Once upon a time there was an old fox named Icicle. Icicle’s fur was a silky amber, and her eyes were a startling green. Icicle was, of course, the pack’s alpha. She was intensely persistent and not one bit sympathetic towards all the other animals. She was very popular because she was brave and fierce, despite her age, leaving all the other foxes in awe. Icicle was often known for bragging, but a kernel of her cared a bit about the woods and all the animals there.                                                                                                                 

One frosted midnight Icicle was hunting by the allegedly HAUNTED WOODS LAKE (not that she was scared of it, why would she be scared of it?) to bring maybe a fish back for the other foxes. 

They’re too foolish and weak to hunt, she thought ferociously. I bet Maple and Dandelion couldn't have caught a salmon by themselves! Ha!  

Then, by the river, she saw a ghostly figure.

It was rising out of the frigid river.

A humming noise shook the ice-coated trees.

A slim fox surged out of the water, radiating death, death, death.

She was a few years younger than Icicle. Her coat was a fading, pale white with an ebony-black skull collar tied chokingly around her neck. Her eyes were seething with disgust and outrage.

“Who… who are you?”  Icicle whispered. 

“Me? Oh, I’m surprised you’d even want to know about me when your life's trembling on the knife’s edge.” She spoke clearly and dangerously, as though stalking her prey. “But if you desperately need to know, I am Spirit.”

Her pale white paw, dripping wet, slowly lifted above the water. A swirl of clouds burst out from one of her dagger-sharp claws, forming what looked like a hallucination of Icicle’s very own life. There she was, the biggest and prettiest kit, play-fighting with her littermates, Moss, Dandelion, Maple, and Carmine, her sister who had mysteriously disappeared a while ago.

Relief flooded through Icicle, who was soothed to see her family. But in a flash, the smoke disappeared.

A grim smile spread across Spirit’s face. “My dear, all of that is going to  end.”

Spirit suddenly lunged up and pounced on Icicle, pinning her down easily. All her life, Icicle had never thought she would die without honor, nonetheless in a fight. Humiliation surged through her, but instead of using force, she tried something else.

“Wait! Please…” Icicle yelped, thrashing under Spirit’s underbelly. Without thinking, it just came out: “Spirit, I’m magic too! I can give you everything you have ever wanted, and I can do it now,” Icicle bellowed. “Just don't kill me.” 

Spirit suddenly didn't look so vicious anymore. She sheathed her claws and lifted herself off Icicle instantly. “Fine, you old hippo,” she hissed, lashing her long bushy tail out. “You have three days to turn me back into a real fox. And if not, oh, your sassy soul will be SUCH a feast for Spirit. She hasn't eaten in seven years, you know.”

Icicle took a note to self on that, regarding the bony vixen beside her. 

“Now go, living soul, and bring Spirit back one of her own.” 

Icicle fled back to her family, eager to brag about her accomplishments and receive admiration. 

This will make me famous, she thought proudly. Ruby’s gonna be soooo jealous. 

Even though Icicle didn't know where a soul would be. 

Icicle’s youngest and most bone-headed brother, Dandelion, was bounding towards her excitedly. “Icicle, Icicle, Icicle, guess what I did today! Guess what! GUESS GUESS GUESS!“ He screamed. Without waiting for a guess, he bellowed, “I caught a fish! But it was huge. It was even bigger than ME and I caught it!” He leapt up in the air joyfully. 

No, Icicle thought, jealousy surging through her. She had never caught a fish at his age, nonetheless bigger than her. Relax, Icicle told herself. He will never defeat me.

Dandelion must have seen a look in her eyes, because he bowed his head and obediently responded with a practiced apology. “Please forgive me, sister. I fear I have gone too far in boasting about my pathetic feat. I apologize for riling myself up for useless talent. Truly, you are the most athletic and brave.” He dipped his head at her again, with a faint eyeroll. 

“Good,” Icicle barked. “I’m glad you’re at least smart enough to know when you have gone too far.” She shook her head scornfully and walked away.

Standing on her proclamation rock, Icicle bellowed, “ My friends only, come here! LISTEN, vixens and tods!” Once everyone had gathered, Icicle began her story.

“I was, as usual, hunting for you ungrateful dirtbags in the haunted woods lake. And it’s ACTUALLY HAUNTED.”  A cruel, toothy grin spread across her face.

“No!“ Dandelion yelped. “She’s making that up! She wants us to be scared!” 

The crowd turned to blink at Dandelion, bewildered.

“You weren't invited, brother,” Icicle said drily. 

Dandelion burst into tears, scampering away with his tail between his legs. 

“And YES, it is haunted.” Icicle went on. She explained her story, trying not to think about Dandelion.

It was hard.

First Day

Icicle came back to the haunted woods lake to see Spirit the next day. To her surprise, Spirit was already sitting on a river petal, staring into the purple smoke orb again. It was replaying an image of Dandelion and Icicle’s fight.

Spirit chuckled to herself, muttering. “I see you’ve already cheated, Queen of Cruel,”  she snickered. “You get everyone to work for you, Spirit thinks.”  She pawed the orb towards Icicle, letting her peer inside. And there was Dandelion, getting yelled at and bullied by Icicle’s friends. 

“Get lost, runt!”

“Yeah!”  

Dandelion whimpered, with no one to defend him. 

“Spirit sees him dead, in Icicle’s bejeweled future. Spirit sees him dead, and you do nothing.”  Spirit tossed her head, letting out a bone-chilling howl, and the purple orb instantly changed into an image of Dandelion’s corpse, dead on the grass. “Too caught up in royalty, eh?” Spirit wrinkled her snout at Icicle. 

Horror rushed through Icicle, consuming her mind altogether. “Is that inevitable?” she choked out. Please say no, please say no, please say no, Icicle’s mind rushed. 

“Hmmm, let’s see…” Spirit lifted one of her claws and raised the ball to her eyes, inspecting it closely. 

“Spirit’s mind tells her maybe.” Icicle gave her a skeptical look. Maybe? How OMINOUS.  

“Give me my soul, and I will protect him, if you’re too selfish to do so.” Spirit swished her tail majestically, and the orb vanished into a pile of smoke.

Icicle and Spirit sat in silence for a while. A thought struck Icicle. Carmine, the second oldest sister, had disappeared when she was only a year old. And she had been missing for exactly seven years. Hmm.

Second Day

Icicle was too busy thinking about Carmine to worry about the other foxes. They had been teasing Dandelion, just like in Spirit’s vision, and, according to Spirit, one of them would go too far and strike. 

Carmine had always been a mini version of Icicle, copying her every move. Icicle personally never knew why, though. Carmine was pretty and shy and adored by literally everyone. One day, though, Icicle got so fed up with it that she had told her to go away. She hadn't meant it literally, but her sister had fled into the woods lake and never come back. Since then, no other animal visited that lake and those who dared to do so never came back. 

Icicle’s mother, Dawn, had been furious, and Maple and Moss had thought she drowned. Dandelion, however, had believed her spirit would come back.

Hmm. Maybe that's why Spirit offered to protect him, Icicle thought as she began to fall asleep in her den.

Although I think I could use some protection here, Carmine.

Thanks a lot.

Icicle’s Dream

Icicle woke up in a cloud of smoke. It coiled around her like a snake and she could barely breathe. Even worse, in collided visions of Dandelion, screaming with Spirit’s necklace tied around his neck. The fur on his paws was torn off painfully, revealing a ghostlike skin and bony limbs. The horrid screaming intensified, and a shrill laugh could be heard through the little screaming fox. It was coming from the purple smoke. It was forming the shape of a winged fox thing, but Icicle only caught a glimpse of it for a second, because then a purple skull necklace was tossed around her neck. Pain spread through her body. It was nothing like she’d ever felt before. Icicle could feel her chest aching, her heart speeding up. The purple smoke clouded her ears and nose and mind, until all she could see was smoke and pools of blood. She felt her fur tear away from her skin and began screaming with Dandelion. A cold feeling swept over her. Her life was crushed into a million tiny pieces, all promising vengeance and many accidental deaths.   

Third Day

When Icicle woke the next morning, dandelions were scattered all over her den. “Who did this?” she muttered grumpily, shaking them off her tail. Outside, her brother was doing something weird. He had a blackberry in his mouth, and he was brushing it against a tree, making indigo strokes that looked somewhat like a sunflower-fox thing. Icicle was pretty sure Dandelion wasn't mad at her, but just in case, she rested her tail on his and said, “It looks good. I don't think I could make something like that.” 

Dandelion’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “ For real?”

Icicle tipped her head at him. “ Yes.”

She had never done THAT before, but it felt unusually good. 

When Icicle came back to her den, she saw a strange glimmering light. It was coming from one of the many scattered dandelions on the floor. 

She clamped her jaws around it and set the stem inside a hole in a nearby log so she could see it up close. An orb sat in it, glimmering against the green and yellow. Inside, it was a vixen that looked quite a lot like Carmine, but the image was wavering. Then it hit Icicle.

This was none other than Spirit’s soul.

Afternoon

For the rest of the day, Icicle tried to focus on others instead of herself. She let the fattest fish swim to Maple. She went to visit her dying mother and talked with her. She let Dandelion doodle on her proclamation rock. She got so used to it that she actually began doing things instead of thinking about her own survival. Spirit’s dandelion soul was forming a little bit quicker and was now glowing purple. The flower appeared to respond to acts of kindness.

During sunset, Icicle knew she had run out of time. It was too late. She had visited all her kin and friends for the last time. The sun glowed in the afternoon, highlighting the beautiful trees that she would never see again and cleaned her den. Scritch… Scratch… Dandelion’s tiny paws scraped against her dusty flooring. Icicle was lying in a corner with the death flower’s stem clamped gently in her jaws. But the hovering orb wasn’t a symbol of hostility towards her anymore. Now it was a sign of hope and freedom. Maybe Spirit would find it and have enough to be a living creature again. 

Dandelion scrabbled in, radiating warm friendliness and absolutely NO worry at all. 

“Icicle?” he peeped. “Do you think Carmine is still alive?”

Icicle sighed, shaking back tears, but a few rolled down her muzzle anyways. “Yes,” she admitted. “And I know she is.”

Dandelion gave her a puzzled smile, and before she could explain, Spirit floated into the room. 

”Dandelion,” Spirit crowed. “It’s me. Don’t you remember?” She reached a paw towards him and Dandelion surprisingly took it gratefully. 

“Carmine,” Dandelion whispered, tears running down his face. 

“Yeah, I wasn’t trying to scare you, like I said a million times,” Icicle pointed out. 

“You didn’t say it once,” her brother protested. 

“Spir- Carmine… aren’t you here to kill me? The orb wasn’t full in time… you’re fading away, Carmine…” Icicle’s voice cracked, and Spirit’s purple smoke coiled around her body sympathetically. 

“See for yourself, sister,” Spirit said smugly, nudging the dandelion with a tentacle of smoke. The orb was glowing brighter than ever, and Carmine’s face was a smooth, clean image. Spirit’s paw touched the flower, and a transformation happened. Light glowed from underneath her ghostly fur. The skull necklace snapped, shattering little pieces of ebony, and, in one smooth motion, it burst off, revealing her true origin.

And there was Carmine.

Epilogue

Carmine returned to the pack. Everyone was overjoyed, and they were celebrating with their new leader, Dandelion. Icicle was trying to be less bossy and selfish, and Dandelion was learning how to pick ticks off himself.

Carmine fit right in almost immediately. Yes, it was a little awkward when everyone asked where she’d been. They, of course, never told anybody about the lore behind Carmine, and never mentioned her unfortunate past.

That was just for them to know.  

To Be Continued…

Illustration by Clara Feldman