Sunspire Mountains sleepy fox hollow

Location of Sleepy Fox Hollow.

After leaving the creek, Junior decided to take a different route home, in the spirit of exploration. She headed east, then began loping south along the fringes of a pretty meadow full of wildflowers. A narrow lake appeared on her right and she stopped for a drink before beginning her climb into the mountains that separated the Rising Sun Valley from the Kintla Flatlands.

When she arrived at the peak of a ridge line, she saw two small valleys on either side. She knew that home lay northeast of here and that if she crossed the rock bridge, she would find herself in the plains. From there, she could follow the winding Whitefish River home. She had never been this far east, though, and didn't want to squander the opportunity.

Picking her way down into the left-hand dale, Junior soon found herself swallowed by a small, dark forest. It wasn't creepy, as Ravensblood Forest often struck her, but comfy. When she made landfall, she crept slowly into the trees, eyes, ears and nose on high alert. It was a pretty little glade at first sight, though as she moved forward toward its center, an incredibly pungent smell invaded her nostrils.

Junior paused, assessing the scent that made her nose burn. It wasn't the odor itself that grabbed her attention, it was its familiarity. "Aut... umn?" she blurted quietly, her tail giving a switch as she plumbed back into the memories of her infancy, when she'd met a playful red fox and they'd had a digging contest.