asakiyume: (nevermore)
asakiyume ([personal profile] asakiyume) wrote2015-08-06 11:46 am

Christian Lyons and the Five Foxes







Last night, late, I heard this story on the CBC: the tale of Christian Lyons, a lawyer in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, who noticed, as he took a shortcut home through the woods behind the local high school, that there were a number of foxes about. He saw five. And then...

Lyons waited for them to cross the path and carry on through the woods. They did, and he carried on his way.

"Lo and behold, as I came over a ridge, I saw that these, at least five foxes, had circled back and were back on the trail."

He began to feel disconcerted. The foxes weren't fleeing or trying to avoid him.

"It's almost like they looped back to come in front of me so I took stock of the situation. I'm not afraid of foxes. Who would be?"

The animals began to approach as a pack, loping towards him from about 10 metres away.

"I just kind of jogged backwards in retreat. Not in full-panic flight at this point."

Another five metres down the road, Lyons turned back.

"They were then closing the gap toward me with some intent," says Lyons.

At this point, he says, "it was unequivocal flight response. I just started to sprint away from these things."


Some kept up the chase even after he crossed a road, and one pursued him to the door of his house.

Christian Lyons


Was it because he himself has a ruddy, foxlike look? (Perhaps he has fox blood and doesn't know it?)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it1, is to spin a brief tale explaining the foxes' pursuit of Mr. Lyons.

An alternate mission is to mention other town names that are as cool as Yellowknife. I would love to be able to say I came from a place called Yellowknife.

1Coincidentally, Mr. Lyons had been returning from seeing Mission Impossible with friends.


[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2015-08-07 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
You have a connection with Yellowknife? Or is it just that you, like me, like the name? (Interestingly, a message-in-a-bottle story came my way that mentioned Yellowknife--the sender was from there.)

[identity profile] sartorias.livejournal.com 2015-08-07 10:10 am (UTC)(link)
I love that name--I want to know the story behind it!