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The Scout's Run.

Chapter 1

I slipped, and came down on my chest, grunting with the impact. My claws dug into the sodden earth as I slid further down the steep forest hill. The falling rain had turned this dangerously steep hill into a muddy death trap of an incline, that no sane being would attempt in the daylight, never mind the dark. I grasped desperately in the mud for anything to stop my decent. My paws soon found perches on a tree root and I held on tight. I lay in the mud for a moment, rain soaking my clothes and fur, head pounding in time with my own rapid heart beat. My breath coming in gasps, as I tried to fill my aching lungs.

"Would it be that bad to just lay here for a while?" I thought to myself, the pounding in my head starting to ebb as I watched my own breath come out in puffs. The howls and calls of my pursuers answered my question, and motivated me to rise again. With a growl of determination, I hauled myself up to kneeling with the assistance of the tree root.I shivered with cold and the fear of what was behind me, moving forward once more, further up the steep, slippery hill side.

"I should have never volunteered for this" I gasped as I made it a few more yards up the slick hill. Looking briefly over my shoulder, I tried a glance at my pursuers, but I couldn't make out anything in the dark and rain. I could only hear the hunting party as they growled and snarled at each other in their strange northern tongue somewhere below me. I gritted my teeth, ears flat against my head and pushed onward inch by inch.

Some glorious hero I turned out to be...though it was hardly my fault. It was my first patrol, fresh out of training after all. I had never even seen the enemy, just stories and hearsay, and none of it seemed to dothe barbarians real justice. Some of the stories told by the veteran scouts always sounded too much like fabrications to be real. So what was a fresh recruit to believe? After all, what fox hadn't heard the legendary stories of Fox-run, the great wall that kept the Northern barbarians away from the civilized lands of Tier.

The Northern Fox Kingdoms had always been the sentinels of the wall, the barrier made partially from the natural stone ridge of mountain, further constructed at the hands of the foxes. It stretches the narrow land bridge between the untamed North lands and the rest of civilization. There is a yearly tradition in which an envoy of the Fox-run is sent to all the main Northern cities to find new recruits. Many volunteer, only a handful ever make it. Even fewer are actually awarded the honor of becoming a Scout to patrol the base of the wall, a two-week journey in itself.

I had trained, studied hard, and even going out of my way to, well, err gain the commander's favor. I had attained the rank of Scout not even three full days ago, and already I was a deserter and traitor. My first patrol started two days prior. We had been ambushed and three of us were slain in mere seconds. Only our Sergeant and myself remained, and I... froze. No amount of training could have prepared me for the shock.

These Northern barbarians were born killers. They slaughtered without warning, without a sound. One moment, you were having a laugh about creeping around the the woods with brothers in arms. Next moment, all that time and effort, all that life was snuffed out. Really made me feel like even after all that work, I was still just playing scout with the other boys from home, and found myself hoping to the stars that my mother was going to call me in for dinner soon.

I ran, and ran, and didn't look back. I had been running when night fell, the rain soaking through my green Scout's cloak. I had been running when I fell in the mud, where I eventually found myself cornered and gazing up a muddy slope, with no idea how far up it went.

My legs worked mechanically, as I trudged up what turned out to be the top of the hill. I didn't stop. The barbarians had gained on me and I could hear them nearby. The forest opened up into a vast clearing. I could see lights from what looked to be a small village less than a mile away. I headed for it, pushing my body to the limit, pulse pounding in my ears. My back tingled, it felt like any second I would get an arrow or ax to the back. I pushed on into a patch of tall grass and hoped it would provide adequate cover as I continued to run.

I reached what appeared to be a barn of some kind, and paused for a moment of thought before moving on to the edge of the village. The barn would be too obvious to hide in, after all. The village itself was larger than I had originally thought, and from the state of the roads, looked quite well-traveled too. I kept to the edges of the village as I moved, dodging from shadow to shadow. Admittedly not as stealthily as I would have liked. I startled when a door opened in front of me as I was sneaking around the corner of a house. I fled in utter panic, clumsily tripping over some tools and falling into what I very much hoped to be mud.

I made it to my feet again, though a sharp hot pain in my thigh gave me pause. On hearing a shout from behind me, I took off running again. The pain dulled with the adrenalin as I ran out of the village. I spotted an old, battered looking house at the edge of a clearing. I made for it, keeping as low as I could and trying to refrain from whimpering in terror. I some how made it, limping to the window and peering inside. I could see no light within, it was pitch black.

I staggered around to the front, my ears perked listening for any sound from inside. It was an old home, made of stone with a mossy roof. My knees began to shake, as the events of the last few hours started to really set in. My head ached, every beat of my heart was a new and interesting agony. I gritted my teeth against it and listened at the door. I could hear nothing coming from inside, not a sound. I did, however, hear the commotion that my pursuers were causing in the village. I looked momentarily to the forest beyond the house, then shook my head. No, I was out of time and out of energy. If I ran into the woods I would be done for. If I hid out in this house, maybe I would die, but I would die fighting, and a little less wet.

I took in a breath and made up my mind, reaching out a tentative paw to push against the old wooden door. It budged only slightly, so I pushed harder and it then swung open. I crouched in the door way, hand reaching for my short steel. It was gone. I remembered I had lost it in a thicket, leaving it when it got tangled in some vines. I cursed and felt around for my dagger, hardly more than a whittling knife but it would have to do.

I visually scanned the old home, best I could in the dark. I sniffed into the air in an attempt to gain any information from within, but the intense chill dulled all my senses. All I could smell was an earthy scent, with a layer of something musky, like wet fur. Though, that was likely to just be from myself. Sensing no one in the home, I entered and closed the door. I crouched in a corner, waiting there for some time, listening to the rain outside and the very faint voices coming from the village.

After what felt like a week, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness and I began to shiver uncontrollably. The house itself was rather sparse for its size, all it had for furniture was a large bed with a chest at its foot, a table and two chairs. There were also some herbs drying from the ceiling over a cold hearth, and-

I froze as I noticed fresh wood in the hearth, my ears perking in alarm! I scanned the small empty house again, my mind placing sinister things in shadows that made my heart skip beats. I saw a glint of metal above the bed and nearly bolted for the door, but stopped when I realized what it was. Hung on the wall above the bed was a well-used round shield, crossed with a long sword and ax. I swallowed and stayed in my corner. My mind raced with worst case scenarios, my body too fatigued to do anything about it. I shivered helplessly, clutching my dagger.

An eternity passed in the dark, the only sounds I could hear were the rain and the persistently loud thud, thud of my heart trying to escape my chest. I almost missed the first splash of a foot stepping in a puddle outside the small stone house. My ears twitched at the sound as I tightened the grip on my weapon. The foot steps ended at the door and I held my breath as the door swung open. A huge black figure stepped into the house.

I slowly moved into a crouching position to spring at the figure, teeth bared, hackles on end and ears back, ready to strike. My injured leg gave way as I tried to move and I stumbled down to one knee. The figure's head whipped around to stare at me with intense yellow eyes, and he sneered a smile that would give Death himself pause. I froze, dagger falling from numb hands. The figure tilted his head as he shut the door, and he studied me. He gave a decisive snort and walked right by me to the hearth.

Moments later a fire sprung to life, and before me stood a black dire wolf. Easily four or five hands taller then myself. His fur was nightmare black, his eyes a golden yellow. He had a scar starting at the top of his left eyebrow, crossing his muzzle and ending on the other side. The fur at the scar grew back a gray white color. He was bare chested, on his right side and arm I could see swirling tribal markings in white or maybe light blue. He wore only a dyed piece of wool cloth that would have looked good on a female, but on him looked masculine and rather intimidating. A kilt or some such, I think it was called... it was sort of a barbarian uniform or tradition...or something. He also had a thick bronze band around his neck that was open at his throat. The ends of which, had two decorative dragons heads crafted into the metal. The jewelry had recently become fashionable even across the wall, torcs they where called.

The dire wolf grunted and looked me over, and it took all remaining will-power to not black out from fear. He said something in the Northern tongue and I blinked, uncertain. I shook my head, trying to remember any of the small spattering of Northern they teach you in training. He spoke again, this time I caught the word "You." I blinked again, my ears flattening in a gesture of obedience.

"I-I don't understand" I said, shaking my head. He tilted his head, then ears perking his eyes went to the door. He growled and moved towards me, whereupon I, for my part, heroically fell on my ass and tried to cower farther into the corner. He moved past me to the table and pushed it out of the way, reaching down to the floor.

I watched him, confused as he brushed dirt off a wooden trap door and opened it. He gestured at the open trap door and I swallowed, shaking my head. I didn't want to die in a dirty cellar. The dire wolf glared at me, then glanced up to the door, ears swiveling in that direction. I heard it, the sound of approaching foot steps. The dire wolf growled low in his native tongue and gestured urgently at the open trap door once again. It sounded like "Go"? Or maybe something about a stream? Damned Northern dialect.

My head swam as I moved cautiously for the entrance, a strange dizziness washing over me and causing me to stumble. I was freezing all over, but my injured leg was warm. I touched my pant leg and it came away wet and warm with blood. I blinked in confusion, trying to remember exactly why that was bad. Black started to creep in from the sides of my vision and the room blurred. The last thing I remember was the dire wolf coming to my side and the thought of my first serious injury gained in battle...was from a pile of old farm tools...fantastic.

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This is the first chapter of my adult short story 'The scout's run'. This is my first attempt into the adult furry fantasy genera.

There is a lot I want to say about this story, but I will keep it brief and let the work speak for itself. The first thing I want point out is this; in later chapters this becomes an adult story.

Second; The first chapter has no sexy time in it! I personally did not feel right just writing straight smut. I crave character development and plot! So if you find yourself interested in the run-away fox scout, you will have to wait till chapter two. ;3

Third; This one will be M/M! Sorry if that's not your thing, but I do plan to write some M/F, M/M/F, F/F (maybe), and maybe even get into herms and stuff later on. Please voice your opinion it counts. (If I get ten people asking for the next story to be M/M again, that's what I will do)!

lastly...or forth; I welcome any questions, comments, and critiques! This is my first posted work of writing pretty much ever. So there are bound to be mistakes, but any advice or comments you have for me will help me progress, and I appreciate them!