VS

(Thanks Photoshop)

Grey's POV

The clouds in the sky were a little grey. Would it start raining soon? I hurried to collect berries and I washed them at the river stream. It began to lightly sprinkle when I finished washing the berries. I held most of the berries by lifting my shirt up and used it as a bag. I started walking briskly north, but struggled to find the large trees. It started pouring a little harder and I was damp. I finally found the right path by going to the pitfall trap and turning east.

I was walking through some puddles when I heard a loud rustle and turned around. It was the fox. He was just as soaked as I was. He saw that I was holding berries and walked toward me. He stood on his hind legs and pawed at my leg with his fore paws. He must be hungry again.

"You want some?" I asked while smiling.

The little fox jumped up and down on his hind legs. He must really want food. I think I can hold the shirt up with one hand. I tried, but a couple of berries spilled and landed in mud. The fox ate the ones that only fell onto soil. I lifted the little guy up and put him in my shirt like he was a berry too. He was small enough to do so. He seemed content laying in my shirt and eating berries.

I picked up my pace and started doing a strange walk where I made fast and large steps. It was a bit odd, but it worked. I finally reached the hollowed out tree. The rain was getting heavy and we were drenched head to toe. I put the fox down and put the berries on a pile of leaves. The fox sat down and was watching me curiously.

I looked up and saw the upper trunk was hollowed out all the way to the top. I guess the leaves will catch any rain. I can ventilate a fire in this tree then. There was a large, flat rock in the corner of this tree. It had a small crater in it, so It was like a perfect bowl for me to stack the logs on. I guess someone probably lived in this hollow before.

I used a bit of leg strength and pushed it to where the hole in the ceiling was. The ceiling was a bit shorter than I was so I had to crouch down a bit and pushed with my legs. I piled some firewood logs onto the stone and lit it with a match. The fox seemed a bit afraid of the fire at first, but it slowly crept near it for warmth. I took off my jacket and shirt to let it dry by the fire. Then I warmed myself up.

The fox got up and walked toward me. It pawed at my leg for attention. We looked into each other's eyes. Then it looked at the berries. It wanted food.

"Are you still hungry?" I shuffled over to the pile of berries and dragged them over to the fire.

I gave the fox a few handfuls of berries. Then I started eating as well. I probably won't get used to eating these. They're really tart. I'll just eat a couple at a time. Meanwhile, the fox licked up all the berries and ate them one by one, but very quickly. The berries weren't very big, but I was slightly afraid that it might start choking.

"Slow down a bit at least." I chuckled.

The fox looked at me and tilted it's head. I thought only dogs did that. After the fox ate all of the berries, it leaped onto me and licked me a bit. I stroked it a bit.

"You're quite friendly aren't you?" I told the fox.

"Maybe I should give you a name." I suggested.

It tilted it's head again. Is it a boy or girl? I picked it up by it's armpits and looked at it. I don't think foxes show it directly, but how about I speculate it's a male? Yeah, I suppose I'll just assume it's a male.

"Alright," I set the fox down. "I'll name you Max, boy or not." I sighed a bit.

I wonder how mother is doing. I don't think she would like to see me come home with a fox. But then again, Max will probably leave me when he becomes more mature. At least for now, he's tame. I stared into the fire while petting Max. The fire made a pleasant crackling sound. Max's fur was only a little damp, but warm thanks to the heat. I was tired and lied down. The floor was hard, but I fell asleep content.