In the middle of the continent sits a small forest. Deep in the forest, there is a little hole. And in that little hole, there is a little fox. Who chooses now, when the sun has long since risen, to wake up.
"Good morning little hole! I hope you are holding up well." The fox thinks to itself, as it stretches out their lazy limbs. Of course, it didn't say that out loud, for this is a normal fox, and normal foxes cannot talk.
Once all lazy limbs have woken up, the fox peaks out of the little hole. "Good morning cloudy skies! Will you rain today?" Not that the fox disliked rain. It quite enjoyed the smell. The wetness a bit less, but the beauty often made it worth it.
Seeing nothing around it's little hole, the fox climbs out and begins strolling around. It has no particular goal for today, as it is a Sunday, and you should take it easy on Sunday. And so, the fox wandered around, smelling the nice flowers and shrubs and trees and leaves.
Soon enough, after walking a bit between thin trees, the fox comes across a berry bush. Each berry was big and vibrantly red, and had a strong stinging smell. "Good morning pepper peas! Thank you for the meal!" The fox gives the berries a quick lick, making sure they're ripe. A soft burning sensation makes the fox smile as it nips at the berries.
After about a dozen, the fox's hunger is sated. However, there is more for the fox to do here. Grabbing a branch of the berry bush full of berries, the fox yanks it off, tearing it away carefully so as to keep all the berries still on the branch. Then, with its newfound treasure, the fox hops away.
"Birdies! Where are you?" The fox calls out, though it's only just yips and yelps, for it is a normal fox. Soon enough, a crow caws back, and looking up at the trees the fox finds a friendly face.
"Good morning Claudia! Or are you Jenny? Here's today's gift!" The fox places down the berry branch and backs up, sitting patiently a few hops away. A moment later, Claudia (who had a cool scar on their eye) floats down and pecks at the berry branch. They let out a loud caw twice, before taking two berries for themselves.
A few more crows fly nearby, as the fox watches them passively. "Hello Nune, Will, and Sarah! Got any gifts?" Though the question is only in the fox's head, the crows do drop something next to the fox. A nice little crystal, that shines beautifully in sunlight.
"Thanks for the shiny! I'll go hunting now, see you tomorrow!" The fox gives a final yip, before walking away. But first they go to their little hole to store the little crystal. The fox pays no attention to the periodic flapping of wings and ruffling of leaves; the crows seem to love watching the fox.
After storing the gift from the crows within the little hole, the fox checks which way the clouds are flowing. It starts following the clouds, sniffing around for any signs of potential prey or danger. Of course, the fox barely does anything before the cawing of crows steal its attention.
Looking up, the fox watches Nune the crow (who always smells of cherries) fly away. The fox chases behind, as cawing crows often have something interesting to see. Soon enough, they reach a briar patch, much to the fox's annoyance.
"Nune, I can't go through there! It'll tear up my fur!" The fox complained. Of course, the crow could not understand the fox, but the concept of impassable terrain was conveyed easily enough. The crow ignored this, and simply flew away, leaving the fox to stare at the briar patch with an annoying amount of curiosity.
The fox begins circling around the briar patch, checking how big it is. Unfortunately, the fox's patience runs out before they make a complete loop, and so the size of the briar patch is labeled as 'big'. Next, the fox starts looking for any abnormalities in the briar patch.
It takes less than a minute to notice a slightly less dense patch of thorns. The fox quickly scavenges a long branch and tries poking into it, only to hear a very annoyed thump. It sounds like this is a rabbit's home!
"Sorry rabbit, I got curious. I'll leave now." The fox silently turned and walked away, much to the rabbit's relief. Of course, the rabbit waits a while before checking outside. And upon peeking outside, it activates 'observe II', making sure there's no hidden predator.
After 'observe II' doesn't pick up anything, the rabbit emerges fully from their home, a bit thirsty and hungry. While the briar patch had enough food scattered inside, water required a hike to the nearby pond. Cautiously, the rabbit hopped out of the briar patch and past a particularly scratched tree.
And then the fox leaps down from above and snaps the rabbit's neck. Letting out a tired "thank you for your sacrifice", the fox tears open its meal and begins eating. Soon enough, the fox is full, and so it lets out a satisfied yip, before running back to the little hole to rest. And as the fox runs off back home, a group of crows make their way to the leftovers.
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"She left us half the corpse this time! How generous of her!" Asparagus the crow calls out to the others, before taking his piece of the meat. He was lucky enough to be assigned to watch the fox today, an honor that few crows receive each week.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Maybe she liked that mana gem we gave her? Let's give her a bigger one next time!" Cherry the younger crow suggests, pecking away at her share of the meat. It was, after all, her idea to gift the excess mana gems. For the gems are far too hard for crows to utilize effectively; a major disadvantage many other flying beasts have.
More and more crows gather to eat and chat, gossiping about the various forest folks. About how the bear challenged the prime wolf for territory and lost, or how there are many messenger pigeons passing through the forest lately. Of course, they eventually begin talking about the lone fox who has been so kind to them.
And then there comes a shrill caw, as silence falls among the crows. A silvery white crow glides graciously down, as the other crows bow in respect. The wise crow Wisteria has arrived, a rare event, as this crow sleeps for years at a time.
"It appears that something interesting has happened while I wasn't around. Tell me, children, why many of you now have extra names?"
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The prime wolf was a prideful beast. As a holder of a title, it considers itself one of the more important member of this forest. Of course, there are some who'd disagree. This bear that the wolf was now feasting on was one of them.
Currently, they were sitting at the top of a small hill, a bit far from where the other wolves are. Of course, they aren't concerned for the prime. The only one who can rival the prime is the wise crow, but the crows are a rather neutral bunch, sometimes helping, sometimes stealing, but never attacking.
As they feast, the prime decides to check their stats once again, a habit they've grown after so many fights.
The prime wolf Nikola
lv 67
STR: 9
DEX: 7
CON: 7
INT: 4
WIS: 3
CHA: 1
HP: 164
SP: 164
MP: 100
Leadership 2+
Pride 2+
Honor 4
[...]
Analysis [A]
Mooncall [A]
Shadow Step [B]
[...]
Nikola. An annoyance, the prime wolf despised names. It was a major vulnerability, as some abilities become more effective just by knowing one's name. Of course, they needed a name, for titles are connected to names.
As the prime wolf licks up a bit more meat, a slight rustle in the grass nearby alerts them. How odd? Normally, the mere presence of the prime wolf is enough to drive most creatures away (much to their annoyance when it's time to hunt).
As the prime wolf watches the rustling, a small fox staggers out, tangled in some vines. This amuses the wolf, wondering if the fox child is too young to even properly understand the magnitude of the trouble it is about to be in.
Of course, the prime wolf is not a cruel or evil beast. Using 'Shadow Step', the wolf steps into their own shadow, and then steps out of the fox's shadow. Then, with a quick swipe, they cut the vines off of the fox.
'Let this be a lesson for you, to not make the same mistake ever again' The wolf monologues internally, unable to actually say it out loud. They're too shy to say anything longer than a single word. A flaw that the wolf is actively trying to overcome with great difficulty. When everyone runs away from you in fear, you don't get to practice talking all that much.
Realizing they got distracted, the wolf clears their head and returns to the current issue... which was the fox, who is now running away. The prime wolf sighs, assuming the message was properly conveyed. Out of curiosity, the wolf tries using 'Analysis' on the fox, if only to learn its level...
Analysis; Oak tree; inanimate, age 23 years, minor scarring from [...]
The prime wolf scowls, mostly at themself. It's rare, but sometimes with moving targets they can miss the analysis targeting and end up getting information from something nearby. In this case, the tree behind the fox.
As the fox hops out of sight, the wolf lets out a silent sigh. Looking out at the setting sun, the wolf decides to take it easy tonight. After all, it will be a new moon soon, and that's when idiots believe the prime wolf is at their weakest. The wolf chuckles a bit, their own rumor has spread quite far.
...A faint smell of cherry brings the wolf to full attention. Flying above is a single young crow, who glides down onto a tree nearby. "Message from wise crow Wisteria! There is a lone fox who will be under her protection. Do consider this as a warning-"
"...Specifics. Which fox?"
"Do not worry, there will only be one fox who is followed by crows. It will be extra obvious, especially for you."
The prime wolf grumbles, but shrugs. If it is only a single fox, then it shouldn't be a problem. Of course, there is the question of why, but the machinations of the crows can often be confusing. He will ignore it for now, assuming it won't be a problem. The past animals the crows protected weren't problems, after all.
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After several wrong turns, the little fox finally finds its way home. Diving into the little hole, the fox moves some tangled branches onto the opening, hiding it from sight. Then, curling up on the warm bed of softened grass, the fox begins to nod off to sleep.
Today was a nice day, as all days have been. After all, it is a Sunday, which is always a good day. As the fox's breathing smoothes and calms, the crystal gifts from the crows start to glow.
Annoyed, the fox covers them with some spare leaves and grass. Of course, the crystals are normally quite valuable mana gems, but the fox does not care, for it is a normal fox after all. If anything, the glow is quite bad for sleeping. Maybe tomorrow, the fox will dig an extra room just to store annoying presents like these.
Curled up again, the fox finally gets to sleep. It's a bit late, so maybe tomorrow they will wake up late. Oh well, it's fine. It's a Sunday tomorrow, after all!
"...My name is Mochi, you know? Mr. Narrator, please call me Mochi. Good night."