The scent of damp earth and pine needles clung to Finley’s fur as he slipped through the undergrowth. Sunlight, fractured by the dense canopy, dappled the forest floor in shifting mosaics of light and shadow. His amber eyes, sharp and intelligent, scanned his surroundings, twitching at the rustle of leaves and the distant chirp of a robin. Hunger gnawed at his belly. Finley was a young fox, barely