The Fox's Folly (open to anyone)

[Br'er Fox]

((got the urge to go ahead and put one of my unused character accounts to use. Yes, I copypasta'd my test post, deal with it. >_>))

Br'er Fox was silent... silent as he had been for a long while. The fox had been waiting here, hidden in the bushes, for nearly two hours, now. Impatience was quite evident in his furry face, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and his fingers tapping in boredom upon a log he was rested on. Normally, at the very least, he had his partner-in-crime Br'er Bear to yack away to, or to berate and angrily order to be quiet - but the bear did not accompany the fox this time. Br'er Fox was attempting the hunt alone, now - which had just as much of a chance to work out for the better as it did for the worse.

Just what - or who - was he waiting for? Who else, but his eternal archnemesis: Br'er Rabbit. Foiler of all of his schemes, always just narrowly escaping his grasp by means of his speed or - infuriatingly, for the fox - his sharp wit, which often matched, if not outright surpassed, the fox's. What had begun as a simple foxlike craving for rabbit stew has quickly grown into a fierce rivalry - it was personal, now. One of these days, Br'er Fox would finally outfox that rabbit, and do him in for good.

Just then, the silence was broken by footsteps coming down the dirt path. The bored, anxious fox instantly perked right up with a grin, and held a paw to his right ear to amplify the sound... Yes, indeedy, somebody definitely was coming down the road, and there was a fine chance that it was Br'er Rabbit! His pitfall trap expertly (in the fox's eyes, at least) laid out and hidden from view, Br'er Fox made a toothy smile in eager anticipation as he waited, confident that it was the rabbit coming and that he would catch him for sure, this time.

In his excitement, the fox couldn't help but release a restrained, high-pitched cackle, grinning from ear to pointed ear. "You're mine now for sho', Br'er Rabbit!" he quietly uttered to himself, his voice on the crack of bursting into triumphant laughter once the rabbit was caught. The fox was entirely convinced that he'd succeed this time... as always.

Unbeknown to Br'er Fox, however, he wouldn't be catching his intended victim, today.

[mooch]

Today, Mooch was far away from his usual turf, the Radcliffe farm, and minus his usual three partners in crime, Dipstick, Wizzer, and Two-Tone. Propelled along on spindly legs ending in oversized paws, Mooch’s spirit of adventure had led him here.

Wait 'til he got back to the farm, he’d brag non-stop to everyone about how he had journeyed through the forest with no help from anyone! He bet Lucky and his little pals had never done anything quite like this before. Bad weather? Whatever. Predators? What predators?

“Huh… I wish a coyote or something would try to pick a fight with me. I’d tear his liver out!” Mooch thought, a vicious grin crossing his long muzzle. He was the best wrestler on the whole farm, after all.

The young sheepdog was so engrossed in stroking his ego that he missed the scent of the fox in the bushes. But he did thought he had just heard something coming from that way, a voice or something. Was it a coyote, or a bear? Startled, he froze for a moment before his face set in a scowl. He was angry at himself for being scared. He was never scared.

"Hey! Who’s in there? Ya better come out, or I'm gonna come in there and tear ya to pieces!" He snarled.

[Br'er Fox]

The hidden fox tried his darnedest to hold in his exuberant laughter - he was more confident than ever that this trap would work. That cocky little rabbit would be hopping along, completely unawares, and then, BAM! He'd fall right through the deep hole in the trail that Br'er Fox had well obscured from view with a purposefully flimsy trapdoor made of leaves and twigs. It simply couldn't fail!

The fox's chuckling immediately stopped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, however. Whoever it was, it sure didn't sound like Br'er Rabbit - not only that, but there was a distinct lack of the sound of his hapless victim plummeting into his pitfall trap. The confused fox poked his head out of the bushes he was hiding in, to find a small grayish dog standing in the middle of the path, just in front of Br'er Fox's trap.

The fox's eyebrows lowered and his lips curled in annoyance. "Here, now, whad'y'all think youse doin'? Go on, ya mutt, git! Scram!" he scolded the sheepdog while making a shooing motion with his hand. He didn't want this little pest hanging around and giving him away while he was trying to catch his hard-earned meal.

[mooch]

Surprised, Mooch nearly jumped when this weird-looking fox suddenly popped out of the bushes and started shouting at him. The guy was up to something, Mooch thought. Why else would he be hiding? The dog's curiosity was piqued. Honestly, he could do with a little company. Or an opportunity for a little mischief, whichever came first. He had seen the patch of leaves and sticks in the path, but had dismissed it as nothing but debris.

"Whatcha up to, foxy?" Mooch grinned impishly, but didn't relax completely, prepared to either run or dodge in case the other canine came after him or threw something at him. "You waiting for somebody?"

[Br'er Fox]

Br'er Fox only became even more annoyed by the pup's reaction; the little twerp didn't get the hint at all. The fox balled up his fists and gritted his fangs grouchily, and had half a mind to simply punt the scrawny little mutt out of his business himself. No way he was going to let his greatest plan to capture Br'er Rabbit yet be foiled by this mangy mongrel.

The fox remained where he was, however, hidden in the bushes; although he kept his head out to glare at Mooch. Whatever happened, he knew he couldn't leave this spot - the rabbit could show up any minute, now. "It ain't none o' your business who I's waitin' for," he growled, pretty much inadvertently answering Mooch's question. "Now would you get on outta here, before I tan yo' hide?!" he snarled, his incredibly short patience running low with the pup.