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Foxofwonders — Mercy
Published: 2013-03-29 19:10:43 +0000 UTC; Views: 768; Favourites: 31; Downloads: 9
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Description
They were supposed to sit still, like they were made of stone. They weren't supposed to show any sign of sympathy towards the raptor whose life now fully depended on their father's mercy. With a cold look in his eyes, the king of ornate hawk-eagles pointed his weapon at the raptor. The youngest of the five noble birds couldn't stand it anymore, he desperately turned towards his parents. He didn't want his father to do this, but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop him in time."No! Spare him his life!" The queen quickly extended her wing, just in time to prevent her husband from shooting a lethal beam at the raptor.
I was home wonderfully early today, so I got to finish my piece with ornate hawk-eagles. (and another raptor whose life has just been saved)
As most of the times lately, drawn with pencils and paper, enhanced in Photoshop.
I'm quite happy with how this turned out ^^
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Comments: 40
Hello *The-fox-of-wonders !
Thank you for submitting this artwork to ! We attach this welcome pack to the first deviation you submit to the group, in this case this one. 
You were invited to #dA-Fantasy-Animals by . Hopefully he or she made the right decision when he or she invited you!
Here's what you can do in the group
Invitation-only
As you probably have seen, #dA-Fantasy-Animals is an invitation-only group. This means that not anyone can join - we'll go great lengths to search out for deviants who could probably be interested in our group.
You are gently encouraged to invite your friends and acquaintances to the group, as long as you feel they would be providing value to the group. The group works by the fact our members invite their members and so on, so that the group could effectively reach the artists who are truly interested in having a group experience.
Current contests
Currently we don't have any contests running on. Please stay tuned - at one day there very probably will be one.
In the end
Hopefully you'll like your time in the group.
The Friends of Fantasy Animals would like to wish you a very pleasant and nice day!
PS. Fox, how does this Welcome Pack look like?
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~fantasyart-c did indeed make the right decision when inviting me xD
Looks good
I'm sorry, I wish I could say more about it, but I'm currently at-- no wait, of course I can say more about it. I personally think it does sound motivating, it also clearly explains what one can do within the group.
Great welcome pack ^^
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Wow that was nicely said. o.O
Ah, you are at somewhere special.
That's great to hear! In the midst of endless welcome messages I thought I could try pulling off something which truly goes into a mind.
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I think you did that well
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I've wondered why the fox is the most popular fursona.
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I don't know. I like foxes for... complicated reasons, but easier ones too.
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Care to explain? I'm very curious now.
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It's OK for me, yes
Let's start off with the easy ones and then, gradually, get into the more complicated ones.
I think foxes look graceful and elegant, with their slender build and long tail, and orange used to be my favourite colour (currently I don't have a favourite colour, but I know I prefer calmer colours, I don't really like the neon-like bright ones). I also love the black of their feet and ears and the white of their throat, belly and tip of their tail. I don't know why, but I really like the combination of brown (okay, what colour are red foxes? Orange? Brown? ...chestnut?), black and white. That's why I like bengal finches, ornate hawk-eagles and Thomson's gazelles (okay... I'm not that much into the latter anymore) too.
You might not expect this to be a reason to like foxes, but I'm more of a cat person than a dog person. I do like wolves better than most big cats though, but that aside, I was talking about foxes. Foxes are probably the most feline members of the dog family. Their hunting method is a lot like a cat's, not like a dog's (dogs have a more muscular build, so they can exhaust their prey if necessary), that's why foxes have their slender build, so they can creep up to their prey and kill it by pouncing. Of course foxes also use other hunting methods, but for what I know this is their most used one. Foxes also have bigger eyes and ears in comparison to their heads than wolves, for example. I just love big eyes (okay, they can be too big, but I do like big eyes). Foxes have slit pupils, just like cats. I love slit pupils 
The well-known (at least, well known over here) myth of foxes being sly also played it's part. This is going to sound ridiculous, but here's the reason why: when I was about five years old, our school organised something with lots of small games. One of the games was helping the witches gather branches in the forest. When you had found enough branches, they rewarded you with a sticker, a really nicely decorated one. I got... an egg. Truly, I was disappointed. I asked those 'witches' if I could get a different one, but they shouted 'no' in my face and went to the next group of kids. A bit angry, I went to the canteen on the field where the games were held and just sat there next to a boy I didn't know. I noticed he had received a sticker of a drinking tiger. It was absolutely beautiful. When he wasn't looking, I quickly swapped our stickers. Right that moment, he had to leave. He grabbed his stuff together, and didn't notice he got the egg instead of the tiger. That moment I thought of myself as sly, and associated myself with foxes. Now I've grown a bit more mature, I feel kind of sorry for the poor boy, but I still have the tiger. It's on the outside of the bath
After that act, I kind of stopped the 'sly' acts though... however, I kept associating myself with foxes. Some small children have their 'idols' they look up to, well, I looked up to foxes and wanted to be like them. Smart, quick and using their mind instead of their power to solve problems. Honestly, I'm still a bit like that. It is also because of foxes that I am a bit ambitious... with my grades at school, I mean. When you have an idol you would love to be seen like one of them, right? I wanted to be seen as a smart fox. While I don't really see it like that anymore, most of the ambition is still there. My grades are nice, but I do get stressed out sometimes because of the amount of homework we have, and I want to understand all of it.
Probably the weirdest reason is that there's been a time I used to hate foxes. What?! Yes indeed, most people don't believe it, but until that day I swapped the stickers, I used to hate foxes. Why? Because chickens were my favourite animals back then. Yes, chickens. Unfortunately, foxes have their reputation as 'chicken thieves' over here. Only later on I discovered they don't really kill chickens often, and when they do, it's usually because their regular prey has been driven away by humans. The funny thing is, the more I started to think about how much I hated foxes, the more I started researching them, to find out they actually weren't as bad as all the stupid folktales tried to make you believe they were. I discovered that, in fact, they were horribly misunderstood, and I started respecting them more and more, because, despite all the hate and hunting of humans, foxes kept being quite a succesfull species. They survived despite all the hate surrounding them. Soon I didn't even understand why I had ever preferred chickens over foxes. My love of foxes reached its maximum when two of my friends suddenly started disliking me because I had said I believed dragons existed. Soon the rumour spread throughout the school, and because the popular kids disliked me, the rest of the kids didn't dare to contact me. For three years of my life, I've been alone and hated. Sometimes I cried at night. During that time, foxes have been my saviours. Foxes survived despite all the hate surrounding them. I was exactly like them. I wouldn't give up, I would survive despite the hate. I would. And I did. Because of that, I don't think there will ever be an animal to me that has more emotional worth than a fox.
I think I now told you everything. I hope you understand my love for foxes now.
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Haha, so begins my challenge to tackle the ever-lasting 's! (Sorry couldn't resist)
What a fantastic story... yes, I often tend to say "yes" "good" "perfect" over many matters, but this one was really enjoyable. I smiled after I read it a few times. 
I can't deny either that foxes are cute animals and look nice. It's just too bad that the most common occurence of them is when there are news about fur farming. 
A few weeks ago I borrowed a book from library about "beautiful fur animals", which was about foxes. I learned some nice things from that book, for example, that there are red foxes, silver foxes, and most importantly, hybrids of them. Then there were arctic foxes and other cousins. It was a pleasure to look through that book, lots of pictures and the like.
I tend to like birds as well, though you might have guessed that already.
I think I understand you on the fact that the vulpine are not that canine as often thought. Because I don't see foxes that related to dogs either, except possibly in taxonomy. They act differently, live wild, are colorful, and in overall just unique so they are a different bunch of beasts. Though it's you who says me that they possess some feline traits, and now I tend to agree with you. I think it was a coincidence that I actually found a description about slitted pupils of foxes, something I never really paid attention to.
My gosh, I would have probably done the same in your situation!! 
You say you kept associating yourself with foxes. Why, is it because you'd like to be a fox as well?
Hm. I'm not sure how many others tend to have idols. At least in my childhood animal idols were very uncommon. Most idolization seemed to have taken place in celebrities and heavy metal bands. o.O (If you did not like Slipknot or Pantera, you could have been excluded. Note that nowadays it's Justin Bieber or local celebrities.)
There are different stories in leading one to love a certain animal. I have never believed that everyone's favorite animal would have been determined by birth. Mine certainly wasn't.
Chickens are cool as well. Who said they aren't: [link]
A lot of misinformation about animals seem to be on the move. I think wolves are the number #1 sensation when we talk about "misinformation", but I do believe you when you say foxes are misinterpreted as well.
Animals are very common in folktales, and my general understanding is that how the animals have traditionally been portrayed make their ways into the tales as they were. Humans in general tend to handle animals as it was told to them... and some animals unfortunately get hated more this way.
Ouch about the dragon thing. That was very unlucky. 
At a later point I realized that I am a very important person. I just convinced myself because I actually had the ability to think.
I've always believed that animals could give you power. Using a symbol... and that is especially useful in the arts. This probably has been one of my most important reasons why I started an animal-themed group. So that people could express themselves in symbolic ways. I like to see that.
Really Fox, an excellent comment from you.
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There were some quite personal stories I've just shared, sometimes it feels like every time I share the story of something bad that happened to me (like the having been alone), it gets easier to accept (do you have that feeling too? That situations/memories are easier to accept when you share them?). When I leave bad feelings to myself they tend to go from bad to worse, but nowadays I can smile at the idea that I've grown stronger than those bullies.
When they're in the news over here it's about whether it will be allowed to shoot foxes or not. Fur farming doesn't get into the news over here, not often, at least. Too bad there's hardly any positive news about foxes (or hardly any positive news in general
There's a live webcam near a fox's den somewhere in the Netherlands, that did save the foxes' reputation a bit ^^
[link] (you can switch between the cams, with a bit of luck they'll be doing something. There are kits now and gosh, they're so cute
There are indeed some amazing colour variations of the red fox, some of them are even seen sometimes in the wild. I'd love to see that book once, despite its shadowy background.
I can understand you didn't notice the slitted pupils, I discovered it not too long ago (I think two years ago). You can even see that in my gallery; my earlier foxes don't have slitted pupils (well, some of my more recent ones don't have slitted pupils either, but that's just because round pupils are easier to use sometimes)).
You would've done the same thing? While I'm not sure why, I'm a bit surprised xD
Indeed, animal idols aren't very common, they're rare over here too. One of my childhood friends really loved horses though, and the way she based most of the things she did off horses, I think I can safely say horses were her idols.
It could have indeed been, the line separating love and hate is paper-thin. I read that somewhere
Those were some pretty awesome looking chickens xD
There's a tea garden near the archery building, they have that kind of cool chickens over there too. I called one of them afro chicken because of the weird-looking feathers on her head
Wolves have indeed met a fate worse than the foxes, maybe because people are/used to be afraid of their howling. While wolves are currently making a comeback, it's almost sure there won't be any wolf packs in Dutch nature for a long time.
What you said about the folktales is indeed true. Luckily not everyone thinks that way. (I think it's mainly older people who believe foxes and wolves are bad. At least it's impossible to convince my father's aunt that foxes don't kill children.)
Yes, it indeed was very unlucky. I think you should always think for yourself. I know some people who have drunk alcohol and smoked long before they were allowed to. I always feel sorry when I hear that kind of stories. We do get enough information about these things, so I'm sure those people are aware of what they're doing. It's a bit sad, really.
The past can't be changed, and I still find it a bit hard to trust people because of that incident long ago, but it's an experience, and I think having been through that time has made me stronger. That's what I like to believe. I don't know how to answer some other thing... when you said you thought I was valuable that made me smile. Those words really have great worth to me.
That's a great reason to make an animal-themed group. Foxes are my 'special animals', but I believe many others on DeviantART have their own special animal, for who knows what reasons. That could be something to discuss once in a group journal. Ask people whether some animals have some special meaning to them. Some might not want to share, but it could really be worth trying.
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Wow. Then guess I should feel privileged hearing about you. I'm genuinely fascinated about what kind of a life you have - but ofc only to the degree you feel comfortable telling me.
I have that feeling, but never really in the way I "accept" it. I don't tend to accept negative traits in me (though, really, I believe you don't as well). But I feel it very, very comfortable when I talk about some issues I've experienced with other people. However, I would only do that if I'd completely trust the other people. There are some people who either just don't get some of the misfortunes, or tend to offer poor advice afterwards.
Foxes have never been a big problem here. Not even wolves, although wolves always make the news here. Fur farming on the other hand is very publicized here, but even that is only thanks to the activism. I think the activists go overboard when they search for the most dishonest treatment of foxes. Ofc that is not allowed, but so many people just get annoyed when they do that, even if they actually do love animals in general. It's weird.
Foxes can be a serious threat, but really, I believe there must be better alternatives. I can't really stand shooting foxes.
I love that web page. o_o But the first two cameras are... empty? From the third camera I finally saw something a week ago - a horse and birds. xD
This book is in english, search for "Beautiful Fur Animals". It's however been written by Scandinavians (in English), so I'm uncertain if it's available that easily elsewhere. I would probably send the book, if it would not have been a borrowed university book.
But really, I'm amazed you already figured out why the book was written. Imagine - who needs the information of fur variations the most?
Round pupils come to mind very easily... not that many cute foxes with slitted pupils around there, so it's hard to find out they actually have ones!
Look... I myself have intense personal desires as well. Sometimes I just get so charmed I won't be able to resist. ._. And I do believe in the spiritual value of animals, so it makes sense to possess some of them.
...it must be really so. I've never though of that way. If you hate something... you could even love it as well. That explains why some people hate each other so much, and then they become extremely good friends.
It would be super amazing to have chickens as pets!
I've wondered the howling as well. I don't exactly know why they do it (not an expert), but I do know that some people love the howls, some hate those.
I wonder why old people cannot accept animals that easily than the young ones. Perhaps because now we see so many animals in games and movies?
I don't know why most bullies also tend to do the thing which is clearly not the best for them. Actually, I don't know why cannot they understand that the people they bully probably get far better than them in the future. xD
Fox, I think that one way to ease your trust is to acknowledge that you don't need to trust everyone. Just by having a few great friends can be enough. It's so pathetic to be lonely. I've been lonely sometimes as well.
When I said you were valuable, I was sincere. It's true that I sometimes tend to be "omg that's too nice" even if I don't totally mean it, but in your case I can see behind your text that there's something great beneath.
That's a fantastic Journal idea. We need to do that! We'd probably be very curious.
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Maybe it depends a bit on what you'd call 'accepting' in this case. I'll always try to 'improve' my negative traits as soon as I'm aware of them, but I'm often okay with having them. There are also some negative traits I don't really mind (oops), or ones that I feel are part of me (like generally being a bit passive when chatting in a group. Or not being excited easily. While not overwhelmingly negative, these are definitely not positive traits, but they're a bit part of my personality, which I cannot seem to change. Not when I'm aware of it, at least).
I understand. Of course you would want to share it with someone who will patiently listen, understand you (or at least try to) and someone who will then take good care of it (= not just telling it around afterwards).
Hm, that's indeed a bit weird. Maybe they somehow felt make ridiculous because of them? I can't find any other reason.
Me neither. I've seen something on TV that keeps wolves away the natural way: get some speakers that play defensive wolf pack howling. It appeared to actually work against other wolves, but I can imagine farmers and other people wouldn't be all excited over them. I bet they would find it annoying and not assuring enough.
I agree, you need some luck to spot the foxes. Currently I can see them on Cam 3. Somewhere halfway the page they put the 'highlights' in small video clips. You might spot something over there.
I guess I'll use my regular method: I won't search for it actively, but if I ever come across it, I'll try to borrow it. Whenever I'm in a library I always try to find the fox-themed books (and usually I try to look for dinosaur/dragon/raptor (the birds) related books too).
I surely can imagine who would need the information.
I bet it is, especially because their eyes are usually a quite dark brown with a very dark area around the pupil, making the shape not clearly visible.
That does explain
I believe you don't need any kind of permission to own chickens in the Netherlands. Maybe the afro's feathers are just like sunglasses: you can't see their eyes, but they can see clearly. I'm not sure though, it does make me wonder xD
I read somewhere they howl to communicate, and to defend their territory, as I mentioned earlier this post with the defensive howling. There could be other reasons I don't know though; I'm not an expert either xD
I guess that is one of the reasons. Back then information wasn't that easily available, so I guess they based their knowledge off folktales and other things they heard. Maybe rumours also played their part. I can imagine someone would see a fox discovering the corpse of... a sheep or something, and see it sniff it. The next person could tell they had heard someone had seen a fox attack and kill a sheep, and telling others if they would attack sheep, they could also attack children. Then the final person could've told my father's aunt a fox had attacked a child. Long story, small chance of it being true, but I bet it isn't impossible.
Bullies must be just jealous, and then want to feel better by making the person they 'admire' feel bad and weak.
I'll keep that in mind next time I have trouble trusting someone. It would make me feel less bad about it.
Haha, I exaggerate positivity sometimes, too, when I want to encourage people. I feel that's a good thing though. You must somehow mean you like it though (I bet you do when you say so
I'm glad you like the idea ^^
When shall we post the journal? The group does need some activity
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ooooh my this is wonderful!!
I love the facial expressions and the lovely coloring :>
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Oh, wow. I think this has become my favorite of your pieces! The wings are magnificent, and the expression on the face of the queen is fantastic! I hope to see more like this!
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Your favourite? Wow, that's quite an achievement! I'll try to create anything as good as this (or even better O_O) once... but that's not going to be easy xD
Haha, well, let's see where my inspiration will take me (after I've finished my contest works).
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That is just incredible! I love the details on the feathers and how you've done the expressions. The eyes look almost alive
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Thank you very much, yes, I was trying to create some... well... I guess you could call it drama.
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You definitely achieved it
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You've improved in these months. o.O Lovely hawk-eagles.
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I'm glad you think so ^^
Improvement
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Very cool! the feathers and the expressions look wonderful!!
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Beautiful & clean colouring!
& The open wing looks really good!
I like it, good work!
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Thank you
I've been trying to get better at wings... they're hard.
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Yes, they're hard, I know xD
But I think they look realy good! It's your first trying?
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It's not my first, no. I've made some pieces with open wings before, but this is my first attempt at a short open raptor wing. Not that it's all that different from other open wings, but...
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Wow, it's so pretty! ^^ I also love the little story with it ^^
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Yay, glad you do ^^
I hope my writing is okay xd
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