Good Kid And A Fox Spirit (CrownWine)

Chapter One

The sunlight beamed through the leaves of the deep forest's trees, the blissful silence of the surroundings was cut short as an arrow made contact with the rough skin of a oblivious deer

With a rustle, a small boy of around ten years old crawled out from the bushes whilst gripping the wooden bow

Alongside him, a tall man in guard uniform came out from behind the bushes

"Young master has done an excellent job" he remarked as he crept closer to the killed deer, tossing it over his shoulder like it weighted nothing.

The young boy brushed a strand of his black hair out of his own face

"You think so?" the little boy questioned as he wiped sweat from his forehead

"Of course, young master Ryvar has been improving with more practice" The guard responded with no hesitation in his tone before he continued "Shall we head back to the palace, young master?"

Before the young prince could respond, there was a sudden noise coming from bushes a few feet away as the taller man tensed up and immediately stepped forward

"Young master, get behind me, it could be a wild animal!" but before the man could finish, the young boy was already kneeling down at the bush, moving the leaves out of the way.

Within the bushes laid a small fox kit, trembling and whimpering in pain

The young prince blinked in light confusion as he scanned the small fox, noting its injured back leg which seemed swollen and bleeding

The guard caught up behind the prince, standing at a distance behind him

"A fox kit... it seems to be injured, probably from another predatory animal," the guard noted, his gaze now on the small animal

The young prince carefully poked at the fox, his ruby pink gaze was unreadable as he observed the way the kit tensed at his touch

"Hmm.. Edward, could you happen to have bandages on you?" the prince murmured, though his gaze remained on the foxling

"A-ah, yes of course, young master!" the guard voiced as he started to rummage through his equipment belt for the bandages brought in case of emergencies.

Once he found them, he slowly moved beside the young prince to apply the bandages onto the injured animal

The foxling, on the other hand, tensed and growled at them, both out of fear and pain

It tried to back away from their touch but couldn't as it whimpered out from the intense pain jolting through it's tiny form

Before either could blinked, a small poof of smoke appeared as in the place of the foxling was a small teary eyed boy, barely half Ryvar's age at best.

The young prince observed out of curiosity as the guard froze

"An animal spirit.." the guard awed out, intensely staring at the now small boy infront of them

An animal spirit were rare species, one not everyone could witness in person during their lifetime but a question remained in the young prince's mind

'Why is he alone?' the prince wondered in the depts of his mind, from his own understanding of animal spirits, they travelled in groups, especially with the young offspring

The young boy shook himself out of his thoughts as his gaze landed on the terrified boy infront of him, a smile crept onto his face.

"Why, hello there! Sorry for scaring you, I'm Ryvar. What's your name?" the prince cheered out as he held a hand out to the scared boy

The prince kept his gaze on the other boy, watching him, observing every detail, his own expression soft and warm

The foxling spirit pondered for a moment in hesitation, cautious of them for valid reasons but the prince didn't seem to mind at all

"Don't be afraid, we would like to help you, you seem injured, do you not?" the other boy voiced, keeping his tone friendly and soft to soothen the boy infront of him as he gestured at the bandages in the guard's hands "See? we just want to help, that's all"

The spirit hesitated before reluctantly moving his injured ankle forward in slow, careful movements.

The prince smiled, something he rarely did unless around his mother, as he gestured for the guard to help

Obeying his young master's orders, the guard neatly bandaged the smaller boy's ankle, tying it securely to not fall off from rushed movements

"We must return to the palace now, young master" the guard noted as he then stood up, gesturing for the young prince to follow as well

The young boy nodded in acknowledgement as he turned to the smaller boy with a soft smile

"Would you like to come with us?" the prince suggested before continuing

"Your ankle might get infected if we don't treat it soon, we will help you find your family right after, okay?" he tilted his head to the side, observing the foxling spirit's body language

The smaller boy pondered, his gaze stopping at his bandaged ankle from time to time as he hesitated to answer, after a brief moment all he did is nod his head, he had no other choice after all.

The prince perked up as he softly stood up, shifting his gaze to the guard

"Edward, could you carry him for me please?" the boy questioned, though more fitting word would be; that he ordered him to

The guard nodded as he obeyed his prince's orders, with careful movement, he picked up the other boy into his arms as he carried him while following the young prince

After a few brief moments of walking, the prince heard a whisper from the smaller boy

"Avery..."

The prince glanced up at the boy in the guard's arms

"Hm?"

The boy hesitated as he avoided the prince's eyes

"My name... Avery..."

The prince blinked as he smiled with a smile that reached his eyes

"What a divine name, Avery"