The Beginning

She awoke slowly, feeling unfamiliar ground beneath her. Foxy blinked, her eyes adjusting to the light. It appeared as though she was at the shore of a lake, with a forest surrounding it. 

What...? Where... am I? How did I get here? 

She slowly got up, stretching and yawning. She had no idea where she was, no idea how she got there. Foxy then decided to look for someone else. 
"Hello?" she barked. "Anybody there?" 

She wondered if this was just a dream, or if she was alone.
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 He was ranging a bit further than usual, out of the confines of Nightwalkers territory. He wasn’t held to that same standard as the others and he actually needed more supplies. He had the itch to craft something and with spring coming, he wanted to see what other supplies there were around. He left one of Vengeance’s rats in charge at his home, to make sure nothing happened to his already gathered supplies while he went out. He would be a few days but would return.

 The rat wandered hither and thither, picking up little trinkets and grabbing vines and flowers to wind in his fur so that he could take them back. He’d actually taken a break in a tree, reclining back with a vine in his paws as he deftly crafted a necklace. He twined flowers in it as well as a few small bones from a small creature he’d found. It was turning out rather nicely. It was during his crafting time that he heard the sound below. He looked over and saw a fox! She seemed quite surprised to be where she was.

 ”I’m here!” He leaned over and waved at her with a tiny paw. ”You lost or something, dear?” He asked while continuing to work with his paws.

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"Oh! Hi there! What's your name?" Foxy barked. "And do you happen to know where we are?" 

She came closer, slowly at first, saying "I am lost, I think..." she trailed off, looking around at the unfamiliar woods. 

Looking back up to him, she barked "I'm Foxy! Wanna be friends?"
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 The rat looked down at the fox, finding that she must be the friendly naïve sort. Vengeance would eat her alive. Literally because she was a fox but if she were a wolf he’d probably do so in the metaphorical sense. He didn’t say any of this though and continued to smile down at her. ”My name’s Err, pleasure meeting you, miss.” He said politely. ”As for where we are? We’re in the Temperate region of this land. Plenty of wolf packs around here.” Large ones. His own and Celnes from Elkshire or whatever it was.

 ”Where would you like to be?” He said in response to her being lost. He could probably point her out in the right direction depending on where she wanted to go. Or who she wanted to meet. ”Friends, eh?” He seemed to chew on the question, mulling it over but then shrugged. It wasn’t as if it’d hurt anything making an innocent little fox happy. Besides, if she thought they were friends he might get something out of it in the end. If only someone to talk to or point out where some useful trinkets were. ”Why not? Although I’d steer clear of my other friends if I were you.” He said with a laugh. A warning, for a “friend”.

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"Pleasure meeting you too!" she barked, nodding her head a little. "And thank you for that info on where we are, it's so unfamiliar here!" 

Foxy then thought about what he said. They probably aren't friendly... And I don't think the wolf packs would accept me... After all, I'm a fox and not a wolf! ... He probably thinks I'm naïve, with me asking to be friends when we just met... Well, he did help me, so of course I wanted to be friends with him! 

"I'm sorry if I just sounded naïve, it's just that you helped me out so I just wanted to be friends or something..." she said, shaking herself, as it was slightly cold. "And could you tell me if there is a plains region? I want to go there if there is one. Y'know, find someone who will accept me and be friendly I guess?"
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 ”Of course!” He waved a paw at her nonchalantly, as if it were no trouble at all. He placed his paw back on the necklace he was making then, and continued to weave flowers and bones into it. ”No worries, love. You’re just being friendly. No need to apologize.” He wouldn’t go around doing the same thing but to each his own. He preferred to regard others politely but with a healthy sense of self-preservation. Usually the politeness aided in the latter, especially when dealing with things that could swallow you in one bite.

 Plains region?” He hmmed to himself, leaning back against the tree as he tapped a paw on his chin. ”Well, never been myself but I heard talk of one that’s northward.” Gossip from wolves, gossip from other animals. He heard it all. ”Although if you’re lookin’ for friendly you’ll probably find that anywhere.” Then there was a twinkle in his eyes as he added, ”Although I’d be careful. The wrong person sees you’re trying to be friendly and want friends and they might take advantage of it. Word of advice.” He was of the same and friends with some of the same but at least he’d give her an upfront warning about it. She was nice enough and he didn’t want to see her get chomped. ”But maybe if you head to the plains you’ll have less to worry about.” Because Temperate was full of wolves that would love those like her.

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"Northward? Okay!" She thought for a moment about that. "Hmm, would I be able to follow that river at the end of the lake to the plains? And could I get there by sunset?" 

Foxy thought again about her journey. She had an urge to go to the plains, or somewhere north where she could roam and explore. 

"So, northward is the next step..." she muttered. "Thank you again for your help! Is there anything else I should know?"
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She asked a couple of more questions, to which the cream-colored rat shrugged. "Unfortunately, I don't know the specifics. Never been myself, you see." Gossip only went so far when you'd never actually seen or experienced the thing being talked about.

Anything else? He hmmed again, pausing in his crafting to scratch at his chin contemplatively. "This place is weird. Lots of souls wake up here with no rhyme or reason. Some out of thin air so I'm sure you'll find some other kindred spirits." And that was all he had to say as he went back to weaving.
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"Thank you for that information!" she barked, slightly pawing the ground beneath her. 

I wonder what I'll find! Maybe a place where I fit in and am appreciated! she thought, shrugging a little. 

"Well, if that's all, I think I'll be on my way!" she said to him. "It was nice meeting you! I hope you have a good time!" 

Foxy began to walk away, happy that she had been found by him and not someone hostile.
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 "Same to you, love!" He said, waving his paw at her as she retreated. He would watch her orange coat for a moment longer before going back to what he had been doing before. He wondered briefly what she'd meet out there and wondered again if he should try to adventure into the plains himself. 

 Naaahhh! At least not until this thing with the Nightwalkers fell through. 

 So he would continue his weaving for a while longer before moving onto other places to forage.

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-exit/fade out!-

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