Ava

Borealis stared at me. "What what did you do with them?"

I pointed with my tail to the tree root that I had stored the clothes under. "Look, do you see your clothes?"

He sat down and gazed at me. "Well...what do you say we do? Ya know, I could still shift into my human form..."

"No!"

Borealis laughed. "Relax. I was kidding."

I groaned internally and stared at the ground. I don't know if Arria can blush, but now's not a good time to find out.

My powerful cat ears swiveled to the left side, picking up the soft sound of small paws on the forest floor. I turned my head and I saw a little red fox creeping over the forest floor. It was pretty far away, already about half the length of a football field away.

But I wasn't looking at the fox. I was looking at the Cooper-sized clothes in its mouth.

I gaped.

"What is it, Arria?" Borealis asked, looking in the direction I was looking.

"Um, I think I found your clothes," I laughed awkwardly.

"Well what are you waiting for, let's get them! I can't just walk around naked, can I?" He demanded.

Without waiting for an answer, he pelted toward the fox.

I took off after him. "Don't hurt it!"

"I won't!"

The fox turned and saw him, her eyes widening. She took off, sprinting toward a small cave below the roots of a tree. Her small yips of fear echoed in the twilight, scattering birds from close-by trees.

As Borealis gained, she let out a shrill of fear, tripping over the clothes. At this point, she was a mere five feet from the tree cave, probably her den, and she leaped to her feet and dashed to the entrance.

To my surprise, she didn't go in. Instead, she planted her paws at the front of the cave and let out a low growl, standing her ground.

Borealis nosed me in the side. "I'm gonna go cha--"

"Wait." I approached the fox carefully and laid on my belly in front of her.

She snarled and pounced on my muzzle, sinking her teeth into my nose. "Ow!"

Borealis let out a yip of amusement.

I ignored him and peered past the fox. Six pairs of eyes stared back in fear.

I gazed at the fox with new eyes. She wasn't being territorial, she just wanted to protect her babies.

Kits! She must've wanted to use the clothes as bedding!

Then I looked closer. The fox's ribcage was outlined against her body, and I felt a twinge of pity.

She's desperate.

I looked around. Prey scents swam in my mouth, making it water. Beneath a tree close by, a rabbit nibbled on grass.

Perfect.

"Borealis. Chase that rabbit toward me,"  I ordered. Between us, we managed to catch it.

The fox stared at it with longing eyes. I slowly crept up to her and laid it at her paws.

She glanced at it, and then back at me. In a quick motion, she grabbed the rabbit in her teeth and disappeared into her den.

Then I saw how empty the den was, spare for the fox kits. There was no bedding at all. I sighed and brought Coopers clothes over.

"Arria! What are you...oh. I understand. Go ahead, they can keep those."

I turned back to Borealis. He flashed me a wolfy grin and sat down, thumping his thick tail on the ground.

The fox came out of her den and rubbed her head on my front leg, letting out a small coo of happiness.

I licked the top of her head.

I think I'll call you Red, I decided. I let out a loud purr, crouching down so we were eye level. Red licked my face and waved her tail, as if to say 'thank you.' Then she dragged Cooper's clothes into her den and disappeared.

I gazed after her, my heart filling with compassion.

Fur brushed against my side as Borealis crouched next to me. "You did the right thing, Arria."

I purred and licked his cheek. "You think so?"

"I know so. She needed those more than I did, which leads us to our next problem. How exactly will I get clothes?"

"I hear a waterfall!"  I announced, leaping up and running toward the sound, which also allowed me to dodge the question.

Goodbye, Red!

"Me too! I need some!" He huffed.

We headed to the direction of the sound. When we found the source, our mouths dropped open. Before us, the most beautiful, glimmering waterfall seemed to catch fire in the slowly sinking sun.

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Can we all agree that that is one epic fox?

Vexwolf