1

~The Hollow~ 

“Mother! Can I please go outside the Hollow for a tiny bit?  Tiny tiny TINY bit?” said Hugo to Swift, and she replied; “no, my darling you are much too young.” 

“but, Mother!” He wailed.  “I want to see new things, and - and a wolf!  I want to see a wolf!”  His mother stared sadly down at him.  Why does Mother always look so sad when she sees me?  He thought.  Then he sat back on his haunches, and asked again; “so can I?”  He stared at his mother’s grey coat, it was an unusual grey with hints of white along her belly and head, her eyes were blue, and she had a rather short snout.  One other family of foxes lived in the Hollow, the parents, Alpine, was light orange while the mother, Nyko, was tawny and grey.  Their two kits, Foalan, a small bright orange vixen and Noctus, a large rough male with identical fur to Nyko, his mother.  Hugo didn’t really get along with Noctus, and was normally bullied by him over dominance.  But Noctus had his ways of never doing it when someone was looking.  Foalan, on the other hand, was very energetic and seemed to find a bright side in even the worst circumstances.  As she was small and runty she got along well with Cody, Hugo’s brother.  He was more shy.

“Why don't you go and play with Lyn?  She is trying to catch a fish in the pond” Mother said.

“Okay.” Hugo replied sulkily and padded with dragging paws over to the pond and sat down beside Lyn.  Lyn was almost as bright an orange as Foalan, but had a bit more tawny in her fur.  She loved to know things and was always begging Mother to tell her about the WideWorld, and if she wanted somebody to do something, she had her ways of getting them to, Hugo thought she had the personality of a wolf, from what he had heard, and she was rather lanky.  Cody was short and stubby for a fox, Hugo thought, although he hadn’t really seen too many.  Cody was grey like Mother but had lots of tawny orange specks littered around his fur.  Hugo was large and muscular with a shorter snout than Lyn or Cody, but didn’t stand as tall as Lyn did.  Hugo enjoyed early spring mornings, the crisp air not yet deprived of the winter's bitter clutches, the smell of life and new growth, and the soft mosses around the Hollow.  Hugo looked around his peaceful home.  On one side the walls were steep and made of soft earth, engraved with little stones and rock, making a rolling dotted pattern on the sheer wall.  At the base of this wall sat a large lump of earth and in that was a large opening draped with ivy that led to a warm and cozy burrow inside, this was where Hugo and his family slept.  And across from that burrow was a small pond with a pebbly shore, on which he now sat staring across at his warm burrow.  A small waterfall poured into the pond sending peaceful ripples through the rest of the clear water.  On the other side of the Hollow the wall sloped gently upward and at the top to one side a slab of stone that stuck out from the wall, and behind that was the mouth to another burrow.  On the stone slab lay Nyko, Noctus and Foalan's mother, she wore a sour expression as she always did, that was one thing he didn’t like about having Nyko as a neighbor, she was always so grumpy.  Beside her sat Alpine, who was grooming himself, he was okay but he didn’t really like Hugo’s father and they normally fought, Hugo wasn’t sure if that meant he should dislike Alpine, too.  If we don't like them then why do they live in our Hollow?  Hugo wasn’t sure exactly how they came to live with Nyko and Alpine, or who found the Hollow first.  Foalan and Cody sat at the mouth of Hugo’s Burrow and basked in the sun.  Hugo caught sight of Noctus, who sat ripping up Hugo’s favorite patch of foxgloves.  Hugo sighed as he watched Noctus devour his plants, but there was nothing he could do to stop him.  Noctus just thought he could do whatever he wanted if no one who could tell him off was looking.  Hugo flinched as Noctus gleefully ripped and tore at the pink and white flowers.

The sloping hill led up to a thorn barrier and then beyond that was the WideWorld, the forest and rivers and trees and new sky.  Everything Hugo wanted, outside the Hollow.  But Mother always said no, he can't go out.  He flicked a paw full of stones into the water in frustration, feeling satisfied as the large ripples spread out across the pond.  “I want out!” He exclaimed suddenly, “I want to see new things!” Lyn glanced at him and nodded enthusiastically.  “I want to know about the WideWorld, it's not fair that Mother won’t tell me anything.”  As they dreamed and enjoyed the sun beating down on their backs, and splashed their paws into the cold spring water of their pond, they dreamed of the day when they would finally get out, and oh, what a wonderful day that would be. 

Hugo could see every small pebble and stone through the water.  He could see a few minnows swim peacefully in the gentle currents.  All of a sudden Lyn’s paw struck the water causing ripples to spread through the cool liquid.

“STUPID FISHES!” She cried “THEY’RE TOO FAST!”

 “Now Lyn”, said Mother, who was sitting in the shade of one of the large oak trees that stood around the top of the Hollow, “maybe you're not fast enough.”

 “I'M SUPER FAST!” exclaimed Lyn as she jumped on Hugo and they fell into a tussling ball of paws and tails, Hugo pushed Lyn off and then jumped on her in turn.  Swift smiled sadly, and told her kits that she was going to have a nap with Cody, and that Father would be back soon with lunch.  Lyn and Hugo bounced at the foot of the sloping hill awaiting their father’s return.  Father returned and brought with him one rabbit and a crayfish, which was taken to Swift and Cody to share, while Lyn and Hugo ate the rabbit.  Hugo caught Noctus glancing menacingly at him and then at the torn and discarded foxgloves.  Hugo glared back and then returned to his portion of the rabbit.  Soon the clear sky began to cloud over and there was a scent of rain on the wind.  Foalan had already climbed the gentle sloping hill toward her Burrow when a lightning bolt streaked across the sky making her jump and fall backward down the hill.  Noctus padded over to her and gave her a playful shove.  “I'm fine ya big oaf!” She kicked at Noctus and he laughed.

“Quick! into the Burrow or the wolves will get you!” teased Father.  Lyn, Hugo and Codyraced to the den, Lyn in the lead.  When they were safe inside it began to drizzle, then rain, and by the time it was dark it was pouring.  After tussling with Lyn over who would get the best spot next to Mother, Cody asked, “Mother?  Could we have a story?”

“Yeah, yeah!” chanted Hugo and Lyn “tell us about when you ran away from those dogs!”

“No!  I want to know how you found the Hollow!”

Cody shook his head to both these suggestions and said. “Mother?  What was Grandfather like?”  Hugo and Lyn exchanged glances of excitement and immediately forgot their argument and sat down beside each other.

“Hmm,” said Mother, her eyes flashing with worry.  “Alright my darlings.  Let us have a story…”