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"The Howl Of A Fox" (Outskirts of Greenhill)
As Bob left the item store in Forest Village, his face was filled with joy and happiness. And to think just yesterday, he was depressed and saddened, and never wanted to face the real world. But everything changed because of one person. It was himself. With the aid of a mysterious woman, he found himself again. He found the real Bob. The Bob that loved the thrills of the fight, and the excitement of the adventure. This was truly him. And he was glad. He stepped outside into the fresh air, and for some weird reason, the air smelt better now. The sun shining down on his face was just a bit warmer, and the blue sky that stood above him was a bit more bluer. This was the power of hope. With the smile still on his face, he walked to the entrance of the village and turned around. "Good-bye bummed-out depressing Bob" he said as he waved good-bye. He walked out of the village, with his staff in hand and a bag of medicines, food and antidotes flung over his shoulder, and into the real world. He walked along the warned down path and into the valley. He was amazed at the sight. He hasn’t seen this in a long time. Too long, he thought. He looked around the valley as he continues to walk. He couldn’t see anything but hills and trees, and he loved it. He didn’t feel secluded anymore. He was free. Free of his fears, his troubles, and his sadness. Free. As he continued to walk along the path, time
passed. Slowly the sky darkened, and the light diminished. The sound of
crickets emerged, and the hooting of owls surrounded him. He had been walking
along time. He turned around, and the village was nowhere to be seen. He
was in the middle of nowhere now, but as long as he followed the path,
he will get somewhere. But where, he thought. The stars were present
now, puncturing through the blackened sky. Bob looked up and stopped. The
stars were brighter now. He smiled and laid down on his back on the path.
He crossed his legs and laid his arms ontop of his chest. The stars stared
back down at him. He saw the stars in a whole different perspective now.
When he looked at them, back home, he though they were just balls of light
with no real importance. Just there for no reason. But now, they symbolized
to him the hopes and dreams of every person on the planet. His star was
up there, somewhere, shining brighter than ever before. Bob continued to
stare at the stars until his eyelids began to become heavy, and his body
relaxed to the point of shutting down.
"Kkkoooooooo!!" The jolting sound pierced through Bob’s brain as his eyes shot open. He slowly looked around with his eyes, trying to find the source of the sound. His eyes stopped at his feet, which stood ontop a weird looking bird. He could clearly see what it was because of the light from the sunset behind him. It was a kookaburra, a male one, the aggressive gender. But this bird didn’t look like he wanted to play. It’s eyebrows curved over its blue eyes as the sight of anger surrounded its face. It’s red beak shot at Bob. "Kkkaaaaaaa!!" Bob kicked his feet up and the bird flew over his head before he got bitten. Still lying on the ground, he heard the bird slam into the ground. This gave him time to get ready. He jumped up on his feet and quickly grabbed his beast rod. The red bird got on its feet, and flapped its wings as it slowly floated off the ground. "Kkaaaaa!!" The bird swooped down and propped its beak for another shot at killing its victim. Bob swerved out of the way and the bird zipped past Bob’s face. That was close, he thought. This time, it was his turn. Bob jumped at the bird’s back and swung his rod. But with a twitch of a muscle, the bird’s orange tail straightened and slammed into Bob’s face, knocking him to the ground. Dirt and dust flew in all directions as Bob recovered from his flight. The bird turned around and screamed some more. It swooped down again and Bob quickly rolled out of the way. He was having trouble, and it was hard to admit that. "Argh! You are a tough little bugger! But I can beat you without changing!" Bob told the angry bird. It just answered back with a scream. The Kookaburra charged again, but this time Bob was too late. As he rolled out of the way, the bird’s claws ripped through his arm. It was a deep cut. " Ah! Damn it!" Bob screamed in pain. He never knew how hard it was just to kill a bird. Bob quickly covered up his wound with his right hand as he continued to scream in pain. The kookaburra regarded his cries and continued to scream. Bob looked at the claws that injured him, and on them he saw his own blood, dripping off and onto the dirt. His teeth clenched and his face became tense. " That’s it! I’ve had enough!" Bob shouted. He got up with a sudden burst of energy. With his rod gripped in his left hand, he leaped at the bird, with full force. But with surprise, the bird dropped its altitude and Bob flew over it, smashing into the ground, on top of his injured arm. " AHHHH!!! I……can’t…..win." Bob stuttered. Bob laid his head on the ground, and closed his eyes. He lost. He knew that it was his day to die. The screaming sounds of the bird invaded his mind as Bob gave up all hope. And I never even got to find my sister, he thought. The bird’s screaming got louder as it got closer to him. Bob kept his eyes closed, and waited for his death. Suddenly, the sounds stopped and silence over came him. He got confused. What happened to the bird? He didn’t want to open his eyes; yet, he wanted to see what was going on. Could it be a kookaburra trick? " Having trouble are we?" said an unknown voice. Bob never heard it before. It was a man’s voice, and by the sound of it, he was young. "Come on now, get up. The trouble is over." Bob didn’t know what to do. He slowly opened his eyes, and an image of a man appeared in front of him. His was average height, short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big smile on his face. He wore a long brown overcoat; over a light brown buttoned up jacket, and light brown pants. They were a bit dirty, but it looked like he really cared for his clothes. Around his neck was a necklace, with an animal hanging from the front. It looked like he was really friendly. " Rise and shine. Don’t tell me you gave up on a measly kookaburra?" said the man. He held out his gloved hand, for assistance. " I was just testing its skills. That’s all." Bob wasn’t a very good liar. " Oh I see. Were you testing to see if it was motion sighted?" laughed the man. " Come on, give me a break." Bob grabbed the man's hand, and he was lifted off the ground. Bob felt the strength of the man, and surprisingly, it was great. Bob held his hand over his wound as he looked for the bird. There he noticed that it was lying right in front of him. At least, half of it was. " Wow, you really got that bird." Bob said with surprise in his tone. " Yeah, it was a blindfold job." The man chuckled. " So what brings you to the middle of nowhere?" " Uh, I came from Forest Village and I…. well….don’t know where I’m going." " I see. Well, the closest place is Greenhill. I was actually planning on going there too." The man said as he turned away from Bob and looked into the horizon. " It should be about a day or too ‘til I get there though." " Well, I guess I will be going there too" replied Bob. He never heard of Greenhill before, so he was excited about going, especially since he was with a companion. A tough one. " My name is Fox Vulpes. I’m off to Greenhill to meet someone. What about you?" "Bob Nubilus. I’m just trying to find my sister. She was kidnapped a long time ago." Bob said, bravely. "Well, Bob, why don’t you join me to Greenhill?" asked Fox. "Okay, I’d love too." Cried Bob as his arm suddenly sent a jolt of pain down his body. " You should have told me you were injured. Here let me see." Fox took Bob’s hand away from the cut and looked at it with confidence. He went through his bag that hung from his waist and pulled out a cloth. He then wrapped it around Bob’s arm tightly, and tied the ends into a knot. " Thank-you." Said Bob. " No problem. Come on now, let’s get going." Said Fox, with a smile on his face. They both started to walk along the path, with Fox leading. Bob just couldn’t stop thinking about how strong Fox was, although he never really saw Fox’s strength. He was also excited that he met someone so cool. Last time anyone spoke to him was a long time ago, and that man never wanted to see Bob again. Bob sighed. "Something the matter?" Fox stopped and turned to Bob. " Nah. I was just thinking about stuff." Bob murmured. "Care to enlighten me?" Fox said keenly. Bob was surprised. Someone actually wanted to hear his feelings. No one has ever been this friendly to him, considering he secluded himself. This was new to him. He never really had a friend before. " Well, I was just thinking how my life has been since my parents died and my sister got kidnapped. It has been pretty crappy. I felt sorry for myself for so long, that I never really lived." Bob bowed his head down. " I see, well, sometimes you have to take all the bad parts of your life, crumble them all up in a ball, and eat them." Fox said. " What do you mean my that?" Bob replied, confused. " What I meant was that you take the bad aspects of your life, and absorb them. You know, learn from them, and don’t let them destroy your confidence. Everything that happens in everyone’s lives is for a reason. It is all part of a master plan. You just have to accept what is thrown at you." Bob knew what he was talking about, and to his surprise, he knew that Fox was right. " Yeah. I understand. Wow, you are good at making people feel better." Bob said with a grin. " I know. I have that effect on people." Fox chuckled. " Come on, let’s get going. It is almost noon." Fox started to walk again, with Bob trailing behind him. They both continued to walk down the path as time slowly went by. They walked for the whole day, sharing their experiences with life and their mishaps. As the stars returned and the crickets embraced the silence, Fox and Bob walked towards a tree, and leaned against it. " I think we should stop for the night and get some sleep. We are almost there. We should get there by noon tomorrow." Fox yawned. " Okay." Bob sat down beside the tree and rested his head against it. " Hey Fox?" "Yeah Bob?" Fox asked. " How did you finish that Kookaburra without a sound?" Bob questioned. Fox laughed. " I used my rune. It is evidently called the Golden Fox rune. No big deal. I see you didn’t use your Rabid Fang rune." Said Fox. " Huh? You know about this rune?" Bob asked. "Of course. My rune is similar to yours." Fox replied. " What do you mean by ‘similar’?" Bob looked at Fox with confusion. " Umm…." Fox paused. "Just that it gives me strength and speed, that’s all. Let’s got some sleep." Fox quickly blurted. " Okay." Bob knew that Fox wasn’t telling the truth, but someday, he thought, Fox would tell him what he meant. What was about his rune that he didn’t want to say? Bob regarded his thoughts as he closed his eyes, and realized how tired he really was. He did a lot of travelling today. And tomorrow, he will be in Greenhill. The first place other than Forest Village in 13 years. He was excited. His body shutdown, as he fell into a deep sleep. ‘Til tomorrow.
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