A Broken Fox (Reserved for Mesperyian)

[xXRassBerriXx]

?A Broken Fox?

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?~Setting~?


Within medieval Europe, the snow is falling freely from the cloudy skies above. It stains the ground in blankets of clear, sparkling white. It weighs down on the bare , leafless trees and covers most any path that is left unattended to. Everything is coated in a dazzling white. The air is cold, very much so. As a result not many people have chosen to head outside. Most every person is within their homes, tending to their fires and residing within the warm confinements of their home. Save for a few unfortunate kinds people: merchants, hunters, travelers, and the oddities who reside within this world. Within this Europe, many unnatural people exist, and these people are despised. People hate them with a burning passion, and yet at the same time people adore what they can provide them with. Fur, magic, labor, humans steal away all of these things from the creatures who live among them. They refuse to allow them to live within their communities unless they happen to be slaves or workers, and as a result many of these poor oddities are left to wonder the world without a home or a soul who would care for them. Some humans do support them, offering them an environment and a place to feel secure, but this doesn't happen often. Even when it does, the paradise is normally short lived for these creatures, due to the danger they can bring about to their caretakers. Hunters will come after them, the village could protest, often supports are targeted and forced to abandon those who they have tried to save.

​

?~Introduction~?


"Why am I even trying?"

Quietly, the fox walked. His ears were hidden away under the cover of his cloak's hood, while his tail had been covered by the thick body of the same, dark cloak. He panted softly, each step seeming to drain him of more and more energy, while each and every breath made his throat and lungs burn in protest. His usually bright, emerald eyes were dull and blurred as his mind too was beginning to distort, growing more and more distant just as his mind was attempting to fall away from him. It was hard to think, to keep his consciousness and his wits about him, all of this being the result of his currently injured form.

"I should just stop, why do I keep going?"

The night was cold, terribly so. The jaws of winter kept nipping at the fox's covered skin, sending small sparks of odd pain through his already hurting self. Yet again, it had happened to him. He had stumbled into a bear trap, one hidden underneath a layer of deep snow. It's metal teeth had immediately swung upwards, and just like that they had ripped and damaged his calf. It hurt terribly, at the time it had even beckoned a cry from his throat. It had been this pained sound that had caught the attention of the hunters who had set it all up, and upon catching sight of his previously uncover tail and ears, they had attacked without a hint of mercy or guilt. One had stabbed a blade deep into his right shoulder, forcing him onto the ground and holding his down, while the other had taken a grip on his tail. Bending it, twisting it in ways it wasn't supposed to move only hurt the fox more. It was sickening, as if they were merely tormenting their prey before taking what they wanted, and it seemed almost as if they had enjoyed it.

"I'm all alone anyways. What do I have to live for anymore?"

Just before they could steal away his fur, the fox had managed to flee from the other's grip. Everything hurt by then, he had been kicked, hit, and taunted, but still he managed to make his escape. His only option towards life had been to push himself through it all, and in time he did manage to hide himself away in the forests dept. He was hurt though, and alone. He didn't see any way for him to survive now in this could and without anything on his own form to heal himself with.

"I don't want to live like this... I want to die! It would be better than all of this!"

He suddenly stopped walking, eye lined by a small shine of withheld tears. His pale hands clutched at the dark fabric of his cloak as he looked around from where he stood, and from there he turned in a new direction. He stopped in front of a large pine tree, it's bristles holding away the snow and creating a small show of dirt below it. He eyed the ground, seeming to be thinking. It was still so cold, even without the snow. If he were to sleep this night, he would surely die by morning. He was certain of this, yet still he keeled down onto the dirty ground below him.

"No one cares... No one would even notice if I died. What would I get out of fighting anymore?..."

He lowered himself onto the dirt ground below, curling into a small ball and slipping his tail over his waist. He hugged the warm fur close to his body, running his hand through the now tangled hairs of black which had been created from the hunter's harsh grip. He felt so tired, his eyes were heavy. His pain was beginning to fade away into a certain numbness as his consciousness leaked from his body in the form of red liquid. His eyes shut and slowly, his fingers ceased their stroking upon his tail. It slipped away, now laying limply upon the ground as the rest of the tension left his body.

"If I just sleep forever... no one can hurt me anymore."






What the fox didn't know, was of you're whereabouts this night. While most people had already fallen fast asleep, you had left the comforts of your home in search of more fire wood. Your own had just burned out after all, and in a night as cold as this warmth was essential. You needed a warm home before you slept, or else the morning might not even come for you. The forest was such a vast place, and already your arms were full of discarded sticks the trees had lost in the harsh winter. Now, you were making your way back home, content with the size of the pile within your hand, but then a stick up ahead had caught your eye. Under the cover of a huge pine tree, it was untouched by the snow. It seemed like an excellent choice, for the snow had yet to wet it. Easily, it would burn.

Seeing this brilliant choice, you rushed forwards and took the stick into your hand. You slipped it onto the top of your pile, but just before you were about to begin walking, something new caught your attention: A sliver of black. Just on the other side of the tree, there was something else, and curiosity got the better of you. Curiously, you peeked around the truck, unknowing of what you would come to see... The site was certainly unexpected. The body of a man, a black and white tail crossing his waist, and a dark red staining parts of the ground below him. The only thing that suggested that he was still alive was the small, stained movement of his chest with every breath he took. What will you do?

​

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[Mesperyian]

Height: 5'4


Weight: 120 lbs


Name: Rowan


Age: 17


Gender: Female


Race: Human


Skills: Knowledge of medicine. Huntress. Decent at cooking. Good with plants and animals.


Abilities: N/a


Bio: Rowan's mother was accused of being a witch and lynched, leaving the girl to become self-sufficient at the age of 14. She never knew her father, not even his name. Now she lives in the humble shack she once shared with her mother, waiting for something that could change her life for better or worse.<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_03/rowan.jpg.818d63a7755e33ab064e50765ea97449.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="46885" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_03/rowan.jpg.818d63a7755e33ab064e50765ea97449.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

(( very nice! Could you start please? Any post length it fine, I can adjust easily. ))

 

[Mesperyian]

Rowan struck the tinder box again for the umpteenth time in sheer frustration. The wood would not burn, it was too green, she would have to collect more if she did not want to freeze. But it was late, and cold, and dark, and all sorts of dangerous things lurked in the woods, just waiting to kill a girl her size. Perhaps she would be captured by slave traders, but at least she would escape the wretched cold. She picked up her knife from the table in case it was needed and set out in to the pitch black night.


The wind howled at her back, her threadbare cloak doing little to stop it. Snow flurries clung to her hair and eyelashes, and she hastily blinked them away. She had found a few sizable pieces, but they would not last her until morning. She headed deeper in to the forest, ignoring the uneasy feeling that was telling her to turn back. She could freeze to death and not be found for days. There was no one to come looking for her, and her body would likely be nothing but bones by the time it was found.


Her eye spotted a large stick, and she bent to pick it up, but as she did, the rest of her pile slipped from her arms. She cursed softly, but something else caught her attention that made her almost forget about the firewood. It was the body of a boy who looked about her age. He was passed out in the snow, and blood was rapidly draining from his body. He would die soon unless she could do something. She bent down close to him and gently shook him. "Are you awake? Can you hear me? You have to wake up!" she noticed his ears and tail but thought little of them. She was the village freak after all, and those that lived in glass houses could throw no stones.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

Something... N felt something. A small seed of warmth placed upon him, an unfamiliar touch than came upon and caught his attention, even in his unconsciousness. Who was touching him? Maybe the hunters had found him and had come to take away his fur once more. That thought caused a slight shiver to run down his spine, to have his ears and tail removed was something that indeed did frighten him. The single scare he has upon his left ear hurt so badly, despite how small it was. To have it ripped off completely sounded as if it would be completely unbearable. He also didn't want to lose them, for despite how strange they were, they were a part of him that he had come to adore.


The only problem was, this touch didn't feel like the hunter's. Their hands were chilling and rough, but this one was completely different. he stirred feebly, unwillingly being drawn back to his consciousness despite how much he had just wanted for all his pain to stop. He was unaware however, that there was a person above him that didn't judge him by his tail or his ears. That idea would be silly in his mind, for no one had managed to do such a thing for him. He didn't expect anyone to do that, he didn't even think it was possible by this point.


His tail's end flicked as things began coming back to him, and it wasn't long before his green eyes had cracked open. It wasn't much, but he was somewhat awake then. The world was blurry, and he could hardly make out the shape before him: Who she was, or even what. His dulled eyes slowly moved, reaching her face, but he couldn't make it out. For a moment he was still, just peering soundlessly upwards, this was before the pain had come back to him. Under his breath, he hissed in pain as his hand traveled to the cut on his shoulder. His calf tensed, the very one which had gotten caught in that bear trap. It all still hurt, worse than before even.

 

[Mesperyian]

He was awake, that much she was sure of, but he seemed unable to speak, much less stand on his own two feet long enough to make it back to her shack. "Stay right there, I'm coming back, I promise." she began gathering leaves and pressed them down over his wound, doing what she could to stop the bleeding. She sprinted back towards the shack, steadying herself so she wouldn't trip and fall in the snow. She reached the shack and headed around the back to get what she had come for, a cart. Typically it would have been used to carry the firewood, but the wheels were so noisy that she worried they would alert the wild animals that roamed the forest to her presence. She could worry about them later. As for right now, she had someone in sore need of help to attend to.


She pulled the cart in to the forest, following her previous footprints to find the boy. He was heavy but she managed to get him loaded on to the cart and back to her shack in one piece. The leaves had already turned red with blood, and it was obvious that his wounds would require stitches. Rowan had some knowledge of medicine, and she hoped it would be enough to save him. She set about cleaning and disinfecting the wounds. "They got you pretty badly, huh?" she wasn't sure if he could hear her or not.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

N had nearly drifted off into his unconsciousness once again, but somehow he had managed to keep it despite the cold and the bleeding of his wounds. He didn't know he had forced himself awake, he didn't have the mind to think much at all. So, he simply did as his subconscious wanted, not having the thought to defy it. He wasn't sure where he was anymore, moments before he had been moved. Where, he didn't know at all, but he didn't worry. He was just tired, and that was all he really thought about at the moment, until he heard a voice. His gaze once again traveled, landing upon the figure at his side. Who she was, he wasn't sure... but this kept him from getting scared, so for the moment this was a good thing.


Her comment reminded him of the hunters, the very ones who had almost mutilated him int he forest. It made him wonder, what was her intention? Why was she doing this, what did she want from him? These were the common questions that would arise anytime he would meet someone, they happened mostly on impulse, but he could not think much further. He needed a bit of time before he could do such a things as that.

 

[Mesperyian]

She kept working, suturing up the wounds and wrapping them with gauze. He was unresponsive when she spoke, but she hadn't exactly been expecting a reply. She pulled a blanket over him and inspected her handiwork. He had lost a lot of blood, but he would pull through just fine; she breathed a sigh of relief.


When she had brought him back in the cart, she had also managed to load up the pile of firewood. It was a miracle that none of it was wet from the snow. She lit the match and dropped it in to the fire pit and moments later a roaring fire crackled to life. Since the boy was in her only bed, Rowan curled up on the bearskin rug on the floor and stared idly at the ceiling waiting to fall asleep.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

It was warmer, a lot warmer. Without knowing N had blacked out once again, waking only now and just the slightest bit. He felt oddly comfortable, something soft was underneath him. He was staring blankly at the ceiling, listening the the soft crackles of fire across the room. With his blood loss finally slowing, the cut on his arm having actually stopped bleeding though the one of his leg still leaked just a bit, energy was slowly starting to return to his idle body. He gathered the strength to turn, now laying on his side as he took to his normal sleeping position. Curled, his tail curving over his waist to lay in front of him... but this caused him to catch sight of something.


His breath hitched a bit, eyes seeming to have collected more light. A human? Was he seeing things right? A small bit of panic crossed him. Just what was he doing around a human? He worried even more about what she planned to do to him. He had yet to recognize that she was his savior, for he knew only the voice and touch of that person. Everything else he had failed to notice in his semi-conscious state, but now awareness was coming back to him. Startled, he tried sitting up, and this resulted in a small groan of pain. It hurt to move, at all, but regardless he forced his arms to straighten and his torso to lift.

 

[Mesperyian]

She had almost drifted in to sleep when a sound from the other side of the room snapped her out of it. "I see you're awake." she said to the boy, sitting up. "Is there anything more I can do for you?" There were so many other questions bouncing around in her head, like what he was doing in the forest that late at night and what caused his injuries, but those she decided to keep to herself. She would not exhaust him any more than necessary.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

N paused, surprised by her words. More? Certainly, a human had not been the one to save him, when would they ever trouble themselves for him? He looked down, making sure his tail was truly in her sight. It was and this did confuse him even more. She saw what he was, so why would she bug herself for him... She had to be lying, no one ever helped something like him. He pushed back, closer to the edge of the bed further from her, eyes narrowed as he inspected her for what she may plan to do.


"W-what do you want?" his voice was quiet, and somewhat shaky. He was still panicked, scared, he was in no condition to fight. If she wanted something from him, how could he stop her when he was so weak? " You... can't have my fur!" This was his first assumption, people always wanted his fur for just how much money it would catch. Showing that he planned on defending it, his tail twisted around to go back behind him once again, where she couldn't even see it. "D-don't take it... please... don't." He was starting to feel dizzy again after how much he had worked himself up, his arm now shaking as if it were ready to collapse from under him. Certainly, with him being so near to the bed's edge, this wouldn't be a good thing.

 

[Mesperyian]

His fur... that must have been the reason why he was so tense, he thought she was out to steal his fur. "I don't want to take your fur. You can calm down, now. I'm not going to hurt you." she spoke in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. "You just need to rest. You were hurt pretty badly when I found you." She got up and poured herself a cup of tea, pouring an extra glass for the boy. She set his cup down up a table within arm's length of the bed where he would be able to reach it and sprawled down indian-style on the floor.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

"T-then, what do you want from me?" he questioned her, still unsettled while he was so close to a human, a stranger at that. Why hadn't she just let him die? He was going to hurt more now, he was certain of it... That must have been her intention. She was going to heal him, to torment him more? He sighed, quietly. She probably wasn't going to do that, and he eyed the drink with a bit of suspicion. He didn't trust her, not a bit. He never trusted anyone at first, and this certainly did make things harder on him.

 

[Mesperyian]

"It's not poisoned." she took a sip from her own cup to prove her point. "And to answer your question, I couldn't very well leave you there, you would have died." The fire was dying down, and she remedied this with the poker. "Whether you trust me or not is up to you, but once you're feeling strong enough, you're free to go if you would like."

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

"Maybe I wanted to die..." he retorted, but he hushed his voice quite a bit. He was saying it mostly to himself, but if she had chosen to listen closely to him, his barley audible words would have indeed been heard. Truly, N was nearing the point of giving in. After so many years by himself, being given glimmers of hope, small tastes of happiness, and yet all of that was crushed right before him... It all was becoming too much. His eyes traveled to the nearby cup, and a little bashfully he had extended a hand to take it.

 

[Mesperyian]

"I see." she paused, choosing her words very carefully. "I understand that the world can be a cruel place sometimes, and people are not always kind to you. My mother was a kind woman, always helping people whenever she got the chance, and that still brought her nothing but suffering in the end." her voice wavered. "So I can promise you that whatever you are, I don't care. I don't want to hurt you."

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

The moment her words sunk it, a clear look of surprise crossed him... Was she being honest? His caretakers, they too had been able to accept his oddities, but the moment he brought them trouble they tossed him out. She was probably going to be the same. He looked away, now holding the key cup in his hand as he stared down at it. "No one ever stays with me... you're going to be the same way," he murmured, finally taking a drink from the tea. His bold words really were not like him, it was only his distrust causing him to act up a bit. He lowered the drink back down, a bit of his normal self crossing him. His ears fell back against his head, as his tail crossed bashfully across his waist. "B-but... thank you... You don't need to sit on the floor..." He moved away from the table, sliding to the bed's edge again. While he was scared, he was a kind person... most people did use this against him, but she had been nice to him so far. He wanted to return the favor, even if it scared him to place himself so close to a human. "Y-you can come up here..." He clutched his cup lightly, trying to keep himself from shaking.

 

[Mesperyian]

She moved very slowly up to the bed, doing her best not to frighten him with any sudden movements. Like the animal he shared traits with, he was a bit on the timid side when he was feeling threatened, she was starting to notice. "I've been alone since my mother died, trust me, any bit of company is welcome." she sat beside him, crossing her legs. "So how did you find yourself out in the forest on a night like this? It's dangerous out there, you know."

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

"I-I don't have a home..." he informed, not caring to try hiding that fact. He thought it was obvious, that many people know oddities like him were treated as something below a human being. The only home he had ever had was that orphanage he had been raised at, but one he was force out he could not find anywhere to live for long. His eyes remained on the tea, no longer peering at her. She was a bit too close for his comfort, but he had been the one to invite her up here. "People... don't like me..." He left it off at there, uncertain if she knew the rest or not.

 

[Mesperyian]

"I know a thing or two about that." she sighed. "My mother loved helping the sick. It would make her smile to know that she could make people feel better. She was a little too good at what she did, and those same people who she had loved to help turned on her. They said she must be a witch, and they killed her." she shuddered. "All I am to any of them is the witch's daughter, and I have nightmares that they're coming to kill me too." she looked down, her hands shaking.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

N was silent a moment, thinking. Oddly, he unwillingly felt concern for the girl beside him, which was something that bugged him. He shouldn't feel anything for her, if he let himself get close, he would only get hurt. Yet, he didn't want her to be killed, nor did he wish for her to be all alone like him. It simply wasn't like him to wish ill will on others, rather he wanted to help. He peeked over at her, before shyly he leaned a but closer. He wrapped his arms around her, putting his now empty tea down in the process. He had shut his eyes tightly as he placed himself so close to her, body shaking now as his fear accelerated.

 

[Mesperyian]

His embrace was unexpected, but welcome nonetheless, and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. Her heart was still pounding from remembering the events that had plagued her dreams. She made sure not to hug him too tightly; the last thing she needed was for his stitches to rip open and for him to bleed out. "This is probably an odd time to ask, but what's your name?"

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

His figure tensed when he felt her arms around him, fearing that she may have some ill intent. Had he angered her? He had done this without permission, unexpectedly, and now he did fear that she would want to punish him... That was, until he recognized it for what it was: A hug. His figure eased, and shyly he peeked over his shoulder. She wasn't hurting him, threatening him, she was merely embracing him. He eased, even pushing a bit closer to her. "N..." he replied quietly.

 

[Mesperyian]

"N, hmm. Well, my name is Rowan, and since nobody around here has treated either of us kindly, I really hope we can be friends." She hadn't had someone she could truly call a friend since after her mother's death. The other children she'd played with were kept away by their parents.

 

[xXRassBerriXx]

He was still uncertain... Why did she want to be friends with him? People never wanted that, but still hearing her words had driven away some of the loneliness which often hung over the fox. His ears folded back, he didn't seem as frightened as he had been before in her embrace, rather he seemed to have begun to calm down a bit. Sleepiness aided him in his tranquility. After all the blood loss, he would need some time to recover.