Heyo all, this is my latest story, a collab between myself and  Slash-Fox, he was the main writer on this (Hence the different style and length to Fate's Hand), I was just ideas and early versions though we agreed on me posting. Once again this one is set within the Farthing wood universe, enjoy!


Prolouge

Snow covered the landscape, everywhere he looked. As his red paws
sunk slightly into the thin layer of whiteness, Slash thought to himself
that such a colour wasn't always such a good thing, as it was the middle
of autumn.

His razor sharp eyes scanned the night covered field, looking for
anything that could be counted as a meal. It had been a while since he
had last eaten and he was desperate to eat something, even if it was a
small rat.

As his gaze went to the wire fencing at one edge of the field, he noticed
something was starting to move into the field. Slash stopped walking
and watched the mysterious animal move slowly across the field,
wondering what it was.

However, as he watched it move Slash realised that there was two of
the mysterious animals...and they were both humans.

Fear quickly washed over Slash as he realised what they were, but his
fear quickly disappeared as he realised they weren’t looking at him.

Even with the darkness on his side, he knew that it would probably be a
good idea to get out of sight in case the humans spotted him. Backing
slowly to a nearby clump of bushes, he was almost of out sight when he
knocked into something behind him.

He turned round with immediate reaction and to his surprise he found
himself staring face to face with another red fox already hiding in them.

”Keep it down will you? Do you want to live forever?” The stranger
whispered before Slash could respond.

This stranger was clearly a male, and it was also clear what he was
doing in the bushes. Choosing not to answer the strangers question and
risk making more noise, Slash dropped to his stomach and waited until
the coast was clear.

After several minutes of tense silence, the stranger looked above the
bushes and stood up. Slash got up as well, and seeing that the field was
empty and that the humans had gone on their way, he turned and
looked at the stranger properly for the first time.

The male was mainly a dark red in colour, with the exception to the area
around his eyes, the underside of his jaw and his belly. The end of the
stranger’s dark red tail was coloured white. Slash also saw that the fox
was missing his ears and the top of his head before he realised that
they were coloured black. And even though Slash couldn’t see it in the
dark, the stranger’s paws were also black.

“Tempting as living forever sounds, there isn't anywhere that seems to
offer the chance.” Slash said simply, replying the stranger’s earlier
question.

The stranger considered him for several moments before responding.

”Actually I think the other side of that fence offers a better chance,
simply because the humans aren’t there.” the stranger replied, standing
up and shaking the snow off himself.

Slash was surprised. He had never been to a place before which didn’t
have at least a few humans nearby.

“By the way, the name's Dare.” added the stranger, snapping Slash out
of his surprise.

Slash looked at Dare up and down, as if he was considering what to
make of this fox he had bumped into.

”Charmed, my name is Slash.” Slash replied, as he looked towards the
fencing.

Dare followed his eyes and looked at the fence as well before setting
off towards it. Slash hurried after him. After months of travelling alone,
he needed some-one to talk to.

“So, what’s your story?” he asked Dare when he ad caught up.

Dare thought about it and shrugged.

“I originally lived a far distance away from here.” He
said. “Unfortunately I had several close encounters with humans,
sometimes nearly dying in the process. Now I’ve just reached that age
where I need to stake my own claims and find a mate, and after a good
months worth of travelling and avoid those bloody humans I ended up
here.”

Slash thought about Dare’s story. He himself had had several
encounters with humans, and he knew that Dare would probably have a
strong dislike towards humans, and Slash couldn’t blame him.

“What about you?” asked Dare, turning his head to look at Slash.

Dare looked at Slash properly for the first time since running into him.
Slash was a brighter red in colour than he was, with only the tips of his
ears being black and his belly being white. Dare also noticed a large
white stripe on Slash’s tail and twin sets of black stripes behind his eyes.

Dare also noted that there seemed to be a small amount of sadness in
his eyes, though in the dark he couldn’t tell.

“I too was born far away from here,” said Slash. “Like you, I had my
share of encounters with humans and like you I managed to survive.
However, my two sisters were not so lucky. Last spring they both fell
under the gun of the humans.”

Dare looked at Slash sympathetically. He knew what damage humans
could do to a fox.

“After that I knew that I had to leave the area where I had lived since I
was born.” continued Slash. “It killed me to do so, as it was my last link
to my parents and sisters. However, I knew that staying there could
spell the death of me, so I left to look for a better place. And after
months of travelling I’ve ended up here.”

Dare looked at Slash silently before looking away. This silence continued
between them as they continued to make their way towards the fence.

“Well, it looks like we both have something in common,” said Dare as
they reached the edge of the field. “We both have travelled a long way
to find a place free from humans, and as far as I can tell, this is the only
place around that provides that.”

Slash said nothing.

“Unless you have any better ideas, I’m staying here. I’m exhausted and
hungry, and I need a place to settle down.” continued Dare as he found
a gap at the bottom of the fence. “And this place looks like the best
option right now.”

And with that Dare squeezed under the fence and waited on the other
side.

Not having any better ideas and with nowhere else to go, Slash
shrugged and followed Dare through the fence. Dare nodded at him, to
which Slash responded in kind, before they both set off into the
darkness.

Neither of them knew that the place they had entered had a name:
White Deer Park.


Setting and general fw universe (C) Colin Dann
Slash (C)  Slash-Fox
Dare (C) Me