[SRP] the forest family (Able and Rayne)

[Reoakee]

Able chuckled watching Till and Rayne fishing in the stream down from him. He was amused watching them. Till was muttering under her breath and was soaked entirely while Rayne was patiently prancing up and down the stream herding the fish toward Till. He was wet too from the occasional dive making sure the fish didn’t escape his poorly tangled net area. It had taken Rayne days to tangle up a makeshift net to use for fishing so even though it wasn’t all that good Able wasn’t going to stop him from using it. Rayne really did better with ground hunting things like rabbits and deer. Able had always been a fisher fox so that kind of hunting never interested him, Rayne was good at it but still seemed to instist on fishing occasionally with his father for some reason. Able chuckled and turned his head to focus back on the trout that was hiding under a log. Slithering forward he slid onto the half submerged log and curled his tail under the log twitching his tail he felt the tug of the fish biting his fluffy tail. Tugging the tail out he dropped his head quickly and snapped the fish between his jaws. Jumping up he moved along the log with purpose and dropped the fish on the shore far enough from the edge of the water it wouldn’t be able to flop back in. He had turned with the idea of snagging more fish but when he heard a huge splash as Till leaped at a fish and somehow tackled Rayne causing the edge of the net to drop and all the fish that were half trapped there to escape he just sighed. There would be no good fishing here for a while. Half a day would be enough to get things settled back over again, so he figured he should share his haul with the others to ease the sting of loss. “Till. Rayne.” He nodded his head to the fish he had gathered and watched as the pair gathered the mess of a net and came over. He thought this might happen so he had been preparing for it and had a fair haul he had stealthy gotten while the pair had been working on their coordination. He had caught at least twelve fish. “fill the net.” His ear’s flicked as he started to brush the water and mudd off his fur. He tried not to laugh at Till’s grumbling about getting better so she wouldn’t need a handout. She was so stubborn even when getting help. He had learned to turn a deaf ear to the grumbles and watch her actions from when she was a kit. The day she grew was an odd one for him. It seemed she had been a kit so long she didn’t think she would ever grow, but it had been the safety that he and Ryari had provided that seemed to give her the time she needed to get bigger. She looked enough like Able that she fit in well with the family he thought. She had been a bit distant since she grew up before they had kits of their own but was still in the forest. She got one well with Rayne and fished with him each time Rayne came out with Able to fish. Able was glad that Rayne had a friend and Till knew she was still family even if not related by blood. He found it cute that Rayne was so relaxed when fishing but did so poorly and Till was a rather angry mess half the time but was good at catching fish if she dived for it. He didn’t know if they could ever make a great fishing team but they did alright much of the time.

The pair loaded up the fish and took it back to the other family members. Ryari and the kids were out but getting things ready was fine as he was sure they would be back soon and hungry. “Till are you staying?” He watched her shake her head and snag a fat fish before trotting off. He shrugged and sat down with his son. They ate for a short time in silence until Able had finished a fish off himself. “Rayne I have a question for you. I know that there are a number of foxes that when they grow up they want to see more of the world. I think your sister and brother may be planning something of the sort. I was curious if you wanted to see more the world than just this little forest. Of course you don’t have to go, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the matter.” Able wasn’t really he phrased it alright. His mate would have been able to do it better. He looked at his son but couldn’t figure out the other fox’s expression. Deciding not to press he just waited for Rayne to speak next after he has sorted out this thoughts.

“I’m thinking about making a short excursion or two but I don’t think I’ll go far. I don’t really need to see much of the world father.” Those simple words made Able relax. He didn’t even know he had been tense until then. “If you say so Rayne. I won’t hold you too it if some vixen comes in and sweeps you away though. I know after meeting your mother I would have followed her anywhere.” Able still blushed thinking about how pretty Rayne was and how she just seemed to be perfect to him not only back then but now as well. The fact she had decided to stay in his forest made him very pleased and want to provide for her as much as he could. He knew having at least one of the kids stay close to home would make her happy but he would not force any of them to stay after all it was in a youth’s nature to wander and explore. It was how Ryari found him and he wouldn’t begrudge his children that chance in life.

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[Reoakee]

Rayne wasn’t a tumultuous fox by nature in fact he was quite calm. His father’s question had rattled him a little bit though. He had never really thought about going out into the world and seeing what it was like. He knew his mother had met his father and come to life in this woods but he hadn’t considered what that would mean for him. There weren’t many foxes who came this way. In fact it was something of a lost wood in a way. It made it nice and safe for his family as they didn’t have to worry over competition or strange foxes but it also made for a lonely life in other ways. Having siblings Rayne hadn’t felt that way but what if he found a mate in the outside world and they were lonely here? Was he willing to leave his home and move elsewhere for them? He didn’t really want to but he supposed if he really loved them then he might. Taking a light stroll after dinner he ran into Till lounging about in a clearing. She looked crossly at him for butting into her space. Ignoring her look he strolled right up and lay down next to her. “Well I just had what might be an odd conversation with my father.” He ignored the crack she had about all of him always being odd no matter what he did. Snorting he glanced at her. “Well it got me thinking about the future a bit and the fact I’ll likely end up alone in life as I can’t really see leaving the forest and not many foxes coming here.” He was actually surprised she had no crack at this. He didn’t really know much about Till’s past just that she was adopted by his parents and then she grew up one day. It was all before he was born so he had just always thought of her as an older sister. “I would like your thoughts on the matter.” Till’s advice to just do whatever he wanted to do was noted but not found to be very helpful. Taking a deep sigh he looked at her. “Thanks; well if you ever see a cute fox in the woods male or female let me know it might be my only shot a date much less a mate.” She laughed at him and asked him what kind of fox would want to even date him. “Hey you never know maybe you’d have fallen for me had you not been adopted into the family.” He said it as a joke and she rolled her eyes but a small part of his brain wondered. If they didn’t see each other as family could he stand a mate as grumpy as Till was? Yes he decided but that was only because he had grown up with her there. Had he just had his parents and siblings he might not have gotten such a tough skin for insults and the like. He knew they weren’t blood related but he could never even consider Till as a potential mate as she was always just family, honestly he couldn’t even consider her cute with how much of a pain in the tail she was. “still thanks for the thoughts even if you are about as helpful with advice as you are with fishing.” He heard her snarl under her breath that he wasn’t any better, which was true. Still he just grinned and got up leaving her to brood alone like the strange fox she was.

He mulled over Till’s advice and his own feelings. He knew his father was happy with his choice as he noted his father’s tail wag at the end of their talk before. He decided he would just go with what he told his father. He would go and see the world in small bits near the forest but he would stay close to home and come back often. He had no idea what kind of foxes he would meet but perhaps he might one day be lucky enough to meet a fox who wanted a safe and stable home like his mother had wanted so long ago. Though honestly he had very little faith in such prospects and figured he would likely just end up alone in life and perhaps he had better start considered that idea as his base line. It was a grim thought and not one he would share with is parents or siblings. Instead he would focus on telling them his plans for his little trips. That would be cheerful enough and make them happy.

Having sorted out his thoughts he started back. His mother and other siblings would be back by now. His father would likely be telling them of the fishing today. Of course he would leave out the fail of Rayne and Till until later when it was just his father and mother. He knew because he had heard his father chuckling with Ryari over the mishaps of the first few fishing trips when Rayne was younger. It was nice of his father not to tease him on the matter but did they really think that the siblings wouldn’t tease one another? He knew sooner or later his siblings would find out about his fail today and tease him more than a bit. He was ready for it. After all he was a mess when it came to fishing but he was pretty good at hunting and he would hunt a deer or perhaps a few rabbits to make sure they couldn’t tease him for too long. His tag wagged slightly as he planned his day tomorrow.


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[Reoakee]

Fin set up Til and Rayne will not be a pair ever and Rayne's mate will have to work hard if they want the boy to relocate

WC: 1971