Untilted
Lazing in the field, a young red fox looked up at the stars lazing in the heavens. Tonight was a beautiful clear night; the kind of night where what seems like every star in the sky can be seen.

The weather was perfect, it being a warm summer night and not a single cloud in sight. The small red fox seemed to be young of age, not more than a year old. He had soft orange fur with a white tip at the end of his tail and white markings covering each one of his four paws up until his ankles and a tiny midnight black nose. His name was Anoki.

Anoki yawned and laid his head upon his two slender front paws that he had stretched out in front of his body. His body was touching the ground and his tail was curled slightly around his body. The young fox closed his eyes, enjoying the sounds of the night, which included the sounds of crickets chirping near by and the slight breeze rustling leaves nearby.

Tiny paws pattering on the ground somewhere behind where he lay interrupted his peace. Anoki had his ears erect, listening to the pattering sound getting closer to where he was. He sniffed the air, not seeming to be afraid at all of the other present.

He knew the sent of this fox very well, it being the sent of his youngest sister, Natane. The pattering of the paws stopped, what seemed to be a few feet from where Anoki laid.

Suddenly, Anoki could feel his sister’s weight on his back as she pounced him. She giggled as Anoki opened his soft brown eyes, looking back at Natane with a fox-like smile. Natane wagged her tail happily, still lying on his back as she looked at him with her own brown eyes.

She was a pretty fox, with a coat similar to that of Anoki. Natane, instead of having white markings on her paws, had black markings. She was also a lot smaller than Anoki and had a small white spot in the center of her forehead in the shape of a diamond.

“You heard me coming again, didn’t you?� Natane asked as she jumped off of Anoki’s back and padded over to the front of him, Anoki following her with his eyes as she did so.

Natane jumped up in attempt to grab one of Anoki’s ears.

“You need to learn to stay downwind when you pounce.� Anoki said with a soft laugh.

“Mommy said to always come from behind.� Natane growled as she grabbed onto Anoki’s ear.

Anoki lowered his head slightly as Natane pulled on his ear.

“Mother needs to teach you how to really hunt.� Anoki said with a smile.

“Wouf ou teaf me?� Natane said, her words being muffled by Anoki’s ear.

“I can’t understand you.� Anoki said with a light laugh.

Natane released his ear then looked up at Anoki.

“Will you teach me?� She asked as she looked up at her older brother, wagging her fluffy tail in a hopeful manner as she sat in the tall grass.

“Okay.� Anoki said as he stood up from where he was laying.

He stretched his hind legs before sitting down where he was laying moments before.

“The first thing to remember is that prey can smell you if you stand up wind of them. The second thing,� He continued as he swiftly got to his feet again and pounced his younger sibling, pinning her to the ground as he placed one of his own two front paws at each of her shoulders. “Don’t let your guard down.� He said, giving his little sister, who was now struggling to get free under his weight, a light smile.

“Get…off…me.� Natane managed to say, still trying to get out from underneath her older brother.

She was kicking her hind legs in attempt to push Anoki from her, which didn’t seem to have the slightest effect on Anoki, who still had his front paws firmly planted on each on of Natane’s shoulders.

With one final squirm, Anoki swiftly leap to the side of Natane, allowing her to stand back up. Natane growled then pounced at Anoki, who simply jumped to the side as Natane missed him completely. Natane landed with a thud on the grass-covered ground. She growled as she got back to her feet, shaking out her soft fur coat.

Frustrated, Natane sat down on her hind haunches, her ears flopping slightly forward as she looked to the ground in front of her.

“Come now, you can’t just give up like that, Natane.� Anoki said softly as he got up and softly padded over to her.

He nuzzled her softly, placing his nose softly against Natane’s cheek in attempt to calm her down. Natane snapped her jaws at Anoki as he drew his head from hers. She was becoming frustrated with not being able to pin Anoki down. Natane sighed softly then looked up at Anoki, who was staring down at her with his soft, round eyes.

Natane let out another growl as she lowered her front half of her body to the ground, swishing her long, fluffy tail from side to side in a playful manner. Anoki returned her soft growl with one of his own, his sounding slightly deeper than that of his sister’s, as he also lowered the front half of his body in play.

Natane pounced at Anoki just as Anoki sprang backwards as if knowing what she was going to do. Anoki landed on his feet a few inches from where Natane now laid sprawled out on the ground where Anoki was.

“Gotta be faster than that!� Anoki said with a smile as he pounced on Natane again, this time landing his front two paws on either side of her as she laid on the ground, looking up at him.

She gave him a faint smile before quickly turning over on her side and giving him a quick jab with her front right paw in his stomach. Anoki looked underneath him at Natane, who took another sharp jab at his stomach. He leapt off her, laughing softly.
That night, both Natane and Anoki spent the night in the meadow.

The night sky remained clear throughout the whole night. Daybreak came as the sun began to rise over the grassy field. Anoki woke up, yawning as he glanced over at the rising sun. His ears were flopped over his face slightly as he watched the sun changing the sky various shades of orange, red and pink. He yawned once more before lowering his head to Natane, who was curled up beside him. Anoki softly nudged her with his nose, waking her up.

“Hmm…� Natane said sleepily. “Why’d you wake me up?� She said with a yawn.

“To watch the sunrise.� He said softly as he returned his gaze back towards the sun.

Natane stayed lying down and with a yawn laid her head back down upon her front paws, watching the sun. She was still half asleep, but didn’t allow herself to slip back asleep. Anoki looked down at her and smiled.

Suddenly, Anoki looked up from his sister and towards the sound of a loud bang that was somewhere not too far off. Natane sprang to her feet and quickly darted over to Anoki.

Another loud bang came, followed by a flock of birds loudly leaving their perches in the small patch of trees not too far from where Anoki and Natane were.

“Hunters…� Anoki said softly as two men came into his view. One of the humans was a man, who was short and stubby and the other was a tall slender figure. The stubby man was wearing a pair of camouflage pants and a matching jacket.

The woman was wearing a safari jacket and a gun slung over he shoulder. The stubby figure moved towards a bird that lay limp on the grass below the tree and picked it up. It seemed to have been nothing the pair wanted and was simply tossed into a nearby bush.

“Natane…run for the forest.� Anoki said quickly, still watching the pair of hunters as they looked up into the tree for anything worth their wild.

“I can’t…I’m scared.� Natane said as she collapsed to the ground, her four legs seeming to be unable to support her weight all of the sudden.

“There!� Yelled the stubby man as he pointed to Anoki.

Anoki quickly pick Natane up by the scruff of her neck in his mouth as he darted towards the forest not too far away.

A shot rang out over the silence as a bullet shot by his ear, barely missing him. Anoki flattened his ears as he ran faster in attempt to out run the hunter’s bullets.

He was nearly to the forest when another bullet bounced off the ground next to his left rear leg. That was too close. He thought as he put in an extra burst of speed.

Anoki had made it to the forest and seemed to have lost the hunters. He set Natane down on the ground behind a large tree as he kept his attention in the directions of where the hunters were.

His ears were perked up, tuned into any noise that was made and he was panting heavily from his sprint. Natane finally was able to get to her feet and walked over to her brother.

“A…are they gone…?� She asked quietly.

“No. Stay behind me.� Anoki said firmly, still panting heavily.

Natane did as she was told, stepping back behind Anoki’s hind leg, peering in the direction Anoki was looking in.

“Let’s get moving before they get too close.� Anoki said as he turned to Natane.

They both began walking swiftly through the forest, Natane staying very close to Anoki’s heels in fear. Anoki was still listening for the sounds of the hunters as he picked up his pace slightly. Natane upped her speed to keep up with Anoki.

Anoki came to a stop, causing Natane to run into the back of his hind legs. Gunshots rang through the forest with a loud bang. Natane flatted her ears to her head when she heard the gunshot.

“Which way did the critters go?� They could both clearly hear one of the hunters asking the other.

“How should I know, you’re the one that’s supposed to be tracking.� Snapped the other person back at him.

“There they are!� The taller figure said happily as she brought the gun to her shoulder.

Anoki quickly stuffed Natane into a hallow log that was in front of him.

“No matter what. Do not move.� Anoki said firmly.

The taller hunter took a shot at him, missing his shoulder by a few inches. Anoki growled, backing against the hole in the log as the hunters drew nearer. He bared his teeth as the hair on his back stood on end.

“It’s positively beautiful.� The tall slender hunter said as she moved closer to where Anoki was. “And it seems there’s a little one with it.� She said as her lips curled into a crooked smile.

Damn, they did see Natane. Anoki thought as he continued growling with his teeth bared, daring them to come any closer. The slender lady took another step towards Anoki.

“RUN!� He barked at Natane as he jumped at the woman, clamping his mouth around one of her scrawny arms.

The woman screamed as his teeth sank deep into her flesh, causing droplets of blood to splatter on the ground as she dropped her gun. The stubby man quickly moved over to her, not knowing what exactly to do.

Natane stood where she was at for a few moments, too afraid to move. Run, Natane! He thought, noticing she had not moved from the log.

“GET OUT OF HERE!� Anoki barked loudly as he released his grip on the woman, landing on the ground in front of her.

The woman collapsed to her knees, clutching her bleeding arm. Anoki glanced back at Natane, who immediately took off running in the opposite direction. Anoki looked back to the hunters, growling.

The stubby man was attempting the calm the woman as she wailed in pain, her arm pouring blood onto the forest floor and her clothing.

When Natane was out of sight, Anoki quickly sprinted away from the pair of hunters. When the wailing of the woman could no longer be heard, he stopped to catch his breath. He was covered in the woman’s blood. The white markings on his front paws were spattered with blood, as was his chest. His muzzle had absorbed most of the blood.

Sniffing the air, he swiftly made his way to where Natane was hiding. It was in a small moss covered cave. Natane was huddled in the back corner of the cave, shivering in fear.

“Anoki!� She said as she burst into tears and run up to her brother. He smiled at her, still being tired and soaked in blood. “Are you okay?� Natane asked, seeing all the blood on him.

“I’m fine.� He said as he allowed himself to collapse of the bottom of the stone cave. “Are you alright?� He asked, looking up at Natane.

“Thanks to you.� She said as she nuzzled him softly, spotting her own fur slightly with blood.

Later on that day, Anoki and Natane had made their way back to where their mother and other sister were. Anoki had washed the blood off himself and Natane in a stream before coming here so his mother wouldn’t be scared.

“Mama!� Natane said happily as she bounded up to her mother, nuzzling her softly under her chin.

Anoki slowly followed Natane, stopping a few feet from his mother. Anoki looked down to Natane then back at his mother.

“It’s about time you came home.� His mother said with a soft smile.

She looked almost exactly like Anoki, but had a more slender figure. Like Natane, she too had a small white diamond on her forehead. Around her neck, there was a dark red collar.

“Noki!� His younger brother said happily as he pounced on Anoki’s front paw, growling.

“Kishi.� Anoki said with a smile as he looked down at the smaller fox, who was looking up at him wagging his tail happily.

“I’m glad you’re back home. I was worried about you two being out there by yourselves.� His mother said, looking over to him. “Sylvia was back here again today.� She said as she looked to the ground. “She took in Mai yesterday…�

“What?! Is she alright?!� Anoki asked, obviously being worried about her.

He cared for Mai a lot and would do anything to make sure she was okay.

His mother looked up from the ground to him.

“She was injured pretty badly, but Sylvia said she should be alright…�

Anoki looked to the ground then back to his mother.

“I have to go see her.� He said firmly.

“I do not think it is a good idea for you to be among humans right now…� His mother said.

“Mai was injured by hunters and being in a clearing would just give them a clear shot…�

“I’ll be careful, I promise.� Anoki said as he nuzzled his mother.

“No amount of caution could prevent you from being shot.� She replied.

“I have to go.� Anoki said firmly. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Anoki, I don’t want you to end up being killed!� His mother shouted at him.

“Anoki can handle hunters!� Natane yelled in response. “He saved me this morning!�

His mother looked over at Natane, looking surprised. “You…ran into hunters today…?� She said sounding worried.

Anoki shot a glance over at Natane then looked to his mother.

“Yes…but..� Anoki began.

“Why didn’t you tell me?� She said, interrupting him and sounding more worried than before.

“Because I didn’t want to worry you.� He replied.

There was a silence.

“What happened, Anoki?� Kishi asked, looking up at him.

“I’ll tell you later.� Anoki said quickly.

“I want to know now!� He yelled in response.

“The hunters were chasing us then Anoki attacked one of them and we got away. It was so cool!� Natane said excitedly to her little brother.

Anoki’s mother looked from Natane to Anoki.

“You…fought them…?� His mother said with a hint of worry in her voice.

“I didn’t have a choice.� He said as he looked to his mother.
For a few moments nobody said anything.

-reserved-