The Next Day
When your mate returns the next day all of you eat from the meat he has brought back. The kits are curious about this new source of food and while they might continue to nurse as well for a while this will gradually take over as the main part of their diet.
The kits were probably a bit more excited to play with the fur left over from their father’s rabbit kill. You watch them as they toss the fur back and forth, feeling happiness well in the bottom of your gut. Your kits are growing strong, getting bigger and bigger.
Today your daughter has no trouble exploring the new part of territory she is allowed to explore. You watch over your little ones more carefully, keeping your senses alert for that badger. But though you are wary you know in your heart that you’ll be able to defend your little ones should that badger return.
The rest of the day goes by uneventful for the most part, though this is good. Your kits play in the sunlight, tugging on each other {and you from time to time} as they enjoy being little. You can feel your heart go out to the young ones. It seems like just yesterday they were newborns mewling at your side.
You rise from where you’re laying, crossing over to the kits to give them another thorough grooming. If you thought that they had started to grow up fast now within a couple seasons they would be as big as you were. Maybe they would even leave the territory to go start families of their own?
But that is the life of the creature you’ve became. It is natural for a fox to grow up and possibly leave it’s parents. But your job won’t be complete until the little ones are fully grown and either go their separate ways or stick close to continue to help your family grow.
An ear twitches as you hear the approach of your mate once more and your gaze turns towards him. Once more he is carrying meat for the kits, though something seems wrong this time. The smell of blood, his own, is also upon him and you feel worried. Could he have run into the badger on his own?
Luckily, after a closer look, you see that the wounds are not as bad as you suspected they might be. The most concerning is a wound upon his left shoulder, though you are able to take a look at that and see that it is not incredibly deep. All the same you work to clean the wound, licking away the blood and dirt as the kits stick close to the two of you. They seem uncertain of what is going on, but you’re not too worried about them not knowing at the moment. Right now you just want to make sure your mate is taken care of.
As night begins to fall you usher your kits into the den. Your mate follows you, limping slightly from the wound he sustained. You’re worried, knowing that a wound like that could get worse in condition and eventually lead to the death of your mate. Sure it wasn’t deep but if it got infected it could be a real problem. Only time will tell what will become of your mate and the fate of your little ones as well.
Written by ShatteredBeginnings on 15 March 2017
