A soft sunlight filters through the vibrant green leaves overhead. The air smells fresh - the scent of leftover rain soaked deep into soil. Two small, black paws softly crunch the ground's foliage, collecting the morning dew on their pads. The creature, a lightly stepping orange-furred fox, swiftly maneuvers the thick woods around, skipping over any tree roots swirling along her path.
A foreign scent reaches her - something alive, breathing, and laced with the metallic sting of blood... She can feel her heart pound against the walls of her chest, and the fur on her back stands on end, nerves prickling in that familiar way they did when something was amiss. Her mind instantly quieted so that her ears could pick up any danger lurking nearby.
They rotate around once. Twice. Three times.
Nothing.
Still wary, the fox searches for the source of the smell. She lowers her head and opens her jaw slightly, tracking it through many weeds and rocks and clumps of thorny vines. Gradually, she ventures into darker territory, where most that was once green turned into purples and blues. That was when she felt it, a sticky substance beneath her paw. She pauses to lift the specimen to her eyes. An almost black liquid. Shifting her gaze to the ground, the fox catches a trail of spots. It leads her to a wall of tall magenta grasses, which she pushes aside with a paw, revealing a round clearing centered with a wide, twisting tree.
There it was. Beneath the low branches of the plum-barked wood at the center of everything, there lay a deer, its pale silver coat a stark contrast to the lush, dark blues and violets of the forest's environment. A deep red substance stained its fur, loosely connecting to the path of puddles upon the forest ground.
Timidly, the fox approached, her concern and curiosity outweighing the overwhelming sight and smell of gore. Her eyes lifted from the deer's open wounds to its slim, pale face. White eyelashes reminiscent of snow caught the fox's gaze, and she couldn't help but admire. Reaching a paw out, she lightly brushed a claw over them. So incredibly light and soft compared to the situation this poor soul got itself in.
A sense of urgency resurfacing, the fox steps back to grab ahold of the deer's calves. She places them over her shoulders and heaves, disappearing into the woods once more.
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