Chapter Text
The sun's rising light slowly crept into the sky. After a night of heavy rain over the forest, the sun was finally out to dry up the leftover water that dripped off the plant life. Animals had already begun to scurry along the forest floor, getting to their morning breakfast and grooming. It was finally starting to get warmer, being early spring, with all the foliage and flowers finally returning.
Near a small flowing stream lived a large colony of rabbits. A few rabbits of that colony had already come out of the burrow to get a good morning stretch and let the sunlight warm their fur.
A gray rabbit who was taking a quick drink from the stream was greeted by one of her relatives.
“Hey! Good morning, Judy!” hollered a black-and-white striped, blue eyed rabbit.
Judy sat up and wiped her mouth with her paws. “Good morning Jack! Sleep well?”
“Barely, I was cleaning the burrow for most of the night after dinner. Must we eat like animals?”
“Hey, it's not our fault that a single crumb on the ground is your pet peeve.”
“It still wouldn't hurt for this family to clean up after themselves better.” Jack grumbled but then lightened his expression. “But I won't let my day be ruined by that. Today is the day that we finally get to go to Charles and Frank’s den to have some of their amazing blueberries!”
“Yeah, but don't forget—that happens after the meeting with Prince Bambi today.”
“I know. I know. I’m just really looking forward to eating those blueberries! The groundhogs always know where to find the bestest and the cleanest ones!”
“Everything always has to be clean with you.” Judy rolled her eyes while smiling.
“Hey. I’m no ordinary bunny. I’m sophisticated!”
“Alright. Now how about you “sophisticate” yourself to Bambi. I’m sure he’ll love your long list on how to keep things neat.” Judy said as she started heading to the meeting.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a little organized.” Jack replied as he followed Judy.
At the meeting, all the animals of the forest had gathered around and were waiting for Bambi to arrive. He had instructed the birds to spread a message that an important meeting was being held in a clearing in the middle of the forest. While everyone was still waiting, Judy and Jack arrived. They joined the other smaller animals at the front of the crowd so their view of Bambi wouldn’t be blocked by the bigger animals behind them. All the animals were debating on what the meeting would be about. Winter? Predators? Hunters? It could be something devastating. Their imaginations ran wild and caused them to panic a bit.
The animals fell silent as a familiar silhouette appeared in the shade of the nearby trees. All who were present knew who that silhouette belonged to. They waited with bated breath as The Great Prince of the Forest stepped out of the shade and into the soft light of the clearing, his stately, majestic figure on full display for all to see.
The Prince looked around and saw concerned expressions on every animal in the crowd, each one silently waiting for him to make his speech.
“Good morning and welcome fellow animals of the forest. I know for some of you, being here so early can be troubling, but I appreciate your presence here. I asked for you all to be here today to inform you of some tragic news... The balance of the forest has been upsetted. Recently, a small group of foxes have been hunting more aggressively than they should in contempt of the laws of the forest. They have managed to do this by using the tools of Man. This is unnatural. This sort of thing has happened in the past, but this time other predators are following down the same path. The prey population has never been in such danger until recently. With these attacks they could wipe us all out.” Bambi stopped as the animals started to panic.
“Calm! Calm!” Bambi yelled. The animals calmed down and focused their attention back on Bambi.
“I wish I could give you better news. I truly do. But if things continue the way they have…I’m afraid to say we’ll have to leave the forest.”
The animals looked at each other baffled. “We can’t leave here! It’s our home!” a female squirrel yelled out.
“It is your home, I agree. And you should try to fight these predators to keep your homes safe if you’re able to. But if all our efforts are unable to stop this, we’ll have to abandon this forest. I’m sorry, but there is no other choice as of right now. Be safe, my friends.” Bambi finished and walked away slowly with the animals watching him leave.
Judy and Jack headed back to their home after the most troubling meeting they had ever been to. Both were shocked and were hopping slowly. The terrifying news of predators becoming more aggressive was very alarming. Both were scared of what could happen to themselves and their families.
“I… I’m at a loss for words.” Jack spoke, breaking the silence.
“Me too… What does this mean? Will we really lose our homes?” Judy spoke with terror. She had never felt so scared by such news before.
The use of human tools and techniques to hunt prey was not the shocking part. Rather, the fact that natural predators were now using them too was. And many of their fellow prey animals were being eaten and hunted. And now that the chances of them being next had increased. Judy wondered if she would even sleep tonight.
“I don’t know if I want blueberries now… I think I might’ve lost my appetite.” Judy spoke in a depressed tone.
“I think I have too…” Jack agreed. “We should tell them that we’ll come tomorrow.”
“That sounds good.”
Both Jack and Judy made their way to Charles and Frank’s den that had all the yummy-looking blueberries. Sadly, both Judy and Jack weren’t able to think about how delicious they were. They were just stuck with the feeling of fear and tightened stomachs.
“Hey, it’s our favorite guests!” Charles spoke with excitement.
“Hey! Welcome! Do you want any blueberries? I know you love these ones in particular.” Frank pointed to the bushes of blueberries around their den.
“Sorry… We’re just not hungry.” Judy spoke in a low tone.
“Would you guys mind saving some for us?” Jack suggested.
“You guys look a little down. You sure you don’t want blueberries to help you feel better?” Charles asked.
“I’m sure. I’m almost certain my stomach got full from the meeting we just came from.” Judy explained.
“Oh. It’s that bad, huh?”
“Wait, you guys didn’t go?” Jack asked.
“We’re groundhogs. We’re usually underground and birds usually miss us. We’re just told what each meeting was about.” Charles explained.
“Oh. I see.” Jack understood.
“So what was this meeting about?” Frank asked.
“... It’s about predators… hunting like humans do.” Judy spoke.
“Again? I’m sure it’ll go away again soon.” Charles said confidently.
“But it won’t… The prey population has been decreasing a lot lately. Especially now that more predators have been doing the same thing.” Jack explained.
“Oh… That explains it.” Frank spoke.
“Explains what?” Jack asked.
“Why the forest is quieter than usual.” Frank explained.
“Guys.” Judy spoke. “Can you do us a favor?”
“Sure. What is it?” Frank asked.
“Can you please be careful? Protect yourselves, do whatever you need to do to stay safe. Please?”
“You have our word, Judy. You best go back home, it’s getting late.” Charles stated.
“Be safe, guys.” Judy said as she and Jack started to leave.
“You too.” Charles responded.
Arriving back at the burrow, Judy could already hear her father's panicked voice echoing through the tunnel to the outside. She sighed warily before entering with Jack. Her father's panics were nothing new. He once panicked over a snail slowly entering the burrow, it didn't even make it past the entrance before a bird flew down and caught it.
“Bon, c'mon! We gotta huddle up the kids and get out of here! We gotta move to another forest!” Stu panicked.
“Stu get it together! If we all try to leave together in one big group, the predators would pick us off one by one!” Bonnie argued.
“Well then make sure to put the least liked family members on the outside then!”
“Stu!” Bonnie was shocked at him for saying such a thing. Family was never about playing favorites. Stu knew better than that.
After realising what he said, Stu calmed down a bit and collected his thoughts. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean that. But what are we gonna do Bonnie? We’ll probably have to start limiting our time out the den and there's a chance we won't even be able to make it to a new home!”
“Limiting ourselves is probably what we're gonna have to do for now.” Bonnie concluded.
Judy and Jack finally made themselves visible to Bonnie and Stu after listening to them. It was a bit awkward for Stu. But they had bigger things to worry about.
“Sorry for eavesdropping, but it's kinda hard not to with dad's loud panic attacks. We heard what you guys were talking about. I don’t like it, but I think mom's right. We do have to start limiting our time out of the den.
“It sounds like the best option for now.” Jack added.
Judy then started to thump her foot in slight aggravation. “I just wish there was something more that we can do! If only more prey animals were tough enough to take on predators. We already outnumber them!”
“Yeah but they were practically born with the skill to maim and kill. Those claws and teeth aren't just for show. A single wolf can take down a large moose.” Jack shivered.
“Yes, which is why we need to be cautious. Limiting our time out of the burrow is the safest route for now. We should also have some bunnies take turns being on lookout. Everyone must stay close to the burrow. No wondering off too far.” Bonnie explained.
“Okay...maybe we can have the faster bunnies on lookout?” Judy suggested.
Stu then decided to add his input after calming himself. “That's not a bad idea. They have better chances of escape.”
“Yes, but we can talk about this more in the morning. It’s getting late. Everyone should head off to bed.” Bonnie stated.
“Alright, goodnight mom.” Judy yawned, giving both her parents a goodnight nose kiss.
Both Judy, Jack and everyone else went to their respective spots where they usually slept and rested. It was hard for them to sleep though. The worry of predators being more dangerous made them more anxious about what could happen. Their burrow was well hidden and so far, no predators had been able to find it. Could that all change now? What if one night a predator sneaked in and made a feast of all of them?
Those thoughts kept running through Judy’s head. They were quite haunting. Every now and then she would get the feeling that something was lurking over her, breathing heavily on her fur. She’d take a quick look over her shoulder only to realize no one was there. Thankfully she managed to eventually sleep after staying up for a good while. She took Jack’s advice to think about the delicious blueberries. Which did work, despite making her drool a bit.
But then, she started struggling. She was in a panic and her body tossed and turned. She was then breathing heavily.
She didn’t know what was chasing her. All she knew was that she was its target. She continued to run as fast as she could through the forest. She jumped over tree limbs, scurried through thick bushes, squeezed between large boulders to find some way of losing whatever monster was chasing her. Her lungs felt like they were burning, but she continued to run. She had to escape. But it felt like the longer she ran, the more her pursuer closed in on her tail. Its running feet on the firm forest floor thumped faster and faster. Its fast and heavy breathing was starting to overpower anything else she heard.
She started to go into a serious panic. She couldn’t shake her pursuer no matter what she did. But she couldn’t let herself give up.
“Please, not just yet…”
As she ran, she looked around the forest desperately for any kind of shelter. Soon she spotted one—A nicely-sized hole in an old tree in which only she could fit. She had finally found her sanctuary. She headed straight for the hole, and was now only mere seconds away from slipping out of danger. She felt glee and relief…
Crrrrrack!!
Judy suddenly grunted and winced in pain. She felt large jaws crunching down on her back legs. Soon, she was slammed into the ground. She panted exhaustedly as she looked at the lower half of her body, seeing a large gash. She roughly gasped through whatever air was left in her lungs.
Her focus on her wound didn’t last long until the looming shadow of whatever had been chasing her darkened everything around her. The creature’s dark form took on what seemed to be the shape of a fox. It had a long bushy tail, pointed ears, and sharp claws. And what caught her attention the most were the teeth that dripped with her own blood. She tried hard to get up, but to no avail. All she could do was drag herself across the ground. She soon started begging, hoarsely, tears running down her face. The creature ignored her cries and just crept in closer and gaping open its large jaws over her head.
Judy cried out one last time, desperately. She didn’t care how much her throat burned and ached. “No! No! Please, stop! Please!”
The powerful jaws of the creature quickly snapped closed over her, making everything go black and red.
Judy’s eyes sprung open. She let out a bone-chillingly loud scream and gasped for air. Her scream was so loud that it woke everyone up. Judy was still panting by the time her parents came in to check on her.
“Judy! You okay?” Bonnie asked worriedly.
“I… I had a horrible dream… I was eating blueberries, but then this black, monstrous creature showed up… I tried to escape, but I wasn’t fast enough and I saw its face… Its horrifying face…” Judy explained nearing the edge of crying.
“Shh. It’s okay. It was only a dream.” Bonnie hugged Judy, comforting her.
“That has to have been a sign!” Stu blurted.
“Stu! Go back to sleep, now!” Bonnie ordered.
“Yes, honey.” Stu responded in a disappointed tone as he exited Judy’s resting area.
“You have to get some sleep too. Don’t worry, we’ll be safe in here. I promise.” Bonnie assured Judy.
“Yes, mom. Thanks.” Judy hugged her. Bonnie then left Judy’s resting area, leaving Judy all alone again. “I sure hope those berries will help.” Judy spoke to herself.
The next morning came, and both Judy and Jack were awake. outside the burrow and about to head to Charles and Frank’s den to eat some delicious blueberries. Judy was still feeling pretty tired from last night, due to not sleeping well after her nightmare. She still decided to get herself up instead of sleeping in.
“Remember, don’t stay out too long or go too far!” Bonnie called out from inside the den.
“We won’t!” Judy called back and they headed out.
In the forest, both Judy and Jack were taking their time hopping through the forest on their way to see Charles, Frank, and of course their famous blueberries.
“I get first pick.” Jack declared.
“Hey! I was the one with the nightmare!” Judy complained.
“Then… the first one there gets to pick first!” Jack spoke fast as he hopped fast.
“Hey!” Judy hopped fast after Jack.
Both bunnies were fast, but Judy eventually passed Jack despite his head start. Jack was surprised by Judy’s incredible speed.
“Yes! I win! I get to be the first to pick!” Judy exclaimed. She then stopped, realizing that Jack had gone completely still, as if he had seen a ghost, or even death.
“What is it?” Judy asked.
Jack pointed at the bushes. Judy looked where he pointed and saw that the bushes had no blueberries left. Some branches were broken. And a subtle hint of blood was in the air.
There was also a scent. It was the scent of a kind of animal that they both knew, but they needed to be sure. So they both slowly entered the den, hearing snoring sounds. It did not sound like Charles or Frank at all.
Then, as they approached the area where the snoring was coming from, they found something that stopped their hearts. A red fox and a somewhat smaller, sandy-yellow fox were where Charles and Frank normally slept. Fear immediately coursed through both Jack and Judy.
The red fox yawned, displaying his very sharp teeth. Jack scurried out of the den as fast as he could. Judy was still frozen stiff, staring in terror at the fox as he was waking up. Judy didn’t know why she was still observing it, but she was unable to move.
The fox then sniffed the air. It smelled the bunny nearby. It then opened its eyes and saw Judy staring with fear written all over her.
The red fox grinned groggily. “You’ll make a good breakfast.” It stated, lazily getting up on its feet.
Judy gasped and scurried as fast as she could. The fox gave chase.
He tried to chomp at her, but she kept dodging. The fox was right on her tail and almost got her a few times as Judy scrambled through bushes and large rocks to escape it. Her heart pounded. She realized how familiar this was to her dream.
Judy thought to herself. “No! That was just a dream! It can’t just come true! ….But if it does..that means-”
She continued to push herself harder as she ran. She couldn’t let this be her fate. She didn’t want to lose her life! Her family would be devastated, but it’s not like the fox would care. She was just seen as another meal to it.
Just like in her dream, she looked around for any trace of safety. A hole, burrow, den, anything! Anything, as long as it kept the fox from catching her. No matter where she looked, she couldn’t see anywhere to hide. Unlike in her dream, there was no hope for survival, It was all going to end here.
Even though, knowing that her luck of getting out of this was running dry, Judy kept running. Soon, it felt like the fox was right on top of her. She clinched her eyes shut, just to get it over with.
She waited….
And waited….but nothing.
Judy no longer felt the presence of the fox. No running footsteps behind her or panting. She quickly peered back as she ran to realize the red fox had stopped in his tracks. Though that didn’t stop her from running. She continued her escape to the safety of her family’s burrow.
Fortunately for Judy, due to just waking up, the red fox had given up and simply watched her run off. He gave himself a nice long stretch with a yawn. “You’ll be food soon, fluff! I promise you! You will be food!” the fox yelled out at her, followed by a cackling laugh. He gazed with a lazy smirk as she disappeared into the forest.
The smaller, yellow fox then came up next to the red fox. He looked as groggy as his partner as he sat down beside him. “D’you you get it, Nick?” the smaller fox asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes with his paw.
Nick just chuckled, seeing that his friend was too half asleep to notice he had no kill.“ No, Finnick. We’ll have to find other prey for breakfast. I’ll get that one one day. These are our hunting grounds now. And since we’re new in the neighborhood, let's not be rude. Let's give all our new neighbors a nice greeting. I’m sure they’ll give us a thrilling welcome."