7 Foxy Addition
Felix set the little fox down.
Bob looked at the strange little fox with a questioning look. It was not one of their kits.
"I found this little guy and didn't know what to do", Felix said "he was whining weakly". "I tried calling out for a parent possibly, but found no trace whatsoever".
Bob wondered if foxes normally raised kits that weren't theirs, assumed the answer was usually no. His initial thought was he shouldn't even mess with this kit, he obviously was getting more and more fox instincts since he had his kits. Though they could be useful and the fox things he had to do were no longer nearly as bad as they were before, He found it to be a little unsettling, the instincts sometimes clashed with his logical thinking and could sometimes be much more difficult to override than he would like. He wasn't always sure when you should trust them. He felt lousy that he even considered abandoning this little fox, but he realized it wasn't really his fault, his brain just doesn't work the way it used to.
He took a closer look at the little fox, he was quite dirty and smelled very strange. The poor kit seemed very weak and probably dehydrated too. He couldn't really do much except try to attach him to a nipple and see what happens.
Bob thought about the possibility of rabies. Supposedly it wasn't found in this area, but he still worried about it. He couldn't keep worrying about things like that he thought. He put the kit next to an unused nipple and the little fox latched on. Well that was a relief that he wasn't too weak for that at least. He tried to groom the little fox and found that this fox tastes funny. He was quite a bit grosser then his own kits but he had to get him clean and make sure he was warm enough. It wouldn't be so bad later on.
The rest of the kits noticed the strange kit and nosed him. He didn't react much and the other kits seemed puzzled.
Bob finished cleaning up the kit as best he could, he figured he would just stay here for a couple more hours and give the kit a chance to recover. The next day or so would be the most critical. Bob worried this little fox might have something wrong with him that was not obvious but could still be life threatening. There was not a whole lot he could do other than keep the kit comfortable and fed. He wondered how he would feel if the kit didn't make it. He shook his head trying to get those upsetting thoughts out of his mind.
Bob gathered up all his kits and they all found a nipple. He wanted to keep them close to the new kit so they could get used to his scent. Bob closed his eyes to take a little snooze.
He awoke a couple hours later and immediately checked the new fox half expecting him to be rock solid, to his relief he seemed ok. If this little fox survives he would be named Lucky.
Over the course of the next few days the little fox got better, he was a bit fearful at first as he obviously didn't recognize any of their scents. He was acting more and more like the rest of the kits. Bob noticed the little fox had acquired most of the scent of the other kits but still had a bit of a unique scent. Bob quickly got used to that though.
Sometimes Bob would just stare at the little foxes as they romped around, they were just so darn cute. Bob had also at one point did the same to Felix, Felix was a bit uncomfortable about that and had even asked if Bob was pissed at him. Bob had said no and gave Felix a kiss on the nose. Felix figured it was just another strange quirk from his sometimes odd mate.
Over the next few weeks the now four kits got even bigger, they were looking more and more like normal foxes, just smaller versions of. They were slowly learning how to hunt and Bob was super proud when one of them caught her first mouse. He watched her crunching on it, he still had some mixed feelings about eating small rodents. Do all foxes get worms eventually? He shook his head.
It saddened him that in not too long his little foxes would leave and he might or might not see them again. It was just how fox life was, it is what it is. He had been extremely fortunate that all his kits had survived this long. He wondered how long foxes lived, maybe 10 years if you caught lightning in a bottle but often only a couple years. He guessed you just had to make the best of your life as you could and try not to worry. At least he still would have Felix, Bob always worried about Felix too though.
Felix was looking at Autumn and could tell she was feeling a bit sad and anxious. He gave her a kiss on the nose and they snuggled together.
