“Cali! Cal!” Her mom yelled. “Get your nose out of that book and get down here. You’ll need some lunch before heading off to the west field.”
Cali sighed. “Yes, Mum, on my way,” Cali yelled back.
Placing the braided ribbon in the book, she stood, stretching as the warm summer breeze rustled the tree leaves overhead. She’d have to wait until tomorrow to find out if the battle turned for the heroes.
Walking down the hill she could smell fresh-baked bread and something else… the faint whiff of cinnamon. Her belly growled pushing her annoyance out of her mind as she hurried to the back kitchen door.
The table was almost full, with some of the farmhands standing around eating before heading back out for the afternoon’s work. Cali was heading to the west fields today with her father and some workers to check the fences and animals. They had lost some livestock over the last month and needed to check the traps they’d set out.
Cali grabbed a bowl of her mom’s famous sausage and wild rice, and added gravy over the top, sitting down to eat.
“Callera Flynn, why on earth do you cover up your food with gravy like that?” her mom laughed.
But of course, her mom reveled in the fact that everyone from family to farmhands loved her cooking. And even though she poked fun at Cali for putting gravy on everything, there always seemed to be fresh gravy made.
“Hey Cali girl, what’re you reading on today?” Bodric asked.
Bodric was a dear friend of their family, and had been on the farm since before Cali was born. He helped teach her to ride and shoot and loved to hear her talk about the stories she was always reading.
“Oh, you know, Bodric, still the same one as last time. I can’t seem to find enough time to finish,” Cali replied, smiling sweetly as her mom narrowed her eyes, grinning.
“Bodric, you know her, she fills her head with those fae-tales, of far-off lands and battles between good and evil. Silly stuff,” her mom laughed again.
“Yes, Mum, and I was just getting to the battle when you called for me,” Cali complained.
Her mom rolled her eyes, laughing and turned back to the stove.
They ate and brought their plates over to the large sink before heading out to the fields for work. Cali, Bodric, and her dad, Erwin, gathered supplies and headed out to the west fields.
Cali brought her large skinning knife and the short bow that Bodric hand-carved for her. They were hoping to catch what had attacked their animals, thinking it was maybe a wolf or a small bear. Cali, who was quickly turning into the best skinner and leatherworker of the lot, hoped to skin the beast.
It took some time, but they made it to the west fields. The animals were all accounted for, so they split up to check the fences. Nothing out of the ordinary, only normal needed fence repairs.
As Cali turned the last bend of her section of the fence she heard a quiet mewling coming from the woods. It sounded like a baby animal, a kitten perhaps.
Always careful, she readied her bow and stepped toward the tree line. The sound was close, and she searched the area to see if there were any large animals about. She saw a large fox laying near a tree, killed by the same animal that was terrorizing their flock it seemed. The silence under the heavy canopy of trees made the cries seem louder.
Keeping her arrow nocked and ready she continued to look around and found the source of the crying.
A baby fox!
Making sure there were no other animals around, she turned back to the baby fox. The dead fox must have been its mother. Putting her bow on her back, she took out her knife and knelt near the baby fox.
It was tiny, with a reddish-brown coat and some white around its muzzle. It had a large bushy tail, and its ears seemed twice as large as its head. Cali knew she couldn’t leave it here to the same fate of its mom.
She pulled an apple out of her knapsack and cut off a small piece with her knife. She sat near the fox and held the slice of apple close to it. The baby fox was still crying, but after a bit, its hunger ruled out and it inched toward Cali.
Sitting very still, she kept the apple slice in her hand and let the fox come to her. It grabbed the apple slice and backed away, eating quickly. Moving slowly, she cut another small piece of the apple and laid her hand on the ground again. The baby was quicker to come take the apple slice this time and didn’t move so far away.
Cali was getting ready to cut another piece of the apple when she heard something moving in the underbrush nearby. Something definitely bigger than a fox. A shiver ran up her spine as her hair stood on end. She quickly grabbed the baby fox, and with the knife in hand backed slowly out of the tree line and to the fence. Whatever the animal was, it didn’t follow her, but she could feel it was near.
As she reached the fence, Bodric and her dad were walking in her direction. Seeing her backing up brandishing her knife they ran to her side, then went into the trees after the larger animal.
She knew her dad and Bodric would be fine, they were both experienced hunters. The fox had started mewling again. She held him close while she pulled her other apple from her knapsack. She took a small bite of the apple and put it in her hand for the fox to eat.
Sometime later her dad and Bodric came out of the trees carrying between them what looked to be a large boar. Not an animal you would want to run into without a weapon. The large protruding tusks were longer than Cali’s hand, and it still had blood on its muzzle from its latest kill.
“Hey looky at this beastie, Cali girl!” Bodric said with a huge grin. “We’ll have to roast this one up!”
The thought of roasting a boar over the pit near the back garden made Cali’s mouth water. She hadn’t realized how long they had been gone to the west fields, but the sun had started sinking behind the trees.
“I have a beastie of my own! Da, Bodric, come look,” Cali said.
The baby fox had decided it trusted Cali enough after stuffing itself full of apple, and it fell asleep curled in the crook of her arm.
“Cali. Sweetie, you know how much work that little guy will be, right?” her dad asked.
“Yes, Da. But I won’t leave him out here to fend for himself, he’s too little,” Cali said, ready to argue her side.
“Okay, but he’s yours, and yours alone.”
And with that, they turned to head home with a fresh boar and a new baby fox in tow.
© 2017–2026. Morigan Shaw. All rights reserved.
This episode and its accompanying text are part of The Idoramin Chronicles and may not be reproduced or distributed without permission, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
