FSE

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Chapter XIII

Vixen

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Friday watched Jake and Jimmy fix the fence over the week. She liked the attention Jimmy gave her and found herself growing fond of the man. , Tiffany courted him and he seemed oblivious to anything but the work. But he was interested in Tiffany and even took her out on a date and she seemed happy and blushed a bit when he came over and Friday swore if she had a tail it would wag every time she saw him. He reminded her of Jake in his stupidity. Both of them should be more forward, but that was part of the charm Jake held for her.

Friday dangled her feet off the fence rail she sat on bored. Jake was at the vet and Jimmy had come and gone and she had grown accustomed to having someone to play with during the times the sheep did not need constant supervision. She never realized how much she enjoyed stealing sheep. She sighed and kicked at a grass stalk that poked through the little remaining snow she could reach with her paws. She looked up thinking it would be a good time to bring the sheep back when she caught a familiar scent. She stayed perfectly still, only her eyes moved to where her nose told her to watch. Slowly she saw a stalker, a fox. She watched it stalk one of the yearling Ewes. Friday smiled to herself as she tracked the oblivious fox stalking the oblivious ewe. She slowly crept down from the fence and took to all fours slowly stalking the fox.

The fox looked about carefully and then became very still, targeting the ewe and bolted for it. The ewes' eyes went wide in fear as the fox flashed from nowhere to attack her. the ewe bleated and bolted but didn't feel the teeth of the fox, so ran on as fast as she could to the other startled sheep who formed together.

The fox opened its' jaws to take in the ewes neck but found the world spinning and teeth about it's own throat. The fox pawed and snapped but the angle the collie had it at made it impossible to get a decent bite so resorted to clawing at the thick protective fur that covered the collie. Unwilling to die, the fox played dead hoping for a chance to get away.

Friday felt the fox go limp. She knew this ploy, there were a few scars on her muzzle and shoulder from her lesson about foxes. She never gave her vixen the chance and grabbed it in her paws and broke its' neck. She was not sure about the fox being alive still and bit its throat until she tasted the rich dark blood, then tore the throat out and smiled down at it with her blood stained muzzle and teeth, but the dog instantly dropped her proud grin when she saw the fox she killed had swollen breasts. Friday thought about the pups this one would have, she thought about how the fox pups would get food now, now that she killed their mother. Friday dropped the fox carcass in horror at what she had done. She had killed many predators but now her life was different, she was different. She looked at the sheep and hurriedly herded them to the paddock and latched the gate and immediately went back to the dead fox. She sniffed the fox and then found the trail the vixen took. She followed the trail for about two miles and found the fox earth. She looked at the hole and groaned. Berry could have crawled that tiny tunnel but she was too big. Friday began digging with her claws into the malleable earth.

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"Friday!" Jake called over and over as he slowly followed the scent of his mate. He was curious what happened to her, the sheep were taken care of, but the dead fox in the field made him worry about the collie. He imagined her suffering a wound in the fight and crawling off to die like a normal dog, Blood smelled like blood no matter whose it is and there was a lot of it at the scene. Jake heard a scratching and strange sounds ahead and was confounded by the scene of Friday digging fox pups out of a hole and trying to herd the pups at the same time. Friday looked relived to him and signed ‘help me.'

Jake was utterly confused "help how? What the hell are you doing?"

Friday appeared from the ground with another pup in her muzzle and leapt up to herd the others to a circle and dropped their sibling in their midst.

‘watch these' she signed and disappeared down the hole again for a longer time this time. Jake watched the four pups that mewed and spat at him like kittens when he herded them. Finally Friday came up covered in dirt that still fell from off her head and coat with another pup in her mouth, one in paw and signed. ‘That's all of them, let's go home.'

Jake looked confused at the pups and more confused when Friday began shoving three of the pups into his arms. The pups fought with their teeth. "How the hell am I supposed to carry these things?" he cursed and looked at Friday for an answer and saw her holding one pup by the scruff in her muzzle and two more scruffed in her paws and she raised the two in her paws as if to say ‘like this' as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And Jake had to agree, it was easier to carry them but it made it not easy at all to ask her why they were carrying fox pups around in the middle of the evening. But he followed his mate to the house and inside to see Friday hand three upset fox pups to Tiffany. Tiffany gasped and seemed as confused as Jake.

"What is this?" she reflexively asked.

‘Fox pups' Friday signed making Tiffany look to Jake for the answer. Jake quickly dropped the pup in his muzzle in his misstress' lap with its brethren still holding on to two struggling brown puffballs.

"She says fox pups." He shrugged and Tiffany looked back to the collie bitch.

"Okay, why am I being given fox pups?"

"I killed their mother and I couldn't let them starve and die." Jake translated for Friday.

"It's a bunch of foxes Friday," Tiffany said, "they will eat lambs and sheep and wreck the farm, that is why we kill them you silly thing." She said looking to the pups who were looking about more interested in what was going on around them than in biting now.

‘Take them away, they are pups' Friday signed, Jake translating to his mistress. ‘You know humans that will take the puppies and they will not eat sheep here and can live'

She really wanted to make the last a question but sign language had no inflections like that of spoken word.

Tiffany smiled at the dog and offered to take the two that Jake held, "well get a box and an old towel," she instructed Friday, "and you get the lamb milk supplement, I'm sure they are not weaned yet." Jake chuckled softly as Tiffany picked up a scared but not fighting pup and looked into it's soft puppy blue eyes and nuzzled it's nose before sexing it and putting it down to look at another.

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Friday licks the pups and cares for them if they were her own. She has them for a few days and tries to teach them things and he tries to teach them to herd.

Jake went into what was now their room to see Friday with the pups nuzzled and sleeping against her belly and chest, her thick fur keeping them warm. He just sighed and shook his head knowing that it was best to let her sleep and not try to take the pups and put them in the box.

He nuzzled to the soft motherly bitch. He knew that she had changed so much, and her dreams of becoming a mother. He licked her neck and closed his eyes and slept soundly until Friday woke him.

Friday woke to a strange sensation and the mewing of fox pups. Two pups were latched to her nipples trying to nurse from her to no affect. She removed the pups and looked about. They were hungry and beginning to wander. She felt some explore her fur for nipples so she carefully got up and turned on the light and then stepping over ups again she went to Jake and shook his shoulder.

Jake looked up to Friday wearily, "what? It can't be time to go to work already." He complained.

‘The pups are hungry.' Friday signed

Jake gave her a canine smirk, "so what should I do about it?"

Friday swatted his ears ‘you know how to make the milk'

Jake groaned and rubbed his ears. He had been up with orphaned lambs, feeding them every two hours. He hated that and smiled at the solution. "help me put these back in the box and I'll show you how to make the formula."

To Jakes' surprise Friday gleefully helped put the pups into the box and followed him into the kitchen. He showed her how to mix the formula properly in the right proportions and how to microwave it and test the heat of it on the bald spot just behind their nosepad.

Friday made bottles for all the pups and it was Jake who showed her how to feed them, and that one bottle would usually feed two foxes. She was highly impressed with his paternal skill, he did everything but lick their tails.

Jimmy was slightly baffled when he came by the next day to see Friday tending a pack of brown furballs as she herded sheep, some of the furballs were following her and were imitating her. he chuckled and looked to Jake, "those yours or another breeding?"

Jake just looked confused and then looked to Friday, "oh, they're some fox pups Friday dug up and is taking care of. She killed their mother and felt bad for the pups."

Jimmy nodded and stuck another pole in the hole and held it in place as Jake pored the sand and grit into the post hole for packing. "so her mothering instincts are really strong huh." Jimmy said and Jake stopped and looked to the collie.

"She wants nothing more than to be a mother, she was forced to miscarry long ago and then she had a pseudo pregnancy, and she totes around a stuffed toy everywhere. Tiffany says it's because she wants to be a mother and wants to take care of a pup, and now she has six." He grinned and Jimmy chuckled. "Keeps her pretty busy huh."

Jake nodded. "but she loves it. I can tell."

Jimmy ruffed the dogs head as he let go of the post, "well you got a good one there, you better keep her." he said as he tested the post would not wobble.

Jake nodded, "I hope to."

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Friday kept her eyes on the pups that slept in the box as well as the sheep flawlessly. She watched the sheep and then herded them into a circle and ran to the house to microwave formula. She was quick about it and got a bag to put the three full and warm bottles into and ran back out to the fields and not ten minuets later after she had assured the sheep were all safe, the pups began to wake and jump out the box for food, and she was prepared.

When the foxes were full she showed them more herding skills and how to make the sheep move, but their young bodies could not keep up with what they were taught. Friday smiled as she watched the fox whelps sniff curiously at a lamb that did the same. but when it came to herding the lamb was still faster and larger but it was comical to see the furballs attempt to heard the lamb then mew in fear as they found themselves separated from their siblings and run back to the box. Friday was enamored with the pups and wished only for her own. With that thought she looked to Jake working with Jimmy.

Friday carried the box of pups to the house after she put the sheep away at the end of the day. she was surprised to see jimmy still there and eagerly showed him the little fox pups that were mewing to be fed.

Jimmy laughed and picked up a pup and cradled it in his large hands. He pet it gently and the pup sniffed at him curiously. Tiffany picked up a pup herself. Jake however had preempted her needs form years of caring for lambs and handed her a bottle and not being one to deny privilege gave a bottle each to Tiffany and Jimmy leaving himself free.

Friday licked his cheekruff and gave him a suggestive rub with her body but he seemed oblivious as always and licked her nose playfully and sat on the couch. He was joined by the others who were feeding pups but no one seemed willing to give up their pup. Only Tiffany spoke and it was to Friday, "I talked to some folks at an animal refuge," she watched Friday perk her half fold ears forward," and they can take the pups. The collie femme tilted her half fold ears thinking.

"they wil be here tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

Friday looked at the pup in her paws

"You can take them out in the morning and you can see them off if you want. They will be able to grow up and be safe." Tiffany reassured the wavering collie.

She had gotten attached to the pups. Sure they were not her own but they were pups, pups who needed a mother.

Jake pet her between the ears. He had a soft smile on his muzzle, reassuring. "they will be alright, and so wil you." he said softly to her and gave her a small canine kiss between her eyes.

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The collie bitch hugged the little squirming pups to her in the box as they sat in the back of the station wagon that would take them to the animal rehabilitation refuge. She licked them all and stepped back letting Rhonda close the back door. She smiled to the collie and pet her cheekruff softly. "I'll take very good care of them, they will be fine." She smiled to the collie who just dumbly nodded staring a hole in the door. She wanted to take the pups back but she knew this was for the best. Even though she hated to see the car drive down the drive. The collie bitch felt like a part of her was missing. She wanted to have the pups back. The conflicted collie ran into the house.

Jake looked to Tiffany and headed into the house he found Friday on their bed holding her stuffed toy to her tightly with tears rolling over her cheekruffs. Jake sighed softly and turned to let her be alone, but something stopped him. Nothing was said or seen but a feeling that she needed him now. He walked into the room and she never once looked up to him or at all. He sat on the bed behind her and hugged her to him tightly pulling her close whispering softly that she would have a pup of her own. It did not stop her form crying but stemmed the flow form the quivering collie. Her pet her body softly and eventually was just idly scratching the top of her tailbase as she laid against him still cuddled to her toy.

Tiffany came in to check on them, "hey there, how's she doing?" she asked looking at the black and white collie.

Jake looked to his mistress and then put his nosepad to the back of Fridays' head, "she'll miss them."

Tiffany nodded and came in sitting on the bed and petting Fridays' arm and smiled to her. "You did the right thing Friday, they will be fine you made a wonderful mother and they will have happy foxy lives now. You saved them.

Friday looked up to Tiffany and smiled as she blinked a tear from her eye Tiffany smiled back and pet her muzzle to cheekruff and wiped away the collies' tear, or tried to the result just spread the wet line back further.

Tiffany kissed the collie on her nosetip before she stood and looked to Jake. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

Jake nodded softly and rested his head on Friday's shoulder and nuzzled her cheekruff licking at the smeared wet line of her tears.