A few days later, after Scarlet's death, Rabbit was out hunting. He was 5 years old now, with a strong frame and a good heart. He loved to hunt and kind of fight. But only if he had to.
Rabbit was walking to his favorite spot in the forest: the Long Trunk. It was a fallen tree trunk that was very big with a hole in the ends and on the top. His mother took him there as a child. They laughed and talked and smiled.
But that would never happen again.
His smile faded. Scarlet was a dear part of his life. But now she was gone.
   Rabbit sat down on the tree. That's when her heard it.
   A faint, "Ow!"
   Rabbit shot up. He was wide-eyed as he stared at his trunk. He walked to the other side of the log and peered in.
   There was a cat. A black cat. It was a male.
Rabbit had a very bad reputation with males. They always fought and Rabbit always lost. So he was going to be extra careful with this male.
"Come out." He instructed the cat.
The black cat came out. But he wasn't any cat Rabbit had ever seen before. His snout was long. His tail was extra bushy. And his claws were unusually sharp.
He kinda looked like a fox.
Rabbit laughed on the inside. Of course he wasn't a fox! He was black.
The fox-cat looked at Rabbit. "Helllooooo," he hissed. His voice was like a snake's. "I'm Vulpes. Niiiccceee to meet youuuu,"
"Uh Rabbit. Hello, Vulpes. Do you live in this trunk?"
"You can sssssaaayyy thattttt." Vulpes smirked. He showed his teeth and they were like mini daggers. Not at all like a cat's.
Then Rabbit noticed something. He was missing one tooth.
The tooth that was in Niko's leg.
Rabbit knew that something was suspicious about him. But he just thought he was crazy.
"Well, uh, Vulpes. So, um, what-" Rabbit began but was interrupted by Vulpes.
"Can I live with youuuu???" He asked. He looked at Rabbit expectantly.
"I-I don't know, Vulpes. I don't think so. Sorry." Rabbit stammered.
Suddenly Vulpes's smirk turned into a frown of anger. He reared up. "You dare defy meeeee?!?!" He roared. Suddenly his body turned orange. His eyes turned white. Rabbit gulped and gasped.
Vulpes had turned into a fox. It was giant.
Vulpes towered above Rabbit. He cowered on the ground, looking at the fox with wide-eyes.
The fox cried, "YOU WILL PAY!!!!" He lashed out with his claws at Rabbit. Rabbit tried to run but Vulpes scratched his face. He felt the sting of the wound and smelled the blood.
Rabbit got up and started running. Vulpes followed him. The chase went on for a while. And Rabbit was running out of breath fast. Suddenly Rabbit thought of something. Niko and Sky had made up a S.O.S system. If one of them was in trouble, they only had to say a special word.
"Forest-cat!!" Screeched Rabbit.
A few minutes later, Sky and Niko came dashing from behind. They caught Vulpes by surprise. Vulpes turned in a circle, choosing which cat to attack first. Rabbit, Sky, and Niko all nodded. They jumped in unison at Vulpes. He gasped. The cats attacked the fox. They ripped and tore and clawed and bit. Vulpes was bleeding all over. Suddenly he struggled loose from the cats.
All the cats stood panting. They stared at their enemy. He stared back.
"Youuuu haven't seen the lasssttttt of meee!!!...." he said before disappearing into the shadows.
The other cats stared at each other in surprise. Rabbit started to tell them about Vulpes and how they met.
When he was done, Niko looked at everyone's wounds. "Hmmm, we need to get back to the den. Can everyone make it there?" Sky and Rabbit nodded. They then started the long trek back home to nurse their wounds.