luxnocen Vulpes
Common Name - Heartfox/Heartface Fox

* Origin
There are many stories on how the Heartface Fox came to exist, but none of them quite agree. Some claim that when settlers first came to Menewsha, the Heartface Fox already roamed the island. Others tell of a magical toy-maker creating them for the children of Menewsha. Still others speak of a god or spirit creating them from the strong heart of a human hero named Pao who had both great good and great evil within him. But all tales agree that they were created on Menewsha.

+ Description
Overall, they resemble a rather large fox. They stand approximately two feet tall in the shoulder and are approximately two and a half feet long (not counting their tail). Their ears are long and sharply pointed. They have no eyes, but their faces have a heart-shaped marking of velvet-like short fur. Otherwise, their coats are either black or white, their tail being tipped in red.

+ Temperament
The Heartface Fox is a very social creature. They need the company of others to be happy. Though their individual personalities seem to vary from account to account, their cleverness appears to often get them into trouble unless they find a human companion to settle them. They are said to be excellent pets and can be trusted with children.

+ Abilities
As the Heartface Fox has no eyes, but is exceptionally agile, it is assumed they see via some other means.

Heartface Foxes change their coat color from white to black based on mood. Generally, it is their own mood - but their coat color can be influenced by their human companion's mood as well.

All tales report that they understand human language, particularly when accompanied by strong emotions. The Heartface Fox communicates through purring or chirruping sounds. They only speak in human language in tales where all animals speak/a human is able to speak the language of animals or when a Heartface Fox takes the form of a human.

+ Care and Feeding
The Heartface Fox will eat whatever it is presented with, but left on its own does not seem to eat at all. Instead, they seem to gain strength through the strong emotions of their human companions. According to tales, they love to be brushed or petted.

+ Life and Death Cycle
There are no tales that include references to a Heartface Fox cub. Many tales specifically stress that a certain number of them exist and will ever exist. There are few references to the death of a Heartface Fox and most tell of them simply disappearing for extended periods of time.

+ A Final Legend
There is a tale to explain the complete disappearance of the Heartface Fox from Menewsha. It is said that when magic was sealed away from Menewsha, the Heartface Foxes slowly faded out of existence because they need the presence of magic to sustain themselves.

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And here are links to any PMs Sir Keane has sent regarding the foxes!

1 - Fairy Tale: How the Heart-Face Fox Got an Ever-Changing Coat

2 - Fairy Tale: The Princess and the Fox With the Heart Face (Also: Information on Sir Keane himself and Barnabas the Dreamer.)

3 - Fairy Tale: The Dragon and the Fox (Also: More information on Sir Keane's interaction with heartface foxes + some information on Sir Keane and Jeryck's interaction.)

4 - Fairy Tale: The Hearted Fox Who Became a Man

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These are links to any posts that I, Jeryck, have made that contain bits of historical or other background information that you may find interesting or useful!

1 - Re: Dragons & Heartface foxes