[Flashback] The Fox and the Hound (Kita)

[Miharu Mindi]

45th Day of Spring, 509 AV

Just outside the Ice Gates, in a thick patch of snow, a lone wolf was stalking it's prey. Silver fur blended seamlessly with the snow she'd buried herself in, her black nose and golden eyes the only things visible, and only barely since she'd chosen a spot in the shade of a huge fur tree. Not a breath of movement gave away her position, eyes narrowed as she concentrated. And then, she saw it - the perfect opportunity, the moment she'd been waiting for, when her prey turned its back on her.

It made no difference that the wolf was still more pup than anything else, her limbs just reaching that first slightly awkward stage of adolescence. Or that her unknowing prey was actually a squirrel that had been digging around for some stash of nuts it'd hidden away. Spring did not affect the frozen world of Taldera the same way it did the rest of the world, and anyone else would have thought the ice-locked city still in the throes of the deepest Winter - but the locals knew better, knew that the worst of the year brought sweeping, bitter winds and dropped the temperature far enough to freeze the blood in your veins if you didn't have the blessing of Morwen to help you through it. Miharu had no such blessing, but she was born of these lands, her wolven form a natural predator in the very woods she stalked every day, and her thick fur and specialized metabolism gave her an edge. Were any other animal to get close enough - or downwind of her - they would immediately catch the scent of humans and civilization that undoubtedly marked her as something other than just a wild animal. Which didn't make her any less dangerous.

An edge this silly squirrel would soon learn of, to his detriment!

The pup bounded out of the snowbank, chunks of snow flying in every direction. The squirrel, whose instincts were honed for just such occasions, immediately dropped the walnut he'd been clutching and took off for the nearest tree.

It was an epic race, but in the end the wolf was simply too fast - and with a final leap and a squeak of protest from the squirrel, Miharu snatched it up in careful teeth and shook it out like a rag doll, snapping its neck.

She'd done it! That was all it took, and then her tail went into the air and she did a little strutting dance of victory right there in the snow, squirrel still dangling from her muzzle.

[Kita]

Kita awoke from to the sound of her older brothers play fighting in the room next to hers. Tayn, who was the youngest, was supposed teach her archery today. She desperatly hoped that Jeran wouldn't hurt her younger brother, Tayn too much or he would once again try to opt out of what was supposed to be her daily training sessions. She jumped out of bed and walked over to the next room over. Jeran and Tayn were sparring playfully. Jeran was a grand wolf with fur as black as the darkest night and yellow eyes that seemed to glow. Tayn was a wolverine with wood colored brown fur with streaks of black running down his back. Even though he was the smallest of all the Finleys when in his animal form he made up with it with feirce power and speed. Kita stomped up to the mock battle and growled at Jeran. "You promised you would teach me archery today" she said. Tayn fought off Jeran who was clawing at him. "I'm in the middle of something." he said. She growled again and he walked over to her. "You want this training so bad? Fight me for it." he said. Kita knew this was the only way so she walked out of the room and took off her clothes. Then she took on her fox form. She looked in the mirror at her fire red fur and her yellow eyes. She felt much more comfortable in this form. She walked back into her brother's room and got ready for the fight. Jeran had gone back to his human form and was sitting off to the side getting ready to see the fight. No one ever defeated Tayn except Jeran of course. Jeran was in charge of Kita and her brother due to their parents kicking them out when they found out all three of them were Kelvic "So you think you are going to beat me Kita?" he growled. She was scared because deep down she knew she couldn't win. She had never sparred with Tyan before. She had fought with Jeran once but that only resulted in her getting covered in scratches. All the fighting was in good sport of course. Still, Kita was very against it. Kita stood scared in front of her older brother. He looked scary with his brown fur bristling. "You can take the first move." he said slyly. Kita pondered about what she was going to do and then pounced at him. He quickly moved to the side and she crashed into the wall. The room looked like it was spinning around her. Jeran walked up next to her and placed his paw on her side. "I win, get your bow." he said. She slowly got up and looked at him. "But you said..." she started. "And now i am doing." he said firmly. Kita knew not to wait around for Jeran to ask again. She sprung up and rushed to her room. Once alone again Kita changed into her human form. She pulled on a loose green dress and a coat from her closet. Then she grabbed her bow and met Jeran outside. Tyan took her out to the forest. He started to sniff the air. "Try to smell out your prey before you even think of hunting." he said. Kita sniffed and picked up the smell of a rabbit. "I smell a rabbit." she said. Tyan nodded and motioned for her to follow. She did as he said and soon they were near their prey. "Now shoot like i taught you Kita." he whispered in her ear. She pulled back and released the arrow. It flew swiftly through the air and killed the rabbit instantly. Tyan walked over to it and picked it up. "Nice, Jeran will be proud." he said. Kita perked up "You are going to show Jeran?" she asked excitedly. She wanted to be strong and she wanted her brother to see it. "Yeah, he will be happy I brought home dinner." he said. Kita's mood instantly darkened. It was her first kill and she wanted to show Jeran. "When you have a little sister you can take credit for her kills." he said with a smile. She growled and then walked off into the forest. "Where are you going?" Tyan called after her. She didn't answer though. She knew that this was Tyan's way of showing her tough love but it was still her kill. Kita ran through the forest ripping off her clothes. She hated staying in her human form. Once she was naked she took her fox form. It was much easier to run in this form. She took great strides through the forest trying to get as far away from home as possible. Soon she came to the edge of her town and stopped running. It was easier to breathe out here away from her family. Kita rasied her nose in the air and sniffed the air for prey. She didn't want to return home without prey. Suddenly she got the scent of a squirrel and raced after it only to find that a grey wolf had already caught it. She noticed the wolf had noticed her and was walking towards her. she didnt know what to do. She had always been very shy like a fox. She looked in it's eyes and could see friendiness in its yellow eyes. She could tell she was with a fellow Kelvic and hoped that she was friendly. Jeran and Tyan were to far away to help her.

[Miharu Mindi]

Miharu had just finished her victory dance when she caught the sound of something approaching. She froze, ears perking up, and she tossed the squirrel up a moment to get a better grip on it before going to investigate.

What she found was a little red fox - but it smelled all wrong, of woodsmoke and human skin. Another Kelvic! she thought, bouncing on all fours again as she gave a friendly whine and bounded across the snow towards her.

She skidded to a halt a few feet away from Kita, dropping the squirrel so she could offer a wolfish grin, tongue lolling out. Hello! Are you a friend? she growled in Canine, golden eyes glued to the little fox.