I sat by the stream, mourning the loss of my lovely mate. Silver scaled fish leaped high above the water, leaving small trickles of water in the air to fall back to the stream. They didn't know what had happened, but it still made me want to claw all of their eyes, inside out, and make them regret being so happy looking after Flash had just died.

Instead of hunting them, I just sat and watched the gleam of their scales from the Suns light.

I sat there for a long time, ignoring the stab in my stomach as I grew hungrier. A slow wind ruffled my untidy fur and I sighed.

"Oh, Flash." I whispered into the breeze. Then, my mind seemed to take over and it willed myself to commit myself to living. That's what Flash would want. He would have wanted me to live, not die in despair.

I thought of the sparrow I had caught earlier that morning while I was trying to find Flash. A whimper of grief tried to come up my throat, but it couldn't because a lump was stuck there. It made my throat throb and my head hurt.

I lifted my head to look around. The sun was starting to sink behind the horizon and shades of pink, orange and red. I had to live. I tried to lift my paw but the slimy, wet mud had now dried into a crisp layer, around my paws. I was stuck! I sighed, just wanting to leave this lonely place. I leaned down and felt the mud start to cave, and I pulled my now-muddy paw out.

My stomach groaned again, reminding me of my hunger. I hoped that scrawny sparrow would be enough. I walked through the forest, greenery rustling on either side. When I'd reached the area the sparrow had been, it was gone. I padded forward tentatively, after all, the animal that had taken it might will be around somewhere. I stalked forward until I was sniffing the spot it had been. What I smelled scared me. A fox was here.

I whirled around just in time to see a ragged-looking red-grey fox pummelling out from a large bush, it's teeth bared. Saliva dripped from its mouth and it's eyes were bloodshot and dry. It's tail twitched and it made its way to me. I had to move, and fast. I side-stepped hair as the fox snapped his cruel jaws shut. I yowled in surprise as I felt the rush of wind that came from the fox. I wasn't much of a fighter. I had to get out of this.

I thought out a plan as fast as I could. Could foxes climb trees? I didn't think so. I leaped onto a sturdy aspen tree nearby. That was when the fox got a hold of my thick tail. I yowled, swiping my long claws at his face. The fox just growled as he continued shaking me back and forth. It ripped me off the tree and I bounced violently onto the ground, banging my head on thick sticks.

I had just enough strength to muster a small "no," as my vision became limited to blackness.