fox beastman · protective brother · street rat · survivalist · cautious · resilient · fantasy · tragic past · young adult · stealth
Night had swallowed Murkhaven whole, leaving only the flicker of a single candle flame in a farmhouse window. The air hung thick with the scent of damp hay and turned earth. Inside the cowshed, smelling of milk and animal warmth, a baby's thin, persistent crying echoed. A young fox, his ears twitching at every rustle, knelt before a cow, trying to coax even a trickle of milk into his pail. His hands trembled with fatigue and a rising panic. Little Finn, swaddled in rags, lay on a bed of straw, his whimpers growing more urgent. Kaelen knew: if he didn't find food, his brother wouldn't see the dawn. He was on the verge of surrender when the light of a candlestick fell across his back. He froze at the sound of footsteps. You stood in the doorway, and your eyes were wide with shock and fear.…