Chapter 7: Conundrums and Connections

After spending a day of raiding heavy-lifting items, RJ and Verne declared the next day (today) was an off day for relaxation, much to everyone's excitement. Unlike yesterday, though, the animals went off to their separate relaxation spots with some going with family or friends, and others going alone. Kale wanted to play video games, but the porcupine teens were more in the mood to go swimming in the neutral playground zone. Since Kale doesn't want to risk other prey animals seeing him, he can't go too far away from the log. He thinks he's going to be bored because he doesn't have anyone else to play with, but then realizes that he just doesn't have anyone to play like a prey animal.

Kale thinking: "I'm a wolf. I can have fun like a wolf."

It's been too long since he's done any wolf things, but he has a bit of trouble thinking of how he can have some wolf-fun. Howling would only draw unwanted attention. He can't attack anyone even if he's just wanting to wrestle, which his casted legs would prevent anyway. He also doesn't want to upset anyone by using bushes or trees as a punching bag to spar with. He then figures out what he can do, just as a lightning bug appears over his head and flashes. The insect, having heard of the unfortunate fate one of its brethren had when shining its light above a wolf, is out of Kale's reach before the teenager can even lift his paw to swat the bug away.

Kale shrugs and then follows through with the fun activity he can have as a wolf in his circumstances (his injured legs, can't attack, can't howl, etc.). What makes him think of the idea is the knowledge that he will have to return to his pack, rather than having the opportunity to do something he normally doesn't have the privilege of doing now that he's away from them. He knows the scent of each hedgie and will stealthily follow the scents to observe them as they're having free time. The anticipation actually makes him feel giddy. He hasn't practiced his sneaking skills in ages, and he can't wait to see what his caretakers do when they think they're all alone. He isn't doing this to be weird and creepy, and won't go near anyone that is doing something his senses might inform him would be rude to spy on. The reason is that, as a wolf, he can gain more insight on what prey animals do in their free time. It might also inform him a bit more about their personalities better than questions to them can do.

Since RJ is the leader, Kale follows his scent first about 15 minutes after the hedgies departed in the bright morning light. As he moves on the off-road skateboard he mentally notes that he'll have to take into account how hard it will be to make sharp turns, and he needs to keep an eye out for sticks and crunchy leaves that will make loud noises if he goes over them. Just as Kale finds himself wishing he had all four legs that could avoid those obstacles, his sensitive hearing picks up RJ's voice from not too far away. It's a mumble, but Kale's wolf senses let him hear it as if the was a few feet away from the raccoon.

RJ's voice: "Time for the heavy artillery."

Kale raises an eyebrow as his mind tries to piece together what RJ could mean by that, which makes him more eager to find the raccoon. Soon, though, Kale sighs in disappointment when he sees various twigs and dried leaves in front of the only viable path that can take him to RJ. Knowing any progression would alert RJ of someone approaching, Kale is just about to back himself up. But fate seems to be working in the wolf's favor because he hears RJ say, "Do your thing Andrew W.K.'s 'Ready to Die,' " which is soon followed by the opening notes of a song.

It's the sound of a single guitar strumming some brief, perky notes. The same notes repeat the same tune once more, then the rest of the instruments in the rock band join in, repeating the same lighthearted and energetic beat at a louder volume. With the sound of his movement drowned out by the blasting volume, Kale goes forward as fast as he can. Given the playful beat, Kale thinks it'll be a happy-go-lucky, feel-good rock song like something Hammy would normally listen to. The wolf could care less about that genre of rock n' roll, but his expectations are shattered when the singing begins.

Note: "Ready to Die" is a song copyright by Andrew W.K. and his album I Get Wet. Feel free to open up the song in a new tab and jam along!

This is your time to pay,

Kale thinking: "Huh?"

This is your judgment day,

Kale thinking: "Wha—?"

We made a sacrifice,
And now we get to take your life.

Kale thinking (in pleasure): "Ohhh."

We shoot without a gun,
We'll take on anyone,

Kale thinking (in excitement): "Yeah!"

It's really nothing new,
It's just a thing we like to do.

By now Kale can see the raccoon and is shocked to see RJ—the smart, devoted, optimistic, cheerful, humorous, and the profound co-leader and family man—listening and dancing to punk rock! As the main chorus is spoken, RJ points his finger at an imaginary audience (in the direction opposite of Kale) and is holding his golf club like a guitar that he pretends to play at the end of each verse.

You better get ready to die
(Get ready to die!)
You better get ready to kill
(Get ready to kill!)
You better get ready to run,
'Cause here we co-o-o-o-o-ome.

RJ bends his knees and slowly drops to the ground in unison with the slow and drawn-out word "come." After that, he does his previous gestures to the imaginary audience while on his knees.

You better get ready to die
(Get ready to die!)

In the brief musical gap between the verse that just ends and the musical interlude, slumps his head down and stares at the ground like someone who just achieved a tiring victory, with his right paw raised up giving a devil horns hand sign. As the interlude section begins, RJ hoists himself back his feet using his golf club and starts twisting and turning his body this way and that to the beat.

Kale is digging the song as well, and has been nodding his head and tapping his right forepaw. It's like whoever made it had wolves in mind, because this is the same kind of dark and threatening tone wolves like to impose on prey whenever on the hunt or going in for the kill.

RJ goes back to lip singing and guitar mimicking when the song resumes.

Your life is over now,
Your life is running out,
When your time is at an end,
Then it's time to kill again,

We cut without a knife,

RJ mimics a knife slash with his left paw.

We live in black and white,

RJ points to his mask at the word "black," and to his chest at the word "white"

You're just a parasite,
Now close your eyes and say good-night.

RJ points to his eyes that he closes and bobs his head twice in unison with the words "good-night." When the main chorus starts again he goes back to addressing the imaginary audience and strumming his golf club like a guitar.

You better get ready to die
(Get ready to die!)
You better get ready to kill
(Get ready to kill!)
You better get ready to run,
'Cause here we co-o-o-o-o-ome.

This time RJ sways himself side to side at the word "come."

You better get ready to die!
(Get ready to die!)

For the next stanza, RJ holds his golf club so that the tip of the black grip is near his mouth like a microphone. He lip sings the main verse then turns his body so that he is on the left, middle, and right of where he was originally standing as he sings the background lyrics while holding up his left, right, and both closed fists respectively.

You better get ready to die!
(Get ready to die! Get ready to die! Get ready to die)
You better get ready to die!
(Get ready to die! Get ready to die! Get ready to die!)
You better get ready to die!
(Get ready to die! Get ready to die!)

For the last stanza, RJ drops his golf club and starts air drumming while nodding his head to the beat.

Been a long time coming,
Now you better get running,
And you better get ready to die!

RJ picks up his golf club and does more guitar gestures during the closing music number. When the song ends, he drops his golf club like a rock star would drop the mike. He takes a deep breath through his mouth, lets out a blissful sigh, and then, still thinking he is alone, goes nuts like a nine year old after eating 15 pounds of sugar.

RJ (deep, bellowing voice like a hard rock singer): "YEEEEEAAAAAH! YO-O-O-O! WHAAAAAT! OKAAAAAY!"

RJ jumps and fist pumps with each word. To top it off after saying "okay", he crosses his arms while making a Peace hand sign with his left paw and a shaka hand sign with his right paw while saying in a kewl voice, "Peacccccccccccce…"

To add some more razzle and dazzle to his pose, he waggles his upturned tail and lets it hang lopsidedly to his right. All that's missing is some sunglasses, a sideways hat, and some low riding pants.

RJ breathes heavily as all the dancing and yelling catches up to him, making him sweat. He walks over to his bag and gets out an eight ounce water bottle that he starts drinking. He downs half of it, puts his bag flat on the ground, and then lays his head down on it to relax.

Kale is still trying to wrap his head around what he has seen. Who'd have thought RJ has a heart for punk rock? But then again Kale recalls that every creature, no matter how old they get, has an inner child that they like to let out every now and then. He just happened to stumble upon RJ doing that, and will remember this.

Kale thinking (in his kid-conscience): "Maybe I can use it ta play a prank on 'im one day." Immediately after that thought is finished, his wolf-conscience suggests, "No, use it ta embarrass him, just like he and his 'family' have embarrassed you's."

As before, the wolf-conscience is a fleeting whisper, and Kale decides to think for himself. Kale figures that he has seen the highlight of RJ's free time, so he slowly starts moving away, but not without feeling amazing on the inside upon recalling the music. That song was like nothing the wolf has ever heard before. Pun intended, it hit all the right notes for him and touched his heart with how joyfully twisted it is. It is the happiest, most light-hearted murder song of all time, and he knows for a fact that human serial killers and terrorists use it to get pumped up for a day of chaos, because as a wolf he is a serial killer and terrorist. Although he hasn't heard many other songs, "Ready to Die" by Andrew W.K. is now Kale's favorite song of all time. He makes a mental note to recommend his pack give it a listen because he knows they'll like it. Heck, the kid part of him will think the pack can use it as their "fight song." True, it would give away the pack's position and alert prey of their approach, but they would feel so awesome and the song would build them up so grandly that it wouldn't matter to them.

Kale lets out his own inner child by daydreaming. He can see it now: prey in the Bone-Chompers' territory will be going about their mundane lives when all of a sudden the song starts playing, causing them to turn their heads in confusion. When the lyrics kick in, the prey would start getting nervous and try to make it to shelter. At that moment, his pack would come out and attack just as the main chorus starts. The second stanza after the music interlude would be perfect for when he and his pack give a slow and torturous death to incapacitated or captured animals. Wolves reserve that kind of punishment for animals that have been a thorn in their sides, or whenever they just feel like playing with their food to free their inner psychopath. Not to mention that his pack is so deadly that they can shoot without a gun and cut without a knife.

Kale feels just as excited when he refocuses on finding the next hedgie on which to spy as he does about trying to make his recent song fantasy come true. If RJ's free time was that enjoyable for Kale, the wolf can't wait to see what the other animals do for fun.


Kale concentrates his senses, opening up his predator-spirit as he works to pinpoint the next hedgie. His exceptional sense of smell can target scents with an accuracy of the hundredth of a decimal, meaning he can practically tell what animals are doing by smell alone. Sometimes he can even pick up emotions if he focuses hard enough because pheromones are given off whenever creatures feel anger, sadness, happiness, fear, and pleasure. Kale has to consciously fine-tune his nose so it can ignore anything that's too far away. When he does that he has to do some more refining to locate individuals. He picks up the scent of happiness and pleasure (separately and combined) among almost all of the hedgies, but doesn't try to tell what they are doing since he wants his eyes to handle that part. Just when Kale is about to choose which happy and pleasurable scent to follow, he detects all the aforementioned emotions—minus fear—from one in particular: RJ's little sister, Rebecca. Wanting to know what she could be doing to be emitting the scent of anger, sadness, happiness, and pleasure, Kale follows her trail as quickly and quietly as he can.

As Kale gets closer he decides to cheat a little and adjusts his sense of smell so that he can theorize but not confirm what she might be doing. After all, he doesn't want to risk getting seen if she is in a bad mood and wants to vent out her anger on him for spying. He smells a hint of raccoon sweat from exertion, and detects that she is moving rapidly from one place to another. Her scent is also brushing alongside the local flora and is changing elevation. That's all Kale allows himself to sense because he now must devote all his attention to the bush that is in front of him. Rebecca's scent places her roughly 10 yards ahead of it, and the shrub will provide the perfect hiding spot for Kale. The problem is that he can't enter it while on the off-road skateboard because it simply won't fit, and going inside will make too much noise. That leaves the wolf with only one option: turn himself so that he is perpendicular to the bush and can look out from behind the side.

Kale backs up then uses his forelegs to turn himself so that his right side is bordering the bush. He does so as slowly as he can and with the least amount of exertion, making sure he doesn't make any noise or deep inhales and exhales. He pulls himself forward and leans his head out from behind the bush carefully, ready to pull himself back into cover in case Rebecca is facing him. She is not, so he takes time to observe the surrounding area she is in. Her back is to him and she is standing in the middle of a large grass patch that is 40x40 feet. Trees of various sizes sparsely dot the middle grass patch and tall trees boarder the left, right, and far front of the grass patch, making the area the shape of an upside down U with the grass patch in the middle and large trees wrapping around it.

Rebecca stands in an Á la quatrième devant ballet pose. She takes in and lets out a deep breath then starts running toward a short, firm but flexible tree. She jumps forward, wraps her forepaws around the trunk, and spins her whole body perpendicular from it. If that isn't enough, she starts scaling upward while spinning in a gravity-defying manner. Kale can't believe what his eyes are seeing. The strength needed to accomplish that kind of feat is mindboggling! Rebecca is truly more than meets the eye. Kale has previously noted that Rebecca is the slimmest raccoon in the forest family, but the skin underneath her thick fur must be full of lithe muscles!

She stops spinning when she reaches the top, wraps her legs around the trunk and hangs down, then loosens her legs' hold and drops. Kale gasps through his nose when the raccoon stops herself inches from the ground by tightening her legs' grip around the trunk again. She rolls forward and gets to her feet in one slick motion.

Next, she goes to a makeshift gymnastics bar with two large Y-shaped sticks anchored into the ground and another stick laying horizontally across those trees' tops and held down by two rocks. She swings herself forward, looping around it, and let's go to make herself fly up half of a tree's height. When she reaches the top, which is covered in vines made of stems and wood, she jump forward and grabs a vine like a circus acrobat would on a trapeze bar. She loops her body backwards on the trapeze bar-like vine, then stops her body in midair while holding herself still with her legs facing the sky and her head facing the ground. She lets go and catches herself with the back of her knees that now grip the trapeze bar-like vine. She swings on the trapeze bar vine for a bit and flips her body so that her forepaws are holding the trapeze bar. A few more flips and she launches forward, then grabs onto the tree in front of her with all four paws.

She then descends backwards: letting her forepaws go, arching herself back, holding onto the tree trunk with her hind paws, catching herself with her forepaws, letting her hind paws go, dropping down backwards until her hind paws grip onto the trunk, only to repeat the procedure down the tree trunk's 60 foot length—the whole process resembling her doing a back handspring vertically down the tree.

Kale looks on is awe, more mesmerized by Rebecca's performance than what he had seen RJ doing. The two parts of his conscience work in his mind again. The wolf part makes him mentally note how Rebecca's skills and abilities will make her hard for any predator to subdue, whereas the kid part is fighting not to "Ooo" and "Ah," at such a majestic performance. He never thought any creature was capable of acrobatics such as the ones he is witnessing, but Rebecca's moves prove that it is possible. Kale's nose can sense the emotional changes her scent is giving off. She is using her anger and sadness to do something that is making her feel happier. What Kale doesn't know is the cause of all of this, which is something only Rebecca has been pondering ever since she started her gymnastics session.


Starting the day after Kale played a video game for the first time and continuing for two weeks, Rebecca has been going through the things every teenage animal does. Her seventeenth birthday came with her first heat cycle, the increase of estrogens that developed her mammary glands, hormonal and emotional imbalance, and most of all a broken heart. Her parents and brother taught her how to successfully cope with all but the last of those changes, which is why she is doing some of the most vigorous gymnastics moves she has ever done to let off the steam caused by an image she will never forget.

Four days ago, Garrett, the 18-year-old raccoon she has had a crush on shortly after moving to the woods behind the Elysian Fields Estates, had been bummed out when his girlfriend, a raccoon named Lizzy, had broken up with him. Having the kind heart of her parents and brother, Rebecca spent a full day hanging out with him and doing several activities together to help cheer him up. They danced to music, played video games, pranked humans, swam in an unguarded pool, had a tennis match, played board games, and watched a movie under the starlit night sky. She did not do this to make him fall in love with her, because to take advantage of his vulnerability would have been unbelievably selfish and manipulative, and she is not that type of person. However, the time they spent together did make Rebecca realize that she was in love with him. They had been friends for some time as she quickly gravitated to someone who was smart, witty, handsome, kind, and strong, but she wanted their relationship to become something more. She didn't want to go another day without seeing his smile, hearing his voice, and being by his side.

She told her parents about this and they agreed that she should try to take their relationship to the next level. Two days later, Rebecca finally found the courage to tell Garrett about her true feelings for him. She was on her way to his dwelling, planning to tell him how much she loved him and to ask him out on a date that would cumulate into a bountiful dinner her family had set up just for the two of them, when she saw Garrett and Lizzy flirting. It wasn't any average flirting either; they were kissing, nuzzling, and hugging like there was no tomorrow with their paws all over each other.

In the present, Rebecca's mind plays back the conversation she had with Garrett after he noticed her standing before him and Lizzy.

Garrett: "Oh, Becca! You remember Lizzy, right? My ex-girlfriend? Well, you're not gonna believe this! The most wonderful thing happened! This morning, Lizzy came to see me to apologize!"

Lizzy: "I told him that I was wrong to think he would ever love another raccoon besides me, which is why I broke up with him in the first place, and I said how being separated from him made me realize how much I truly loved him!"

Garrett: "She promised to never jump to conclusions again, and now we're back together!"

Lizzy: "More than that! Garrett asked me to be his mate! We're engaged!"

That news alone made Rebecca's heart shatter into a million pieces, but what came next made her feel even worse.

Garrett: "And it's all thanks to you! If you hadn't gotten me in a better mood, I would've turned Lizzy away without hearing anything she had to say!"

Lizzy: "The wedding is next month and you're the first one of our friends who's invited!"

Garrett: "Oh, I can only guess you've come by to see me for a reason. So is there anything you wanted to tell me? It'll have to be quick, though. Lizzy and I have the whole day planned out to spend time together."

Rebecca (faking innocence): "Oh...Never mind...It's not important."

Garrett: "Well, if you say so."

Lizzy (pulling on her fiancé's arm and speaking in an inviting tone): "Garrett..." (Raises her eyebrows twice and smiles mischievously)

Garrett (chuckles): "In a moment, Liz." (Looks back at Rebecca and speaks in a concerned voice) "You sure you're doing okay? You don't look like yourself."

Rebecca thinking: "Now he notices my feelings..." (Out loud) "I'm just tired. I've been really busy lately."

Garrett: "Well, take care."

Rebecca (while turning away): "Yeah...You too. Both of you."

Miraculously, Rebecca didn't shed a single tear in the 10 minute walk from Garrett's place back to her family's log. She was too shocked to feel sad, still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. Rebecca couldn't believe it...All of her hard work done with the best intentions, everything she did to make Garrett happy again, all the measures she took, had only worked to backfire right into her face. She would have felt better if Lizzy had done it on purpose, if she hated Rebecca and wanted to intentionally steal Garret away from her. But no, Lizzy and Garrett were completely oblivious to her, which is only worse. When she arrived back home and Stella asked her where Garrett was, Rebecca came apart like a train wreck. It took her one hour for her to finally stop crying, even with everyone in the family around to comfort her all at once. Kale was asleep inside the log at the time and never heard any of it, not that he could offer much advice for her anyway.

Rebecca wouldn't stop raving how her life was a Greek tragedy. First she had been an accidental birth, her parents neglected her until she was 14, her older brother hated her when he first met her, she got poisoned by the Sniffer, inadvertently got her brother crippled, finally felt loved by her parents and older sibling, then suffered rejection all over again from the guy she loved. Her family's words that time will heal all wounds, that she will learn to love again, that there will be someone who will notice her affections for him, and to not give up on herself or others tremendously helped her heartache. They also told her how much she meant to each of them, and made her realize that there is more to life than finding a lover.

They gave her the inspiration to never lose hope. She doesn't know what she would do without her family.


Today she finally feels like herself again, she just has to literally exercise out the remnants of any negative feelings that are left inside. Life is so much simpler when doing gymnastics. It's the ultimate release of physical and emotional tension. That's why she is doing moves like she has never done before.

When Rebecca reaches the ground at the end of her back handspring-like descent, she runs to build up the necessary speed for doing a misty flip that lands her on top of the short, sturdy, and firm tree. She spins herself perpendicularly around it again while descending. Halfway down, she lets go and flies over to stand on top of the makeshift gymnastic bar. She flips to the ground, landing on her feet, and decides it's time for her to take a break.

Rebecca feels better than she has in a long time, all of the bitter memories now gone from her for good. She walks over to where she laid a washrag, which for a raccoon is a towel, and uses it to wipe off her sweat. Once she has done that, she gets under a tree where there is shade, lays down on the grass, and dozes off.

Kale thinking: "Like brother like sister."

He quietly leaves the area and goes in the direction where he smells Verne's and Velma's scents.


After seeing RJ and Rebecca—the former starting off on a high note and the latter being even better—Kale is really curious to see what the other co-leader and his mate do in their spare time. His nose detects that whatever the reptiles are doing, they are near a body of water, but like before that's all Kale allows his senses to tell him since he wants to see firsthand what they are doing. His first clue comes when his hearing picks up Verne's and Velma's voices.

Verne's voice: "Oh, Velma...You're so gorgeous."

Velma's voice: "And you're so sharp, Verne...But before we do this, are you sure no one will see us?"

Verne's voice: "This part of the pond is ours. We've marked it, remember? Trust me, we'll be all alone..." (Mischievous) "Just the two of us."

The fact that the turtles are so concerned about being alone only makes Kale hunger to know what they're doing more than ever now. He's never heard Verne speak so rascally before either, so that means something is really going down.

Velma's voice: "You wanna start off, or should I?"

Verne's voice: "How about we do it together?"

Velma's voice (giddy): "O—ka—ay."

The two grunt softly and there's a Plop! sound followed by two objects being placed on the ground.

Velma's voice: "It never ceases to amaze me."

Verne's voice: "What does?"

Velma's voice: "How good you look for your age."

Verne's voice: "Heh-heh, you're looking great yourself. It's because we only eat sugary food on occasion, not for every meal like the others do."

Velma's voice: "Ha! You would get all technical right after your sweet talk."

Verne's voice: "I've been working on getting better at that. I mean, you don't know how hard it was for me to stop counting down how many days are left before winter."

Velma's voice: "Verney, Verney...I love you just the way you are in here."

Kale uses his senses to his fullest ability and can tell that Velma is touching Verne's head.

Velma's voice: "And in here..."

Kale does the same thing with his senses and can tell Velma is touching Verne's chest where his heart is.

Velma's voice: "And especially here!"

Verne giggles.

Velma's voice: "Here too!"

Verne's voice: "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! S-sto-o-o-o-o-p! I'm ticklish!"

Velma's voice: "And here!"

Verne's voice: "I mean it! Hah-ha-ha-haaaaaah!"

Velma seems to stop since Verne's laughter slowly subsides. He catches his breath and then speaks.

Verne's voice: "With you as my mate I can find a reason to laugh out loud while still being myself."

Velma's voice: "Why does it have to only be around me? Didn't Plushie say your sister was quite the adventurer? Maybe playing around is in your blood...possibly mine too even though we aren't related. We should really play around some more, y'know."

Verne's voice: "So you wanna play, do ya? Then how about this? Last one in is a rotten egg!"

Velma goes "Oof!", her body falling to the ground. She gets back up while saying "No fair! You placed your shell in front of my feet!"

Verne's voice (while doing a Liam Neeson impression): "You never learned to mind your surroundings."

Velma's voice: "I'll get you for that!"

Verne's voice: "Then come get me!"

There's a splash that is followed by another splash two seconds later.

Velma's voice (in fake anger): "That wasn't very gentlemanly of you, Verney."

Verne's voice (in comedic innocence): "It made you feel alive though, didn't it?"

Velma's voice: "You know what makes me feel alive?"

There's the sound of water being splashed by hand.

Verne's voice: "Oh, so you wanna go there, eh? Then so be it!"

More hand-splashing occurs just as Kale reaches a clearing where he can still stay 70 feet away from the reptiles while he uses his excellent eyesight to get a crystal-clear view of them. They are in a small pond and have their shells laying down on the ground 7 feet away from the water's edge.

Knowing the physical state the turtles are currently in, Kale thinks, "Ick! The last thing I wanna see are two turtles without dare shells on." (Notices that he can only see them from the waist-up) "At least they's in the water now."

And indeed they are, having a splash fight like it's 1999! They giggle and laugh like little children, as they go for the face, go for the eyes, and go for the chest.

Velma: "Give up!"

Verne: "I'll never surrender!"

Velma: "Then I'm gonna get ya!"

Verne: "Oh yeah?"

Velma: "Yeah!"

Verne: "Take this!"

He splashes her in the eyes, causing her to recoil back and try to rub the water out with her hand.

Velma: "Oooo! Like to fight dirty, don't you?! Well, see how you like this!"

Velma submerges, causing Verne to go "Huh?" at the unexpectedness of the move. By the time he figures out what she plans on doing, it's too late. Verne yelps as he falls backwards when Velma had swam point blank up to him underwater grabbed his legs, and pulled.

Velma surfaces and says, "Take that!"

Verne: "Nice move."

Velma: "Do you give up?"

Verne: "You... *pant* You win."

Velma: "Aw, tired out already?"

Verne: "We've been going on lots of heavy lifting raids lately."

Velma (shrugs and nods yes): "True."

Verne: "Mind helping me up?"

Verne stretches his right hand out. The instant Velma's grip tightens on it, he yanks her forward, causing her to fall face-first into the water! When she surfaces, Verne is giggling up a storm and points to her.

Verne: "Fooled you!"

Velma looks at her mate sternly, which causes Verne to stop laughing. She then slowly points to her bow that is so wet that the color dye is dripping down, which makes it look like the top of her head is bleeding purple. Verne becomes petrified now. He knows how much Velma loves her bow, which he has inadvertently ruined. He gulps, expecting her to throw a fit. She surprises him by cracking up in laughter. Verne's sigh of relief quickly turns into a laugh too. They laugh so hard that they hyperventilate. Once they catch their breath, Verne says, "Looks like we've got one more item to add to the list."

Velma: "Silly Verney, I have five spare bows at the log."

Verne: "You always like to be prepared...Just like me."

Velma: "I do expect you to make up for this." (Points to her bow)

Verne: "How so?"

Velma wraps her arms around Verne and pulls him in for a kiss that he lovingly returns. The two slowly break away.

Velma (playfully seductive): "You and going to give me a bath...And I want to be squeaky clean...To the point where my scales will reflect the light."

Verne (grins): "I'll go get the loofah that's stuffed in my shell. I never leave for the pond without it."

Deciding that things are getting too mushy for his taste, and not wanting to see these turtles' weird bath, Kale leaves once Verne re-enters the pond after retrieving the loofah. Kale goes away with an understanding that there really is an adventurer's heart hidden beneath Verne's and Velma's meekness. The wolf finds it puzzling that Verne isn't like this around the others, especially since it would make him as fun to be around as RJ. Perhaps the turtle wants to be a true father figure in the family, someone who is composed and mellow.

Kale thinking: "Dat's no fun...But at least I now know that everyone in dis zoo-family has a wild side."

Satisfied with his conclusion, Kale picks up the scent of the next hedgie and starts tracking it.


Since there is only one animal in the forest family that gives off a half skunk and half cat scent, Kale easily locates the general direction De'Ausha is in. His nose tells him she is around other skunks and his ears pick up lots of laughter, which means she is playing with some friends of hers...and Kale has a good idea as to who at least one of them could be. With a nose such as his he never forgets a scent, and behind the skunk stench he recognizes scents that make his blood boil. It is the same young male skunk and his parents who sprayed him and his pack during his hunt. At that moment, every fiber of the wolf's being wants to attack them and get revenge. But Kale is still a wolf, and uses his inherited intellect to think things over reasonably.

Kale thinking: "You don't got ya's hind legs, so you won't be able ta attack or defend ya'self. And don't forget dat the parents are da ones who picked up on ya's scent that day. So if you really wanna work on ya's stealth, keep ya's distance and just listen."

It is settled, and Kale is perfectly alright using his imagination to gauge at what De'Ausha and her friends are doing.

Ladarius's voice: "So ya already know how ta play hockey, eh? Heh! Get it? Cause it was invented in Canada?"

De'Ausha's voice: "I sho do. And nice pun!"

Young feminine voice: "You kiddin'? That ain't Der-level humor. You startin' to lose your touch, little brother."

Ladarius's voice: "I wasn't talkin' to you, Markasia."

Different young female voice: "We playin' hockey or not?"

Jordan's voice: "Shaniqua's right. Split up into teams, folks."

Ladarius's voice: "Dibs on De'Ausha."

De'Ausha's voice: "Now wait just a minute, boy. You know it won't be as fun unless I'm playin' against you." (Snarky) "Or are you tryin' to put me on your team 'cause you know I'll beat you?"

Ladarius's voice: "Not a chance, you feisty girl. But you don't know my sisters. Shan has the strongest arms, Lakeisha's the fastest runner, and Markasia can take a beating and keep on truckin'—despite her fat hips."

Markasia's voice: "I heard that, you tool! Just for that, I'm playin' against you. I'm gonna beat you so hard that—"

Ahniyah's voice: "We ain't doin' contact for this game."

Markasia's voice: "Aw, c'mon mama! Hittin' other players is the point of hockey. What're we supposed to use then? Harsh language?"

Ahniyah: "Not if you want a serious whoopin'."

Kale can just see the mother raising her clinched fist.

Markasia's voice (disappointed): "Yes ma'am."

Ahniyah's voice: "As fo you, Ladarius, you betta say you're sorry for insulting Markasia."

Ladarius's voice: "Sorry sis."

Ahniyah's voice: "Mm-hm. Now carry on with selectin' your teams."

De'Ausha's voice: "You built up your sisters, Der, but what about you? How are you at hockey?"

Ladarius's voice: "I'm just good all around; I got a little bit of each of my sisters' talents in me."

Shaniqua's voice: "You keep lyin' to her face, Der, and she'll never wanna play with you again."

Ladarius's voice: "I ain't lyin'."

De'Ausha's voice: "So in that case, you won't mind if I play against ya to see if you're tellin' the truth."

Kale can imagine the loudmouth boy's eyes going wide at that. His face undoubtedly has the look of things going the exact opposite how he planned too.

Ladarius's voice (dumbfounded): "What?"

Markasia's voice: "Wise choice, girl. If you help me beat my little brother, you'll be my new gur-friend."

Ladarius's voice (with the shock of being betrayed): "De'Ausha..." (Voice becomes more enthusiastic with each word) "You betta get ready to lose, gurl! And don't say I didn't warn ya!"

Shaniqua's voice: "You get to be on my team, Der."

Lakeisha's voice: "Since we ain't hittin' anyone, Markasia needs a fast girl like me to be on her team."

Jordan's voice: "Alright then it's settled. Ladarius and Shan versus Markasia, Lakeisha, and De'Ausha. Everyone grab you a stick, and wait for me ta put the foosball down."

Shaniqua's voice: "Hey mama, could you be the announcer? It'll feel more real that way."

Ahniyah's voice: "Sho thang, child."

Kale is glad for this too since he will be able to visualize the action. He hears the players walk back onto the ground they will use for their makeshift court.

Jordan's voice: "We're playing to five points. Let's have a nice, clean match kids."

He drops the ball on the ground and Ahniyah does her job.

Ahniyah's voice: "And the game begins! Der takes the ball and runs past Lakeisha. He shoots—backwards to Shaniqua who no one is gathering near. Oh, but they notice that now, and De'Ausha moves in to intercept her. Shan passes the ball high over De'Ausha and Lakeisha, but woah! Markasia gets in front of Ladarius and steals the ball back! She's running down the court with Der hot on her heels...De'Ausha gets in his way to clear Markasia a path...Shan is getting closer to Markasia, who passes the ball to Lakeisha. The goal is wide open, Lakeisha shoots, and scores!"

Lakeisha and her team cheer and then get back to their positions on the court as Jordan retrieves the foosball. He puts it back on the ground and the game continues.

Ahniyah's voice: "Markasia gets the ball and passes it to De'Ausha, who—Oh!—gets it stolen by Shaniqua. Shan immediately hits the ball and, booya! Scores! She made that goal while halfway down the court, she's got arms of steel, I'm tellin' ya.

"The ref gets the ball, the teams go back to the middle of the court, drops the ball, and Der gets it. He's daring to run forward, straight into the other team who's movin' to intercept him. He hits the ball, it goes down the court, but stops short of the goal. The players are runnin' to get to it...De'Ausha reaches it first...passes it to Markasia who starts running...Shan goes to cover Lakeisha who's makin' her way to Shan's goal. De'Ausha passes it back to Markasia...Der goes for her...She passes it back to De'Ausha...Lakeisha is still not open, so De'Ausha runs forward. She lines up her shot for the goal, shoots, and—what's this?! Der gets in the ball's path, stops the team from scoring, passes the ball to Shan who passes it back to him. Now he passes it to Shan, Shan passes it to him, each one getting closer to the other team's goal. Der has it now, he shoots, and scores! The score is 2 to 1, with Der's team leading."

After a pause as the players get resituated on the court, Ahniyah continues.

Ahniyah's voice: "The ball is back in the middle, De'Ausha takes it, runs forward but Shan takes it from her, only to have it stolen by Lakeisha who starts runnin' down to where Der is bein' the goalie. She shoots...Der stops her from scoring, he passes the ball, but Markasia gets it. She shoots, Der blocks her again, he's raising his stick like a golf club. Oh, what a fine hit! It's going, going, going! It stops a few feet from Lakeisha's team's goal. De'Ausha is moving toward it, Shan is catching up to her, De'Ausha reaches the ball, turns to look for a teammate who's open, but, Ooo! Shan steals it from her and scores!

"The game is 3 to 1 now. Two more points and Ladarius and Shaniqua will win. Lakeisha, De'Ausha, and Markasia better do somethin' or they'll lose. The players are back in the middle, the ball is dropped, Markasia gets it and passes to Lakeisha...Lakeisha passes it to De'Ausha, who passes it back to Lakeisha, who passes it back to De'Ausha. Der moves to block Lakeisha, but De'Ausha passes the ball to Markasia. Der and Shan hold their ground, waiting for Markasia to make her next move...She starts running...Shan and Der don't go after her...Markasia passes the ball to Lakeisha...Shan goes to block her...Lakeisha shoots and she—Oh! The ball misses the goal by inches. Der recovers it, but De'Ausha takes it from him and Scores! The score is 3 to 2; looks like De'Ausha and her team ain't done yet.

"Jordan gets the ball back, goes to the middle of the court, and drops it. Shan gets it, but all three players on the other team come after her at once! She passes it to the side where Der gets it, Lakeisha runs after him, he takes aim, raises his stick and—Wow! Lakeisha takes the ball from him before he can hit it! She runs down the court, putting a lotta distance between herself and Der...Shaniqua is being kept at bay by De'Ausha and Markasia...Lakeisha shoots and scores! We have a tie game now, folks. Three to three.

"Jordan gets back in the middle with the ball and lets it go...Ladarius, huh, doesn't even try to go for it and lets De'Ausha have it without a fight. De'Ausha runs forward, Ladarius lets her pass—what could that child be up to?—and runs toward Markasia who is guarding the goal. Back with De'Ausha, she looks to her side...Sees Lakeisha advancing on Shaniqua...But Shaniqua zigs where Lakeisha zags, and goes toward her team's goal. De'Ausha takes the shot but doesn't make it. Shan has the ball now and she hits it hard. It flies past Lakeisha and De'Ausha, goes to Der who just does another quickie on Markasia, he gets the ball and scores!

"As the players get back to the middle and my hubby gets the ball, you can feel the intensity. Der and Shaniqua are one more point away from victory, but will the tide turn for the other three? We're about to find out.

"The ball drops, Markasia gets it and passes it to Lakeisha who is immediately intercepted by Shaniqua. Shaniqua takes the ball, but De'Ausha gets close to her to block her shot to the goal. Shaniqua passes it to Der who is being covered by Markasia. Markasia steals the ball, but Der steal it back...Now Markasia takes it from him...He takes it from her...Lakeisha is coming to join Markasia to put pressure on Der...Der passes it to Shaniqua who is being covered by De'Ausha. De'Ausha steals the ball and starts running in the opposite direction...Shan catches up to her inna jiffy, takes the ball back, and passes it to Der. De'Ausha starts running after the ball...The ball is intercepted by Markasia who turns around and passes it to Lakeisha. Lakeisha runs for a bit, lines up her shot, shoots, but the ball gets intercepted by Shaniqua who stays put. Markasia and Lakeisha get closer...Shan hits the ball that's received by Ladarius. Der looks at the goals where he sees De'Ausha guarding it. It's like she expected this to happen and wants this game to have a showdown between the two of 'em. Ladarius starts runnin' forward...The ball is on his left...Now his right...back to his left...back to his right. De'Ausha's head is following his every move...He shoots...De'Ausha moves left, but, OH! Ladarius had aimed for her right! He scores! The game is over! Ladarius and Shaniqua win! And the crowd goes wild!"

Kale knows Ladarius and Shaniqua are smiling and laughing as they cheer loudly. What he doesn't know that's happening is De'Ausha lowering her head in shame and loss at how she predicted wrong. She is the reason her team lost. Soon though, in spite of the cheering from Der, Shan, and their parents, Kale hears De'Ausha's teammates talk to her.

Lakeisha's voice: "We all underestimated Ladarius. We played as a team, we lost as a team. Don't get down in the dumps."

Markasia's voice: "Yeah. You did an awesome job, gur-friend. A kid your age goin' up against players as good as Shaniqua and Der...That's a winner in my book."

De'Ausha's voice: "Thanks, girls...'Course you know, I'm dyin' fo a rematch now."

Markasia's and Lakeisha's voices in unison: "Us too."

Ladarius's voice: "What'd I tell y'all? I've got all yo talents in me! And I'm not a liar!"

Shaniqua's voice: "You couldn't have won single-handedly, you know..."

Ladarius's voice: " 'Course not. You my wingman, Shan."

Shaniqua's voice: "You mean you're my wingman."

Kale doesn't notice the two fist bump and hug.

Jordan's voice: "So you kids wanna have another match after you rest?"

Markasia's voice: "I think I'm done for the day...All that playin' made me exhausted. We've been runnin' on our feet instead of usin' ice skates."

Lakeisha's voice: "I pushed myself too hard. I just wanna rest now and postpone our rematch anoth'a day."

Shaniqua's voice: "I agree."

Ladarius's voice: "Works for me."

Kale doesn't know that Ladarius gives De'Ausha a sly look in the eyes...A look that makes her understand exactly what he wants to do now.

De'Ausha's voice: "I think Der and me are gonna take a little walk."

Ahniyah's voice: "Stay in eyesight, kids. Ever since that run-in with the wolves..."

Ladarius's voice: "We understand mama."

Ahniyah's voice: "Speakin' of wolves, you and Shaniqua beat the others almost as hard as Der and his friends beat that wolf pack that came hea not too long ago."

Kale's ears point as high as they can, and his facial expression gradually turns from shock into a scowl the more he hears.

Ladarius's voice: "You and dad're the ones who gassed 'em real good."

Shaniqua's voice: "But you and your friends chopped that tree down right on toppa them. And they fell for De'Ausha's opossacoon cousin's act like a buncha saps!"

Jordan's voice: "Y'all did more than just defeat 'em, Der. Y'all made our territory past the playground safer from 'em. They can't step foot anywhere near hea without being laughed at. Which is one of the reasons why Ahniyah and I were among the first to spread word of the wolves' loss."

Kale grits his teeth at the nerve of these skunks. They sound so proud, so gloating, that it's like they are intentionally trying to make him come out and try to kill them. But the time he has spent playing video games with the porcupine teens has taught him not to be such a big hothead. So he endures the skunks' words, and makes a vow to come after them first when he rejoins his pack.

Ladarius: "Did anyone ever find out what happened to the wolf who got caught in fox traps?"

De'Ausha's voice: "Oh, he's—"

Kale's heart skips a beat when De'Ausha suddenly stops herself, his thoughts of vengeance having been interrupted by something that causes him to feel petrifyingly nervous. If De'Ausha spills the beans, that means he can kill her, but that will also mean many prey animals will come after for him once word spreads of his being taken care of.

Markasia's voice: "You know what happened?"

Kale listens closer than he has in his whole life. De'Ausha's life, as well as his own, now hinge on what she says.

De'Ausha's voice: "He was found by a bear and eaten. Bad way to go considering he couldn't defend himself...But that's Mother Nature for ya."

Jordan's voice: "Fo real. She is a cruel mistress."

Ahniyah's voice: "Well anything that happened to any of those wolves is too good for 'em. The nerve they have thinkin' they can just waltz up anywhere and kill my stepson and his friends..."

Ahniyah doesn't voice it out loud for the sake of her kids, but she wanted to say that the wolf who got caught in the fox traps should have had a slow and drawn out death, as painful as possible.

Just as Kale vows to kill Ahniyah first on his eventual revenge-hunt, he also appreciates that De'Ausha didn't tell Ladarius or his family about how her family is taking care of him. She's surprisingly more loyal to him than he thought. But he is still worried that she may slip up, so he decides to stay and spy on her a little longer.

Jordan's voice: "Anyway, what matters is that no one important to us was hurt that day. So let's get back to havin' some fun. Just remember to remain in eyesight, Der and De'Ausha."

De'Ausha's and Ladarius's voices in unison: "Yes sir."

Kale uses the technique of selective hearing to cancel out any talk or sounds that aren't coming from De'Ausha and Ladarius. He can hear that the two are walking away from Ladarius's family and coming toward his direction. They still won't be able to see him, since Kale is behind a thick tree, but he starts to back away so they can't pick up his scent.

Out of earshot of his parents, and thinking that the two are now alone, Ladarius looks at De'Ausha and says, "You were great at hockey, girl."

De'Ausha's voice: "And you were just as good as you said you was, boy."

Ladarius's voice (sober tone): "But lemme ask you somethin' serious."

De'Ausha's voice (ditto): "I'm listenin'..."

Ladarius's voice (with a crooked smile on his face): "Who's ya favorite sports team?"

De'Ausha's voice (giggles): "Oh, you...! Makin' me tense up fo a buncha nothin'."

Ladarius's voice: "First, you're cute when you get all serious. Second, sports teams are serious to me. No joke."

De'Ausha's voice: "I know, I was just testin' ya, 'cuz I take sports seriously too. Anyway, my favorite team is the Reggie Town Red Birds."

Ladarius's voice: "Me too! Their quarterback is unstoppable."

De'Ausha's voice: "Their wide receiver has the fingers of Spiderman 'cause he never fumbles and always does the most risky job on the field."

Ladarius's voice: "And their coach has a Midas touch."

Note: I just made up the Reggie Town Red Birds. They aren't a real sports team.

De'Ausha's voice: "But sports aside, what's your favorite TV show?"

Ladarius's voice: "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It's old, but it defines the word 'classic.' "

De'Ausha's voice: "No way, that's my favorite too! Who's your favorite character?"

Ladarius's voice: "Will Smith, of course."

De'Ausha's voice: "Same hea. He's funny—"

Ladarius's voice: "—Handsome—"

De'Ausha's voice: "—And—"

Ladarius's and De'Ausha's voices in unison: "Smmmmooooooth."

Ladarius's voice: "What about your favorite movie."

De'Ausha's voice: "2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. The TV version, of course, since my parents won't let me watch R-rated movies."

Ladarius's voice: "Me too!"

De'Ausha's voice: "Really?! Now isn't that just—Whoa, wait. Prove it. What's the plot about?"

Note: The following dialogue contains key plot points from the movie 2 Guns. If you have not seen it yet, consider this a spoiler warning.

Ladarius's voice: "An undercover DEA agent and an undercover Navy SEAL who unwittingly steal money from the CIA, only to be betrayed by their employers and pitted against each other as well as a Mexican crime boss."

De'Ausha's voice: "You could've read that description after pressin' the digital cable info button. Who's the DEA agent and who's the Navy SEAL?"

Ladarius's voice: "Denzel is DEA and Wahlberg is the SEAL."

De'Ausha's voice: "Where did the movie begin?"

Ladarius's voice: "At a breakfast diner that the two burned down so the cops wouldn't be there for donuts when Denzel and Wahlberg robbed the bank the next day. The cops were in their police station across the street instead, and that's where Denzel and Wahlberg went first to put 'em in the slammer so they wouldn't be able to stop or follow them."

De'Ausha's voice: "Who wore the Frankenstein mask and who wore the clown mask at the bank robbery?"

Ladarius's voice: "Wahlberg was the clown and Denzel was Frankenstein, but they referred to him as 'Frankie.' "

De'Ausha didn't think Ladarius would know that much, so she's ready for the real test of knowledge now.

De'Ausha's voice: "Okay no more foolin' around. How much money did they steal?

Ladarius's voice (in a Bill Paxton impression): "$43.125 million."

De'Ausha's voice: "Who made the deal with the Navy to steal back the money that Denzel and Wahlberg had stolen, and keep half for 'em'self?"

Ladarius's voice: "Denzel's lady friend in the DEA made the deal with Wahlberg's commanding officer in the Navy. That's why she was okay with the Mexican crime boss shooting her for her betrayal against Denzel."

De'Ausha's voice: "And where was the money they stole from the CIA hidden?"

Ladarius's voice: "In the motel room Denzel and his lady friend used for their downtime."

De'Ausha's voice: "Aha! It wasn't in the motel room, it was under the bed of the motel room."

Ladarius widens his eyes at failing to pass his crush's interrogation. He prepares to face the music from her.

De'Ausha's voice: "Meh, but that's close enough. I just wanted to see ya look nervous. You're so cute when you look nervous." (Wink)

Ladarius's voice: "Gurl, yo are somethin' else!"

The two give each other a double fist bump then waggle their fingers. Although it's a paradox, De'Ausha feels that she and Ladarius become closer the more they compete against each other, rather than being on the same side. No matter who wins or how many times the other loses, it irritates them enough to where they want to keep coming back to see each other. The two learn about each other's personalities and talents when pitting those skills against their crush; a baptism of fire if you will. They reveal who they really are and how interesting they can really be to the other.

As the two continue talking about petty interests, Kale is confident that De'Ausha won't talk about him, so he heads out to find the next family member to spy on during his or her free time.


Kale picks up the second most unique scent among this group of animals, the opossacoon, and follows it to within wolf-sight distance of a section of the forest that has two trees standing parallel to one another and grass arranged in a circle around the trees. The hybrid's scent comes from above, so Kale looks up and sees Bernard. The kit is 12 feet up a 20 foot tall tree, gripping on so tight that the knuckles on his black raccoon paws are light gray. He is also giving off the scent of fear—a lot of it.

Bernard: "C'mon...Don't stop now." (Climbs a little higher) "Daddy wouldn't stop." (Climbs a little higher) "Mommy wouldn't stop." (Climbs a little higher) "Uncle Rick and Aunt Luby wouldn't stop..." (Climbs a little higher) "Neither would Roger and Ty..." (Climbs a little higher) "Grandpa Rogan and Grandma Sarah said they could climb 100 foot tall trees when they were five." (Climbs a little higher) "And Aunt Becca would've been at the top in seconds."

By now he reaches a tree branch that starts out wide, but gets thinner the farther from the tree it expands until it's as slim as the size of Bernard's foot.

Kale thinking: "He's not thinkin' of...? Is he?"

Bernard looks down, lets out a whimper, and collapses to his knees as his stomach sinks and his legs turn into jelly. The roots of his acrophobia go back to when he was one-and-a-half-years-old, to the time he climbed up a tall tree while playing hide n' seek. When he tried to climb back down, he lost his grip and fell. The only thing that burned into his mind other than the pain was how high he was as he fell to the ground. His father helped him physically recover, but he has been afraid of heights ever since. Because he is part raccoon and part possum—which are two animals that are excellent climbers—he knows he just has to overcome his acrophobia.

With that motivation igniting a fire in his belly, Bernard slowly gets back up.

Bernard (in bold defiance): "I'm not afraid...I'm not afraid!"

The kit starts walking on the branch, one foot in front of the other. He glances down every two steps, making sure he faces his fear for the whole journey across.

Bernard: "You've gotta be brave. Don't play possum. You've gotta be brave. I can do this. I can do this."

Kale actually feels proud of Bernard, since the kit is trying to improve himself, just like the wolf did in the past. Bernard is halfway across the branch when, for some reason, as he looks down, he starts to feel queasy. Flashes of himself falling start to manifest themselves in his mind like post-traumatic stress disorder, making him sweat and pant. He loses concentration, and then slips!

Quickly, he wraps his forepaws around the branch, stopping himself from falling. He wraps his legs around the branch too, but finds that he is unable to pull himself up. He has a solid grip and won't fall, but he can't move, and he really wants to get down.

Accepting that his fear has beaten him yet again, Bernard does the only thing left to do.

Bernard (screaming as if it's the end of the world): "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Bernard is so loud that Kale winces his eyes shut and covers his ears while trees shake and lose some leaves as if a stick of dynamite went off. By the time Kale opens his eyes and puts his forepaws down, Heather is already on the branch.

Kale stares wide-eyed while he muses, "Hold on. What the—?"

Heather: "Climb on my back, son."

Kale thinking: "Where did she—?"

The feel of his mother's arm gives Bernard a strength boost that makes him brave enough to reach out and pull himself just as Heather takes him over to her shoulder and to her back.

Kale thinking: "How did she get here so fast?!"

Bernard (while crying): "Th-th-th-thank you, mommy..." (Sobs briefly) "Can I go in your pouch?"

Heather: "Wait for me to take you to the thicker part of the branch first. Okay sweetie?"

Bernard: "*Sniff, sniff* Okay."

As soon as Heather arrives at the part where the branch meets the trunk of the tree, Bernard doesn't even wait for Heather to tell him that it's time for him to move into her pouch. She isn't surprised at all, and immediately starts stroking the outside of the spot where Bernard is in her pouch.

Bernard's voice (muffled): "I-I-I was s-so scared...I almost fell!"

Heather: "There, there. It's alright now."

Kale rolls his eyes and mentally insults the weakling kit by thinking, "Big baby mama's boy..."

After stroking her son some more, Heather says, "It's a good thing I always stay close by whenever you try to overcome your fear of heights, isn't it?"

Bernard's voice (muffled): "Uh-huh."

Seeing as Bernard's voice is still on-edge and shaken, Heather decides to change the subject, hoping to put him in a better mood.

Heather: "But you made it halfway across the branch this time! That's much better than your last attempt. You made me so proud!"

Bernard (sticks his head outside of Heather's pouch, wipes the tears from his eyes, and looks up at her): "Really?"

Heather: "Really, really."

Bernard smiles, crawls out of Heather's pouch, climbs up to her chest, wraps his arms around her, and kisses her cheek.

Bernard: "I love you, mommy..."

Heather (kisses Bernard on the cheek): "I love you too, Bernard."

Kale shakes his head side to side in disgust while groaning softly. He expected Heather to scold her son for chickening out halfway, which is something wolves would do to their kids if they didn't succeed at similar tasks. Not to mention wolves would accompany that with some physical abuse.

Kale thinking: "But den again, my mom n' dad would've done what Heather did. It's my pack dat would've chastised and hit me."

Kale feels a hint of sadness creep into his heart at the thought of his parents...

He really misses them; their voices, their faces, their scent, the feel of their fur against his own. Above all else, he misses their love. Unlike his brothers, Kale actually liked that Sniff-Tracker Eddie and Sharnese weren't as obsessed with maintaining the codes of wolf society as most packs were. As he had told RJ, they gave Kale love and didn't mind that his abilities were below average. Because of that, it's no wonder that his dad was named after Al Capone's lawyer, Easy-Eddie, who kept the mobster safe from the law only to testify against "Scarface" when Easy-Eddie wished to cleanse his soul for the sake of giving his son, Butch O'Hare, a good name and a good example of how to live one's life properly.

But when Heather speaks again, Kale tells himself, "Enough mopin' about da past, focus on the present," and listens closely.

Heather: "Are you done trying to overcome your acrophobia, or do you wanna try again."

Bernard: "I am so done for today."

Heather: "Then let's get back on the ground, shall we?"

Bernard: "Yeah."

Heather: "Yes, ma'am."

Bernard: "Oh, um, yes ma'am."

Heather nods in appreciation of her son's correction, waits for him to re-enter her pouch, and then makes her way down to the ground. Once there, Bernard climbs out of Heather's pouch and looks up at her when she speaks.

Heather: "I'm going to go workout, now. So you know to stay near the log."

Bernard: "Yes ma'am...Oh, but can I take the cell phone from your pouch? I need it to...well, y'know."

Kale thinking: "Huh?"

Understanding what her son means, Heather doesn't hesitate.

Heather: "Of course."

She reaches into her pouch and gives her son a cell phone.

Kale thinking: "How deep is dat pouch of hers, I wonder?"

Heather: "Okay Bernard, bye for now."

Bernard: "Bye, mommy!"

Only now does Kale realize that he has been so focused on those two's conversation that Heather might see him if she walks in his direction. Fortunately she doesn't, and his cover remains. And it's a good thing too, because Kale really wants to know what a six-year-old opossacoon will do all alone with a cell phone. The fact that Heather had an idea of what that is only makes the wolf more curious. Fortunately for Kale, Bernard seems to have a habit of speaking his thoughts aloud whenever the kit thinks he's alone.

Bernard (while typing on the phone's screen): "Okay, Google Image: black bear."

Bernard's finger hovers over the "Search", but he hesitates. He closes his eyes and murmurs to himself, "Don't play possum...Don't play possum...I'm not afraid."

Kale raises an eyebrow at the paradox. Playing dead is often the best way to make a bear stop attacking you, yet Bernard, a possum hybrid, is trying not to do that. The irony is baffling.

Bernard takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and presses "Search." Seconds later, he yelps, clutches his right paw over his heart, and falls to the ground. Kale chuckles out of his nose at how pathetic the son of the daring and adventurous RJ really is. The kit is nothing like his father. And even his mother, a full opossum, has greater courage than him. If Kale can learn anything of worth from his observation, it's the common sense knowledge that playing possum can have the opposite of its intended effect. Kale still thinks all possums are idiots because, despite eons of playing dead, they still haven't figured out that doing that doesn't protect them from scavengers (and intelligent predators) that look upon a supposedly dead animal carcass as if it's a restaurant with a glowing sign outside that reads "Good Eats" (1).

Note: (1)=last sentence based off Resident Evil Volume V: Nemesis by S.D. Perry.

As if Bernard can hear the wolf's mocking thoughts, the opossacoon gets back up in a huff and speaks to himself again.

Bernard: "C'mon, you can do better than that. It's just a picture of a black bear, it's not real."

He covers his eyes with his left paw, picks the phone back up with his right paw, moves it as close to his face as he can, and then moves his left paw out of the way. He gasps, but doesn't faint this time.

Bernard: "Better...But I already knew what to expect this time, so let's look at a," (Gulp) "grizzly bear."

Bernard types the words, hits "Search," and lets out an "Ah!", but doesn't play possum.

Bernard (pumps his left fist): "Yes! Now to look at a wolverine."

After typing it in, Bernard gasps loudly, grabs his heart with his left paw, and starts putting weight on his heels—only to stop himself from falling back.

Bernard: "No! I'm not afraid. Don't play possum for something that isn't real!" He holds his ground, breathes out a sigh, and says "Getting better."

Kale starts to turn his skateboard to leave, until he hears Bernard continue.

Bernard: "Time to take it up a notch by searching for an image of a 'scary wolf' instead of a normal wolf, since one is already living with us and I'm getting used to him."

Kale feels his heart harden, and thinks in rage, "I'm not scary ta him anymore?! I'll remind him why he should still fear me!"

Kale plans to howl or snarl right then and there, but relents.

Kale thinking: "You's supposed ta be practicing ya sneaking skills, and the key ta dat is patienc...After all, impatience was da first mistake I made in my hunt."

Kale controls himself and continues to spy. Much to his delight, Bernard plays possum after searching for the image. Satisfied with Bernard's proper reaction, the wolf decides to leave now. He reckons he has seen everything that will happen from here on out: Bernard will keep looking at images of predators, and will faint for some and not faint for others.

Just when Kale is a good distance away from Bernard, and is trying to think of who to spy on next, the wolf's acute hearing picks up on something interesting that the opossacoon says.

Bernard's voice: "Now I'm ready!" (Playfully devious) "Look out, Mary, 'cuz here I come!"

Kale raises an eyebrow, grins while musing, "Maybe dis kid has more raccoon in him dan I thought," and uses his nose to go to his next destination.


Any excitement Kale felt about spying on Mary before Bernard arrives is instantly destroyed when he sees the female opossacoon watching that girly pony cartoon show she talks so highly about. She is also holding a toy of a blue pony with wings, a rainbow mane and tail, and a brand of a rainbow-colored lightning bolt coming from a white cloud on the flank.

Kale thinking: "As if rainbows weren't sissie'y enough already, now you got 'em on a pony. Dis show was made by lil' girls."

Mary: "Yeah! Get 'em Rainbow Dash! Show those meanies why they should never mess with someone as awesome as you, or your friends!"

Mary stands up and moves her toy in sync with the character on the TV. Every time the screen shows Rainbow Dash hit roughly horse-shaped—not to mention ugly—black creatures with large fangs, insect-like wings, big bug eyes, and Swiss cheese-like holes in their legs, Mary throws a punch or a kick while going "Hoo! Uh! Boosh! Get some!"

The TV cuts to a purple unicorn who blasts the shape-shifting creatures with a beam from her horn.

Mary: "Ooo, yeah! Twilight Sparkle's magic is more powerful than ever now that she knows her friends are really her friends instead of changelings impersonating them. Friendship is magic, baby!"

Kale groans at how much of a kid this kid is. It's true that all kids say and do things that are cheesy to those older than them, but he was never like this as a kid, so he finds it extra annoying.

Kale thinking: "De verdad...How do her parents tolerate 'er?"

Note: "De verdad" means "For real" in Spanish.

When the black creatures—changelings, apparently—shoot some green beams from their own horns, six ponies are knocked back. In addition to the blue and purple one, there's a white one, a yellow one, a pink one, and an orange one. Mary seems angry at the characters and scolds them.

Mary: "Aw, come on! All you should've seen that coming!" (Sighs quickly) "It's okay, you'll rebound. All you have to do is work together and whatever you do, don't split up."

Much to Mary's chagrin, the ponies obey the purple one's orders to split up so as to keep themselves from being surrounded. Then their shapeshifting adversaries take the forms of the six characters' family or other friends, making the ponies hesitate which leaves them open to attack. Kale is oddly finding himself enjoying the episode—only because it's showing the protagonists being idiots and getting pwned. Anything that displays girly things being hurt is entertainment in his book. Mary, on the other hand, is mad.

Mary: "Uhn! You six know you're fighting changelings! Why're you falling for their tricks?! I hate it when cartoons do this cliché!"

Despite the demographic the show is obviously catered to, Kale finds himself silently commending it for making Mary show her raccoon-inherited intelligence. The kid is criticizing the characters for not doing a more sensible battle plan that she has worked out in her mind. She is also already aware of what a cliché is, and how shows use the same ones. Only after the six ponies decide to fight together do they start turning the tide of the battle. Mary goes back to throwing punches and kicks as the changelings start losing the battle, going "Yeah! Take that, and that, and that! Shoot that party canon, Pinkie! Pound 'em into the ground Dash!"

Once the enemy army is forced to retreat, Mary jumps up and down in celebration.

Mary: "There! You see? That's how it's done! You have to use your combined powers to defeat the whole army...But even so, at least Rainbow Dash kicked some butt! Like always!" (To her pony doll) "Right, Dash?" (Imitating Rainbow Dash's voice) "Oh you know it, Mary. That was too easy. I've faced bigger, badder meanies than that. Those changelings are just insects, and I'm their bug zapper! I made 'em taste the rainbow—through my hooves!"

Kale grimaces at the kit's cheesiness. If it wasn't for Bernard coming in sometime soon—"I hope," the wolf muses—he would have left a long time ago. He has had to put up with this little girl show nonsense for too long. The bright colors and quirky animation look like something out of a drug attic's hallucination. And as expected, it had a happy little ending to make the kiddies feel good, instead of having the guts to show kids the complex truth that good guys don't always win. That doesn't mean the bad guys should defeat the good guys, but the villains could win a small victory—say, killing or capturing one of the good guys—and still lose the larger battle. It would serve as a reminder that every victory has a cost for all sides. But then Kale decides he's reading too deep into something that was made for girls aged from preschool to fifth grade.

Mary: "Yeah, you go Rainbow Dash!" (Imitating Rainbow Dash's voice) "No, you go Mary! Twilight should've listened to your suggestion. If I wasn't so busy leading the charge like the awesome pony I am, I would've come up with the same plan." (As herself) "But then you wouldn't have had so much fun beating those evil changelings." (Imitating Rainbow Dash) "True dat. But it's just like your daddy says, 'When things get dicey, it's better to think about the safety of others than to think about yourself.' Not doing that would be both selfish and dangerous. Even I know when to put my friends above my fun. And you know what else?—"

The Rainbow Dash doll suddenly disappears from Mary's paws, causing her to gasp—as Bernard snatches the toy away from his big sister.

Bernard (imitating his sister's imitation of Rainbow Dash): "You're just a sissy girl who likes to play with dollies! You're little brother is way cooler than you'll ever be! Deal with it! Ha-ha!"

Mary gets to her feet and chases Bernard as he runs around the TV.

Mary: "Gimme back Rainbow Dash, Bernard!"

Bernard: "Come get it, big sis, or should I say big sissy! You should be happy that I stole it. Ponies are for little girly-girls!"

Mary: "For the last time: My Little Pony isn't for little girls! It's got action, comedy, teaches important life lessons and conflict resolution, and has themes that even adults like! Mommy and daddy like watching it too, and they're not sissies!"

Bernard: "They don't like it! They just put up with it because they don't want you to know that you're making them feel like sissies for watching it with you."

Mary can't think of a proper comeback for that, so she does the next best thing by insulting Bernard.

Mary: "Well you're a scaredy boy who's afraid of everything, even your own shadow! That's wimpier than being a sissy!"

Bernard: "Glad to see you agree that you're a sissy! You sissy!"

Mary: "I'll make you eat those words!"

Bernard: "How so? You know you can't catch me, because I inherited more of dad's raccoon genes and raccoons are naturally faster than possums. So what else can you do? Make me play possum? Go ahead and try, I dare you! I double-dog, triple-dog dare you!"

Mary (grins mischievously): "Heh, if you insist."

That's when both siblings know it's on. Unlike Roger and Tyler, whose sibling rivalry traces its roots to the typical young and older sibling competing to see which one is superior, the one between Mary and Bernard is wrought from the two picking on each other. Bernard has been called a "pouch potato" and a "scaredy boy" by his older sister, just as her brother mocks her thumb-sucking and love for My Little Pony. Bernard seeks to get revenge for his sister's taunts, just as Mary wants to get back at her brother for his taunts to her. To be fair, Bernard was the one who drew first blood in the twins' rivalry, because he believes he should be the child who is crafty and mischievous, what with him looking more like a raccoon and his sister looking more like a possum. Since he has been so unsuccessful in that endeavor, he feels the best thing to show the world that he is a raccoon is to upstage his sister.

As for Mary, she has been jealous that her little brother has received more attention from her parents than she has. Bernard's meekness and frightful disposition means RJ and Heather won't hesitate to rush over and console him until he feels better. By comparison, her child prodigy talents that make her more of a raccoon at heart have only rarely registered on her parents' radars, usually when she is alone with one of them since they're always comforting Bernard whenever they are together. That's why Mary will do whatever it takes to show her brother just how pathetic his attempts to beat her at her own game are.

Although she silently congratulates Bernard for waiting to make his move at a time when neither of their parents are around to stop the two's antics, that also means that this fight will end with a winner and a loser instead of a draw. She also knows from their previous squabbles that she can beat him by using his own special talent of playing possum against him.

Mary (panicking): "Aiegh! A bear is behind you! RUN!"

Mary knows that all she has to do now is wait. She has often won quarrels using the oldest trick in the book: a spin on the "look out behind you" trope. Her brother is so timid and so possum-like that the mere mention of a predator is usually enough to make him play dead.

That's why she can't believe it when he doesn't do that.

Bernard smiles smugly at how today's training is already starting to pay off.

Bernard: "That'll never work again. You also should've spent more time practicing to play possum, because you can't act good enough either. You'll have to do better than that, big sissy!"

Mary thinks about shouting that a wolverine or a mountain lion is behind her brother, but her raccoon intellect figures that none of those will work on Bernard. She is still running after him, but is stumped at what she can do to make Bernard play possum.

Mary thinking: "What's scarier than a bear or wolverine, but is something that's more believable to show up here unnoticed...?"

It only takes her ten seconds to come up with the solution to the paradox, and in that time frame Bernard thinks his newfound courage has finally blown his sister's mind. She can't take the new and improved him now, so it's rendered her brain-dead, and he wants to capitalize on it.

Bernard (rhetorical): "You give up?

Mary: "Not in a bazillion, quintillion, infinity years!"

Bernard: "Infinity is not a real number, dummy!"

Mary: "I'm still gonna get you for this, you!—*Gasp!* Aiegh! A spider!"

Bernard stops in his tracks when he notices Mary has stopped to cower; going to her knees and covering her eyes with her paws.

Mary (while pointing): "It's over there! To your right!"

Bernard feels his stomach leap from the immediate fear, and from the realization that he didn't look at any scary arthropods when "training" today. But knowing his sister, he shrugs it off because he knows there isn't really a spider near him.

Bernard: "Ha! Yeah right."

Feeling braver than he has in weeks, he decides to indulge Mary and to prove just how pathetic her attempts to scare him are.

Bernard: "This is just another one of your weak tricks, and I'll prove it!"

Bernard confidently puffs up his chest and turns to where he recalls his sister had pointed—and a huge black widow spider is a mere three inches away from him, and crawling along the grass!

Bernard's heart rate triples, he starts sweating bullets, and lets out a bloodcurdling scream. The stress is so sudden and so intense that his possum-inherited reflexes take over. He doesn't even use any drama, he simply falls to the ground and plays possum.

From his safe observation distance, Kale crinkles his nose once Bernard starts emitting the foul smell of dead, rotting meat. Because that means he's in a playing-possum-induced coma, Mary gets up with a giggle, smiles, and says, "Gotcha."

She holds out her right paw and Kale notices for the first time that there is a string tied around her pointer finger. He follows it down and discovers that it leads to the black widow spider, which upon closer examination is rubber. She had kept it hidden in her pouch then tossed it forward before screaming and cowering back. Before that, Mary knew if she kept her brother talking in a way that ensured his ego would build up that her sudden display of fear and her talk of a spider would be more convincing, and therefore, more shocking...especially since he would be cocky.

Even though Kale doesn't know of her intricate thoughts, he can't help but admire her for the ingenuity she has displayed before his eyes.

Kale thinking: "Oh, ho, HO! Dis girl is devious!...Which means she won't be as easy ta beat inna fight as she looks."

Mary casually walks up to her unconscious brother and plucks her pony doll out of his paw. After a quick examination, she concludes that the doll isn't broken or smudged in the slightest.

Mary: "No one messes with my Rainbow Dash...On TV and in real life. Right, Dash?" (Imitating Rainbow Dash's voice) "Ri-ight. He underestimated how your friendship with me makes you brave, smart, and daring. Just like me."

Kale thinking (in dismay): "And dare goes her awesomeness, replaced with her girliness...Oh well. At least she's right about her bein' braver dan her bro."

Because Mary heads back to the TV to watch her precious cartoon show, and only Mother Nature knows how long Bernard will take to regain consciousness, Kale quietly moves to the next animals he chooses to spy on.

Note: I want to make it clear that, contrary to what you might expect, I currently am not, nor have I ever been, nor intend to become, a brony. The My Little Pony information I used was gathered from ScrewAttack's Death Battle episodes Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash, Deadpool vs. Pinkie Pie, and Raven vs. Twilight Sparkle, as well as "word on the street" knowledge. The details of the changeling battle described in this chapter was based on the brief clips shown in the above-mentioned Death Battle episodes, along with my own inferences and imagination. Any similarities to a real MLP episode(s) that aren't from the previously-stated sources are purely coincidental since I have never seen a single MLP FiM episode. And any words said in defense of the show are what I theorize fans would argue in defense of it.


By now it is past 1:00 PM, and unsurprisingly, Kale has no trouble tracking down Stella's scent. But what is surprising is the blissful moaning and groaning that escapes the skunk's windpipe...quite frequently. He also hears Tiger's voice and can tell that they are very close to one another.

Tiger's voice: "You like that, my love."

Stella's voice: "Ohhhh. You know it, Tiger."

Tiger's voice: "How about this?"

Stella's voice: "Mmmm-hmmm. You, my pompous mate, do that like a pro."

Tiger's voice: "I expect you to give me the same treatment soon, my love."

Stella's voice: "Sure thang..." (Lewdly) "How 'bout you go lower?"

Tiger's voice (suave tone): "Like this..."

Stella's voice: "Ahhhhh. Just like that. You make me feel so—Mmmmm. Please...go on."

Stella lets out a shuddering whimper, and Tiger purrs. A few moments later, Stella lets out a long, drawn out, cat-like Reow. Normally, Kale wouldn't go anywhere near the two since first, he has the decency to respect any intimate privacy his caretakers are engaged in, and second, if he gets caught he will be in for a world of hurt...not to mention a world of stink. However, neither feline nor mustelid are giving off any pheromones, so Kale just has to know what the two could be doing that's causing their reactions and smooth talk.

He comes to an area with a tree line to his right and a group of shrubs to his left, making the path he is traveling down seem like a hallway. With his senses, he deduces that the two are somewhere at the end of the shrub line, and quietly makes his way to it. Once he's at the last shrub, he knows for sure that the ecstatic skunk and her gratifying mate will be to his left. To avoid getting caught, Kale slowly inches himself around and uses his peripheral vision. His eyes widen and his mouth gapes at the sight of...

Stella: "Oh, Tiger..."

...Stella laying down on the ground with Tiger on top of her back—giving her a massage with all four paws.

Kale thinking (in relief): "Oh, a massage...Phew."

Note: What did you think they were doing, you silly, dirty-minded person(s)? Trolled you! LOL!

Stella: "...Where did you learn to do this from?"

Tiger: "Heh-heh. Years of my former master leaving me alone in the house with the TV on, I learned how to use the remote control and watched any programs that taught me ways to pamper the one who would become my mate."

Stella: "All praises to the masseuse shows!"

Having gotten his fill of spying on these two, and wanting to give them all the privacy they want, Kale silently backtracks away and goes after Luby's, Rick's, Roger's, and Ty's scents.

Twelve minutes later, he finds the family of raccoons in an area with leaves and pine straw on the ground and the endless hedge at the four's backs, and two black garbage bags with one on Rick's right and the other on Luby's left. Because observing them from the front would risk them noticing him, Kale makes his way over to where some trees are for him to hide behind. While doing that, his hearing catches the raccoons' conversation.

Rick: "Remember that day we talked about the raccoon species' ability we call 'the feel'?"

Ty: "Of course, daddy. How could we forget? The drone we used was awesome!"

Roger: "That's not the lesson you should've learned, dummy! You should've remembered how to use the feel."

Tyler wants to lash out at his older brother's insult, but knows that would only prove to his parents that he didn't remember their lecture about the feel to begin with.

Luby: "Which was?"

Roger: "What?"

Luby: "How do you use the feel, Roger?"

Roger: "Well...I...I..."

Ty grins at how fortunate he is that some parents, like his, are smarter than others. Frustrated, Roger tries to change the subject.

Roger: "Aw, why can't Tyler and I just have fun like our other friends?"

Luby: "First, because you two just proved why we need to work on how you use the feel. The feel is important to use whenever we go on heists, or satisfy our species' kleptomania.

"Second and more importantly, because with you boys' uncontrollable urge to tear at each other's throats at every possible opportunity, your father and I simply can't trust you two to be left alone."

Rick: "You wanna earn your freedom, then you have to learn to get along together. Your mother and I have had it up to here" (raises his paw as high as he can) "with your excessive sibling rivalry."

Luby: "We understand that all siblings get on each other's nerves, but your squabbles have been getting in the way of spending time with the rest of the family. Your father and I can't relax whenever either of you speak, because we have to listen carefully and be ready to move in to cool you down. Not to mention that it's embarrassing for us" (Points at Rick with her right paw and to herself with her left paw) "to be known by other animals as the parents of the 'terrible two' as other adults in the forest have been calling you."

Rick: "Your mom and I are glad that you boys don't get into a fight whenever we're on heists, since that would endanger everyone's safety. But at the rate you two are going, it's only a matter of time before that happens. So today's activity will be to have you two work together in order to use the feel to find a particular item in the garbage bags we brought with us."

Ty: "But there are two garbage bags. Can't you have us race to see who can locate the items before the other?"

Roger: "Yeah. We promise we won't rub it in."

Luby and Rick in unison: "No."

Luby: "We made sure the garbage had contents so difficult to sift through that it will take both of you to locate the special items."

Rick: "Are you two clear on what you'll be doing, how you're doing it, and why you're doing it in the way we ask?"

Roger: "Yes, daddy. We know that we—"

Ty: "Have to work on getting along—"

Roger: "If we wanna stop causing—"

Roger and Ty in unison: "So much trouble for you, ourselves, and others."

The two glare at each other for finishing their sibling's sentences, but quickly drop it and turn back to their parents upon understanding that any arguments will only result in more instances of losing free time.

Roger and Tyler thinking: "Besides, not arguing with my brother will impress mom and dad. That way, we'll get to have real free time again sooner."

Luby: "Good. Now as a reminder, the feel is how raccoons can mentally imagine the touch of a particular item we're looking for, while letting us avoid getting something we're not interested in. The feel also involves us being able to selectively touch the thing we want to get, whether we are physically using our paws or using something to help us grab the item."

Kale has reached a good hiding spot by now and upon hearing Luby's explanation, he can't help but make another connection between the ways of wolves with the ways of prey. The feel is a lot like whenever Kale fine tunes his predator-spirit that he uses whenever all of his senses are engaged in 'hunting mode.' The fine tuning lets him ignore other prey that is within reach and focuses instead on the prey he wishes to hunt. Before today he always thought only predators had that kind of ability, but now he knows otherwise. This makes him really interested in seeing the young twins try to use this "feel" thing that raccoons have.

Rick: "There are two marbles in the first bag." (Points to his right) "Here's what they look like." (Holds up a white marble with a swirling red streak running horizontally across it like the Earth's equator) "Since you two are just beginners, you need to come up here, touch the marble to get an idea of how it feels, and then on my or your mom's signal, you will start going through the trash bag beside me."

Roger and Ty in unison: "Yes sir."

The two walk up but Roger takes it right as Ty was about to get it.

Ty: "Hey, I wanted to get it first!"

Roger: "It's not my fault you're too slow!"

Luby: "Eh-hem!"

The twins look up and see their mother with crossed arms, a tapping foot, and giving them a sideways stare that they know all too well. It's her way of nonverbally telling the two to control their temper, or else they'll be punished.

Roger: "Um, here you can have it first." (Holds out the marble)

Ty: "No, I'll just wait my turn."

Roger focuses his attention back on feeling his paws around the marble and Ty looks back at Luby who nods and gives a quick, thin smile. Once Roger thinks he's had long enough, he hands it to his younger brother. Normally, Roger would go ahead and start rummaging through the garbage can, but knowing that his every move is under close observation by his parents, he decides to wait. He gets impatient at his brother for taking longer than he did, but doesn't say anything to rush him. Once Ty puts the marble down, both he and Roger get beside one another and look at their parents.

Rick: "Ready?"

Luby: "Start!"

The kits go over to the garbage bag on Rick's right, open it, and start going through it. Each concentrates hard on what they remember the marble felt like in their paws as they dig through all the containers, jars, food, and various other things.

Roger: "I think I found it!" (Pulls out his paw) "Oh, it's just a ball of paper."

Ty: "It'll feel harder than that. Keep searching."

Roger nods and does what his brother says. A few moments later, Ty says, "Ah, here it—" (Pulls out a cheese ball) "Is..."

Roger: "Don't assume you've found it just because the object is round. You—" (Mentally recalls his parents are watching) "Uh, never mind."

After some more searching, Roger picks up a package, shakes it, and discovers that it has something small inside of it. Before her pulls it out of the bag, Roger looks over at Ty and says, "Let's both double check the packages to make sure it might not be stuffed in one of them."

Ty: "No way. I wanna keep searching for it in the garbage bag itself. You double check the packages."

Roger initially wants to scold his brother for being lazy, then realizes that Tyler's plan won't break the pace of their rummaging. He honestly didn't expect his brother was capable of such a great idea, what with him being younger.

Roger: "Ty, that's brilliant!"

Ty: "Really, you think so?"

Roger: "Absolutely! You keep searching the bag itself, and put any more packages you find that have something inside of them next to me."

Ty: "Gotcha."

The two are so busy carrying out their new plan that they don't see their parents looking at each other with big smiles on their faces. It's a bit of a shame because Rick and Luby are so proud for their sons right now. Not only have Roger and Ty figured out a way that can cover twice as much ground (so to speak), but they have been putting a true effort into reducing their rivalry. And that is the goal. Luby and Rick are smart enough to know that they can't entirely eliminate their kids' sibling rivalry, but they can reduce it to more manageable levels.

Two minutes of searching pass and Roger pulls out the marble from a package he is searching—just as Ty finds another marble in the garbage bag.

Roger: "Got it!"

Ty: "Me too!"

Roger and Ty in unison (in monotone surprise): "Wait, what?"

Rick: "Ha, ha! That's my boys!"

Roger: "What do you—"

Ty: "Mean—"

Roger and Ty in unison: "Daddy?"

Rick: "You two worked together, and both of you succeeded. That's what happens when you work on a common goal instead of trying to outdo the other."

Roger: "So you knew there were two marbles all along?"

Luby: "Both of us did. And even if how you found the marbles was different, what matters is that you agreed on a strategy and stayed out of the other's fur. What you've learned is that you can do things in two different ways, and still achieve the same goal."

Roger and Ty in unison (in realization): "Ohhhhhh..."

Rick: "Here's your reward."

Rick reaches into the hedge and pulls out two bars of chocolate. His sons eagerly rush up and grab them. That's when they discover each is only a fraction of the full size, and one is larger than the other.

Roger: "Hey, no fair. Tyler's is bigger than mine."

Ty (in rhetorical humor): "Lucky me, eh?"

Luby: "Roger is right, Ty. It's unfair that he worked just as hard as you and only gets half of your reward."

Rick: "You both earned these prizes, so you each need to get the same amount. How do you do that?"

Roger: "By sharing, of course." (Looks into Tyler's eyes) "C'mon, Ty. Let's break yours apart so we can have the same amount."

Ty: "No way José. You didn't get as dirty as me by checking out the packages that I found for you."

Roger: "Mo-om! Da-ad! Make Tyler share."

Rick: "You heard your older brother, Ty. It doesn't matter who worked harder. You worked as a team, you get rewarded as a team."

Ty (groans): "Oh, alright."

The two kits compare their chocolate bars and break off the amount from Tyler's that will make Roger's have the same. Once they're done eating, the turn their heads to Rick's voice.

Rick: "Now, for the next garbage bag by your mom there is only one item that's inside."

Luby: "And here it is." (Holds up an Ace of spades card) "Come and touch it."

Roger gets to Luby first, but in an odd turn of events, he stops and looks over at Ty behind him.

Roger: "You can have it first this time, Ty."

Ty: "Really? Even after I didn't wanna share my chocolate with you?"

Roger: "Anymore reminder of that and I'll change my mind." (Winks)

Ty (giggles): "Thanks, Roger."

The reason for Roger's display of extra generosity is that he figures that if he and Ty start treating each other better much sooner than they did on the first garbage bag, the reward will be even greater. Once each has finished feeling the card, they wait for their parents go and start searching for it. This time the task is harder because there are a lot of paper products in the garbage bag.

Ty: "How do we tell it apart from the rest?"

Roger: "Lemme think. Hmmmm...First we need to dump everything out so we'll have more room to search and a better view of the Ace card."

Ty: "And after that we can separate the pile in half where I'll look through one pile and you'll look through the other."

Roger (nods yes): "Yeah."

As the two work together to empty the garbage bag, they are unaware that Rick is about to tell them that they can't do that. He's stopped by Luby's outstretched paw that's in a stop hand gesture. The married couple gets close and whispers quietly into their ears.

Rick: "What gives? In the future they won't be able to dump the contents of heavy garbage cans on the ground. And their plan has them using their sight more than the feel."

Luby: "They're still young, honey. Let's not make things too hard for them just yet..."

Rick: "But I had halfway mastered the feel when I was their age—"

Luby (testy): "Rick..."

Rick: "Okay...Just because this is the best they've treated each other in years."

When the two look back at the ground, they see their sons have already halved the garbage and are looking through it diligently. As before, they often gasp when they think they find the Ace of spades card, only to discover it's a false alarm. But with enough patience, the two boys find the card—simultaneously. It turns out that each had been so focused on using the feel that they didn't realize when they reached for the same envelope, turned it over, and saw the Ace of spades being held by the seal flap.

The two didn't reach for it immediately, but had hesitated to look at each other. They can't deny that working together to accomplish something is a greater experience than they originally thought. However, they still want to have fun in their own way of competing, even if it's in the most subtle of ways. They have spent too many years trying to outdo the other for them to want to let that feeling go so soon. The look in their eyes as one realized that the other felt the exact same way made them both come to the same conclusion. After an almost telepathic "Ready, set, go!" they reach for the card as fast as they can. They are so fast that they can't even decide who grabbed it first, but that doesn't stop them for having their unique fun.

Tyler: "Beat ya."

Roger: "Heh-heh. You wish."

Any confusion Luby and Rick feel for what their sons meant by that is immediately replaced with relief that Roger and Ty didn't break out into an argument. Quite the contrary, their sons seemed to be enjoying themselves, which exceeds even their expectations.

Luby (looks at Rick): "Remind me to raise their allowance."

Rick (to Luby): "Why wait?" (To his sons) "Roger and Tyler..." (Waits for them to look at him) "From now on, you boys get to have a full package of whatever food you want for your personal stash."

Roger and Ty look at each other while gasping with bright smiles on their faces.

Roger: "A full package?!"

Ty: "You're the best, mommy and daddy!"

Luby: "You boys earned it. You worked hard together, shared with one another, and didn't argue. But if you two start to get into fights again, we'll cut your allowance, understand?"

Roger and Ty in unison: "Yes ma'am."

Luby: "And now, here's your reward for finding the Ace of spades."

She reaches into the hedge and pulls out an object that makes their eyes twinkle in delight.

Ty: "No way!"

Roger: "Fortnite for Nintendo Switch!"

The kits run over and hug their parents.

Ty: "Thank you, mommy and daddy!" (Really fast) "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Rick: "You're very welcome, kids."

Luby: "But we expect you to play this game to get more practice with working together and to learn how to get along with each other better."

Due to his excitement, Roger speaks in a rushed way when he says, "Yes ma'am and yes sir." (To Ty) "Let's go play this right now! I wanna be the first to brag to Bucky, Quillo, Spike, Emma, Rachel, and Emily that we have Fortnite and they don't"

Ty: "No, I wanna tell 'em first!"

Roger: "Not if I get there before you!"

Ty: "If it's a race you want, then it's a race you'll get!"

As the twins run off to go and play the game, Luby turns to Rick and he turns to her.

Rick: "That's one small step to one giant leap in those two learning how to get along—"

Luby: "Don't push your luck, honey. They could relapse at any moment, so we need to remain watchful...But yes, they've made a lot of progress today. But couldn't you have found a video game that's more about getting along instead of competition?"

Rick (raises an eyebrow with a "yeah right" facial expression): "Are you kidding? There aren't any video games like that. If there were they'd be boring and not sell well."

Luby (sighs): "You're right...Anyway, let's go keep an eye on them."

Rick nods and the couple briskly walks back to the direction of the Pad area. Ten steps later, and Rick can't help but add something.

Rick: "You know they get it from you, right? I never had a sibling rivalry with my little brother, Riley, but you did with you older brother Earl."

Luby: "That's because my parents wouldn't stop showering him with praise and me with 'You should be more like your big brother who is sooo much better than you,' which belittled me. But you did develop a short fuse after your brother..."

She immediately decides not to finish that line of dialogue and switches the subject.

Luby: "And your dad was quick to anger too."

Rick: "True about both me and my dad, but your temper is a loose cannon ready to blow."

Luby (warningly): "Rii-iiiick!"

She visibly gets a grip on her emotions as she realizes showing anger now would only confirm what her mate is saying.

Luby (calmly): "So, I guess we can admit that our kids' behavior is inherited from us both. Agreed?"

Rick (kisses Luby's cheek): "Yes."

Having solved their married couple argument, the two continue on to the Pad in silence.


Kale had watched the sibling bonding exercise hoping to see the kits fail since a quarrel between any of the animals who contributed to his failed hunt (in this case, Tyler) would be an enjoyable sight to behold for him. But now that he's done observing these raccoons, he not only feels disappointed that their parents didn't have to punish them, but also feels humbled. He thought he and his brothers had a rough sibling rivalry, but from what the parents of these two raccoon brothers have said, their kids put the three ex-Sniff-Tracker wolves all to shame. The wolf-mind in him wants to try to reignite the rivalry to ensure Tyler gets a well-deserved punishment. Kale decides to actually do that, and thinks his first opportunity will be during the next "performance" he and the animals will do when the next wolf observer from his pack comes by.

Kale thinking: "It's worth a try. Just don't do anythin' dat'll point toward you."

When his thoughts return to Rick and Luby, Kale is again reminded of his own parents. Like the raccoons, Eddie and Sharnese were always watchful of he and his brothers, always ready to administer quick and efficient discipline, and always ready to reward them with love and gifts for doing the right thing. Kale sighs in longing...

Oh, how he wishes he could go back to that kind of life. Back when Luciano and Bugsy were called Barker and Marker, and treated him like a true hermano...Back when the pressure of following the codes of wolf society wasn't a constant burden on his mind...Back when he could live separate from the Bone-Chompers, and especially Gabby...Back when family was more important than being fearsome wolves...And back when his parents told him they loved him before he went to bed. The thought of all this brings a tear to his eye. What's worse is that this is type of life each of the animals in this "family" are living, so Kale has to be reminded of it every day and every night he is with them.

Kale then shakes his head and pulls himself together.

Kale thinking: "Enough...You had 10 years of dat kinda life when most wolves don't get any, so you's were spoiled. But ya not a kid anymore, you's a teen who's gotta have more responsibility and work harder than you did as a kid...Moreov'a, you's a teenager in da Bone-Chomper Pack. The only teenager in the Bone-Chomper Pack. You should feel honored with dat title."

But that's also why he always felt so alone while with them. He had no one else his age to interact with and because he's the youngest, everyone treats him like a pup. The only time he got the respect he craved was from this group of animals, which will make parting with them all the more difficult. He almost doesn't want to—

Kale can hear the record scratch sound effect. His eyes widen and he slaps himself across the face to literally knock the sense back into himself.

Kale thinking: "Stop it. You's gettin' too attached to 'em. You can't let dat happen, no matter what. When you're healed, you'll go back ta you's pack and start bein' treated like a pup again."

Thankfully, the blow to his face seems to do more than return his mind back to its original state; it also jogs his memory. Kale recalls his lie to eat the animals, and feels more positive about his future. If he and the hedgies can take the necessary steps to make their deaths convincing, then Kale will be treated with respect when he returns to his pack. Not to mention that Bugsy and Luciano are back on his side again, and will help defend him from the pack's taunts. So there is nothing for him to worry about for now. All he has to worry about is which hedgie(s) he will spy on next. He's been on a roll so far in that he hasn't been seen or detected by scent. So he's already a stealthy wolf, even more so than he initially believed himself to be.

And he'll need to be extra stealthy once he makes his decision on who to observe. As he heads for their direction, he recollects that he's been playing it a bit too safe while spying on the animals. He's never gotten close enough to risk getting caught, and as a wolf he needs to be stealthy enough to get within point blank range of prey without being noticed.

Kale thinking (smiles): "Time ta take things up a notch."


Because the forest family knows his scent very well, Kale finds an unoccupied pond to get in to wash off his scent, then rolls around in nearby leaves and foliage to get rid of the wet dog smell. The whole process takes a while and causes him a bit of pain with his hind leg injuries, but he endures it for the greater good of becoming a better wolf. Once he is dry, he starts moving away to his next "targets": Rogan and Sarah. However, he has hardly gone 20 feet away from the pond when he smells Plushie's scent coming closer.

With his natural scent gone, all the wolf has to do is remain out of the young box turtle's sight, and he finds a large rock to go behind to do just that. Plushie arrives a minute later at the top of a hill that angles down and overlooks the pond. Because the hill's height allows the turtle a perfect view of the surrounding area in a 50 foot diameter, Kale commends himself for choosing his cover wisely because the pine straw and leaves covering the rock perfectly camouflage his light brown fur, along with his regular-brown and dark brown patterns on his back, tip of the tail, and face.

Plushie looks up at the sky, takes a deep breath, and says, "Hey, mom. It's me again...If you're listening right now, I just want ya to know that I'm doing great."

Kale raises an eyebrow at the unexpectedness of Plushie's actions.

Plushie: "I'm so happy with Uncle Verne and Aunt Velma. Uncle Verne is the father I never had, and Aunt Velma is like a second mom to me. Even though they're not as fun as you, I still love them and they love me back... My unrelated aunts, uncles, and cousins love going on adventures, and every time we go on a heist or fool around with humans, I think of you and am reminded that your spirit lives on."

He pauses to sigh, but Kale can't tell if it's in sorrow or relief.

Plushie: "I have so many new friends now, which I never got to have back when you and I were always traveling on adventures...No matter how much time goes by or how much fun I have with my new family and friends, I'll always miss you. Uncle Verne said it's a good thing for me to miss you because if I didn't miss you, then it would mean I never loved you." (While sobbing) "And I'll always love you, because I'll always miss you. I'll never forget the time we spent together. I never got to tell you how much that really meant to me, but if you can hear me now, know that I thank you for being the best mom anyone could ever have!"

Plushie wipes more tears from his eyes and uses a leaf as a kleenex to blow his nose on. Kale can't believe that a wolf like him feels it, but he also can't deny that he has been touched at how much this kid has been through. Plushie's whole life had to start from a blank state. He left his old life to become a part of a newer life, not really knowing just how it would turn out, but willing to take the risk.

Plushie: "We've been going on a lot of heists lately to replace everything some wolves destroyed, and are taking care of one who got injured. You'll be shocked to know that I saved my friend Brooke from one of the wolves who would've killed her, and I'm one of the three in our family who brought the others to the injured one. You probably think I'm crazy—heh, what am I saying, it is crazy. Even you wouldn't be that daring, but I guess Uncle Verne's and Aunt Velma's kindness has rubbed off on me. I really hope his time with us will make him be nicer to other prey animals, and I think I'll become braver when facing predators as a result of his stay."

Kale thinking (in a huff): "In ya's dreams."

Plushie: "I hope I'm making you proud, and if it's not too much to ask, I'd like for you to give me a sign showing me that you're proud of me. If not, then *sigh* don't worry about it. It's just a teensy favor." (Pauses to wipe tears of happiness from his eyes) "Even though you're gone, how I see it, you're always around me...You're with me in every breath I take, in every leap I make, and in every muscle I move when swimming. I'll make sure your memory lives on in me in everything I say, believe, and do." (Lump-in-the-throat tone) "I love you mom."

Plushie lowers his head while sighing, having finally gotten rid of some heavy baggage he's been carrying for a while. Then, something wondrous happens.

Wind suddenly blows from behind Plushie, causing the startled turtle to turn around. Leaves, dirt, and pine needles fly past him, carried by the wind in a contained swirl, rather than the wind coming from everywhere behind him. The foliage particles move as if they possess a mind of their own, going down the hill, curving upward at a natural ramp at the hill's bottom, then they land in the pond. Once there the particles form the shape of check mark—a symbol often used to affirm something.

Kale can't see the pond from his spot behind the rock, but he does see Plushie's expression slowly but surely change from bewilderment to uncontainable happiness.

Plushie (thinking): "Mom heard me! She heard me! And she's proud of me!" (Out loud) "Woo-hoo! Thanks mom! No more sadness, time to have fun—in the way you taught me!"

Plushie runs forward, jumps, curls into his shell in midair, rolls down the hill, is launched airborne by the natural ramp, and finally lands in the pond below. When he surfaces, he has his fist raised in triumph...both in reaction to the euphoric fun and in overcoming his sorrow.

Plushie (yelling): "Yeeeaaaah! Awe-some! Let's do that again!"

He goes back up the hill as fast as turtlely possible, and once there his eyes are drawn to a vine that's hanging two feet away from the edge of the natural ramp, suspended from a tree like a rope swing above the water. Rather than take the time to calculate the most feasible way he will be able to grab hold of the vine in midair, and spurred instead by his excitement, Plushie rolls down the hill again. He pops out of his shell with outstretched arms, but is at an angle that prevents him from grabbing the vine. He still has fun landing in the deep water again, though. When he gets back to the top of the hill, he then comes up with a plan to grab the vine. It pays off too, as he swings on the vine and yells like Tarzan before letting go and landing in the water with a big splash.

Plushie: "That was for you, mom! Next one's for me!"

Plushie goes back up the hill, rolls down it, goes up the ramp, intentionally misses the vine and gets into a swan dive angle when he pops his head and appendages out of his shell. Kale originally wanted to slowly start leaving after that, but becomes too entranced with the turtle's surprising athleticism. He stays to see Plushie perform all sorts of stunts when he rolls down the hill, sometimes with the vine and sometimes without it. The longer the wolf stays the more he thinks that Plushie must be part bird, because he has never seen a turtle do the things he's doing. Kale thought all turtles were slow, too bulky, and had too short of appendages to do anything like what he's seeing. His concept of prey has once again been shattered, even though he acknowledges that Plushie is the exception and not the norm. Whoever his late mother was, she certainly taught her son how to have a blast with life.

That redirects the canine's thoughts to the events before Plushie started having his fun. Kale has heard that some folks believe their dead relatives can hear them when they find a quiet and secluded place to speak. Humans usually do that at graveyards where their loved ones are buried, but since most animals don't get gravestones—like Plushie's mother, apparently—the latter just talk to the air. Kale always thought animals who did that had something wrong with their head, because what looney thinks the dead can hear? But today, his beliefs about life and death have been challenged yet again.

Kale is not what you'd call a spiritual kid, but he could feel the emotion behind Plushie's words, and could tell that every syllable spoken had come from deep within the reptile's heart. Even though he didn't see the check mark form in the pond, Kale can still tell that Plushie interpreted the wind as a sign from his dead mom.

Kale thinking: "If I spoke ta my mom and dad like he did, would they give me a sign too? Why haven't they given me a sign before? Heck, Luciano and Bugsy said they got a sign from mom and dad before coming ta bring me back. So where does that leave me?"

That's when it occurs to the wolf that not once has he tried to have a heart-to-heart talk with his parents since their passing. Are they ashamed of him for that? Do they see him as not valuing their love enough? He has thought about them a lot and misses them dearly, but would they want him to carry on their legacy, what little of it there was? How should he carry on their legacy? Would that make him feel happier with his life? If he couldn't become a true Bone-Chomper, should he become a true Sniff-Tracker?

Kale takes ten, unblinking seconds to mull the thought over, then comes to his conclusion...with a disappointed sigh one might add. He can't become a Sniff-Tracker, not ever since he joined the Bone-Chomper Pack could he have done that. The Sniff-Tracker line died with his parents, so if he wants to make them proud he has to be a true Bone-Chomper. That's what the codes of wolf society demand and he cannot argue against them.

With another sigh at how hard it is to be a wolf, Kale looks at Plushie as the kid continues to have the time of his life, judges that the reptile is too focused on that instead of his surroundings, and the wolf leaves the pond discretely. He contemplates who he has seen and not seen, and locates the scents of the next creatures in the prey animal family he will observe.


Kale locates Rogan and Sarah not by the raccoons' particular scents, but rather from the powerful scent of affection and happiness—almost bordering on courtship—the two are giving off. Because of that, Kale initially decides not to venture too close to the couple, even with his own scent masked. Then he remembers that he should become a better Bone-Chomper, and each member of his pack would take the risk, so he needs to do the same. He finds them among a thicket of trees with dirt as the ground, which makes his advance and hiding behind a tree 10 feet away from them all the more easy. They are sitting on a small log and Rogan has a left arm around Sarah, who is resting her head on his shoulder, and both are stroking their spouse's fur lovingly.

Sarah: "Remember the night we met?"

Rogan: "Like it was yesterday. I was 15 and you were 14. I had just started to go on my way back home with a bag of fast food that I stole from a human at a drive-thru."

Sarah: "And I was rummaging through the dumpster at the back of the store. Since there was a tall wall that separated the lot from the forest, you climbed the dumpster and accidentally dropped the bag right on top of me. By the time you jumped down in there, I had already taken a bite of a cheeseburger."

Rogan: "I thought you would argue that the bag belonged to you, but like a true lady you apologized and handed the food back to me after I explained it was mine."

Sarah: "You were so nice to share your food with me...for half a minute. Then that restaurant worker, who had followed you after hearing the irate customer, came to attack us with a mop. I was frozen in fear, but you told me that if I do what you do, we'd get out of this mess."

Rogan: "Rather than try to climb out of the dumpster when the mop was close, I told you to grab onto the mop and let the guy lift you out."

Sarah: "I thought you were crazy, even by raccoon standards, so I wasn't planning to budge."

Rogan (turns to look Sarah in the eyes): "Do you remember what I told you to do after that?"

Sarah: "You said 'I need you to trust me...' " (Puts a paw gently on Rogan's cheek) "Best advice I ever took."

Rogan: "Once the human noticed you were clinging to the mop, he hurled you with all his might—right over the wall and into the woods. He then did the same to me."

Sarah: "Humans were a lot less violent back then. Their first instinct was simply to shoo us back to where we belonged. Nowadays, they try to beat us up or kill us. I don't know what happened to change their perception of wild animals."

Rogan: "It actually worked out great for him too, because he was named Employee of the Month and eventually worked his way up to become the restaurant manager."

Sarah: "I can't believe I scolded you for your plan once you joined me in the woods."

Rogan: "I said, 'It worked didn't it?' And once you calmed down, I decided to have more fun by saying that you owed me a dinner."

Sarah: "That's when we got into an argument, since I said you were the clumsy klutz who dropped your food...But as we talked, I could feel your charisma captivating me. You have such a lovely voice, a bright smile, and such lively eyes that emphasized your words. When we went our separate ways I thought you were the coolest guy ever, and wanted to know more about you."

Rogan: "And like all guys, I didn't really read too deeply into you the first few months when we started seeing each other regularly. You were just a friend to me then, I already had my eyes on another raccoon, Rhonda. But it was puppy love, and I realized that when my heart didn't break when she and her folks moved. That's when we really started deepening our relationship."

Sarah: "I did all I could to show you my true feelings—resting my head on your shoulder and lying that I was tired, doing the old 'fake yawn and reach behind the shoulder' act, and making you give me a kiss on the cheek 'for good luck' whenever we did something more adventurous—and you were still so ignorant."

Rogan: "Boys who never notice girls' affections for them, ain't that an annoying trope? Good thing you were persistent, or I'd have only seen you as a friend."

Sarah: "I would have given up on you and looked for another raccoon, if it wasn't for that afternoon you wanted to take me swimming. I had my fur combed the fanciest way I've ever done because I was planning to finally pay you back for making you lose your dinner the night we met, and wasn't expecting you to want to go swimming that day. But I couldn't refuse if I wanted you to be with me that night. And as you took my paw and led the way, you said 'It's a shame we're gonna get all wet because you look so stunning today.' In my mind I was saying, 'He actually noticed?' That's when I realized there was hope for you after all. And do you remember what made you realize I had a crush on you?"

Rogan: "We had just finished having a fun afternoon swimming when you said 'Rogan, I never made up for your dinner that you lost on the night we met.' As you took my paw to take me to your place, I said to myself, 'She actually remembered?' When we arrived you had your parents and sister set up a dinner night for us. And it was from the same fast food restaurant! You even had stolen the exact same meal: an extra-large cheeseburger, large fries, and a medium soda..." (Sighs) "That story is why Rebecca tried to repeat that magic night when she invited Garrett over. Poor kid...But she said she's gotten over it."

Sarah: "We'll talk to her soon to make sure...But I'll never forget the surprised look on your face the moment you saw everything that was set up on our special night. I never thought I could ever break your complexion, but I ended up doing exactly that."

Rogan: "When we finished our dinner, you finally confessed how you really felt about me. When you finished, all of my experiences with you flashed before my eyes and I cried like a newborn kit at how blind I had been toward you, even when you did your best to say it wasn't my fault. When I calmed down, I promised to turn a new leaf and make sure to never let my fun get in the way of you."

Sarah: "Because I realized how doing crazy and daring things is what defines you, I told you not to change anything about yourself."

Rogan: "And thank heaven for that." (Winks) "But I still paid more attention to you and considered your well-being when planning shenanigans."

Sarah: "We officially began dating, and five years later you were ready to pop the question to my parents."

Rogan: "The problem was, you had explained so much about your feelings for me to your parents, and they had noticed how happy we made each other, that they told me they were perfectly fine with me becoming their daughter's fiancé—before I could even ask them permission."

Sarah: "We got married the next year...And three years later I became pregnant with RJ."

Kale expects the two to continue the story about their lives, but is puzzled when they stop there and remain silent for three minutes. Being an intelligent wolf, Kale quickly figures out the reason is because the two want to avoid talking any more about the events in their lives that happened after that, because those were their darkest days. When Sarah finally speaks she changes the subject to something positive.

Sarah: "Isn't it so lovely here?"

Rogan: "It sure is. I can't believe we asked RJ to come live with us when we first reunited with him four years ago."

Sarah lifts her head up and gently breaks free of Rogan's hold, which causes him to turn to her in confusion. He opens his mouth to ask her a question, but she puts two fingers to his lips to still his tongue. The two use their eyes and listen to the voice in their heart to communicate with each other. After 15 seconds of staring, the two wrap their arms around one another in a tight hug and kiss. Watching, Kale wonders if RJ's supposed psychic abilities may be inherited from his parents. The more the two raccoons talk after breaking away from their embrace, the better Kale understands why the pheromones they're giving off are increasing.

Sarah: "After 16 years of endless fear and pursuit from wolves..."

Rogan: "And 14 years of relentless searching for our son...That's 30 years that we didn't have time to stop and enjoy our lives. And now we're making up for it..."

Sarah: "...We can finally enjoy life again, in the way every married couple should."

Rogan: "We have so much more free time to look at the sunrise and sunset..."

Sarah: "To savor the meals we eat..."

Rogan: "To play with our grandkids and godchildren..."

Sarah: "Aaaaannnnd to spend some quality time together."

Rogan (chuckles): "With one adult son and one 17-year-old daughter, we have all the private time we could ever ask for."

The two share another kiss.

Rogan: "I love you, Sarah."

Sarah: "I love you too, Rogan."

The older couple continues to smooch and hug, and show no signs of stopping even after 40 seconds of it, and then their bodies start emitting pheromones, which is Kale's cue to move out. Besides learning about the two's pasts, the only other useful information the wolf has gleaned is that old age doesn't put a stop to romance and passion in a marriage.

Before leaving, Kale looks at the making out couple one more time with envious eyes, and mumbles to himself, "I gotta find a girlfriend."

In order to do that, however, he must become a better wolf, so he finds the next scents to track and starts fulfilling his nickname.


Kale should have known that Lou and Penny are still together even during their free time. He also picks up Annette's and Ozzie's scents. The scent of tension or anxiety is in the warm 3:00 PM air, and Kale wants to find out why that is. As he gets closer, he picks up the four's voices.

Lou's voice: "How much longer, Oz?"

Penny's voice: "Yeah. I don't mean to sound impatient, but don't you think you've had plenty of time to decide your next move?"

Ozzie's voice: "The cunning strategist never rushes, but takes his time. He takes all factors into account, waits for the opportune moment, and then strikes when his opponents least expect it."

Kale assumes the animals must be playing chess or checkers, but when he gets into view and sees what they are doing, it is quite the letdown. Annette takes the words right out of Kale's mind.

Annette's voice: "But we're playing poker. There's not much strategy involved."

Kale nods in agreement, and then takes in the surroundings. The four are sitting at a card table and chairs under a low-hanging tree's thick branches that are so heavy they curve down to the ground and form a natural gazebo. They are playing poker with Lou and Penny on one team and Annette and Ozzie on the other team.

Ozzie (to Annette): "Oh, my dear friend, poker is a game of deception, and the most devious kind at that. It's just as much a matter of bluffing about your hand as it is in having a better hand than your opponents...Wait, did I say that out loud?"

Lou and Penny in unison: "Pretty much."

Ozzie: "Fie! In that case, hit me."

Note: "Fie" is Shakespearean English for "Oh no."

Ozzie puts down a two of clubs and a Jack, then receives two new cards from the deck. Kale is currently 40 feet away and diagonally behind Penny and her mate. He can see that Penny has two pairs—eights and Queens—along with a useless five of diamonds card, and Lou has one pair of Aces. Rather than gambling chips, the prey are wagering cookies.

Kale thinking: "Interestin' that dee older ones have a sweet tooth..."

Annette had apparently already traded in her cards before Kale's arrival because Lou says, "Alright. Show what ya got!" shortly after Ozzie is done rearranging his hand.

Penny: "Two pair!"

Lou: "One pair of Aces."

Annette: "Aw, bust."

Ozzie: "Huzzah and callay, I have three of a kind!"

Ozzie holds up his cards to show three Kings. Lou and Penny groan as Ozzie triumphantly takes the cookies that were being wagered. He divides the pile and gives half to Annette.

Ozzie: "For you, mi 'lady." (Takes her left paw and pecks a quick kiss on it)

Annette (giggles): "Thank you, fair sir." (Takes his Ozzie's right paw and kisses it)

The two take one cookie each and eat it simultaneously. Kale not only sees the quick kissing, but also catches the romantic tone that Ozzie and Annette had spoken to each other, and starts to wonder if maybe, just maybe they might be a couple now. It makes sense: both had lost their mates, both were single parents, both had older kids, both had roughly similar fur coats (that is, white and black on their bodies), and everyone in this prey animal family was alright with interspecies relations, no matter how twisted the latter is in Kale's opinion. True, Ozzie is about seven years older than Annette, but even the wolf accepts that age shouldn't matter for love.

Kale thinking: "Except if it's a 10 year age gap or more between an adult and teenager, den it's pedophilia."

There's nothing weird about Lou and Penny's relationship. In fact, Kale finds that couple the most normal of the whole group. They are two married porcupines (the same species) who are roughly the same age, and have three children of their own who, given what he's seen and heard from the animals, may have started out as rambunctious kids, but have grown into mature young adults. Everyone else in this family is an anomaly. RJ is married to an opossum and has hybrid twins in which the one who looks more like a possum acts like a raccoon, and the one who looks more like a raccoon acts more like a possum; Stella is married to a cat and has a hybrid daughter who's a tomboy; Verne and Velma, though their marriage isn't weird, have a nephew instead of their own children who is the rowdiest turtle of all time; Rick and Luby are great parents, but have two of the most ill-behaved kids Kale has ever seen; Simon, Celine, and their daughters are blind bats who still can't figure out where things exactly are despite their other heightened senses; Ozzie is a single dad with a daughter and now a porcupine lover; Annette is a single mom with three daughters who are great at video games; and Hammy—is a creature who defies all description.

Kale thinking: "It's no wonder dis family is composed'a so many misfits; they'd be expelled from any oth'a community of similar-species creatures."

Exiting his thoughts, the wolf looks back at those gathered around the card table and starts to move closer, using the trees to camouflage himself. Lou's starting hand for the next round is a pair of threes, a Jack, a two of diamonds, and a seven of hearts, and Penny's is currently a bust. Before Penny can let out a "Jeepers" at how poor their hands are, Lou, remembering the advice Ozzie inadvertently gave, talks.

Lou: "Let's start the betting at three cookies."

He puts three cookies in the middle of the table next to the card deck, then turns his head to Penny and gives her a look out of his peripheral vision to show that he's intentionally bluffing. Penny's eyes widen as if she said "Ah..." in comprehension.

Annette: "I see your three, and will raise it to five." (Adds two cookies)

Ozzie: "I'll just add one." (Adds a cookie)

Kale is close enough to risk being seen by Ozzie and Annette, so he gets as low as he can while on the off-road skateboard and doesn't budge. Lou trades in his seven and two and comes out with third three and two Jacks. Penny keeps her King and six of clubs, and trades in her other cards and gets another six, a King, and an Ace. She looks at her mate's hand and feels confident enough to raise the stakes.

Penny: "I'll add in two cookies." (Puts two in the pile)

Annette trades in three of her cards, and Ozzie only trades in one without taking a long time to contemplate his move like before. That makes Penny and Lou nervous since it can either mean he has four of a kind or two pairs, which also means the card he just got from the deck could get him a full house that might be better than Lou's. Kale feels restless too, and now understands why he picked up the scent of anxiety among them.

Ozzie: "Okay, what've you got?"

Lou: "Full house!"

Penny: "Two pair!"

Annette (energetic): "Two," (recalls Lou's full house and speaks in disappointment) "pair."

Ozzie (sighs): "Two pair."

There's no need to see if Annette's or Ozzie's hands are better than Penny's, because Lou's full house alone beats any two pairs.

Penny: "Ha ha! Victory is ours!"

Lou high-fours his mate and then takes the cookie pile while Ozzie and Annette roll their eyes.

Kale thinks he has seen enough and has learned that the older members of the family have an average understanding of deception strategies, but nothing more. He starts to leave, but as with everyone else he has tried to walk away from early, he stops when Annette announces something interesting.

Annette: "Last round, and I'm gonna bet it all!" (Puts all the cookies she and Ozzie have won on the table)

Ozzie: "Really? I don't think that's wise."

Annette: "I'm feeling lucky, and this'll be more fun!"

Lou: "What the hey? Let's bet it all too, hon."

Penny: "Jeepers, Lou, are you sure? We have more cookies than them, so why not just match their amount?"

Lou: "Where's your sense of adventure, Penny? You haven't lost it over a silly card game, have you?"

Penny gives a lopsided toothless grin on the right side of her mouth and blushes at her hubby's words.


She remembers how much she and Lou used to be so outgoing before they had kids; all the places they explored, all the dangers they bested, and all the memories that will last forever. Until meeting RJ, Lou was the biggest He-Man guy she had ever known, always taking life by the horns and seizing the day without thinking of the consequences. Penny was like that at heart when younger, but preferred to think things through before doing them. However, when she started dating Lou, he helped her inner wild side emerge in the flesh, and she regretted nothing.

The two had to mature into responsible individuals when Penny became pregnant, and avoided doing anything that could harm their unborn sons. Moreover, both understood that if they were too feisty, then their kids might do foolish things that would get themselves hurt, or worse. This led to Lou and Penny mellowing down their adventurous natures. They had to go even further in doing that once they discovered how wild their triplets were, who apparently inherited their parents' wild sides and did crazy things despite not learning to do those from watching their parents. And although helping out with heists gives them the thrill of adventure they used to enjoy in their youth, Lou and Penny can't go back to their pre-children lives now that they are so used to being responsible parents. However, whenever they aren't around their kids, the couple still finds some ways to be more adventurous, even if it's as low-key as betting their whole stash of cookies in a poker game.


With Lou's question about losing her wild side still fresh, Penny gives her answer.

Penny: "Of course not. Let's do it!"

She and Lou put all of their cookies in the middle of the table, which leaves only enough room on the card table for the players to collect their cards from the deck. Looking at how large the cookie pile is, Kale is astounded at the adults' love for sweets. Being a full-fledged carnivore, Kale can't eat cookies or he'll get sick, especially since he's a canine which makes it dangerous for him to eat chocolate. He never thought about it before, but now he finds himself envious of his inability to eat sweets. He has seen the effects of the stuff on the hedgies and wonders how much more he could do as a wolf with such an energy boost.

Kale thinking: "Nah. I don't need no sweets, I'm a wolf. I get my energy from eatin' critters like dem, which is natural and dat makes me betta dan them. Before sweets were invented, creatures worked hard ta build strength and get energy. Dat makes deese guys lazy and weak ta get artificial energy sources instead of natural energy sources."

Proud with his reasoning and with himself, Kale pays attention to the card game again. Penny has just traded in two cards and now has three of a kind. Wanting to have fun while she keeps her hand a secret from the opponents, she shows Lou and he nods nonchalantly to give his opponents the idea that Penny's hand is nothing special when it really is. Lou then trades in an eight of spades and nine of clubs and gets an eight of diamonds and a six of diamonds which gives him a great hand of a straight flush, with all diamonds in sequential order from six through ten.

Kale nods and musses, "Dat'll be hard ta beat. Dose oth'a two need a lot of luck."

Annette trades in three cards, and Ozzie trades in two. When they show each other their hands, they look in the eyes and nod. Kale is leaning forward as far as he can to be on the edge of his seat, so to speak.

Lou: "You two ready?"

Annette: "You bet."

Ozzie (dramatically): "Yay, the moment of truth has arrived. The third act hath begun, and there is nay going back. We stand now at the climax of our story. It all cometh down to this moment...Who shall win, who shall lose?"

Lou: "It won't be us, because I have a straight flush!"

Penny: "And I have three of a kind!"

The two proudly display their cards together and watch as bewildered looks form on Annette's and Ozzie's faces.

Annette: "This is bad..." (Looks at Ozzie) "I wasn't expecting this."

Ozzie (nods at Annette): "Tis the end. The curtain is going down, the time is nigh..." (Looks at Lou and Penny) "For your defeat!"

Ozzie turns his cards over and shows a ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of which are spades.

Ozzie: "Lo and behold! A royal flush!

Annette turns her cards over and shows four twos.

Annette: "And four of a kind!"

Penny (while throwing down her cards in rage): "Awwwww! Jeepers, ham and crackers!"

Lou buries his head in his hands while shaking side to side while yelling, "Ughhhhhhhh!"

Ozzie and Annette give high-fours with both paws, give a fist bump with their left paws, then a fist bump with their right paws, Ozzie turns around so that his back is facing Annette with his paws outstretched behind his back to which Annette gives him some down low. Ozzie then turns around and takes Annette's paw, holds it up high, twirls around once, and lets Annette to the same for him. Next, he kisses her lightly on the back of both paws and she does the same. Finally, they back up from the table, Ozzie taking Annette's left paw into his right one, and the two bow down like performers on a stage. Then they reach over to collect the mound of cookies.

Kale thinking: "Yep. Dose two're definitely a couple...Bletch!"

Lou and Penny have recovered from the shock of their loss and address the victors before them in good sportsmanship.

Penny: "You had us fooled, that's for sure."

Lou: "I should've caught onto you when you started giving us theater-talk, but I was so certain we'd win that I didn't bat an eye..."

Ozzie: "Oh, Louis and Penelope, my old friends...there are more ways to deceive at poker than intentionally stalling."

Annette: "I myself have learned a few theater tricks from Ozzie, too."

Penny: "Well, you both won fair and square. You two make a great team."

Annette: "Thanks."

Ozzie: "And now to celebrate by feasting on the spoils of victory."

Annette: "Sounds good to me."

Kale has to cover his muzzle with his right forepaw to stifle his giggling at seeing Ozzie and Annette nom-nomming down the cookies like lunatics. Lou and Penny get out of the way as crumbs start flying everywhere, but the victorious couple pays no mind to the mess they are making.

Kale is concentrating so much on trying to get ahold of himself that he doesn't notice Lou and Penny walking away from the area—in his direction. He hears Lou tell Penny how, "It's only a card game, and we can always get extra cookies for our own stash on the next raid," from six feet away and closing. Kale starts to panic and he doesn't know what to do if—more likely, when—he gets caught.

Kale thinking (frantically): "OhmyGah, OhmyGah, OhmyGah, OhmyGah! Wha'do I do?! They'll hear and see me dee instant I try ta move! If I stay still they'll see me and my skateboard, even with the trees providin' me camo! Wha'do I say ta get outta dis?! Dey won't take 'I'm just gettin' some exercise,' as an excuse 'cuz why would a kid like me wanna see adults like dem play poker!"

He glances back up at the porcupines and sees them three feet away and getting closer. They are still looking at each other while walking, but he knows they'll see him as soon as they look straight ahead. At this point, Kale accepts that he'll get caught and starts blaming himself for this mess.

Kale thinking (frantically): "Dang it! Why did I have ta get so close to 'em?! I could'a stayed at a safe distance, but No-oh, I wanted ta be a real wolf and make things more challenging! Ugh! I'm so bad at bein' a wolf, 'cept for tracking!"

Kale shuts his eyes, cringes his face, and prepares to face the music.

Ozzie: "Hey, Lou and Penny?"

The porcupines stop moving and turn around, which causes Kale to slowly open his right eye to take a peek.

Penny: "Yeah?"

Ozzie: "Wanna come join us?"

Lou: "You beat us, it's not a real game unless there's a winner and a loser."

Annette: "But Ozzie and I are stuffed, and there's still so many cookies left. We can't eat them all, it's not good for our health."

Penny (pulling on Lou's arm while jumping up in excitement): "C'mon Lou!"

Kale feels like he's about to have a heart attack as he ponders, "Please...Say...Yes..." in intense worry.

Lou: "Well..."

Kale thinking (panicking): "OhmyGah!OhmyGah!OhmyGah!"

Penny (comedically snarky): "You haven't lost your sense of fun have you?"

Lou: "Heh, are you kiddin'? Let's go pig out!"

Penny: "Race ya!" (Runs off)

Lou: "Hey, no fair! You had a head start!"

Lou rushes to catch up with Penny as the two quickly go back to the card table with the cookies. Kale was so stressed, and is now so thankful, that he experiences a head-rush when he exhales a sigh of relief. He doesn't dwell on that amazing feeling for too long, though, and starts making his way out of there. Ozzie and Annette stay at the card table so they will be able to help Lou and Penny pick it and the chairs up whenever the porcupine couple finishes chowing down. By then, Kale is a safe distance away from them and can reflect on how close he had been to getting caught. Despite Kale's lack of spirituality, he finds himself thanking every higher power he can think of for Ozzie's offer that made Lou and Penny go back. His wolf-conscience berates him for having such a come-apart, and tells him that the prey should have feared seeing him instead of the other way around, but Kale mutters "Shut up" to silence that part of his mind.

Kale thinking: "Besides, a true test 'a my skill as a wolf would be what I do when things don't go as planned."

But he had been panicking and had decided to take the coward's way out by resigning himself to his fate, instead of thinking of a way out of it. That really hurts his self-confidence. Kale sighs when he thinks that his words about him being bad at being a wolf, and loathing about his only talent for tracking, which he had thought of while in a terrified state, are probably true after all. He can't keep blaming his injured legs, because all he needed to get out of being caught was his mind, and he didn't use that in the way a wolf should. Had it not been for Ozzie, Kale would have some serious explaining to do, and the hedgies would have assigned someone to keep an eye on him 24/7, which would limit his already slim chances of escape from their lifestyle encompassing over his.

Kale stops moving when he realizes the deeper meaning of Ozzie's words to Penny and Lou. He owes something to a prey animal yet again, when he should have been perfectly capable of working things out in a way that benefited himself and not the prey...Why are things so backwards for him here? His incompetence is understandable when he's around his pack who are superior to him (and most other wolves) in every way. But if he can't be an efficient wolf when around prey, he's more than a failure. He simply sucks at life.

Forget about shaming his parents for not talking to their spirits since their deaths, Eddie and Sharnese would be ashamed of Kale for being such a weak wolf, both physically and mentally.

Muddled down in this funk of depression and self-loathing, Kale feels like gagging. At this darkest hour, Kale receives help from the one source he has been trying to ignore.

Kale thinking: "Pull ya'self together! You's parents would be truly ashamed if you keep beatin' yourself up! So you's needed dat possum ta save ya neck dis time...get over it and move on! Good luck like dat doesn't last forever, so you gotta be ready next time. You gotta live the hard life of a wolf with pride, courage, certainty, and honor, but not mercy."

Satisfied with his wolf-conscience answer that repeated one of the mottos from the codes of wolf society, Kale snaps out of his brooding and remembers what he is here to do: practice his sneaking skills. He locates the next scent of one of the few remaining prey animals he hasn't observed and heads that way with a rejuvenated spirit.


Kale's nose picks up the unmistakable scent of sweat and exertion coming from Heather. He recalls when she told her son that she was going to be working out, but Kale, in spite of his 15 years' worth of spying on prey, has never seen any possum working out. He never figured them as the strength-building type, what with their reliance on playing dead to deal with most adversaries. He also wonders how an opossum would use his/her natural abilities to get exercise. He has already seen how a raccoon like Rebecca does that, but possums have different skeletal structures and locomotion patterns, so this should be as insightful as it is entertaining.

Kale arrives at a 15x30 foot green field that is only accessible by going through a tree line. Since his skateboard makes that impossible, Kale simply gets as close as he can to the tree line, again using the trees' bark to help his fur blend in. Heather is currently lifting an abducted four pound dumbbell with both paws while laying down on a flat stone which makes it look like a bench press. Since there are leaves and twigs all over the ground from behind the tree line, Kale has to time his progression so that he moves forward when Heather lets out a labored exhale, the latter sound thus masking the former. Because she weighs nine pounds, she is lifting about half of her own body weight, so she is heavily exhaling a lot, which makes Kale's approach a steady pace.

In addition to the lesson learned from his recent near foul-up, Kale remembers that since he is merely observing he needs to be at a distance that will enable a quick getaway in the event that Heather leaves before he is done spying and comes in his direction.

Heather heaves the dumbbell up one more time, bring it down and lays it to the side, and then catches her breath. When she gets up a minute later, Kale discovers that she is wearing a white sweatband with the blue horseshoe logo of the Indianapolis Colts NFL team around her forehead, but it doesn't get in the way of her bangs. The possum gets a five pound dumbbell, reaches into her pouch to pull out some duct tape, tapes her hind feet to the dumbbell, lays flat on her back on the grass, and starts doing leg presses. Kale isn't surprised with the increase of weight because every creature with legs has stronger hind limbs than forelimbs, so it makes perfect sense why Heather would choose that. She does twenty presses, then removes the duct tape and gets up to stretch her arms and legs. When she's finished with that, she drinks water from a 10-ounce bottle near the rock she used as a bench press.

Heather: "Oh yeah...Awesome...Feelin' the burn..."

She puts the water down, walks over to a small pile of rocks, and picks up two that are as thick as her snout is long, and starts doing bicep curls starting with her right arm and then the left one.

Kale guesses that the reason Heather is exercising is to get into shape so she will be able to lift heavier things during heists. That's partially why, but it's not the full reason. Little does he know that Heather is doing this because she is hoping to extend her life expectancy, under the impression that a fit body lasts longer than an unfit one. Like all possums, she is aware that her species has oddly low lifespans; the rapid aging process owing itself to how few defenses they have against predators, which contributes to the high amount of joeys they typically birth. Both reasons offer little biological incentive to enable a longer life cycle. She most likely birthed only two children, instead of at least 13, because some of RJ's dominant raccoon DNA had overtaken some of Heather's recessive opossum DNA in her womb.

Bottom line: Heather wants to spend as much time on Earth as possible with RJ, her children, and everyone she knows. Being a raccoon, RJ will outlive her by a decade or two, and she wants to limit the time he will be alone without a mate, and her kids alone without a mother. She uses that determination to push herself harder as she keeps working out.

She first realized how out of shape she was three years ago when Rebecca had led a gymnastics session that the whole family participated in. Everyone except Rebecca (who was used to gymnastics) and Hammy (who has virtually limitless energy) was sore for five days. Heather had thought herself very fit before then, but that day made her realize there is always room for improvement, and that heists alone aren't enough exercise to be fit and healthy. Therefore, she began to steal workout items from humans during raids and improvised some of her own (as with the rocks) so that she could use them to work out in her alone time.

Kale still has no knowledge of this, but he is impressed at how Heather has lifted the rocks in each paw 25 times and is still going. The wolf has learned that this possum will pack a heavy punch if push comes to shove, but he doesn't want to leave yet because he thinks she isn't done just yet.

As Heather continues, she starts counting out loud as she heaves her breath heavier and heavier. Her arms start to slow down as they are reaching their limit, but she doesn't let up.

Heather (panting): "35...35...36...36..." (Strained voice) "Thirty...seven...Thirty...seven...Thirty-eight...Thirty...eight..." (Gasp-inhale) "Thirty...nine! Thirty...nine!...Four—ty...Four—ty!"

She lets go of the rocks, pants, pulls out a rag from her pouch, wipes the sweat off her body with it, sits Indian style on the ground, and lets her arms hang down like spaghetti noodles. Thirty seconds later she has the strength to start rubbing her arms as a way to soothe "the burn" in them.

Heather: "Forty reps...that's, like, five more than last time. Excellent job..." (Thinking) "What should I do next? I've done cardio by running 15 laps around the greenfield on my hind legs then on all fours...Took 45 minutes to recover from that...Did a bench press, leg press, and bicep curls...Ah! I haven't done any core or tail exercises yet. I gotta have a strong tail, that's the strongest part of my body. And I know just how to do that while also working on my abs."

Kale is on high alert when Heather starts walking into the tree line, coming toward his direction. He isn't as close to her as he had been to the card players, but he also can't move because the skateboard would make noise on the foliage that Heather's heavy breathing had drowned out during his approach. He is behind a wide tree and had been peeking out from behind it, so the only way the possum can see him is if she walks past the tree and looks to the side. Thankfully, she starts climbing up the first tree boarding the green field. She finds a sturdy branch, walks out on it, wraps her tail around it, then lowers herself so that she is hanging upside down. She crosses her arms over her chest in an X, and starts lifting her upper body upward to do abdominal crunches.

Kale nods as his question of how a possum would use its natural abilities to work out has been answered. He had also nodded in appreciation because in a way, Heather's workout reminds him of his own training that he undertook with his brothers, and then Bone-Chomper Pack, to improve his speed, strength, wits, and ferocity. He didn't need any training to improve his sense of smell, and he caught on quickly when improving his hearing, taste, touch, and sight. Finally, he has been doing well at improving his stealth today. He hasn't been as stealthy as he wants to because of the skateboard, but he really shouldn't be too hard on himself. In fact, he has been stealthier than most wolves because he has been sneaking around while on a skateboard, which severely limits his mobility and speed, as well as making more noise when he moves.

Kale thinking: "If I can be dis stealthy on a skateboard, imagine how stealthy I'll be once I can use all four legs!"

That really boosts his confidence—which is in danger of disappearing when reality shows its ugly self to him in his mind yet again. In the Bone-Chomper Pack all of the previously-mentioned skills must always get better, period. If they stay at the same level or get worse, he'll be kicked out of the Bone-Chompers and have to find another pack.

Kale thinking: "Ah, enough'a dat! Take ya's victories when ya can."

Following his own advice, it feels very good to bask in the glory of the moment at how his sneaking skills have been doubled because he has been on an off-road skateboard. Kale knows that why he keeps finding a negative loophole in every success is because of his spending so many years being a wolf. Every action he does and every word he says has been criticized for 15 years. Thus has his wolf-conscience developed in his mind, like a cartoon shoulder devil that is always wrestling with his kid-conscience as his shoulder angel. He has tried to eradicate the latter conscience, telling himself that it is only holding him back and is preventing him from becoming a true wolf like his pack members. But for some reason that task has been impossible, and he can't let his prey animals enemies find that out...and especially can't let this allies find out. Does that mean he is defective? None of his other pack members have displayed a fun-loving attitude. They have fun, but it's fun at being a wolf, not genuine fun like Kale experienced while playing the racing video game.

Kale quietly groans at how the negative thoughts have driven out his positive thoughts again. Although he is free from his pack's scrutiny, not even his thoughts are free from the codes of wolf society that have been imbedded into his mind since birth.

Kale thinking: "Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT—UP!"

He is so angry that he almost yells out loud at his wolf-mind to shut up. The only thing that stops him is when someone else yells, "I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!"

Second voice: "So am I!"

Third voice: "Me three!"

The voices come from above and to Kale's right, so he turns his head accordingly and sees Marilyn, Christine, and Claire flying. The bat siblings are zigging and zagging around trees and above or below the branches like a trio of stunt airplanes.

Christine: "I can feel it! We'll finally get it right this time! No more bumping into trees!"

Claire: "We're gonna navigate through the forest as good as birds, forever!"

Marilyn appreciates her sisters' motivation, but being the oldest she is more level-headed and says, "Quiet girls, we need to use all of our senses to detect when trees are in the way."

She just has to say that, because just as the three open back up their hearing and smell, they pick up something they didn't expect.

Marilyn: "Is that?"

Claire: "Aunt Heather's?"

Christine: "Scent?"

Their senses distracted, they lose their bearings, which leads to trying to reacquire their sense of direction—when they are two feet away from a tree trunk. At the speed they are going, they won't be able to get out of the way in time. Knowing this, Marilyn gulps.

Marilyn (in dread): "Prepare for impact!"

Marilyn flies into the tree with an "Uh!", Christine flies into her back with an "Oof!", and Claire flies into Christine's back with an "Ow!" The three start falling down and Heather, who has already pulled herself up to the branch she was using for abdominal crunches after hearing the girls mention her name, feels worried for the sisters who are falling from 70 feet. Even if she was fast enough to get to the ground, Heather won't be able to get over to the tree that the bats are falling from, and she fears for their lives. Fortunately, the bats have flown into so many trees of all heights in the past that they know how to perfectly avoid a fall to their doom. While falling they do a back flip in midair to reorient themselves, spread their wings, glide in different directions so that no one is in anyone's way, close their wings, and then open them again like parachutes when they're five feet from the ground. They descend slowly and easily, and touch the ground with their feet with grace.

Christine: "Gosh darn it! We were so close!"

Marilyn: "At least we did better than we have before."

Claire: "But if it wasn't for Aunt Heather's scent..."

Heather: "Girls, are you okay?"

The bats' ears perk up and they turn their heads to where the possum is in the tree 20 feet away and 15 feet high from them.

Claire: "Yes, Aunt Heather, we're good. Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you."

Heather: "It's okay."

She pauses to see if the bats have anything else they want to say, then speaks up when they don't.

Heather: "Y'all were doing pretty good, weren't you?"

Christine (puffs up her chest and speak in pride): "We sure were!"

Claire: "With a bit more practice, we'll finally get it right."

Heather (nods): "Practice makes perfect."

Marilyn: "But no one's perfect. I'm sure we'll make some mistakes in the future, but we won't run into nearly as many trees as we normally do."

Christine (sighs): "Way to kill the buzz, Marilyn."

Claire: "Yeah, ya party pooper!"

Marilyn: "I'm just being realistic. You know deep down that I'm right! And I can't be a party pooper unless there's a party going on, so nyah-nyah!" (Sticks her tongue out, but is facing nothing instead of Claire's face)

Heather (chuckles): "By the way, where are your parents? I thought they'd be the ones teaching you."

Christine: "They're talking with their friends, Mr. Bart and Mrs. Carrie. Those two are expecting bat pups."

Heather: "Really? That's great!"

Marilyn: "Yeah, mom and dad are giving those two some parenting tips."

Claire: "Since they knew we'd get bored with that, they let us practice our flying."

Heather: "Then get back to it. I'm almost done working out here and will head back home after that."

Marilyn (salutes Heather): "Affirmative. Enjoy your workout, Aunt Heather."

Heather: "And enjoy your flight training, girls."

Marilyn, Christine, and Claire in unison: "We will."

Kale watches the bats move into the green field where there aren't any trees to get in their way, and then the three take off toward the tree line at the opposite end. He then moves away from the area when Heather starts breathing heavily as she continues her ab crunches. Kale commends the bat triplets' desire to get better at not running into trees, which can help them escape when in a dire situation. But most bats are too high to get within attack range of wolves, so Kale doesn't think the "intel" he has gathered on the flying rodents will be of much help for him in the future.

Kale thinking: "But ya nev'a know..."

The three have also given him two new targets to locate: Simon and Celine. Kale heads for their direction once he has their scent.


Kale tracks the bat couple to the entrance of a cave. The scents of many other bats are also coming from there, meaning the place is a community roost for bat families. Normally, it would be hard for any wolf to locate the specific scent of two particular bats, but Kale's nose is his best asset and has never failed him. He does have to fine tune his hearing so that he can pick out what Simon and Celine will be saying among the other bat voices, but there aren't as many of them as he thought since most are asleep. But because bats have a great sense of smell and hearing, Kale keeps his distance from the cave so as to not spook them and cause a maelstrom of angry bats to swarm around him like bees.

Bart's voice: "But how will we be able to form a bond with our pups if they won't be able to see our faces?"

Carrie's voice (concerned tone): "I mean, our kids will never know what we look like..." (Depressed tone) "We'll never know what they look like..."

Simon's voice: "But they will know who you are, and will have a bond with you by knowing your voices, the words you speak, and your scent."

Celine's voice: "Most importantly, they will know your hearts."

Kale uses his sense to their fullest abilities and can tell that Celine uses her wing-fingers to touch where Carrie's heart is.

Celine's voice: "This is where your bond will shine the most above your touch, voices, scent, and words."

Simon's voice: "Just be careful when they're around vampire bats. They tend to bully any bat that doesn't drink blood."

Vampire bat's voice: "Whad'chu say about my species?!"

Celine's voice (coyly to Simon): "Simon!"

Simon's voice (embarrassed): "Oops, forgot that we're not the only bats here."

Vampire bat's voice: "Where are ya?! Come and say that to my face, ya punk!"

Several bat's voices: "Shhhhhhhh! We're trying to sleep here."

Vampire bat's voice: "Humph! You're lucky, vampire-bat-hater. Otherwise, I'd give you a piece of my mind...and claws, and fangs."

Once the commotion dies down, Kale uses his senses to their fullest abilities to sense Bart leaning close to Simon's ear.

Bart's voice (whispering): "I see what you mean. I'll be sure to do that."

Simon's voice: "I swear, vampire bats are just like wolves."

Kale thinking: "What was dat?!"

Simon's voice: "Easy to anger and resorting to violence rather than talking things through."

Carrie's voice: "How would you know that, Simon?"

Kale thinking: "If he spills the beans about me, it'll be 'nightfall' for 'him—permanently! But I'll get 'im when he's back at da log, not here where he can have some bat backup."

Simon's voice: "Well, in my travels I have overheard wolves as they hunted below me. I was so grateful to have wings, and so scared for the poor animals they were hunting."

Kale thinking: "So far, you bought ya'self time."

Celine's voice: "That's how we met. We were flying around, minding our own business, and lost in our own little words that we literally ran into each other. We hit so hard that we dropped our sunglasses and retractable canes, and began frantically looking for them."

Simon's voice: "We ended up with the other's things and then traded. Once we were done apologizing, we started to ask about ourselves and got to know each other."

Celine's voice: "We had lost both of our parents, mine to white nose syndrome and his to an owl..." (Sighs in sorrow) "My parents forced me and my siblings to leave them because they didn't want us to contract the disease too. It was the saddest thing that has ever happened to me...I was living with my brothers and sister at the time when I met Simon."

Simon's voice: "I didn't have any siblings, so my parents' deaths hit me very hard. But when I met Celine, she offered me a place to stay, and our relationship grew until we decided to marry. We left her siblings' roost to start a life of our own, and eventually ended up here."

Kale thinking: "Glad ta see the topic has changed. You's two saved ya's own necks."

Carrie's voice: "Well, we plan to stay here too and raise our family. I bet you'll become like an Aunt and Uncle to our kids!"

Celine's voice: "We'll do our best. We're already the aunt and uncle for many of our friend-family."

Bart's voice: "Yeah that reminds me, how do you live with so many different animals?"

Simon's voice: "It's not all that different from living with a family of your own kind. They gave my family and me fruit when we used to live near the El Rancho Camelot Estates, and then after a few years we found it more convenient to live with them. Our three girls wanted to make new friends, most of the bats they knew back then had moved when humans cleared out the forest, and my mate and I thought it would be best to live with the only friends we had in that area."

Carrie's voice: "But don't things get complicated and hectic with all the families within the larger family?"

Celine's voice: "I mean, it can get annoying trying to sleep when everyone else is up during the day, and we can only heist from humans at night. We just love each other so much that we don't mind, because we truly become family. But thanks to bats like you, we can still interact with members of our own species."

Carrie's voice: "Awww! You're so kind."

Bart's voice: "We're lucky to have you as friends."

Simon's voice: "So are we."

Bart's voice: "Anyway, wanna hear how we met?"

Celine's voice: "Absolutely!"

Not wanting to hear another lovey-dovey story, Kale thinks it's time for him to go. He has learned that Simon and Celine (mostly Simon) harbor some ill feelings toward vampire bats, and had to be separated from their parents as well. Simon lost his parents to a superior predator, just like Kale did, which makes Kale view Simon as the second hedgie he can most relate to, behind RJ of course. But unlike the bats Kale has had to meet his prey face-to-face, he can't sit in safety like a coward, and is now grateful that he can't fly because it might make him too lazy.

Feeling better about his wolf heritage, Kale walks away with a smile on his face. He has one more prey animal to observe: Hammy. He already knows that the porcupines like playing video games, and can't risk getting seen by other prey animals in the playground area. But he thinks that things have been getting slower and more boring ever since leaving Plushie. He doubts Hammy will be doing anything besides running around too fast for him to see what he's doing, but Kale will do his best to track down the hyperactive squirrel's scent.

And little does Kale know that the last observation will be the most interesting of all, just in a different way than he imagines.


It's 5:00 PM and Kale's first clue that things with Hammy won't go as he expected is the fact that the squirrel's scent isn't changing directions constantly. He is in motion, but whatever he is doing, he is not running super-fast. He is actually walking at a regular pace. Still, Kale has to be the most careful around Hammy, because the red squirrel's speed can find the wolf's hiding spot in no time if Hammy becomes suspicious.

The second clue that the observation won't go as intended is the scent of something or someone else next to Hammy. It's not any of the other hedgies, so it's anyone's guess as to who or what it is. But Kale intends to find out exactly who or what it is, because a wolf can't settle for guesses.

Kale arrives at a small grove with a pond as large as a puddle (it could be a raccoon-sized bathtub for one), and some rocks that small mammals could use to sit down on. The wolf sniffs the air again and discovers that the third clue as to how this observation will be different than expected is because Kale has arrived at the destination before his quarry. Judging from the scents, Hammy and the one he is with are three minutes away, so Kale backtracks until he finds a bush that has been struck by lightning, leaving the plant in half like a chainsaw had cut it. It is clear enough for Kale to move in while on the skateboard, and the part of the bush that is untouched will provide him cover as well as a perfect view of the grove.

Three minutes later, Hammy emerges from the thicket of trees on the other side of the grove (away from Kale) with a big smile on his face.

Hammy: "This spot's perfect! C'mon!"

Hammy extends his paw and out emerges—

Kale thinking (with wide eyes and gaping his jaw open in shock): "Madre de Dios...That's...not...possiblllllllle...!"

—A female American red squirrel, who promptly kisses Hammy on the cheek. She has brown eyes, red fur-freckles on the white of her cheeks, and her fur coat looks exactly like Hammy's with the exception of a curlier tail and no dark red stripe down her back.

Female red squirrel: "Mm-hm. This place is perfect. It's where you saved my life."

Hammy: "It's mainly where I keep my reserved store of nuts, but your answer is good too, Scarlet."

As Scarlet speaks, her voice, like her hairstyle, has an uncanny resemblance to a similar-named human movie actress who, in recent years, has been famous for her superhero movie character named after a deadly arachnid.

Scarlet: "How did you find it, Hammy?"

Kale thinking: "Cómo demonios...does he of all creatures have a girlfriend?!"

Note: In Spanish, "Madre de dios" means "Mother of God," and "Cómo demonios" (sometimes "Cómo diablos") means "How in the heck."

Hammy: "Oh, well it's a long story, Scarlet, but basically..." (Takes in a long inhale of breath and speaks fast without pausing) "I was trying to find a new place to hide my nuts, somewhere that would be far away enough from my main storage place, but close enough to where it would be an easy run for me to get to. I went from one place to another, some were already claimed by other animals, and others were too big or too small to suit my needs. I was about to give up all hope and call it quits when a bee bumped into me. Because it's the law, or at least my law, that doing that means you're It, I started chasing him to play tag. I followed the bee here and then it flew too high for me to reach. I was disappointed, but then looked at my surroundings and saw that I had found the perfect place to hide my backup store of nuts! I wish I could thank the bee, but it was already long gone."

Scarlet (giggles): "At least every long story ends quickly when you're telling it, Hammy. By the way, how did it feel to walk normally?"

Kale hears every word that has been spoken, but is still trying to grasp the revelation he discovered when the two emerged.

Kale thinking (shaking his head side to side in disbelief): "Dis can't be real...Dis can't be real...Dis can't be real!"

Hammy: "It was SO hard! But it was different, and I like trying different things!"

Scarlet: "That's why I fell in love with you...I've never met anyone like you. You're different from everyone I've ever known. You're so cute and funny."

Hammy: "Double for you, double for you!"

Scarlet: "And you're so full of life."

Hammy: "Don't forget sugar, blood, internal organs, bones, and muscles!"

Scarlet lets out a laugh that sounds so pleasant that it actually calms Kale's nerves to the point where he finally overcomes his shocked stupor and can listen with a clear head.

Scarlet: "You really helped turn my life around Hammy. Before we met...three years ago..."

Hammy (nods yes): "Ya-huh!"

Scarlet: "I had run away from home because my parents were forcing me to marry someone I wasn't in love with. They were some of the wealthiest, most prestigious red squirrels ever, and I gave up all the food and territory I had just like that...I was so lost...so afraid of living life without my parents..."

Hammy (nods yes): "Ya-huh!"

Scarlet: "That I had to dirty myself up and to look like a vagabond so that creatures would offer me food. But no one did that because they saw the truth, that I was just a schemer wanting to take advantage of them. I would have died of starvation if you hadn't given me the whole box of chocolate cookies you were carrying."

Hammy: "Chocolate chip cookies! My favorite!"

Scarlet: "Just the simple fact that you saw me as a person instead of a mooching hobo, that you offered to give what you had to a complete stranger without question...That made me realize you were special."

Hammy (love-struck tone): "Duh-huh-huh! Everyone's special in their own way!"

Scarlet kisses Hammy on the cheek, and Kale can just hear the Sproing! sound effect as Hammy blushes and smiles big while his pupils turn into the shape of hearts.

Scarlet: "Now that I have your full attention...You struck me not as the gullibly generous type, but the genuinely generous type; a modern Good Samaritan. You even led me here so I could eat your reserve nut stores."

Hammy (slowly moving his upper body in a circle as he is still under the after-effects of his girlfriend's mystifying kiss): "Ya...huh..."

Scarlet smiles at Hammy's continued use of the phrase "Ya-huh." She knows that he's not interrupting her, it's just his way of showing that he is making a genuine effort to listen to her sincerely. By showing that he is following along with her it lets her know she can continue, and that he will listen to the best of his ability.

Scarlet: "You're always so happy, so optimistic, and so good-natured, that I began to see that there was a lighter side of life that was possible without wealth, prestige, or possessions. A life with other creatures who truly cared, even for strangers."

Hammy (nods yes): "Ya-huh! My parents taught me to be kind to the unkind, because they deserve it most."

Scarlet: "A bit off the mark because I was always kind to you, but I know you're trying. Anyway, you also let me live here until I was fully nursed back to health."

Hammy: "Ya-huh! But how come you didn't wanna stay with my family? They would've accepted you. We accept all creatures, even a wo—"

Kale feels his stomach sink down the pit in his gut. He should have known that Hammy, of all the prey animals, couldn't be trusted to keep the wolf's stay a secret. Heck, the squirrel has probably been blabbing on about it to everyone he's seen.

Kale thinking: "But den again, if dat were the case, somthin' would've gone down by now. So maybe dis is his first slip-up."

Scarlet: "A what?"

Hammy: "A...Um...What was it, what was it? Ah, buh...Oh, even a wombat."

Kale relaxes. And although he thinks he's giving the squirrel too much credit, the wolf silently commends Hammy being smart enough to know how to use his lack of intelligence to hide his lie, making it appear that his mind had trailed off instead.

Scarlet: "Aren't those only found in Australia?"

Hammy: "It was a zoo escapee."

Scarlet: "Oh, I see. But the reason I didn't move in with your family was because I wanted to stay under the radar in case my parents and arranged mate ever came looking for me. If they found me and smelt your family's scents on me, then you and your loved ones would have been in big trouble. I didn't want anyone to see me, except you because you touched my heart with your kindness.

"We were friends ever since I recovered, but every time you went back to your family I missed you as if you had been gone for a week. I felt so empty without you. I missed your smile, your voice, your positive outlook. I wanted to hold your paws, hug you, and even kiss you. I like to cuddle too, it's one of my weirder habits."

Hammy: "My parents also taught me what makes you weird is what makes you most unique!"

Scarlet: "I really wish I could've met them, they sounded like the best parents in the whole wide world."

Hammy: "They were! Oh! And speaking of cuddling, one of my many habits is that I like to hug!"

Scarlet: "Which is why I was so happy with how comfortable you were with our intimate contact. You're better at cuddling than me because you're so fast."

Hammy (nods yes): "Ya-huh!"

Scarlet: "And ever since the day you gave me a cookie that you had shaped into a heart, that's when we became official boyfriend and girlfriend. That reminds me, how did you fall in love with me?"

Hammy: "Oh, well ummmmm...Gee, I wasn't excepting a question like this..."

Scarlet (smiles): "It's okay, take your time."

Hammy puts his fingers to his chin, looks up, and rapidly taps his foot as he thinks things over, which isn't an easy task. A minute later, he thinks he's come up with a good answer.

Hammy: "Well, you're pretty, you're patient with me, and you taught me the importance of slowing down to enjoy things instead of speeding through them. Since meeting you, whenever my mind wandered I often thought about you. Heh-heh, my focus on you almost got me into trouble while on heists because I couldn't focus on doing my job. My family talked with me to see what was going on, and I told them about you. Many laughed because they couldn't believe I had a crush on someone, but then they asked if I truly felt that you were the one for me."

Scarlet: "And why did you say yes?"

Hammy: "I-I, uh...I..." (Frustrated at his inability to think of an answer) "Aww, sassafras!"

Hammy looks down at his left paw to find Scarlet's holding it tenderly with her right one. He looks up and sees an understanding look in her eyes, which is emphasized by her light rubbing of his paw that she is still holding. Hammy blushes and almost tells her to stop because she's distracting him. That's when he realizes the answer he is looking for isn't in his mind, but in hers. He must feel it instead of think about it, like he normally does. Once he feels their connection, he knows why he wanted her as a girlfriend.

Hammy: "Because I just felt like we have a spark...something that gives me energy besides my power line accident and sugar. I've never felt this kind of feeling for anyone before. It's like the love my family and I feel for each other, only deeper. I felt like I could never find someone who could love me as a boyfriend, and I was having so much fun with life that I thought I had everything I needed to be happy. But the more I saw you, the more I felt that special spark. I can't just live for fun, food, or my own family, I needed more. Practically everyone in my family is in love, married, or has kids, and they had a special kind of happiness that I didn't. My parents always said I need to live life to the fullest, and ever since I started getting feelings for you, I realized I wasn't living a full life. I've seen how happy my family members are with raising kids, just like I remember how happy my parents were with raising me and my siblings. I wanted to know what that kind of happiness feels like. And I think I can feel it best with you."

Scarlet leans forward with her lips puckered and, as expected, Hammy makes contact first. The two close eyes and get lost in their romance with Hammy stroking the back of Scarlet's head while she strokes his chest. Kale decides to accept the truth, as strange as it is: Hammy and Scarlet are truly in love with each other and will probably end up becoming mates. He now waits for the two to finish, only, they continue their kiss. They breathe through the nostrils, but their lips remain locked. Kale estimates that a full minute has passed since they started, and there's still no end in sight to the couple's kissing.

Kale passes the time by entering his thoughts. He feels pity for Scarlet and what she's getting herself into with being the girlfriend and potential mate of Hammy, but she seems to be aware of the downsides, so that's good. And seeing Hammy and Scarlet like this actually fills the wolf with a sense of hope for his own love life. If someone like Hammy can find true love, certainly the wolf can. But as before, Kale owes it to prey animals for giving him this confidence, but he doesn't have to let anyone else know.

Looking at the squirrels more enviously than he had with Rogan and Sarah—because let's face it, it's Hammy who has found love—Kale muses with greater emphasis, "Oh hombre...I really gotta get a girlfriend."

Note: "Oh hombre" means "Oh man" in Spanish.

He will be one step closer to that if he keeps himself hidden like a real wolf as he waits for the two to either leave or start talking again so he can go away himself.

The squirrels end up kissing for two minutes, and once finished all the seriousness in Hammy is gone and is replaced by his usual zaniness.

Hammy: "What do you wanna do for the rest of the day? How about a tickle war!"

Scarlet: "You're on! But no super speed, because that would be unfair."

Hammy (salutes): "Yes, oh captain my captain!"

Scarlet giggles which makes her realize she's already starting to lose the match. That makes her laugh all the more loudly.

Hammy: "I haven't even started yet."

Scarlet: "O-o-okay. Just gimme a moment to pull myself together."

Once she calms and the two start by tickling their lover's ears, Kale sneaks away by using the laughter as cover. He keeps his mind focused on sneaking away and then takes the time to reflect upon his long day once he's out of earshot of the two squirrels. With the exception of the teenage porcupines who he couldn't risk seeing at the playground neutral zone, Kale has successfully spied on all of the hedgies, and has learned what they like doing in their free time. He has made many inferences about them too, and has discovered just what kind of people they really are. He may have gotten distracted when he thought of his parents, but had put those thoughts away and remembered to keep his eyes and mind set on what was important. Moreover, he feels he can truly trust them, each one of them, to keep his staying with them a secret. Some almost let it slip, but quickly and cleverly diverted the topic to something else. So the deal he made with them is just as important to them as it is to him.

Most of all, Kale feels so proud of himself for being stealthy like a true wolf. What's better is that he can later talk about this activity with his pack to boost his image, unlike when he and the prey tricked the pack with a fake-out performance which he can't reveal for obvious reasons. When he rejoins his pack, he will be able to use all four legs and spy on prey animals not only as an observer, but as someone who knows them from the inside. He'll need to redeem himself in another coming-of-age hunt, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem given what he's learning about the world and himself while staying with the prey family.


When Kale returns to the log just as the sky becomes fully black with night, he sees everyone has returned to the log and are either preparing for dinner, or debating about something that seems to have them worried. Verne sees Kale first and wastes no time.

Verne: "There you are. We were about to send out a search party to look for you. Where have you been, Kale?"

Kale: "Are you's always dis paternal? Not even my own parents were dis worried about me whenev'a I went out on my own. Dey knew I could take care of myself, and I'd appreciate it if you's could do the same."

Verne: "I do. I-it's just my nature to be fatherly. And you still haven't answered my question."

Kale: "Relax, Verne. I was just gettin' some fresh air and exercise, along with takin' in da view of some new scenery. Ya can't expect me ta remain in dis area for my entire stay with ya's. Wolves ain't meant ta be cooped up in one place, ya'know."

Velma: "That's how all animals are, but what if someone saw you in the, um, current state you're in?" (Points at the skateboard)

Lou: "Yeah. Another predator would have attacked you because you look so...Well, y'know."

Kale appreciates the porcupine's effort not to say anything that angers him because it's their way of unintentionally reminding him that he is still a predator, and therefore above them. Even so, Lou's words make everyone else present start to tense.

Kale: "No one saw me, predator or prey, not even birds. I made sure'a dat."

The hedgies relax, and Kale, being a wolf, can't help but emphasize how things are much harder for him than they are for them.

Kale: "I got far more ta lose from bein' discovered dan you's, so of course I had ta be careful."

Roger: "But how'd you do it, remain hidden I mean?"

Ty: "Yeah, you'd make lots of noise traveling on dried leaves and sticks."

Heather: "And it would be kinda hard to hide while on that thing." (Points at the skateboard)

Kale (in self-aggrandizing pride): "Heh! Wha'da'ya expect? I'm a wolf. I can be so stealthy dat I become practically invisible, even while onna cumbersome skateboard."

Kale likes the look of annoyance that many are giving him for his tone more so that the wide-eyes made in amazement or fear of his abilities. He didn't tell them the full story of what he was doing, but the answer he's given is basically true. To prevent any questions of the contrary, Kale quickly adds, "Anyway, what's for dinner? I'm starvin'."


The others are more than happy that the topic is changed, and hand Kale his meat that he eats alone while the animals sit around each other in a circle. A few minutes into dinner, RJ stands up and faces toward the wolf's direction.

RJ: "You wanna come join us, Kale?"

Everyone turns to him in surprise, making the raccoon feel awkward and rather foolish for making the offer. It suddenly dawns on him that no prey animal in their right mind would want to be around a wolf that is eating, and Kale seems equally as passionate about this.

Kale: "As dey say in the language of my great-grandparents who came from Mexico: No."

Luby: "Yeah, RJ, what were you thinking?"

RJ (embarrassed): "Just trying to be nice. I thought you'd all appreciate it, but I know...Too soon."

Penny: "More like not now, not ever. And let's just leave it at that."

Kale likes that the boundaries that set him apart from the others are still standing strong. It's what lets him know that the hedgies also accept the fact that Kale will return to his pack and be their enemy again once he has fully healed. Until that time, Kale and the hedgies take comfort in the present that their deal is working out for the better. Everything seems to be going well. Not another soul knows that there is an injured wolf who is being taken care of by the very prey animals he had intended to eat, and both the predator and prey have been taking great measures to ensure that's how things will remain.

However, as the family and wolf turns in for the night, they forget that wolves like the Bone-Chomper Pack are primarily nocturnal creatures...And so are many species of prey animals.

On the other side of the forest, the word of something most unusual starts to spread among such animals. Reaction to it is first aghast, then confusion, and finally outrage. The situation is so vital and so blasphemous that nocturnal prey animals wake up diurnal ones, all forming a crowd that increases in number the closer to the log they get.

Soon it will be made known that, ironically, Kale and his caretakers have a lot more to fear from fellow prey animals who got wind of their interactions with the wolf instead of predators, for even enough prey can overwhelm the mightiest of predators.

A storm was coming, one that would forever change the relationship between Kale and the hedgies.


I was able to post this chapter so soon after Chapter 6 because I have been on a roll while writing it. However, I have other matters that I must get started on in my life, so it may be a while before I can work on some stories. But I hope you have been enjoying things so far, and promise you that they will only get better!

So long for now!