Tails of a Kitsune - Life or Love

Chapter Seven

After seeing the lovely waters of the Oasis, the Rapids of No Looking Back was bland and rather unclean. The water didn't seem that deep, but many foxes had died from drowning in them, as the currents had rushed back and forth wildly, making it impossible for them to swim to shore.

Iris shuddered, watching the water whip to and fro, white bubbles crashing against the canyon's sides. She edged away from the edge. Guess I never entirely got over my fear of heights... A voice called, "Didn't expect to see you here, lazy fish guts!" Iris found herself smiling. It was the obvious voice of Hunter. She turned and waved to the small fox before bounding over. As expected, Smog hung back, but Cobra Lily started to slowly follow.

Hunter was leaning on a dead tree, smirking, with some of the ugliest fish Iris had ever seen at her feet. "Ah, see, sis! I told you might get to see some." Her sister called, coming over. Iris stared in shock at the fish. It seems like Hunter caught them... But how?! They're bigger than she is!

"Look, no water thingy. Ughh. I'm in for some talking, that's all your vulture of a sister ever does." Hunter muttered to her. Cobra Lily clearly heard it, and her fur bristled a little bit. Smog started slowly inching his way toward them, eyeing Hunter cautiously, muttering something about someone named Stonefish and "never right after that..." Iris giggled at his nervous expression.

Hunter nudged one of the fish over to Iris. "You can have it. You seem like the hungry type, cactus brains."

Smiling, Iris took it, then eyed it nervously before handing it over to Smog when he got close enough. She shook her head in wonder as he shoved it in his mouth, trying to choke it down.

"Well, Hunter, don't insult them so much that they run away!" Cobra Lily laughed. "I still need to show Iris the other side, but you can chase off Smog if you want," her sister teased. Smog made a sound of indignation, muffled from the large fish he seemed determined to swallow down. Everyone -laughed, but Hunter laughed the loudest, in a way that could only be described as snorting.

"Well, it's nice to see you, you... ahh... vulture head? Anyways, I'm going to show Iris around, then we'll come back and chat a bit," Cobra Lily told Hunter.

Hunter snorted. "Your sister was never one for insults," she told Iris. "See you soon, you dung-brained fish-headed vultures!" Cobra Lily dragged Iris to a different part of the rapids, while Iris waved to the others, feeling a little bad about leaving Smog when she saw the nervous look he gave Hunter.

Finally, her sister seemed satisfied about where they were. "Okay, Sis, take a look to the other side." She did and gasped - in confusion.

"Uh... There isn't anything there." Iris looked around nervously.

"Wait, wrong spot!" And so Cobra Lily dragged off Iris once more.

"Okay, now you can look." Iris looked over the crashing waves of the rapids, and gasped once again... but this time, it wasn't in confusion, but fear. The land on the other side was scorched, and a black flag with a blood-red sword on it - a sabre, perhaps? - waved proudly in the wind. Underneath it, there were the obvious remains of charred bones. "I have a feeling that they burn bodies there just to spite us," muttered Cobra Lily.

"They... burn bodies?" Iris gasped, flinching back. "I... didn't think that they would have a flag..."

"Of course, they have a flag! Every self-respecting group needs a flag. They have a rather nice one, even if it's not to my taste."

"Okay..." Sometimes she didn't understand a lot of what her sister said.

"Well, now we should get back so you ca-" she cut off when Iris flailed back into her. "What is it?!" her sister whispered.