Chrone

**Chrone** is a minor character in *Crossed*. He was the founder and first leader of the residents of the Land of Gloom. He later stepped down and is now just a common member in the residence.

## General Information

### Species

Newfoundland red fox (Vulpes vulpes deletrix)

## **Physical Appearance**

### **Previous**

In life, Chrone was a lean, dark-colored silver fox, with a black tail, legs, underbelly, face, and ears. He had dark brown eyes and a dark, shiny, silver-gray overcoat. His undercoat was black and his tail was tipped in white.

### **Current**

After his death, Chrone became a ghost residing in the Land of Gloom. He retained all the injuries inflicted by the bear that killed him. There are now four horizontal dark red scars across his throat. The skin on his entire back has been ripped off, exposing the flesh underneath along with his spine. His left ear is torn all the down the middle, and his pelt is now crisscrossed with crimson scars. The skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments on his lower legs are also ripped off, leaving just the bone and extended claws. His fur is now dull and patchy, and he has a long scar snaking from the base of his right ear, crossing over his eye, to where the skin on his lower right foreleg has been torn off. There is a crimson gash on his stomach. When being controlled by Xenia, his eyes glow completely yellow and lack pupils.

## **History**

### **Life**

Not much is known about Chrone's life, except that he was once imprisoned in a fur farm that belonged to a fur product company alongside many other foxes. However, the vast majority of the workers quit since they felt strongly about the foxes' living condition, and this led to the fur farm's eventual shutdown as well as the subsequent arrest of the fur product company's president. Chrone and most of the other foxes managed to escape being captured by the rescuers and scattered throughout the forest nearby. Later on, however, Chrone got lured into a cage trap that had good smelling food, and was transported to an animal shelter, where vets nursed him back to health. He was later adopted by a suburban couple with five children, the latter of whom he quickly started clashing with, as hadn't been neutered and quickly came to hate human children. He enjoyed causing trouble and picking fights with them, especially when they were too noisy or played too roughly with him. This earned him many days and nights outside as a result.

Sometime later, Chrone ran away from home, feeling that his owners were constantly bothering him, and quickly adapted to living on the streets. Like at his former home, he loved stirring things up with the other stray animals. Chrone especially loved starting fights with them, to which he'd usually win due to his speed, agility, sharp teeth, and wits. After seeing signs about him missing being posted all over the suburban area, he quickly moved out and into the wilderness beyond, where he quickly learned to survive on his own. Eventually, he met and befriended an unfixed vixen named Felicity and had a single kit with her, a daughter who they named Mixie. When Mixie had been weaned and was old enough to travel, the family moved into an old cemetery. They lived there in peace for a while.

A few weeks later, a small clowder (group) of seven stray cats arrived at the cemetery. Hostile to any invaders of his territory, Chrone confronted them and tried to persuade them to leave, but to no avail, as the cats made it clear that they were here to stay. He tried to fight them off, but was heavily outnumbered. Fortunately, though, Felicity and a fully grown Mixie were able to beat back their adversaries; Chrone killed one of the cats and helped his daughter to heavily wound two more. However, the commotion of the fighting attracted the attention of a massive black bear living in the woods nearby. The bear charged into the cemetery, prompting the battling animals to stop and run. The remaining cats got away unscathed, but Chrone, exhausted by this point from the fighting, was too slow. Felicity and Mixie attacked the bear themselves to stall it and give Chrone time to escape, but the bear threw them off and rendered them both unconscious. Horrified, Chrone tried to flee, but the bear brutally killed him and ripped him apart.

### **After Death**

Moments after he died, Chrone's spirit descended to an unnamed, gloomy residence, retaining all the injuries he'd received in the final moments of his life. He wandered around aimlessly and couldn't find anyone else living there. He also discovered the surprising abundance of food, varying terrain and weather patterns, and decided to give the residence a name: the Land of Gloom. He was the sole resident living there until the spirits of many foxes, including those of his mate daughter, arrived there after their deaths. He became the respected ruler of all the Land's residents until there were so many he felt he could no longer rule over them, and decided to step down.

## ***Crossed***

### **Chapter 26: The Land of Gloom**

After dying for the first time from a combination of starvation and sickness, Xenia's spirit leaves her body and ends up in the Land of Gloom. She looks around and sees Chrone, among several other spirits of deceased foxes, staring at her with glowing eyes. Xenia gasps in horror at the sight of their grisly forms and asks where she is. Chrone replies that she is in the Land of Gloom, which is the permanent afterlife for fox spirits. He approaches her, and Xenia restrains herself from recoiling at the stench of death on his matted fur. She stands still as Chrone sniffs her and catches a strange scent on her. He then backs away and tells Xenia that he knows what she is, prompting her to shapeshift into her true form. Chrone and the other fox spirits look up at her in horror as she towers over them and roars loudly. Xenia demands how they ended up like they did, and the majority stammer that humans were involved in their deaths. Feeling like she could use them, the Kitsune asks how they feel and if they want revenge, to which many of them, including Chrone, say yes.

*More coming soon.*

### **Chapter 31: The Aftermath**

A battle-scarred, blood-covered Xenia wakes up in the Land of Gloom once again after her second death from fighting Song. She sees Felicity, who runs off into the bushes and returns with Chrone a short while later. Both of them are glaring at her, and Chrone demands what Xenia is doing back here. The latter tells him that she died again, this time due to excessive blood loss from the wounds inflicted by Song. Chrone remarks it looks like she has before telling her it was a mistake listening to her proposal for revenge. Xenia tries to explain herself, but the silver fox forestalls her, snarling she only cares about what she wants and enslaved him and the other spirits with telepathic mind control to do things they didn't want to. Chrone also reveals that he never wanted to harm humans in the first place, as it could get him killed, a lesson he learned from his one of his near-death experiences with humans while he was alive. He then announces that he and the other spirits she enslaved will resurrect Xenia to banish her from ever returning to the afterlife. He also assumes his position as leader of the fox spirits once more. The other fox spirits appear to side with him and form a circle around a now-frightened Xenia. Chrone then lifts his head and lets out a long, loud, cry; the others join him, and Xenia's spirit is banished from the Land of Gloom for good. The last thing she sees is Chrone's angry face glaring at her before her spirit returns to her physical body and she wakes up in the real world.