Obsidian Forest
by Alps Aris Sarsis

As I wandered through the darkness of the forest, I began to feel sleepy. This was a bad place to fall asleep though, so I continued to travel on, as if my legs and my eyes were lying, and misbehaving, and I wasn’t really tired. 

Who am I? What am I? All this is hard to really explain. I don’t really remember who I was. I woke up in this forest. I am a canine, that I know. A red husky, I think. Maybe a mix. Anthro, of course, standing about six feet tall. Looking at myself in a stream, I see a lack of the lines of age. I am probably in my twenties. But how I came to be in this forest, I am not altogether sure. I was wearing a pair of tattered jeans, and the very last vestiges of a white T-shirt. Personally, as I looked at my reflection, I felt strongly that I had been attacked in this forest by someone.. or something, and left for dead. I had cuts on my shoulders, and my back, as well as my legs. They looked like the kind of scraped you get from tumbling through the briars and the like though. Perhaps I had fallen. I wasn’t sure, and could remember nothing. My head hurt for a while, and I was dizzy too, but I finally started to feel a bit better. More energetic. As I traveled, I took time to look around at this place. 

The forest was one of those ancient looking primeval places that you only read about in books, you know? It was like something out of the beginning of time, and yet, the forest was eternally ancient too. The trees.. I could not even see the place where they attached to the dense canopy overhead some of the time. It was just a huge brown and green mossy trunk, stretching to the heavens. The canopy. That was a marvel in and of itself. The light that filtered in, just enough to show that it was day time, was tinted green, and filled with shadows. The forest smelled of moss and lichens, and the place was somewhat damp and musty in the gullies where it had perhaps rained some time back, but other places were bone dry, leaves rustling under my feet as I walked.

I walked like this for some time. I suppose it could not have been more than about five hours, but there was just never any end to this forest. Finally, as my eyes felt heavy, and my legs felt they would just crumple under me, I heard a sound. I was immediately awake again. It sounded like running upon the dried leaves just behind me. I turned suddenly, and saw nothing. My heart was beating fast. This entire time, I had not really considered it, but I had no idea where I was. There could be vicious creatures in this forest. I could actually be in danger. Had I been running? Was that why I felt so tired now? I continued walking, at a little bit faster pace, and then heard a scrape of what sounded like claws on the side of a tree behind me, and turned again suddenly. I thought I saw a shadow sweep behind a tree. I moved over to the tree, and looked behind it, bracing myself in case I had to fight. Nothing. My mind was probably playing tricks on me, surely! I moved along some more, my heart pounding in my chest, as I moved along more swiftly now. I had to get out of this place! There were too many places in this forest for thing to hide. I didn’t want to give anything the chance to get the jump on me, but in a forest this large and this dense, there was no way to be sure of my surroundings. Finally, I heard that running behind me again, and I started running too! I was scared out of my mind! I ran and I ran, panting slowly, and then turned around, not hearing the sound of those rapid footfalls behind me. There was nothing there. So I turned back around.

 And standing there, nose to nose with me, only an inch away, was an obsidian-furred creature of some sort. I fell backwards onto my ass so hard it kicked up a cloud of leaves and dust. I had my hands braced behind me, flinching, fearing the rake of claws over my face, as I held still. Then nothing. I looked up. That dark figure was still there. A vixen. A lady fox with jet black fur and green eyes, which were slitted, narrow, almost angry looking. I was in her territory. I should not be. I wasn’t even a fox! If I had been a todd, I might have been allowed passage, or even another vixen, but this figure loomed over me, dark and frightening. She was not overly large, perhaps a little shorter than me, and her body was trim, made for running and hunting, rather than hard work, which mine was obviously for. She was very beautiful, but she looked furious, wild, and unrefined in any way at all. Wild. She wore some kind of hide, white in color, which reminded me of a one piece bathing suit, with a loincloth. 

I watched her as she stood there, and from behind her, she drew a knife. It’s blade was the same black color of her fur, shiny, gleaming in the half-light in this forest. I scooted back a little, as she approached me slowly. What would I do? What could I do?!

Get up and run for your life, stupid!  
Stand and fight! It’s just a girl you pussy! 
Beg for your life.. reason with her.. 
Oh my god! A vixen! In a dark forest alone! Score! Go on and get some 

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