It's always morning somewhere in the world and after an hour of restlessness, Lexx decided to go down for the next dice. There was nothing else to do and he needed to use up some of his pent up energy. It would also help him get his mind off Chel. He had meant to do as much planning as possible before he went to see Chel again, so that he could make the most of the time he had with her and not have to think about the game.
The target this time was a dice that was noted with the nickname, Swift. He didn't look anything like he had the last couple of times Lexx had caught him and he might be harder to catch since he was also MUCH smaller.
Swift lazily crept out of his den. The sound of birds singing outside let him know it was daylight and it was safe to come out. This was not the best time to be out and Swift was well aware of it from his fox form. The best was early evening. He had overslept and the sun was already high in the sky. There would not be any time to hunt up a meal and the day before had not been good to the blue and white creature.
There had been strange creatures, like himself, but bigger and very loud. Swift had retreated to the high branches of a very large tree for safety and watched as many large animals, some with four legs, two arms, two tentacles and two heads wandered around below him. The creatures larger than him, but smaller than the many limbed creatures had been all over the base of the tree. They had begun barking and howling until the little fox was so unnerved he left the safety of the tree and found himself on a wild chase through forests and fields.
His little wings were not nearly big enough for him to fly out of their reach and it had taken every bit of his speed, cunning and agility to outmaneuver them. At first, he thought he could outrun them, but they always seemed to find him. It didn't hit him until several hours of running, that they were following his scent. He had taken to the trees at that point, figuring out that it would be harder for them to track him if he kept up high and never touched the ground. Finally, when the night had started to settle, a very exhausted little fox was left cowering in his dark hole in the ground, hoping that the overhanging branches of the small bush outside were enough to conceal his only refuge.
Nothing had happened in the night and he felt secure enough to leave.
Without making a sound, Swift delicately stepped out into the dew laden grass. He yawned a few feet from the den and stretched out a small pair of black tipped blue wings. Then he sat up on his haunches and flapped them quickly, a smile spreading over his muzzle in delight at a good stretch.
There were bird nests up in the nearby trees. He had been saving those for a time like this. They would be easy to get to and rob of their eggs. Swift was just about to start up the nearest tree trunk when a low baying broke the air. The fox froze, his ears shooting upright in terror.
"Not again!!" It was reminiscent of the fox hunt the previous day, but there was more. The dice programming had suddenly alerted him that there were more dice nearby and now,… the game was on.
