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AROUND that time, Dale was riding a fox.
Home. My home.
Dale was in a good mood riding through the forest on the back of the very same fox that told Olivia about the humans that nearly froze to death in the snow.
Warm here, thought Dale.
Sensing those carefree emotions from Dale made the fox sigh, though it continued to walk with Dale on its back. Dale was six and a half pounds despite having lost weight, making it a somewhat painful going carrying him on its back for such a long distance.
The fox’s territory was a huge twenty square miles, which it maintained even though some portions did overlap with the territory of other foxes.
The fox had gone out to the fringes of its territory to hunt where it found a scent it recognized near the boundary between the forest and the road, as well as the sound of a cat crying, Hungry. Want go home.
Hunt cat, get meat, thought the fox. It moved without sound from the forest towards the road, and the familiar scent grew stronger. The memory of that scent was tied to memories of the most delicious meat ever. Scent of that human.
It was a complex scent, the smell of several medicinal plants mixed in with the aroma of human food. Olivia appeared in the fox’s mind. The fox knew that the human would give it meat, but only in exchange for something.
The fox looked at the cat again. Cat territories weren’t that large. The fox realized it wasn’t normal for the cat to be this far away from the restaurant.
Maybe I take cat.
If the fox took the cat back, maybe it would receive meat. The fox continued to a spot where it could see the road and peered at the cat from inside a bush. The cat was walking slowly, crying the whole time.
Dale leaped straight up in the air the moment the fox appeared from the forest. He turned his body sideways and arched his back, all the fur on this back and tail standing on end. Stay away! Go away!
I no eat you. I take you, said the fox.
Dale was still cautious but showed interest in what the fox said. My home?
Place with black dog and female human.
Dale’s fur went back down, and his body grew smaller. There! We go there! He immediately believed the fox and approached it.
The fox was exasperated by the fact that Dale would approach it without questioning it. No fox pup would ever do something that stupid. Foxes taught their young to live their lives wary of everything.
Parent cat no teach this cat anything. The fox even pitied Dale. You dumb.
Dumb? Why?
The fox didn’t answer. It lay on the ground. Dale approached it without suspicion since it showed no signs it would attack. He sniffed the fox then rubbed his face against it.
Dumb, the fox thought again.
The fox would normally have the urge to leap at Dale and snap his neck in its jaws, if it weren’t for the delicious meat awaiting it. It decided on that meat rather than Dale and held back the urge to bite.
Get on, dumb cat.
Sure!
The fox made Dale get on its back, knowing that would be faster than plodding along at the cat’s pace, then the fox moved swiftly through the forest. Not the fox, nor Dale, nor Olivia realized they passed each other on the way.
Dale, the source of all this hubbub, was lulled to sleep by the fox’s warmth and the steady rhythm of its movements. His eyes opened when he was about to slip off the fox’s back. He wriggled back into the center and closed his eyes again. It was a deep sleep since he hadn’t slept much in the past several days.
The fox, with Dale on its back, arrived at Soup Forest deep in the night.
Get off, it said and threw Dale to the ground with a thud.
Ack!
Dale looked around. When he finally realized where he was, he rushed full speed in through the pet door in the kitchen, disappearing into the house.
The fox stood perfectly still, waiting for Olivia, hunger gnawing at its belly. It kept grumbling to itself, So hungry, and eventually the door opened, and Olivia stepped out.
“Thank you for helping Dale and bringing him home. I have a reward for you,” she said.
The fox didn’t understand the human words, but it could feel Olivia’s overjoyed heart. It understood it was likely receiving a gift for bringing the cat back.
The fox reached its head up and snatched the soft meat out of the air that Olivia tossed to it, immediately feeling the juices fill its mouth.
It scurried away into a nearby thicket just in case another animal might come by and steal the treat. Holding the meat down with its forepaws, it tore into it with its sharp teeth, easily pulling it apart.
Mm, yum.
It split the rather large hunk of meat three times and gulped it down then licked its chops. The meat and fats were delicious enough to induce ecstasy.
The fox looked back and saw Olivia standing there looking at it. Then it disappeared into the forest. It felt comfortable around her, the female human, but it didn’t trust her mate. Its instincts were insistent that the male human was dangerous.
I go back to den.
The wonderful flavor of the fats lingered in its mouth as it walked through the forest in a good mood.
Inside the house, Dale was focused on eating. He buried his face in his food bowl and noisily wolfed down the food. Lara, Arthur, Rob, and Snow all watched.
Yum! Meat so yum!
Olivia, having returned from the entrance, was watching Dale, smiling as tears streamed down her face. Snow and Rob had rushed over to Dale when he came in but then immediately backed away. They were still sniffing him with wrinkled noses as he ate.
Dale smell bad.
Dale smell like fox.
Having filled his belly, Dale lay down in front of the fire, but Arthur quickly picked him up. Dale squirmed in protest, but Arthur kept a firm hold while Olivia washed him.
No! No!
“No, Dale. You probably have fleas,” said Olivia. “Plus, Rob and Snow won’t sleep next to you if you keep on smelling like the fox.”
But, still, no!
They washed him, toweled him off, then set him to dry in front of the fire.
Love Snow. Love Rob, he said as Snow and Rob finally let him come near them. This time, they let him settle in the bed to sleep.
Dale was out instantly. Olivia went through his memories and got a general idea of how Dale found his way home.
Later that night when they were in bed, Arthur was shocked when Olivia told him about Dale and the fox.
“You mean you’re the only one the fox trusts?” asked Arthur.
“I wouldn’t call it trust. More like…it considers me useful. I think it probably carried Dale home hoping it would get a reward.”
“It’s like you get to see a fairytale world.”
“I was just as shocked as you are. I mean, a fox put a cat on its back and carried it all the way home? Does that even happen?”
“Well, I know I’ll at least sleep better after seeing you relax.”
Olivia was asleep before Arthur could even finish his sentence.