Sin Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 2)

~~ ONE ~~

The blood pounded in my ears. I flopped flat to the ground, my paws over my ears. I closed my eyes when the world started to spin, my breaths short and gasping. My entire body tingled, unfelt tears streaming from my eyes.

What's happening?! This shouldn't be real! I must be dead. This is hell, some euphoric hell I've ended up in that looks exactly the sameasBrittania,samesmellssamesensationssameeverythingaboutthelifeIjustvacatedinfrontofmyfriends. OhgodmyfriendsmyfamilysawmedieIdiedIdiedIdiedwhatisthishowisthispossiblewhereiseveryonewhereamIwhyamIstillalive–

Faintly, I became aware of something digging into my stomach. I grabbed the sensation like a desperate lifeline in a river, setting all my attention on it.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. I commanded myself to control my lungs and slowly, time passed and I found it easier to suck in breaths, the gasps of a dying fish transforming into wheezing, then wheezing to pants. Finally, I returned to a semblance of normal that allowed me to gather my feet beneath me and sit up.

Nothing had changed around me. To be sure, I bit my paw. Pain was good, pain meant real.

Through my tears, I made out the thing that had been digging into me. The choker's bead was black as night and bleeding red on the grass, the chain twisted and broken.

Leraj had given me that, I thought numbly. Had that saved my life? Had he given me another chance?

I didn't even know if it was all for naught. If I died, Hawk must have... I didn't dare finish the thought. Which meant Hendrickson may have... I couldn't finish that one either. Each brought fresh tears.

"No, stop it, Estra. You have to think positive," I reasoned. "Meliodas and the others would not have laid down and died. They would have fought with all their might." I brushed away the morbid turn the thought took with a violent flick of my tail. 

I gazed out on my surroundings. There weren't any landmarks I recognised nor anything that rang any bells. I stuck my nose in the air, sniffing in all directions. To my right came a very familiar, very terrifying scent.

Demon.

That had to be Meliodas! It smelt identical to him and there was no other way there were any other demons. Unless-

No! They did it. They killed Hendrickson, they had to have done! 

Demon meant Meliodas. Meliodas meant the others. And the others meant home.

Or demon meant danger. I could still be in some alternate world, maybe even another year. Who's to say I didn't have another thousand year sleep? All demons smelt the same to me. 

'Come home, Estra.' 

I wrapped my tail around my paws, emotions churning. Mother would often call that when I was busy frolicking for too long in the grass. Fox in the beginning, human a thousand years later. The chance again to be a fox once again. I could live a peaceful, secluded life. 

No more dying unnatural deaths.

The allure to stay put tempted me greatly in the face of unknown. I breathed in, then out. 

Safe and alone. What a boring life that would be. 

I stamped a paw. "They're still alive and I'm going to find them." I unfurled myself and shook vigorously, removing every thought of ever staying put and reigning in my wayward emotions. 

I needed a clear head if I was to find Liones again in the vastness of what I prayed to be Brittania. Oh why couldn't Leraj had a map ingrained in my memory when he turned me into a Holy Knight? 

Thunder rumbled from the storm clouds in the distance, a promise of heavy rain. I didn't have long before that storm rolled in and by the looks of the cloud colour and speed, it would last a long time, perhaps the rest of the day. If I wanted to follow the scent, I had to leave in the next ten minutes.

I checked out the cave but it was bare besides cobwebs in the corner. It looked like no animal had lived there in a long time. Feeling dirty after my rebirth, I splashed in the river. My reflection did not look quite like my original fox form which gave me a measure of comfort I wasn't sure how to comprehend. My fur had a dark copper tint to it and was shorter. My ears had lengthened too. All that was unchanged really were my eyes.

Molten amber stared back. Sad, confused, unsure. I stopped looking when I couldn't bear to look any longer, resolving myself. If I wanted to find everyone, I needed to stop it and steel up. I had a mission now.

Find all my friends. 

"I am the Fox of Greed!" I snapped, scaring the birds away. "I will find everyone, turn back into a human and live happily in Liones annoying the others and picking fights with Holy Knights!" 

I drank before leaving. If I had food, I'd have devoured it with how hungry I was, but that couldn't be helped. I could always catch a rabbit on the way. With the wind in my fur and the expansive land of Brittania before my very eyes, I set off at a lope in the direction of demon.

I'm coming, everyone. I'm coming home, don't you worry.