Contessa gave him a smile, trying to ease him in some way. "Oh the cub and kits got along greatly! They really took to each other." She said. Her smile reached her eyes this time, seeing the kits and cubs take to each other so kindly was a wonderful thing for her to see. It gave her hope for the future of their tribes and the peace she wanted them all to have. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She enjoyed his scent, it had lingered after their first meeting. She wasn't sure what it was then, but when she ran into him again she knew what it was. Why his scent so much stronger than the others, she didn't understand. She just knew she liked it a lot, it was like smelling fresh earth and mascline spices. It started to make her head swim. She bit her bottom lip to focus her thoughts again. Contessa grabbed a mango out of the bag and began to nibble on it at. "Wryn, would you like to try some?" She asked the little kit.

Kristoff felt a pang in his chest as the child Solaire carried asked for her parents. He knew what was the fate of them, and he could tell she had a hard time telling the little kit where they were. He nodded to her and took off to behind the fox house. He needed to clear his head, she had seeped into him too much. Her scent still lingered in his nose and it took all his resistant to keep from purring at the smell. He shook his head and ran his hands through his long black hair. "No way I could have her as a mate. It's just not possible. Get a grip, Krist." He mumbled to himself, leaning against the cool brick of the building.

Siloh smiled when she seemed to cheer up and nodded, "Great. How were the vixens doing?" he asked looking out the window for a second before looking over at her smiling a bit and sighing, he could smell the outside air on her but there was something more to it, something sweet, it was almost nectar like. The combination was intoxicating and his eyes went out of focus for a moment before shaking his head and going back to eating his apple. When she questioned Wryn and the boy nodded, he leaned to see what she had in her hand and smiled more as he saw it, "Ooo, a mango." he said smiling, "I love mangos but we used to only get some when someone would go to the human city and buy them."

He looked over as he saw people come in and his eyes grew wide as he saw his sister and a boy around his age with another kit. The blood Solaire had tried to clean off was only smeared around the side of Wriley's face and he couldn't help but to try standing when he saw the wound on her head, the source of all the dried blood. She'd been hit by something blunt and it had split her skin at the temple. Siloh glanced at Contessa and sat back down when he felt a stab of pain in his leg, watching the boy hurry over to him, finally taking her when the boy came over.

Solaire had quickly gotten the man to his wife, trying to clear her own head of Kristoff. She breathed in the air of the breeze, relieved as his scent was carried away but was unnerved that it had affected her so much. Despite the thoughts in her head she smiled at the pair as she looked to Nana May and the other vixen making sure they were all alright, the kits still playing happily but starting to look like they were needing a nap. Solaire updated Nana May before leaving to go back to her brother.

Contessa had sliced the mango so Wryn could try some. She was about to offer Siloh some when she saw the look on his face. Her gaze followed his and saw what he saw, her heart dropping in her chest. She could feel his relief wash over both of them. She stood and let some of the foxes sit in her chair, she went and gathered more chairs and her aunt. "Oh Siloh." She whispered when she returned and stood by the head of his bed. She was beaming at him, happy that more of his trbe was found. Her aunt checked the current survivors that would found, cleaning up some minor wounds and such. She nooded to Contessa, telling her they were fine. She waved at her before disappearing again.


Kristoff pushed himself away from the building, having enough time to clear his head. He went into the building, seeing the other foxes had joined Siloh. Spying his sister, moved over to her, giving Hannah a smile. Kristoff reached out and rubbed the little girl's mop of red hair. "How are the kits and cubs, Tessa?" Kristoff asked her as he leaned against the wall.

Siloh smiled at her and sighed, hugging the young girl and playing with her hugely over-sized, blonde ears. He looked up when he heard her and grinned, "Look, we've found a Fennec and better yet, my little sister." he said smiling at her as the kit seemed content for the moment, wolfing down the apple he'd given her. The other two were comforted at the sight of Siloh and the two kits and moved to lay down and sleep, the two brothers curled up to sleep. Hannah grinned as she saw Kristoff and smiled, making a face as he ruffled her hair.

Solaire arrived shortly after Kristoff and frowned slightly as she had to slip past him to get to her little sister. She sat beside Siloh and tickled Wriley's ear, laughing softly as the girl made a face, her ear twitching. "Is it a good one, Fen-fen?" she asked, now rubbing the girl's ears like a dog's. Clearly Wriely liked the scratching at her ears and smiled as her head tipped to the side.

Contessa smiled as she reached out to his sister. "Hi there, I'm Contessa." She said, holding her hand out to the little fox. Contessa wanted to touch the girl's ears, they looked so soft and fuzzy. She was happy to see more of their family have been found. It would make healing over the death their parents a little bit easier. "And that's my older brother, Kristoff." She said pointing to Kristoff.

Kristoff smiled softly to himself as he watch Solaire play with her little sister. She would be great mom, he wondered if she had a mate yet or not. He stopped himself from thinking any other thoughts, and looked out the window. He was tormented by his feelings now, knowing that he couldn't have her even if he was willing to admit his feelings. He glanced at the child when Tessa introduced him. He gave her a little wave and a soft hearted smile. "Hey." Was all he said.

Wriley looked up at Contessa and grinned, nodding as she still ate. She looked at Contessa's hand but made no move to extend her own, glancing at Kristoff with a wide smile then up to her own brother as he chuckled softly, "Sorry, she doesn't know that yet. We usually teach that at age six, until then it's pets and whatever interests them." he said motioning at Solaire who was still rubbing the kit's ear. "You're welcome to pet her though." he paused for a minute watching her dig at the core with her fingers as she tried to get every bit of the edible part, "Fastest way to a fennec's heart is through pets." he said, tickling her and getting messy as she got apple juice all over him.

Solaire brought her hands away as Siloh tickled their sister and smiled when she'd stopped wiggling, she kissed her head as she stood, looking to her brother, "Will you need me?" she asked and Siloh shook his head, "Not soon but later tonight when the others are sleeping." he answered, looking over at the two brothers sleeping in a corner then back to her, "We need to discuss some things." he said and she frowned, knowing exactly what he wanted to discuss. "We already talked about that." she said with and ending tone that would've stopped Siloh on most days but he persisted, "And yet the matter remains unresolved." Tension stretched between the two, making it clear this was an ongoing argument, one of which Wriley was completely ignorant of. Finally Solaire sighed, looking upset and frustrated, and shook her head, "Fine. I'll be back before full dark." She said, a bit of coolness to her tone, and turned to leave.

Contessa smiled at the little girl as she reached out and pet her ears. "I wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with me touching her." Contessa said, rubbing the soft fur of Wriely's ears. She smiled as the young girl made a mess of her apple. Contessa pulled her hand away as the tension between Siloh and Solaire grew intense. She watched as Solaire left the room, glancing up at her brother who looked like he wanted to follow him. Turning back to Siloh, she gave him a soft smile. "What was that about?" She asked, spreading out the fruit she had gotten out on a plate and cut them into pieces. She handed some to Wryn, petting the top of his head after he took them. She plucked a starfruit and placed it in her mouth, enjoying the sweet flavors of the fruit.

Kristoff fought so hard to keep from chasing after her. He wanted to so bad when he saw the upset expression on her face. Kristoff didn't like seeing women upset, and it tore his heart in two seeing Solaire upset. He'd wait a few mintues, then make up some excuse to leave. Maybe he would be able to find her, if not he needed to spend some time in his animal form. He was getting itchy just spending so much time in his human form. "Tess, I'm going to go and prowl around. The Lynx's attacked them on the way here. That means they are too close to our borders for my likings." He said before leaving the building.

Once outside, Kristoff shifted, feeling better already. He lifed his face towards the sky, sniffing for Solaire's scent. He found a faint whiff of it and headed off in that direction. Not knowing what he would do when he found her, he just knew he must find her. He'll use the excuse of him looking for anymore Lynxs in case he would find her. It was partly true, he was looking for any strays lingering around their borders. He didn't want them attacking the foxes while they rested and collected themselves.

Siloh watched his sister leave, frowning for a moment before he answered her question, "She has a deciscion to make but she refuses to make it." he said, it was vague but specific enough for him. He promptly changed the subject back to Wriley when he saw Wryn's happy face at the petting, "She doesn't care who touches her. She's lucky enough to never have been taught to fear panthers or differentiate between foxes and panthers fully or half human." he smiled down at the girl with a sigh, "Right now, to her you'd be a fox that smells different." he glanced at the plate and then at Wriley who was playing with the apple core, pulling the seeds out, "Do you mind?" he asked starting to reach for the plate, for two peices of mango. He wanted to see what Hannah and Wriley thought of it.

Solaire was slowly wandering toward the human city. Her plan was to go out of the villaga and cross to the fox border on the other side from the lynx lands to find her mother's scent. She couldn't bring herself to ask her little sister about their mother in case the vixen had been killed before she could reach the human city. It was a high chance she had since Wriley had ended up back in the village ruins but Solaire hoped that maybe she'd gotten close enough to the humans to be found.

Contessa shook her head as she headed the plate over to Siloh. She was curious about what Solaire had to do, but decided to not pursue it anymore. If she was meant to know, he would tell her. "A fox that smells different. I like that." She said, chuckling at the thought. "We try to teach our cubs not to hunt outside our terrorites so there's less chance for them to hunt another from a different tribe." She said, sitting on a chair near Wryn.

Kristoff caught Solaire's scent more now, she was heading towards the human towns. He wondered what she was doing going there. He stalked her as he would any prey, closing in on the distance between them. Soon she came into view, yet he continue to keep his distance from her. He merely watched her, making sure no one would attack her while she did whatever she had to do.

Siloh watched her face and nodded, "If you want to know more then ask her. It's not my place to say more." he said and listened, "We don't really teach them that since there aren't any tribes nearby of mice. The only thing that we hunt is the occasional mouse but mouse shifters tend to smell sour to us." He thanked her and took the plate to hand a peice of manngo to the two girls and watched their faces laughing when Hannah wasn't fond of it. Wriley loved it though and grinned brightly as he handed her another peice. "So has your Aunt said anything more about when I'll be alright to walk?" he asked curiously, handing the plate back to her.

Solaire heard something following her but ignored it as she continued to walk. When she neared the last place she'd seen her mother she shifted and wandered, trying to find the scent. She found it but it was so faint that she kept losing it so she moved painfully slow. She sped up when the scent got stronger and ran as blood added to the scent but soon after she slowed and stopped, shifting back as she found a woman's body, mangled and half shredded. She just stood staring at the body for minutes before she slumped to her knees and took the woman's hand in hers, not a sound escaping her as she held her dead mother's hand.

Contessa took the plate back, setting it on the little table near her. "Oh she said in a day or so. But you have to take it easy. And you shouldn't shift for another three days." She said. She remembered the stern look her aunt gave her when she asked her about Siloh's leg. He had put it through a lot of stress, not that anyone blamed him. "How are you holding up, emotionally?" She ventured, hoping that she was stepping over her bounds. She wished they were alone, so they could talk more freely, but she love the pups that crowded them. She was also glad they were here because they restained her from doing something that may get her in trouble.

Kristoff continued to watch Solaire, keeping to shadows. When he saw her shift, he knew somethign was wrong. He neared her, his heart aching to console her. Shifting back to his human form, he stepped out of the bushes. He neared her, feeling her sorrow. Memories of the night he found his mother and Contessa flooded him and he sank down to the ground with her. "Solaire..." He whispered, his voice thick from the choking emotion he started to feel.

Siloh nodded and sighed, leaning back a bit with a sigh as he rubbed at his leg again, "Alright." he said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. He didn't have to shift but he was itching to get up and walk around. At her question he just shook his head and the smile fell, "I don't know. Better than if I was alone I suppose." he answered, staring blankly down as he became quiet. He hugged Wriley as she yawned and started to fall asleep. He knew once he could be up and about again, able to work then he'd be so much better but for now he was just a little depressed.

Solaire jumped, startled as he spoke but looked over at him with tears running down her face. She been crying so silently and shook her head as she quickly wiped at her face, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying. She looked down and then back to her mother's body, holding the lukewarm hand and finally a sound left her but it was a sob as she covered her face. The scent of the woman's attackers was still on her but it hadn't been lynxes. It'd been wolves.

Contessa sighed, feeling bad that she made him feel badly. "Oh, if you want, I can help you walk around if you need to get some fresh air." She said, hoping to lighten his mood. "If you lean on me while walking and keep the pressure off your leg, it should be fine, right?" She said, leaning forwards. She had noticed that the other vixens and Nana May had returned with the tired kits. Contessa really wanted to make Siloh smile again and touch him, she liked how he felt under her fingertips. She hoped he would take her up on her offer, it would give them some time alone. Contessa was starting to like him in ways she had never like anyone else before.

Kristoff reached out to her. He knew who had done this to her mother. He had smelt that scent before, on his own mother. He felt the urge to kill the wolves who did this. Another mother killed by those senseless beasts. "Solaire..I'm so sorry." He choked out, wrapping his arms around her as she weeped. He fought back the tears himself, not wanting to relive that horrible night when he found his father and then his mother.

Siloh's gaze snapped up and he smiled suddenly, "I'd love that." he said, looking at Wriley as she made a small noise in her sleep. IT was a normal noise though so he let her sleep and moved her to snuggle against Hannah who had fallen asleep. He smiled at her, cheered up by the thought of outside air and he moved, looking around and smiling at the kits and the others before looking at her, "I don't think it'd hurt me but do you think you could walk around with me for long?" he asked, concerned that he might off balance her or something.

Solaire shook her head as he spoke, biting her lip and turning to him and hiding her face in him. She needed the comfort of someone at the moment and she didn't care who but was, in the back of her mind, surprised to find that she was glad it was him. Her hands curled into the fabric of his shirt and she couldn't look at him as she sobbed, unable to look at her mother any longer as well.

Contessa felt such joy when he took her up on her offer. She stood, smiling at all the sleeping kits. She moved to the side of his bed, oppsite the ones with the sleeping kits. "Oh don't worry about it. I would love to take a long walk with you." She said. She didn't realize how that came out, not ever having a crush before. Contessa checked his leg before allowing him off the bed. Her aunt would kill her if she let him go outside without checking his leg out first. Since he had been laying down since he gotten here, his leg was healing fine.

Kristoff just held her for a moment, stroking her hair and letting her cry. He had done the same for Contessa. However something was different with her. He wish he could hold her like this when she wasn't crying. "We will have her buried and find the wolves who did this, they will pay." He said, the last part was full of vengance.

Siloh smiled at her as he heard and moved to stand, "Then as long as we can stand it we'll walk, how's that?" he asked, looking at her and steadying himself on his feet. He liked her too much but he wouldn't allow himself to entertain the thought that she would ever like him, those thought's led to hope and eventually they'd be crushed. At least that's how it had worked in the past.

Solaire nodded as she heard him but she still sobbed for quite a while before she calmed enough to chance glancing at him, her eyes red but not yet puffy and she was sniffling. She didn't want to let go of him yet and was going to wait for him to push her away before she would, she buried her face again as she tried speaking but couldn't, after a few moments she did and it was quiet and soft, tired too, "I thought you didn't like me." she commented, testing her bounds and hoping she wouldn't make him angry.

Contessa smiled at him, daring to get a little closer to him and inhaling his sweet earthly scent. She loved how he smelled to her, the other foxes didn't smell like he did, not even his sister. Contessa couldn't brave thoughts of having anything but a friendship with him, though she would still dream. Her heart started beating faster as she got closer to him, helping him up to his feet. She stood dangerously close to him, in case he needed her to to stand. "Sounds good to me, Siloh." She said, smiling at him. Her face flushed, and she looked away for a moment.


Kristoff was a bit shocked by her question. He didn't quite know what to tell her. He liked her of course, but he was scared of his feelings. "I do like you. Its just hard for me to trust anyone. Not since that day..." He said. He didn't know why he was starting to pour his heart out to her. He never really trusted anyone but his own sister. At one time the panther tribe had been friends with the wolves, but it was all a trick and the wolves attacked his parents, killing them.

Siloh smiled as he laid his arm around her shoulders as he had before when she was helping him walk, breathing in the scent of sweet nectar that rolled off her. He gave her a second as she looked away before asking, "And where will we go?" He didn't really care where they'd go so much as how many people would be around and how that might affect the way she acted. He also didn't want to stay around the village for too long, the scents were different, less natural.

Solaire nodded at his answer but didn't look up, her ears laid back but not flattened. She'd calmed down enough to stop crying but her throat was still thick with emotion. She had to wait a minute before she could speak again and when she did it was simple, "I'm sorry.. We promised to help you against the wolves." She sniffled, wiping her eyes and glanced back at her mother's body for a long moment, "I never thought anyone could even consider hurting her." The woman had been a fennec so was extremely small and slight of build, she had looked completely harmless and that sense of weakness was still present.

Contessa smiled, knowing a quiet little spot within the borders that would be perfect for them to walk around. "Oh I know this spot that rarely any panthers but me go." She said, enjoying his weight on her. She helped him outside, watching his face as the fresh air hit them. "This spot is where I like to go to get away from everyone." She said after a few moments in the balmy fresh air. She paused for a moment, letting his adjust to the outdoors before moving them on. Not many panthers were out now, many had either gone to sleep or were out prowling for food or just anyone trying to invade their lands.


Kristoff just held her closer, realizing that he liked her more than he should and not caring anymore. "The wovles have no regard for anyone other then themselves." He said, his voice thick still. He rubbed her back gently, still holding her close to him, unwilling to let her go just yet. He needed to hold on to her as much as she needed to hold on to him. He didn't know if he would be able to hold her this close again. "We have a common enemy now." He said softly. He wouldn't be surprised if the attack on the fox tribe by the Lynxs was set up by the wolves.

Siloh smiled as he heard and tried not to lean on her too much as they walked, "That'd be perfect." he said and as they walked out he smiled truly and joyfully, the smell of the outside raising him mood greatly as he drew in a slow deep breath, letting the air bathe his sentence. He only wished he could run but as he glanced over at Contessa he was unsure about how badly he wanted to run.

Solaire nodded, "I suppose not." She still didn't understand why the wolves had attacked her mother but she looked at him for a moment, "We do. They've always disliked us but never enough to attack us." she fell silent in thought but soon she make a small sound and looked at him with a horrified expression, "They wouldn't.. pick off our survivors.. Would they?"

Contessa smiled at him as they walked slowly towards the spot she liked to spend her time. It was at this spot she had mourn her parent's death. "It's just up ahead. Kinda of covered in a lot of bushes and trees." She said as they neared her favorite spot. "I wish you could shift, but Auntie said it would be too stressful on your leg." She added.


Kristoff pulled away from her finally, just enough so they were barely touching. When he done that he realized how much he craved her touch, it warmed him to his core. He looked at her for a moment, not sure what to say. "They would, but not while under our protection. They wouldn't dare cross over into our lands." Kristoff said. He would be sure that the wolves wouldn't dare come near their lands. "I won't let them." He said.

Siloh nodded, "I wish I could too but I agree with her. It would be." he smiled at her and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he savored the outside air then he pointed at something. A gourd like fruit. "That looks like blood gourd." he commented and looked to her, "You wanna try it? It looks ripe."

Solaire clung to him until he pulled away and when he did she flinched and looked away, almost guiltily, listening to him and nodding, "I meant the ones who haven't made it to the safety of your lands." she murmured but shook her head and stood, rubbing her eyes and looking at her mother's body. Her chin started to tremble and she bit her bottom lip as she tried not to cry again when she moved to lift the small body, "I-" she tried to speak but her throat closed up on her and she couldn't, instead she looked at him and took a shuddering breath, heavy with grief before she began straight back for her home, trying to get her mother's body where it needed to be.

Contessa looked at the fruit. It was something that Wryn had said was his favorite. "Sure, but do you think we can save some for Wryn?" She asked as she helped him over to the fruit. She had never seen it before, and this was her spot. She wondered how it got there. There was a rock nearby and she lead him to the rock and help him to sit down on it. She went over to the fruit and looked over at Siloh. She smiled to herself, seeing how much better he looked outside. Contessa thought Siloh was handsome anyways, since she first seen him. At first she just thought she was attracted to him because he had saved her and therefore just buried the feelings. But now that they were alone and had spent some time together, she could see that the feelings were real. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she reached for the fruit. "Is there any speical way to pick it?" She asked before picking it off the plant it grew on.


Kristoff stopped her and wrapped her mother's body in his coat. He lifted the woman's lifeless body in his arms and began to follow her. "We should find the others and make sure they are safe." He said. He hadn't realize there could be other foxes out there, alone and scared. He hated the thought and now understood his sister even more. He looked at Solaire, his heart aching, his amber eyes dark and sad.

Siloh nodded, "Oh, most definitely. It only blooms and produces fruit every ten years so we shouldn't wat it all at once anyway." he watched her move over to the fruit and blanked out a little as he watched her walk over to the fruit. He hadn't gotten a clear completely concentrated look at her and it just hit him how beautiful he found her. It tok him a minute to answer her but finally he snapped out of his odd state and shook his head, "Just pick it like an apple."

Solaire looked at him as he took her mother from her and gave him a watery smile as she kept walking toward her old home. It was a while before she could speak but eventually her voice came, hoarse and quiet, "They've hidden themselves. It'd be impossible for the two of us to find them." she said, her voice breaking a few times as she looked at him. Her mother had been her favorite person in the world and finding her dead had changed something in her, the grief slowly crushing her.

"Ten years, eh? That's a rather long time. No wonder I have really seen this fruit before." She said as she plucked the fruit from its plant. She held the fruit in her hands as if it were a baby as she carried it back to Siloh. The breeze had picked up a little bit and was moving her long dark hair about her face. She still had her panther ears and tail out, something she was getting used to doing. She had never before been half shifted before, she was starting to like it. She couldn't do it around humans unless it was for Halloween, but even then it could be hard to explain. "What does this fruit taste like?" She asked as she knelt in front of Siloh. The rock was pretty low to the ground, so she didn't have to strain herself to look up at him when she spoke to him.


Kristoff nodded at her, thinking. "Then it should be hard for the wolves to find them as well." He said after a moment thought. He wondered if there was any way that they could call them to draw them out of hiding. "Is there anyway to call to them? Bring them out of hiding so we could gather them up?" He asked. He knew how hard this was for her, he had felt the same when he found his mother. Kristoff walked closer to Solaire, brushing her arm every so often with his and looking at her. "Don't let this destroy you, Solaire." He said. It was something Contessa had said to him sometime after their parents died.