Believe - Chapter 12: Red

When Imya woke up it was already into the night. Because she had slept over at the last night every now and then she had woken up during the day every now and then and when she finally fell asleep it was so late that she overslept. She stretched and yawned and crawled out of her leaf bed. When she got closer to the entrance she could feel the cold air coming from outside and a bit if light. It seemed that this night it was not cloudy and at least the moon seemed to send it's light down. With a sigh Imya crawled out of the den. She was still a bit sleepy and now her hunger also started to slowly make itself noticeable. It was not strong yet because she just had one night without food but it started to bug her. She decided that she had to find something to eat this night.

"Yo kiddo!" Imya winced and jumped back into the entrance of the den. Just when she exited the den someone, who had been lying above the entrance, spoke to her in a low voice. Shivering she looked at the entrance but nothing followed her.

"Ya don't have da be afraid kiddo. Imma not gonna hurting ya. Come out of ma den, will ya?" Imya still was afraid because she was not sure what animal it was but the shock of her surprise slowly wore off. "Who are you?" she asked with a slightly shaking voice. "Imma name is Red, sure it is, yo!" Whoever it was, he spoke very weird, thought Imya. "You are not a bear, are you?" she asked, still unsure if she could trust this new animal. "A bear?" she heard the other animal laugh. "Imma no bear. Imma a fox, sure I am, yo!" he answered and was still laughing. "What is a fox?" she asked. She got a bit curious. "Ya don't know whatta fox is? Ya sure don't know much, do ya?" he replied. "Come out of da den and you will see whatta fox is, sure you will, yo!" he requested but Imya still hesitated.

"Dat where ya in is ma den, sure it is, yo! Ya think Imma big and scary when Imma fit in da den?" Imya thought about it and then decided that, whoever this was, should be at least not too big. Also, if this was his den, then he would also be able to get in here as well. "Okay, I am coming out." She said with a faint voice and slowly crawled back out of the den. When she was out she turned around quickly and stepped a few steps back. Then she eyes the stranger. He, from his voice she was sure that he was a male, was red and brown. His eyes were red but his head and eyes were much smaller than hers. His body was much smaller than that of a wolf. Even Imya, who was small for her age and still a pup, was most likely slightly bigger than this fox when they would stand next to each other. The fox lay on the snow with a big smile on his face which showed his strong white teeth. Now that Imya looked at the fox he did not seem too scary but she still was shy and hesitant. She had not lost all her fears yet.

"Ya are a wolf pup, are ya not?" he asked and and eyes her from head to tail."Imma sniffed your scent and thought that ya be an intruder, but then I saw that ya are a pup, sure I did, yo!" he jumped to his feet. "Ya lost pup, are ya? Whatta ya name, yo?" "Imya ..." her voice shook again a bit. Now that the fox was on his feet she saw that he was a bit smaller than herself but still he seemed stronger and his straight forwardness scared her a bit. "Imya, ya gotta nice name, sure ya do, yo!" the fox smiled again. "Ya don't have da be afraid. Imma not hurting ya. Imma sure she-who-breathes-da-wind did show ya ma den for a rest, sure she did, yo!"

Imya was confused. "Who?" she asked and the fox stopped to smile. "Ya don't know she-who-breathes-da-wind? Da goddess fox who created all?" this added to the confusion of Imya. "But my father told me that the moon created the wolfs and the world ..." she began but the fox laughed. "Well, don't wonna fight with ya dad, sure do not, yo!" he said. "But she-who-breathes-the-wind is da goddess of all, not just da foxes. We fox are the cleverest ones, sure we are, yo! We help all da animals, just like she-who-breathes-the-wind." Imya looked at him with big eyes. His body was slender and long, his tail was bushy and he had tufted ears above his red eyes. Imya's stomach growled a bit in her starting hunger. "Ya hungry kiddo? Ya wonna eat?" Red turned around and ran a few steps towards a tree but after three meters he turned around and looked at Imya who did not move yet. "Come with ma, kiddo! Imma gonna find some food for ya, sure Imma will, yo!" Imya was not sure if she could trust Red yet, but she started to get hungry and therefore decided to follow him. He told her to be silend and follow him and as silent as she could she ran in his paw prints. He was fast and Imya had a hard time to follow him. He seemed to be trained and strong. He jumped over branches on the ground, ran a bow around trees and seemed not to slow down at all. All the thoughts and fears in Imya were pushed back because she had a hard time to follow him. The warm air that exited his muzzle created a thin band of fog in the cold air. It looked like he was blowing out very small clouds that were soon vanishing in the air around. Imya did not look around much but had to concentrate on following him. They ran for hours before he suddenly stopped and she nearly bumped into him. He crouched down and with his paw he signaled her to crouch down as well.

"Ya staying here, kiddo!" he said. "Imma gonna catch something for ya, sure Imma will, yo!" he whispered very low and Imya saw him run around a few bushes. She did not dare to move but waited for him to return. There was no sound but the wind that mumbled in her ears. The fox did not make a sound until she heard a small squeaking sound and then it was silent again. Red came around the bush soon after with a bunny between his teeth. "For ya kiddo. Young ladies shadda eat, yes they do, yo!" he threw the bunny in front of Imya and she looked at him surprised. She was used to get food as the last one and it seemed red did not have his fill yet. "Do you not eat first? I always eat last at home." Red looked at her and smiled. "Don't needa wait with ma kiddo. Imma gonna get ma own meal. Imma back soon, sure Imma will, yo! You wait here kiddo and eat!" and with this he was gone.

Imya enjoyed the bunny and now also found time to look at the surrounding. She saw the star between the trees and noticed that it was in the direction they had been running all night. She looked up to the star and it got warm around her heart by seeing her old friend. She was sure he would lead her home. When she was finished and nothing was left she saw Red breaking through the bushes. His muzzle was covered in blood that he licked away. It was clear that he had have a satisfying meal himself.

"Thank you!" she said. She just remembered that her mother always had told her to thank for a meal and she did not do it earlier. "It is okay, kiddo." The fox replied and then he looked up the star that was still visible through the trees. "Do ya know how da get home?" the fox asked without leaving his eyes from the star. She shook her head but then noticed that he could not see it and answered with sadness in her voice. "No, not for sure." She said. "But the star is leading me there." She added with hope in her voice. "Ah, ya also following da star then? Ya can go with ma if ya wanna, sure ya can, yo!" he said and looked to her again. "Imma following da star to see where it gonna go, sure Imma do, yo!" he added. "But now Imma gonna go to one of ma dens. Da day gonna come soon, sure it does, yo! Ya wonna join ma?" he asked and Imya pondered. If the fox would follow the star it was sure more secure with him than alone. She would not have to worry about food and even though he was weird she liked him already. How could she not like him when he brought her food. She was not sure why this fox was doing all this for her but maybe it was the star's doing. "Okay!" she replied and followed the fox. He told her that he had a lot of dens in the forest and soon they arrived at one of them. When they crawled inside Imya got a good sniff on his scent because they were very close to each other. She noticed that his scent was a stronger version of the same scent she had smelled in the other then. This confirmed that it has been his den. It reassured her that he was telling the truth and she could trust him. From following the fox all night and the good meal she was tired and soon she fell asleep, rolled into a ball of fur next to the fox.