[ IP ] Walking on water .

A cautious nose pokes out from the undergrowth, twitching as it sniffed at the crisp morning air. A pair of alert brown eyes peek out, before the vixen decides to venture from the comfort of her den. She dresses in russet and red, a lady dressed for the autumn ball. 
 
 Outside, she cleans herself, grooming away the dirt and muck caught in her fur. She soon gets her coat glossy and bright. Satisfied, the fox yawns wide and stretches her limbs, luxuriating in the morning. She pads quietly to the lake. 
 
 The green forest is still as the vixen drinks. Late enough that the dawn chorus had already ended, but still too early for the noisy beasts to rise. She's the only one at the edge of the pool, lapping at the clear waters. 
 
 Now she stops drinking and looks up, eyes fixed on the distant shore. Attention caught by a flicker of movement across the lake, she quivers slightly, hesitates for a moment before delicately placing a paw on the lake, then another. 
 
 Ripples upon ripples spread out beneath her feet as she treads the lake, her tail swaying and tracing a gentle line in the waters below. Curious minnows dart in and out of the riverweeds to nibble at her toes. She holds her nose to the water as she slinks forward. 
 
 A twig snaps, deep in the heart of the forest. Her ears prick up, and swivel at the sound. She sits back on her haunches, tail curling about herself. The vixen raises her head and samples the air, wary. Then she is off, a copper blaze streaking across the lake as she bolts, and races for home.
