It hurts.

"Took you long enough."

That voice is uncomfortably familiar.

"He had like, four dudes protecting him! It was ridiculous," his brother replied to the other voice as he yanked the bag he was in up into the air.

The female voice laughed as the two started walking, swinging his bag as if he were just a few simple snacks from the grocery store.

I'm hungry, but I'd probably puke if I ate anything... I should eat a lot and throw up on them.

"Are you positive that he's Adam, by the way?"

Oh, crap. That's my sister's voice. Good to know that crazy runs in the family.

There was an annoyed sound from his brother before the guy responded; "Positive. There's no mistaking his markings and I've been following him long enough to know his behavior and appearance."

Fox felt himself bump against one of their legs a few times as he was swung. He contemplated biting it, but he knew that the action would probably earn him another slam to the concrete, and he didn't think that his throbbing skull could take a second hit.

I will be a good, pretend-sleeping fox.

"You have everything ready, I take it?" his brother asked as they started walking on some sort of uneven ground.

His sister answered with a cheerful, "yep!"

Oh? Is this a late birthday party? Will I be getting presents?

Of course, he knew that his thoughts were bullshit. His siblings were likely plotting a way to kill him, since his brother had already tried to run him over with his car.

They stopped after a short while, then dropped him to the ground. Fox bit back a squeak of surprise, not wanting to give away that he'd been awake for a while.

"You've triple checked the insurance policy and made sure that everything is good to go?" his brother asked.

The sound of a car door slamming echoed around him, then Fox heard an electronic window rolling down.

"Of course. Accidental death is covered, and no one is going to question a fox being hit by a car on a busy road. Let's just get this done, then drop him somewhere along the highway before reporting it. We need to make sure that he's been dead a while before the authorities get to him."

Love you too, sis.

The sound of tires crunching on fallen branches and leaves made Fox's ears twitch.

I know I love pancakes but I don't want to be one. Time to do something. And you really couldn't think of something else after already trying the car thing?

He twitched his ears back and forth as he clawed at the bottom of the bag. The fabric was tough, but his nails managed to tear a few decent holes in it at the cost of cutting up some of the skin around his claws. It would be a small price to pay if he could save his own life.

The car moved away for a short time, but then it stopped and Fox suddenly felt a shoe pressing him down into the dirt.

"Stay still. It will hurt less if we only have to hit you once."

That is a fact, but I think I'll take my chances at not getting hit at all.

Fox swung his head around in the bag, somehow managing to bite part of the shoe that was holding him down. His brother yelped and the shoe was removed, but not a second later he felt it connect with his side and send him tumbling a short distance away.

Thankfully, as he was rolling Fox pushed aside the pain and continued to scratch at the bag. By the time he had stopped he was able to shove his head through the opening.

"Shit!"

His brother hurried toward him at the same time the car started in the same direction. He just barely managed to get his front feet out and awkwardly fumble forward with the torn up sack still around his back end to avoid the car's tires.

His brother, however, wasn't as nimble considering the thudding sound Fox heard. He didn't dare turn to look, but the stream of curse words coming from the guy told him that he would survive... unfortunately.

It was a bit awkward to run needing to use both of his back legs at the same time, but he somehow made it work. The underbrush, however, was trying to hinder any kind of progress he was struggling to make. Normally, he appreciated the ground cover, but it seemed like every single branch and twig wanted a piece of the sack still around his back legs.

"Hurry the hell up and catch him!" his brother yelled, spurring Fox to move faster as he began to descend a sharp incline. His paws skidded and sank off and on into damp leaf litter and soil but he refused to slow down.

His actions spooked several birds in the area and send a few critters foraging below him running for their lives.

Note to self to hunt out here sometime. Lots of goodies.

He was just about to the bottom of the hill when he felt something grab a hold of the bag on his back legs at the same time a huge plume of leaves sprayed into the air.

"Got him!" his sister yelled.

Ew, don't touch my sack!

Swinging around, barely holding back a smirk from his stupid joke, Fox landed a bite right to the side of his sister's face and jaw. She screeched, of course, and reared back abruptly to try and make him let go. It worked, mainly because, at the same time, she yanked the sack free from around his legs.

Thanks. I knew you were always the lesser evil of the two assholes.

Fox darted off into the forest the second his paws touched the ground. He heard two sets of paws behind him, but one lagged to the point of being useless in the chase.

Sister, then.

He knew that after being hit by his sister's car that his brother wouldn't be running much. That just left his big sister, likely wanting revenge, and also the insurance money they worked so hard to get out of his corpse.

Sorry, maybe if you had tried this a few months ago I wouldn't have fought so hard, but I'm pretty sure that there are some pancakes waiting for me at home, and maybe even a hug from Owen... I might even tolerate one from that perverted dude, Amos.

Just the thought of those two made his legs pump harder.

I want to go home and be around people. I don't even mind that school learning thing, kind of.

Twitching his whiskers, he darted around a massive tree and was just about to dive under a fallen log when something huge suddenly jumped over his head with a startling roar.

Holyshitthat'sabear!

He skidded around just in time to see the giant animal land on his sister. A startled squeal sounded before he heard two loud crunches, then silence. His mouth hung open as the massive creature slowly turned to face him, a limp fox between its jaws.

Fox immediately tucked his tail and pinned his ears back as he started to retreat.

That's a nice looking meal you got there. I'm a bit scraggly, years on the streets and such. You don't want to waste your time on my—"Fox?"

Amos!

Fox turned around just in time to be scooped up into a hug. The familiar scent of cigarettes and peppermint gum was such a relief that his whole body sagged into the man's arms.

"Glad my friend is very territorial," Amos said, drawing Fox's attention back over to the bear as it spat out his sister, making a disgusted face before shifting.

Oh. He's a shifter, too.

"The guy ran off," the surprisingly-small, young guy growled out in a voice that definitely didn't suite his features.

Why does he look cute? You're a bear. Where is the muscle, and height, and—"He's a rever, like you," Amos said, interrupting his thoughts.

Another rever?

He acknowledged Amos' words as he slumped his head against the man's chest and closed his eyes. While meeting a third rever was exciting and he definitely wanted to interact with it, from a safe distance, he couldn't bring himself to stay focused. He was completely drained.

A firm hand gently began running through his dirty fur, paying special attention to his ears.

"Don't worry, I've got you."

The second Amos had appeared, his worry had evaporated. He wasn't sure when, or how, he'd come to trust the guy so much, but even with the bear rever staring at him after having just killed his sister, he didn't have any fear.

"Thank you for the help, Marsh. Sorry to have disturbed you from your rest. I really appreciate your help tracking him," Amos said, making Fox's barely-there mind, perk up.

Oh right, bears hibernate.

The bear shifter grumbled and headed off, the sound of his bare feet on the damp leaves drifting off into silence in moments.

"Let's get you back home, shall we? Owen followed the other lead, probably one they used to try and throw us off. I just texted him so I'm sure that he's going to be all over you when we get home," Amos said, a smirk in his voice.

Fox sleepily looked up as Amos began to walk. His movement drew the man's attention back down him. Before he could do much, not that he intended to, Amos lifted him a little and leaned down, placing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Thank god you're are safe."

Nah, I'll thank you, and that bear guy.

Amos snorted a laugh as he continued walking.

"Get some rest. I'm sure Owen has already called your vet friend to come check you over, too. You're going to busy once you get home."

Fox flattened his ears.

He puts things up my butt.

Amos's face deadpanned before he raised an eyebrow.

Realizing that the context of his statement about how they took temperatures in animals was likely misunderstood... Fox left it alone. Nap time.