The Firefox Hunter

Chapter 2: Setting off

Dara finds Lola's esse fox and prepares for her journey.

Dara pushed herself to her feet, glaring at her charred cottage. The captors had probably set fire to the house to get her sister to come out. Lola was smart; she would've hidden as soon as she saw anyone other than Dara enter the property. The note had said that they had her sister, then that they just needed the foxes to follow them. They had most likely used Lola to draw the foxes towards them, then taken them. If Lola was still with them, that meant she'd either seen their faces or they saw her as a liability or a threat to their secrecy.

Dara needed to find her sister and her foxes fast, before they were scattered or killed. Luckily, it seemed like she'd arrived just after the abduction, so she could catch up to whoever had taken them. Unluckily, she had no idea where they'd gone or who to look for.

She stepped into her house, relieved that not much had been damaged. They didn't have much to begin with, and they kept all of their most important belongings in the main room. Most of the fire had damaged the bedroom and washroom, and parts of the main room. The furniture was destroyed, and most of their clothes had burned up with their bedroom. Most of their food was still okay, if not a little dirty from the ash and smoke coating every surface of the house, and her hunting gear was left mostly undamaged.

Ember was sniffing around the sitting area when she yipped at something under the armchair. Dara strode over to her. "What's there?"

She got to her knees, bending down to look under the armchair. She was surprised to find Lola's esse fox curled up into a tight ball, shaking. "Milly!"

Dara gently pulled her out, inspecting her for injuries. She had no burns or scratches, but her white coat was caked with soot, making her appear grey. She whined and nuzzled into Dara's lap, obviously scared and upset.

Dara rubbed her head soothingly. "It's alright. Come, let's get you cleaned up."

Dara carried her to the bathtub, setting her in gently. she filled up the tub with buckets of water from the well, scrubbing the grime from Milly's coat until she was fully cleaned, then doing the same for Ember. She wiped her own skin down, too. Luckily, her clothes hadn't gotten very dirty, thanks to her cloak, so all she had to do was pat them off.

When they were all clean and well, Dara walked back to the kitchen. "If we're going to get the foxes and Lola back, we're going to have to pack up what we have for travel."

First, Dara put the eggs and milk she'd bought from the market outside, knowing she couldn't bring food that spoiled so easily with her. She packed only things that would survive for a long time; dried fruit, dried meat, and water cased in canteens. She wrapped all her food in thick cloth, stuffing the packages into the travel pack she used when she went hunting. Next, the gathered dried herbs and plants she could use for tonics and salves if she got hurt, and seasoning if she cooked. The rest of the things she packed were basic survival needs; her hunting knife, flint for fires, a blanket, and a few other odds and ends she tucked into her pack neatly. She packed hygiene materials, all of the money she had, and her journal into her satchel.

When she was done packing, she turned to the two foxes waiting by the front door. "Well... Off to rescue our family."