You're Breaking All the Rules

For Copper, Arendelle wasn't anything that new. He had been stationed there for a short while, and while he still wanted to find Tod so he could actually see his old friend again he'd had other things to attend to. Mostly, the hound mix had needed to adjust to the different smells and learn to differentiate between civilian and ally. The task in and of itself had seemed a little daunting at first. After all, there were a lot of people in Arendelle proper. However, Copper was still a young hound. He had been able to pick up on different scents and, after a while, had adjusted. So that day, he was intent on going around Arendelle and actually looking for who he hoped was there in the first place. A more reasonable dog, unfamiliar with the particular fox that Tod was, might have just said that he'd be in the Great Forest. That was a reasonable assumption to make. It was one that Copper had almost made himself. However, he knew Tod better than that. Even with the short time they had spent together in their youth, Copper was smart enough to guess that Tod might poke around the human dwellings.

So, there he was sniffing about the ground and ruling out the occasional scents. There were other dogs scents mingling around, all either civilian or Enchanted Sun from what Copper could tell, and at first he thought that Tod's particular scent just wasn't there. However, he did soon pick up on something familiar. When he did, Copper stopped long enough to lift his head and sniff a bit more. There was the familiar sort of... natural, familiar smell from what Copper pieced together was the game preserve. His tail started to beat back and forth a little bit, but as he started to turn in the scent's direction he realized it had been closer than he first assumed.

Vixey's slender figure had bumped right into his, and while Copper was surprised to see her for a beat? He couldn't exactly say that it didn't make sense for her to be there. He'd recognize her anywhere. A guilty pang shot through his heart when he realized that Vixey probably only remembered him as the hound that had tried to get her and Tod killed. Her surprised statement, a result of bumping in to him, was the best chance Copper had to try and explain himself from there.

"Hey, hey... it's okay," Copper said. His tail did give a soft wag before he looked at the collar around her neck. Sure enough, there was the Enchanted Suns emblem attached to it. Just the same as his own. Just to prove that point, Copper raised a paw to his tag and tipped it up slightly with one of his claws so Vixey could see. To anyone else, the sight might have been an odd one. A fox and a hound, standing together and starting up a conversation. To Copper? It was familiar. Like... coming home. Even if Vixey didn't trust him right away, Copper was glad to have the chance to actually get to know her.

"I'd... understand if you're still at least a little sore about what happened at the game preserve," Copper said to begin. His expression was soft as he spoke. Hopefully, it and his gentle voice would help with any unease Vixey might have felt. "I'm real sorry about that, ma'am. But you can rest easy knowing your mate gave me a real good change of heart. Not about to go tracking down any foxes, let alone allies." With that said, he did feel like a sort of weight was off his shoulders. It was all up to Vixey now. If she wanted to let bygones be bygones and start fresh, that would be all the better. Copper was smart enough to guess that it might not be that easy, but optimistic enough to hold on to a bit of hope. Vixey seemed like a nice fox.

"I'm Copper, and as strange as it sounds I'm an old friend of Tod's. I was hoping I might find him here so I could let him know I'm here to help the cause. I'm... guessing you're here to do the same?"

He couldn't rightfully blame her, if he was being honest, for the haunted look in her eyes or the body language he could read clear as day. The poor vixen looked like she was ready to bolt right then and there. In time, though, it looked like she was a little more willing to stay and listen. It was also possible that she was just staying on the off chance his desire to chase prey actually picked back up again. Copper was in control, though. There was no desire to act on revenge in him in that moment. Just... a desire to learn more about her and hopefully earn a little trust. That much was, perhaps, a bit too much to ask for. Copper knew he had no reason to believe that Vixey would openly trust him after all the damage he had caused some time ago. Still... Copper was hopeful.

The smalltalk wasn't something Copper minded. What did perk his ears up a bit was that Tod had mentioned that Copper had saved his life. That wasn't entirely inaccurate. Copper wouldn't have done that if one thing in particular hadn't happened first.

"Well... he saved mine first." Copper managed a weak laugh. He still remembered how recklessly he had been fighting that big bear. How he had been willing to die if it meant protecting his master. Then Tod had rushed in. The very last thing Copper had ever expected had happened, and honestly? It wouldn't have been right if Copper had just let his master kill his old friend after that. Again, though, Copper knew not to just accept that as an acceptance of the apology. Vixey had every right to not offer it. He'd just have to live with it if that was what came to pass.

"I never expected him to come charging at that bear like he did. Brave as anything, that Tod. Reckless, but I can't rightly say I've seen anything like it before or since," he said. From there, Copper relaxed his body posture a bit more and decided that maybe, just maybe, if he sat down the conversation would keep being relaxed. If he showed that he wasn't about to get up and run after Vixey, then maybe things would keep going as... relatively smoothly as they were.

He could hope.

"I guess I can't forget a scent," he said, as a way of explaining how he'd recognized Vixey. Her face was fairly distinctive compared to other foxes he'd seen, too. The ones he'd helped Amos track down before had never really stood out in his mind. Vixey, though, he suspected stood out a bit more to him since she and Tod had been the only foxes he'd seen at the game preserve.

"I caught a few traces of your home on your scent, is what I mean," he explained. Talking just about her felt awkward, he realized. Copper took a brief moment to clear his throat, glanced away for a beat, and finally gave a slight tilt of his head. She was there by herself, yet he was certain he'd smelled Tod heading in Arendelle's direction first. So...

"Er... how is Tod these days? Not off risking life and limb against any other bears, I hope."