You're awake, aware of your warm body, from your core to your limbs. Your lazy, sluggish mind expands and for the moment, you simply lay there. All is good, all is normal.

Until you breath in the thick scent of biting, bitter smoke.

Glowing orange eyes snap open, and you take in the now suffocating darkness of your burrow. Your purple enlarge before they turn to slits, adjusting to light that seeps into your home.

You get up, ears forward and alert.

The light that comes from your main entrance is deadly. The heat it brings with it is a warning of something far greater.

Something familiar.

Once again, thoughts race through your head. You don't remember ever smelling burning wood, but that too trickles into your nose and you quickly recognize its origin. The smell is so wrong and out of place in your— my— forest.

You swallow, the longer you stand down here...the hotter it gets. The cool earth beneath your rough paws, slowly heats up. Your little heart is picking up speed— Run. Flee! The muscle in your legs tense, and your hackles raise and fear urges you to move.

You listen and dart forward, scrambling up and out of your home. Darkness fades into shades of orange. Like the world had been tinted under a rising sunset. Shadows are black as night and the bight blinding lights that glimpse through the thick overhang point to something terrible and all consuming. A beast of burning, uncontrollable pain and destruction.

The world is a mess of noise and fire. You pause, while your animal mind screams, and look back. The large familiar tree that looms protectively over your home is untouched by the glowing flames. Though, you're not sure how long that will last.

The sight, causes your chest to ache. Though you haven't lived there long, and in normal circumstances you would be able to leave without a second glance, here, surrounded by a growing fire, you feel helpless. Despair spins to life as you are unable to protect the old tree.

You turn away— The air is alive, like it's full of billions of buzzing insects, static and full of energy— and run.

Instinct guides you through unknown paths like a close friend— a human hand holds another, pulling while the other follows.

You run, relying completely on the feeling that takes hold of your tensing and springing muscles, slipping between spaces scattered throughout the never ending burning woodland.

A nightmare.

A loud snap of wood shatters through your panic-led mind and you leap without thinking, over sunset flames.

The world slows and a large burning branch grazes the end of your tail before it lands right where you had been.

You land on the trunk of a fallen tree, and duck down as a cloud of embers disperse into the air like deadly fireflies.

You breath and it burns.

Thick bumpy bark crackles under the weight of your sleek body. Your shiny black claws scrape against it's charcoal surface and it coats them in a soft powdery mixture of ash.

A dream..?

It's so hot— unbearably so.

Your tongue is heavy and dry, the moisture in your mouth nonexistent.

This must be...!

The fear leaves you.

You sigh and slowly raise your head. Muzzle pointing up to the smokey sky.

You're dreaming.

The smell of smoke leaves you and the world shifts— dulls.

Better.

You don't understand this dream and the fact that none of this is real...calms you.

Taking another deep breath, you look forward, scanning your surroundings. Orange slit eyes flicker about, searching for...something...Anything that will tell you why this dream feels so important.

It's real, to present to be meaningless. Like the one you had yesterday, the one with the machine. The one with the Human. Dreams...nightmares...you keep having them. You had asked Treering about it, but he informed you that he doesn't dream often. When he does, he says they aren't really memorable, simple things like running up and down branches.

It's been ten days since you've woken up to this world and you still know nothing of your life before waking up. Is it normal for foxes to dream so vividly?

You shake your head.

Tomorrow's the day your journey starts, and if your last dream is correct, that means your dreams aren't simply that. You might as well figure out what this one is trying to tell you.

From what you can see ...you're somewhere new. Nowhere near your burrow by the cool stream. The forest around you is tall and thin, so different from the thick winding trees you've grown used to... And it's on fire. You hope that doesn't mean it will be one in the future.

"!"

You still. An alien, creeping sensation bounces against your thoughts. Your black ears turn to the left and your head follows.

What was...?

The rustle of plants causes you to look down to the sloping earth. You're at the top of a hill. Further down, the ground smooths out. Plants grow like a nest of green. Close, thin branches intertwine and entangle. Soon, the growing fires will reach this abundance of plant life and eat it up in seconds.

A distant shift, you hear the flutter of leaves. At once, you're legs turn to steel and your stiffens— Held in place and slightly raised.

You wait...

Wood crackles like teeth grind and chew...

...And a small creature shoots out of the thicket. It lands and stumbles, breathing heavily. Black eyes shine like jewels unaware, yet alert. It pauses, free from the mass of plantlife, frozen, tall ears raised like yours.

If you had simply walked passed it, missed it's early entrance, you wouldn't have noticed the small creature. Against the tinted orange, it's fur blends in with the surrounding plantlife.

You don't move, becoming a foxes silhouette surrounded by glowing orange. If you move, the thing will see you and run. You can't have that. You want to observe.

It's quiet, both of you are left with the roar of flames and crumbling wood.

Then, it turns it's head back and a noise comes from it's mouth and you don't understand. A language that makes little sense to your mind, words and sounds your sure your own mouth cannot replicate.

In the next second the thing is joined by several others of the same kind and your brain drags out another forgotten word.

Rabbit. These little furry things...they're called rabbits.

A new feeling...like the rake of metal against stone...invades your mind.

Stop, please.

You blink.

Curiosity, the need to know, bubbles forth. You're hungry for knowledge...but that hunger grows.

The gnawing sensation of your empty stomach churns and growls like a waking beast.

The rabbits are moving again, but more continue to show up. Like a gentle stream, there's so many.

Drool pools into your mouth. Your vision sharpens. The dullness fades.

No.

You know this isn't okay...right?

If you don't do something...you're going to mess up!

...mess up?

Your vision doubles, the scene blurs into splotches of color. You're...starving...

Tall black ears stand erect and your eyes refocus on the river of fleeing prey.

...Prey?

No...that's—!

—Voices come from them. Far and dull, traces left behind by their scampering and frantic selves. It's all meaningless noise. But you understand there intent. The way the world are spoken. Hushed, and rushed. Some even tremble like waving petals. The small furry creatures are frightened. Panic bleeds into their strange speech...panic of the roaring forest fire...

It's hard to think. To form words. You can only react. Like your head is underwater. All you can think of is your need to breathe. Instinct fights to take control. It's terrifying...and in the same breath, it's freeing.

If you could think rationally, you know once you go down there and garner their attention, the rabbit's fear of the flames will turn to fear of you.

If you could think, you would try to figure out the importance of finding these creatures.

But your body isn't running on a clear mind, it simply moves.

You stumble forward and the tree beneath you groans. You jump— and land in the center of flowing rabbits. Like water splashes, the rabbits also react. Caught off guard, screams and exclamations of fright meet you. Wide eyes lock on your large ash-covered form, and your distantly surprised to see they do have whites instead of the pure blackness. You inhale and the smoke in the air doesn't burn... in fact you can't even smell it.

Instead, you smell something different. Flowers, warmth...not burning heat...but the warmth of comfort...Sweet, like flowers in the springtime...blood like copper...and earth, not dirt, but like a fresh morning grass and cold air.

It wakes up your mind, brings you back to yourself. You blink and time comes back to you. The frightened rabbits scramble around you and words are shouted.

"—Homba...!"

You tilt your head and stay standing in place. A Homba? Is that what this species calls your kind?

You don't feel the need to chase and the rabbits flee, disappearing into the underbrush.

This dream...though you are searching, you see nothing different...feel nothing amiss—

Crack.

You snap to attention. If Treering were here, he'd tell you about the way your golden eyes lit up with the surrounding fire. Those same— almost glowing— eyes, stop on a small gnarly bush.

A quick intake of breath— nearly silent— comes from within, before the world mutes.

You lean down. Slow and cautious. You're sure now, that this is what you need to find. A rabbit...this rabbit. Something about the hidden creature calls to you.

You stalk forward.

That same flowering, lively scent fills your snout. But now it bitters into something more savory, Fear. Your nose may not smell the roaring flames and black choking smoke... but it does smell the fearful rabbit trying desperately to hide from you. Even it's heartbeat penetrates your ears with the melody of despair. The song grows louder the closer you get.

You're muzzle brushes against dry leaves— and the song stops.

Even the thundering heartbeat is quiet.

You left with your own breathing and sight.

Past thin black branches and in between gaps of foliage... you catch a slight movement... Breathing.

The small animal jerks and you finally meet a pair of wide eyes.

The sky bleeds red.

A new— blue— fire enters your veins.

White teeth glint— yours.

You have a second of clear thought— before you lunge forward. Red splatters against ash earth—

—and you wake up.