Story Challenge! Username: naturalharmony.
DVF(s) in the story: Ceferino Story: Ceferino sat up quickly, panicking at the gloom of his unfamiliar surroundings, consequentedly knocking his head on the hard wood above him. He mumbled a curse and carefully observed the rough bark that comfortably encircled him. With a sudden jolt, he remembered where he was and why he was there.
Slowly, the todd lowered his emerald gaze until it rested on the large, russet egg leaning against his paws. Ceferino hesitated briefly, before pressing one of his ears against the ovoid. He leapt back in surprise, once again bumping his head, as the sound of a deep, consistent tapping reverberated through the egg. Its heartbeat. "It's... alive..." Ceferino whispered.
Knowing this fact, he had no clue what to do about it. And, he couldn't help but ask 'what was it?' It wasn't any bird egg that he recognized, and was much too large for one anyway. There were little animals that produced eggs, and not of this scale or pattern in any case. What if it was a strange reptile? It could grow up to eat him and other foxes! Maybe, though, if he kept it, then he could train it not to eat foxes. And, he must admit, he liked the the idea of having another creature to keep him company.
On the other hand, he
could just leave it at some DVF clan border and hope that it's found by a border patrol. But then he would run the risk of getting caught, or just the egg being abandoned and, in his opinion, no egg should be abandoned, no matter what's inside.
"Well, if that's my opinion, then I can't make up any excuses," he shook his head. "I'll have to keep it." Ceferino decided, puffing out his chest and nodding a little, as if those actions made his choice more final and important.
A weight lifted off of him that he didn't realize he had accumulated. Even though he had taken on the responsibility of another's life, it also made him feel less alone and strangely more free. The todd tapped the egg with a paw and smiled. "Guess we're gonna have to take you back to my place, huh?"
With a little bit of careful organization and some throwing out of various bits and pieces, Ceferino managed to fit the egg into his bag, using his scarf as a shock-absorber and insulator. Once he was happy that it was safely contained within, he left the great red trees behind and ambled home.
A day later, after he had returned home...Ceferino awoke to the sound of heavy downpour echoing throughout his cave and, beneath that, the sound of very soft tapping. The rain was relaxing, but the gentle drumming was what interested him the most. He stood up, ruffling his fur against the slightly draft that blew through the tunnels, and padded around, trying to figure out the origin of the sound through the vibrations in the floor. Finally, he pin-pointed the source and walked, silently as he could, into one of the tunnels that branched off his room. He remained tensed, ready to fight if absolutely needed, as he padded down the passage and the rapping became steadily louder.
In the room, was the egg. It rocked back and forth furiously, and a thin fissure traced its shape, very slowly, almost unnoticeably, getting longer. Ceferino immediately ran towards it, emptying his satchel of any soft materials and thickening the bare nest that surrounded it. He had even killed, though he was vegetarian, a couple of the tiny lizards that dwelled in the cavern just in case the hatchling was in fact a huge, fox-eating reptillian.
Restless and impatient, the todd paced the room until he forced himself to reluctantly sit down beside it, tail twitching constantly. The egg continued to wriggle, but it had begun to quicken, and the cracks had thickened considerably. The tension in the air was palpable. After all, there was a new, unknown life form about to be born and he felt utterly unprepared.
Then, all in the matter of a few seconds, the egg cracked open and a small, very wet, twitching nose poked out. It was so sudden, Ceferino jolted out of his position and let out a small yelp. He approached very tentatively, movements stiff and tense, with his nose lowered towards it. The egg broke further as the creature pushed its head out and struggled with its limbs. It rocked back and forth, swaying dramatically, until the whole thing broken and out fell a bedraggled looking Delta Velorum Fox.
Ceferino backed up, gasping and shaking his head. "Th-this.. that's impossible! What..." He choked up a little, not believing his eyes. Foxes didn't come from eggs but... there were no other foxes on Delta Velorum that resembled the newborn at all. It had to be of his own species.
He rushed up to the confused chestnut kit and began grooming it dry. How he would get milk or even how to raise a kit, he had no clue. But he knew now there was no going back. He was stuck with it forever.