Canid-kin: Prologue

Prologue
With Foxes and Ferals


     The grass wove to and fro from the soft wind. The trees whispered to their neighbors. Except for the plants, no sign of life was visible. The glow of sunset was visible through the trees, a fiery color, setting the sky aflame. Small wisps of mist rose from the dark forest floor. There was not enough colors for it to be fall, and too many leaves to be spring. Suddenly, there was a rush of gray and brown, as a rabbit fled the scene, its large back legs slamming into the ground. Its eyes were wide with terror, an eerie light in them. Then it was gone, and the forest was silent once more. Suddenly more creatures flashed by with the same terror in their movements and eyes. Graceful does and bucks flashed by, with rodents barely avoiding their cloven hooves, the grass flattened and crushed. There were small lights falling, little pieces of stars, glowing faintly. Birds flocked above, their cries sharp and piercing. All birds flew together, regardless of differences. Song birds, hawks, and ravens all flying together, their wings blotting out the light. The air suddenly becoming sharp and pungent, as more mist rose, frightening more creatures out of their homes. Squirrels darted through the trees, their little claws catching every rough foothold, their tails little flitting streamers, soaring behind them.
     The light became brighter, and flame licked at the grass. The sunset became flames. The wisps of mist were suddenly smoke. The falling lights became embers of the fire. Everything the flame touched turned to ash, all life burning. A loud popping filled the air, as the flame mercilessly tore apart the trees, limbs falling, only to be devoured immediately on the ground. Leaves suddenly shot up in the air, as the violent heat forced them upward, and were then promptly set aflame by embers, to fall to the ground in a blackened mass. Among the chaos, there was a white creature of hope, nudging along an animal as gray as the ash. It stepped on a smoldering ember, and squealed in dislike. "M-Momma, please, I want to stop!!!" The white animal growled, and nudged it roughly, looking back worriedly. "But it hurts!!" He wailed. She licked him briefly, and made him press on. Dark figures as insubstantial as the smoke followed, bursts of fire coming from their hands. The white animal suddenly growled, and narrowed its eyes at the pup. The pup flattened his ears. "No, I wanna stay!" The white animal snapped at it, as the dark figures steadily came closer. Suddenly, the white animal flung the pup from the scruff of his neck, into a bush, where he stayed, too scared to leave.
     Suddenly, thunder sounded, and a red flower blossomed on the white creatures shoulder. It staggered, and fell, the pup watching with wide blue eyes, trembling. He was not noticed, as his fur, grey, with dark top fur, and a white belly, kept him camouflaged. The dark figures came out of the smoke, and looked at the fallen white creature, whose red blossom was staining her fur and the ground. One suddenly set down his flamethrower, and took out a notepad, rough callused hands scored with scars fumbling with it. "White Wolf W-W1682 is terminated." The other asked, "But.... what about..." The first chuckled chillingly. "It won't survive the night." They left, leaving the charred remains of the forest in their wake. The pup stayed there for several minutes, before standing up, and running away, tears streaming down its eyes.

     A black beak prodded at a crumpled heap of fur. It cawed loudly, its throat pulsing, and other ravens joined it, flapping dark wings aggressively, savagely pecking at the heap, until blood flowed. It twitched, and all ravens jumped back, before cautiously stepped forward again, their black legs with powerful talons gripping the heap. A leaf fell near the scavengers, on green grass, but they took little notice. A little disk of blue opened up, and stared at the ravens. The largest one, one with several feathers missing from its wing and tail, stared back. The heap closed its eye first. The raven cawed in victory, pecking at it again. A small whimper escaped it, but no other movement ensured. Then, the floor of the forest darkened, the dappling of the light filtering from the trees disappearing, all becoming uniform gray, as a cloud passed over the sun. The lead raven looked up, and when it didn't notice anything threatening, went back to its catch.
     In a tree, a few feet away, a raven sentry cawed in a deep voice repeatedly. Threat. Threat. A couple of the smaller ravens jumped, cawing in return. Question. Question. The lead raven gave a high pitch caw. Eat. The sentry persisted. Threat. Threat. The sentry took flight, cawing more frantically, as a dark shadow flitted underneath the tree. The lesser crows took flight with it, but the lead crow, with the higher-ups stayed. The lead raven cawed in middle tone, loudly, flapping its wings aggressively. Away. Away. The creature came out from underneath the tree, giving a high pitched scream-like bark. My territory! My territory! The raven gave a lower but more guttural caw. My territory! My territory! The creature's bark turned to a snarl. Threat. Threat. The raven cawed in a higher pitched tone, in a higher frequency. Fear. Fear. The creature came closer, and snapped its jaws. Taking the message, the ravens took flight, leaving the heap.
     The cloud moved on, the forest coming alive with light, streaming through the leaves like a golden river. It lighted on the creature, and illuminated it. Its red - gold fur was bright, like a flower. It had a white belly, and deep amber eyes. It swished its long white tipped tail, and sniffed the heap, nudging it with its long snout. A whimper came from the heap. The light came to the heap as well, revealing ash gray fur, with a white belly, and dark back. It was emaciated, every rib countable, bones jutting out from the skin, like a bunch of sticks in an empty sack. Wounds bled where the ravens had tore at it, but one blue eye stayed open. Another whimper came from the pup. Fear. Helplessness. Submission. The fox circled it warily, unable to decide whether to come closer, or to leave it. They made eye contact, and stared for several moments, as smaller clouds passed over the sun, darkness flitting playfully over them. The pup gave a weak whimper, and closed its eye. The fox stepped forward, and licked its wound. It closed its mouth around its scruff, and attempted to move it. The pup was almost as big as the fox was, so proved impossible to move. The fox gave a couple of quick yaps. Be back. Be back. And the fox left.
     The sun was closer to the western horizon when the fox returned, a sparrow hanging limply from its jaws, its dark eyes lightless and sightless. It laid it down next to the motionless pup. It whined and yipped encouragingly at it, stamping its dark paws on the ground. The pup didn't move. The fox nudged it worriedly. It finally opened one eye weakly, and looked at the food. It moved one paw, and spread out its fingers and thumb, to attempt to grasp the prey, but fell short, too weak. The fox licked the paw, cleaning the dirt off it, revealing the fingers to be black, the claws white, and the rest of it white. The fox snapped up the bird, cutting it with its incisors into smaller pieces. It then spit up the meat next to the pup's head. It moved its head weakly, and opened its muzzle, and licked up the meat, before laying still again, weak. The fox, satisfied that it found a way to feed this strange pup, left, to get more food.

     Many turns of the sun later, the pup was standing, and stretching its limbs. It tugged at the blades of grass, the green coming out of the ground into its hands, only to be scattered by the wind. It knelt down, pawing at a piece of fresh earth. It shifted, so its feet were out, sitting down, its tail resting on the ground. It leaned forward, and scratched marks into the ground with its sharp claws, its movements deliberate. It sighed, and looked at its creation. It was a rough drawing of a wolf. "Ma..ma..." he said quietly, his voice a little deeper from when it first spoke in the burning forest, his voice revealing his masculinity. He stood up, and looked around, scanning the trees for something. He turned, his movements stiff, it clear that he had not moved like this in a long while.
     Ravens cawed at him from a tree. Threat. Threat. He barked at them. Warning. The ravens took no heed, and still cawed. He sighed, and focused on the other movements of the forest. There were squirrels, stuffing their cheeks with nuts, before scurrying up the nearest tree, and stuffing them into holes within the tree, storing them away for later. The colors of the forest had not yet changed, but the air was cooler, chillier, and the grass was starting to seed. A slight breeze wafted over the scents of the forest. He inhaled. The musty scent of squirrels, the sharp smell of ravens, and the rich, earthy smell of the forest was on that breeze. But there was also something else. A more familiar, warm scent. He gave a high pitched reverberating bark, one that can travel large distances on the wind. I am here. There was a faint answer, followed by a shorter, sharper bark. I am here. Come. He whined, before giving a lower bark. No. A sharp bark returned, with a faint snarl in the undertone. Come. Now. Frightened by the seriousness of the message, he started to walk, stumbling uneasily through the underbrush.
     He stood only on two legs, his back paws curious in shape. It was similar in shape to a foot, but only having four claws. He did not walk as a person might, on the whole of its foot, but instead walked on its toes continuously, similar to how a canid does. His legs were bent at the knee, not quite as flexible as a human's, and had hips, allowing for easy two-legged walking. Not paying attention to where he was walking, he tripped on a tree root, and had to grip with his front paws to the tree, to keep from falling over. His front paws were almost identical to human hands, the only unnoticeable differences being that instead of "nails" he had noticeable claws, and on the insides of his paws, he had pads on each of the ends of his fingers, before the four fingers, and before his thumb. The rest was covered in short fur. His front legs was hinged like a human's, having a shoulder, and an elbow. He had a curved back, much like a human's, but had a tail, the top of it black, the bottom white, much like a wolf's tail. His head was definitely canid, with swiveling ears, a long muzzle, and a canid nose. His eyes were a bit bigger than a wolf's eyes, and not as sharp, a little softer in shape and appearance. His neck was bushy, with prominently long fur starting from the top of the head all the way down to the shoulders, the longer fur black. It was similar to human hair in length and appearance. The rest of his body was covered in fur similar to a wolf's, thick, and short. He walked through poison oak with ease, his thick fur protecting his skin from damage from the toxins it released.
     A little ways in the distance, the fox waited, a rabbit in its jaws this time. It growled softly, its ears pressing forward. Down. Down. He obeyed, and went down on all fours. On all fours, his back was curved so that all four legs could touch the ground, allowing him to walk and trot in a way similar to a canid.
     The fox stood in front of a hollow made by a fallen tree. Another fox poked its head out of the hollow, and stepped out into the light. It was male, and aggressive towards the pup. Its fur on the back of its neck was raised. The female gave a low sound, like an abrupt sigh. Not threat. The male argued with a snarl. Threat. The female persisted, but added a short bark. Not threat. Warning you. The male finally abated, and relaxed around the pup. The female gave the rabbit to him, and he reached, to grab it with his hand, but the female bark-snarled in aggressive warning. He drew his hand back, and grabbed it with his muzzle. The female didn't make a sound or movement, showing silent approval, as he ate it hungrily. He licked his lips, and poked his nose into the den. Both snarled warningly in response. He jumped back, and sat sullenly outside the den. Both disappeared into the den.
     The shadows were much longer, when they emerged. But it wasn't just them that emerged. A fox kit tumbled out after them, looking at the strange pup in curiosity. It made a sudden huff-like sound. Curious. The pup made the same sound, as they looked at each other, sniffing. Curiosity sated, the kit instead focused on the rest of the world, nosing and pawing at the bird carcass, gnawing at the bones. The male left, leaving the female in charge. The kit went over to the female, who just laid down, to suckle at her teat. She allowed it for a moment, before snapping at it, making it leave. It then went to the carcass, and chewed at the remaining meat. It was weaned off of milk, but still tried to suckle out of habit, so the vixen had to break it of that habit. The pup watched, taking in all of this information and culture. It knew that it had much to learn, if he was to be truly accepted by this family of foxes.

     Several turns of the moon later, he was still sleeping outside. He was markedly bigger in size, now larger than the foxes that he stayed with. His fur on the back of his neck even longer, often falling into his eyes, to his constant annoyance. The sun wasn't even up yet, the moon the only illumination. The trees had only a few straggly leaves left on the branches, the rest brown, crumpled, and scattered on the forest floor. There was a layer of frost over the grass, leaves, and brush. But there was no frost on the pup, his body heat and thick fur keeping him warm despite the freezing temperatures. So this allowed him to sleep peacefully, until he was woken by a sudden sound.
     It was a sound like thunder, and made him jump up in fright, his pupils dilated. Last time he heard that sound, it had caused blood to flow out like a river from his wolf-mother, and made her sleep and never wake up. He whined loudly in fear, and the foxes leaped out of their den, sniffing the air in caution. The fox kit was large now, almost full grown, and was starting to be able to hunt weakened prey that the parents brought back. The pup learned along the kit, and could hunt almost as well as the parents. The male gave a sharp bark at the kit and pup, as the vixen started trotting in the opposite direction. Come. The kit obeyed, but the pup still whimpered. The male barked sharply with a rumbling undertone, and added a snarl. Come. Now. Threat. The pup got up shakily, and followed, his tail between his legs in fear and submission, knowing that where there was the sound similar to thunder, there was death.
     The sun had risen, and the shadows were still long, when they made it to a hollow under a tree stump. The only smell was the scent of forest, revealing that it had not been used in a while. The fox and vixen pushed the kit into the secondary den, and the pup hung back, used to being left outside. The vixen was suddenly behind him, pushing him towards the den. The pup gave a short quick exhale. Question. The vixen just gave a short snarl. Threat. The pup went in without complaint, despite the tight fit. The pup and kit watched from deep in the den, watched the fox and vixen leave. The shadows had shortened, almost the heat of the day, when two quick shots of thunder sounded, and the forest was silent. The fox and vixen never returned.

     The pup ended up living with the kit for several more turns of the moon. When the time of flowers had passed, and when all leaves were full and green, the kit no longer was a kit, and would no longer stay around the pup. It left, and attacked the pup when it tried to follow, because it wasn't a kit anymore. He was a fox. For another two full turns of the seasons, the pup had to survive on its own. He grew much during this time. When he stood on two legs, he was almost five feet, and his long hair on his head and neck was so long, it had to be tied back by a makeshift tie made of braided grass. He never stayed in one spot for more than three turns of the moon. And whenever he heard the sound like thunder, or the bearers of the thunder sound, he would leave immediately.
He traveled across whole mountain ranges, and saw his first snow. He traveled down to the sea, and watched the vast power wax and wane. He saw the footprints of the bearers of thunder, and compared them to his footprints, when he wasn't standing on his toes. Same..... mine... I...... thunder-bearer? he wondered, his thoughts jumbled and incomplete, from the lack of language in his life.

     It was in his fourth spring, almost his third year alone, when he dared to travel to forested lands closer to human inhabitation, due to being just about everywhere else. Using a cloudy day as cover, he hid beneath the shade of a tree. He sniffed the ear warily, and swiveled his ears to catch the faint sounds of the forest. A little ways ahead of him, was a rabbit, nibbling at grass. His tail begun to wag, but he grabbed it, not needing it to betray his position. He crept quietly forward on the pads of his feet, to minimize sound. The wind was blowing towards him, as any good hunter would know to hunt downwind. That was a lesson he learned from his fox family.
     He was gathering his muscles, ready to leap, when there was a blur of mangy brown fur, and the rabbit was gone. He snarled angrily, and got up and ran after the one that stole his prey. He snarled loudly at the fleeing shape. Threat. Threat. Finally, the creature turned, and dropped the prey, and snarled back at him, its tail wagging in a greater angle to the left. The dog stopped snarling, but its tail still wagged. Figuring it meant it was alright to claim his rightful prey, he stepped forward, only to be bitten on the arm, the snarling resumed. He yipped and whined. Hurt. Not understand. He kept his head and tail low. Submission. The dog stopped snarling, but still wagged its tail to the left. It sniffed the pup warily, and gave a huffing sound in curiosity. The pup stayed still, and finally turned over, showing his belly, in surrender. The dog regarded him thoughtfully. Seeing as it might be his chance, his licked the dog on the underside of the muzzle. Leader. The dog relaxed, and walked over to the kill, and gave a short bark. Come. That, the pup could understand.
     He padded forward, and the dog started to eat. The pup leaned down to eat as well, but the dog growled at him. He stayed back. He scented the air, taking the chance to assess his new family. It was a she, in relatively good health, and had pups recently. He looked around, giving a huffing sound in curiosity, wondering where the pups were. He exhaled sharply through the nose. Question. The dog ignored him. She finally finished eating, and backed away from the kill. The pup looked up at her, and stepped forward warily, wondering if he was to be snapped at again. But she was looking away. So he tore into the corpse, finding, with some disappointment, that the choice organs were gone, namely the liver, which had many important nutrients. He polished off the carcass, and looked up to the dog. She held her tail high, showing her high rank, and walked away. The pup followed her, being careful to travel on all fours, remembering what happened when he tried to travel on two legs around the foxes.
     By the time they made it to the dog's resting site, it had begun to rain, washing away scents, making it harder to remember the layout of the forest, as scent trails were being smeared. The dog seemed undeterred, as she lay down under an alcove made by a fallen tree. The pup squeezed in next to her, and scented the dry earth, to remember the scent of the den. He pricked his ears. He scented blood. He made a quick huff sound of curiosity. The dog just looked at him with large brown eyes, her floppy ears moved back in denial. The pup sighed. The dog thought that sound was the question sound, so made a faint snarl. Threat. She showed teeth. Kill. And then she snorted. Scent. The pup tried to put this together. There was a threat, and killed the animal that made the scent. He made a high pitched bark like a pup would do. The dog didn't understand this, and just curled up, and went to sleep, leaving the pup to watch the rain fall.
     The pup didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he rolled over into a puddle outside the den. He yelped in surprise and wiped the water off his snout. He sat up and looked around. He stood up on two legs and walked out, to see the dog coming back. Her hackles raised, and her tail wagged in a greater angle towards the left. Recognizing that movement from yesterday, he went down on all fours. The dog wagged her tail towards the right. The pup figured this must mean he did it correct. He wagged his tail to the right. The dog licked his ear, proud, and went back towards the forest, before looking back at him, giving a sharp bark. The pup ran over, not sure what they would do today. It was soon clear, by the way the dog sniffed the ground and the air, alert for prey, that today would be hunting.
     When he hunted with foxes, he was taught to hunt alone, as foxes, except in kit raising, are generally loners. So he was naturally confused that when he tried to follow the dog when she spotted a bird, she snapped at him. He tried again, and she lunged at him, forcing him to show his belly in surrender. She pawed at the dirt, and pressed her ears forward, and narrowed her eyes. Stay. The pup sat down on the pawed dirt with a whine, not understanding. She then walked off, leaving him sitting there. He sat there, staring at where she left, until there was a desperate chattering of birds as a flock of them took flight. He pressed his ears forward, trying to hear what it was that spooked them. Suddenly, there was a crashing in the bracken ahead of him, and a rabbit leaped out, its eyes wide with terror. Hunting instincts kicking in, he leaped at it as it frantically dodged, the dog soon behind. He leaped in front of it, and held it down, while the dog finished it off. She walked over to him, and licked his head in praise. It suddenly clicked what it was that happened. They worked together to catch the prey. He wagged his tail to the right, and stepped back, allowing his leader to eat first.

     Several turns of the moons later, he caught a large creature, that the dog had chased out of a patch of land that was surrounded by great branches stuck into the ground. It had a strong, musty smell, and unlike most creatures, was pure white, and very fluffy. He backed away, to let his leader eat, as customary. She ate little, and let him eat, sooner than usual. He found that the liver was still in the corpse, so snatched it up immediately, grateful for the special treat he was rewarded with. He whined and barked, to show his appreciation. Unable to finish such a large beast, they left it there, the dog marking it with her scent, so they could find it later. They then left, to lay in front of the den, soaking up the rays of the sun, enjoying their victory.
     Not long after they left the scene of the kill, a shadow passed over the kill. A large hand parted the white curly fur, revealing the wounds and teeth marks. The other hand went to the creature's ear, where a brightly colored tag hung from it, designating it as human property. "Damn wild dogs did this!" The human exclaimed, with a slight slur. He stood up, his blue overalls stained from grass and dirt. He dropped a beer can on the ground, and crushed it with his large leather boots. He hefted his shot gun, pushed the muzzle of it down, loading it with bullets, before snapping it back up. "Time to exterminate those god damned pests. "
     The dog suddenly sat up, and snarled softly in warning. The pup looked up as well, pricking his ears, trying to hear what got the dog so worried. To him, it sounded like some rabbits or squirrels making a ruckus in the brush a ways off. The wind was behind them, taking away any chances of being able to smell what was coming. The dog stood, hackles raised, teeth showing, growling into the forest. In the distance, a dark form loomed closer. It walked on two legs, and in its hands, it carried a long, straight stick. The pup finally understood what was going on, and got up on two legs, to look more threatening. The dog snapped at the pup, and he went back down on all fours, bewildered. He made a sharp exhale, questioningly, before the dog bolted forward, muzzle agape, ready to bite the intruding human. The pup flattened his ears, not wanting to hear the sound of thunder that ensured.
     He snarled, and stood up, and ran at the human. "YOU.. KILL.. MAMA!!!" A bullet pierced his leg and he screamed, clutching it, falling to the ground. There was a sharp sound, as the rifle was reloaded. A snarling sound came a few feet away, as the dog stood up, and glared at the human. The human seemed a little unsteady on its feet, as it weaved, and took aim at the dog. The pup struggled to stand. The dog snarled at him, narrowing her eyes, and pressing her ears forward. He flattened his ears, his eyes widening. "N-no..." He stammered, wrinkling his nose in defiance. She snapped at him. Tears streamed down his face. No.... not again...... He ran on all fours away, not wanting to hear the final call of thunder.

     The man sat down on the fallen tree that was once their den, and pulled out a cell phone. He shakily punched in a number. "Hello? Lucy, hey, it's Jack. Remember that you told me to call if I saw anything strange? Well, I saw something strange." His voice was slurred, and he pulled out another can of beer from his pocket.
     Lucy asked, on the other line, "Great God.... are you drunk?!"
     Jack mumbled, "Only had one drink! But I know what I saw.."
     Lucy's sigh was audible. "What did you see?"
     Jack took a swig from his beer. "I saw a wolf. But it weren't no wolf. It had hair. Like, black hair, tied in a knot. And it walked, and talked."
     Lucy was silent for several moments. "I think you were having delusions from the beer you are obviously drinking at this moment."
     Jack protested, "No, I weren't! I saw it, and heard it, myself! You are with that genetic research thingy, you told me you deal with straaange stuff! You have to believe me!!!"
     Lucy took a breath. "I'm sorry, you were probably hallucinating. Here is the helpline for alcohol abuse. 156-2347 Go get yourself some help." And she hung up. But she didn't put her phone away. She typed in a number on her touch screen, and said, "Robert, sir? A report just came in, I think you need to hear this. Its about the splicing project. I think we have another escapee."

     The pup staggered as far as he could, his wound swollen and crusted, and warm around the wound. He fell to his knees, staring at the ground between his hands. A small beetle shambled between them, its black shell glinting slightly in the dappled light. The dew on the grass twinkled like the stars in the sky. The pup feared leaving all of this. He feared dying. As his vision faded, and he could no longer hold himself up, he wished he had stayed with her.
     The sun was almost set, when someone came across his body. The person knelt down beside him, and grabbed his wrist, taking his pulse. He patted the pup's back, and cupped his hands around his muzzle, and gave a howl. A few howls answered. He listened, and waited a moment, for further orders. Not hearing any, he lifted the pup, like one might lift a bale of hay. He stood up on too legs, and wagged his tail, and ran in the direction of the rising moon.
     The pup woke up in a cave, darkness overwhelming him. "I.... dead....?" He wondered aloud, sitting up. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and saw another kneeling across from him. "No. Not dead. Here. At big den." The pup rubbed his eyes, and gave a sharp exhale, questioningly. "Wait... You... No speak.. human tongue? Well... We will teach you. We will all teach you." A cloud moved away from the moon, revealing several creatures like the pup, all inside the cave. Some were young, younger than he, most were older, and scarred. "We... are the Canid-kin..." Said the oldest one, who had yellow eyes, white hair all together in one braid, and a scar over his left eye.