(A/N) Endless Winter is back!
I did not intend on leaving the story on a cliffhanger for so long, especially not right before the Fall Festival, but then again I never do... As it turned out, there was so much I wanted to write about during the Festival that it's going to be at least two chapters! Fingers crossed I can actually get the next one done before another half year goes by.
Jack sat in the back seat as Jacob drove him and his siblings through the countryside of Winterhaven, going across winding mountain roads and heading towards what looked to be the edge of the town. It had certainly been a busy day, full of driving around town and checking on everyone, and Jack was glad they were finally heading to the Festival now. He'd barely been able to contain his excitement all day, but now that it was almost here, he was more excited—and nervous—than ever. He had about a million questions on his mind that couldn't wait any longer to be answered.
"What is the Lunarians' place like?"
"Am I going to find out more about the town's history and all the things I don't know about my parents' past?"
"What is it going to be like to hang out with Skye tonight?"
That last one was the question that made his heart race when he thought about it. He was still pondering Brian's words from earlier, but it tied his brain up in knots every time he tried to figure it out. To his knowledge, he had never had feelings like that for anyone else, so they weren't something he understood very well. It would certainly explain why he wanted to talk to Skye so badly, but for some reason he kept thinking it couldn't really be possible. Surely all of this was just a result of his interest in predators, right? Although…could those two things somehow both be true…?
Jack tried instead to focus on looking forward to the food and the hayride, things his mind could actually comprehend without hurting itself. He told himself that whatever the case was, he enjoyed spending time with Skye, and that meant tonight was a night to look forward to. No matter what the reason was for it, he was going to enjoy himself tonight. Accepting things as they were and not obsessing over the details didn't come naturally for him, but in this case he felt it was the best decision. There was too much to be excited about to spend time worrying about all the reasons for everything.
"Where exactly is this place again?" Natalie asked.
"Pretty close!" Jacob assured her. "The Lunarians live in a really nice spot back up here in the mountains; it's always been a great place for having the Festival 'cause they've got so much space. Of course it'll look like even more space for us, since we're some of the smallest mammals that come here."
"I just hope it doesn't suck like every other stupid party back home," Thalia said.
"Says the reason all those parties sucked," Natalie added.
"Whatever," was Thalia's response.
"Hey, I'm sure having me there will make up for whatever bad vibes Thalia brings with her!" Ian said. "And if not, we can just throw her to the wolves!"
"Isn't that kind of speciesist?" Xander asked.
"Of course not!" Ian exclaimed. "I'd eat her myself if it was possible!"
"You kits are something else…" Jacob chuckled. "Alright, looks like we're just about here!"
They pulled up to a long driveway, one that was incredibly wide for the size of their car. It was already clear that this was the home of much bigger mammals. Jacob continued driving up until a huge mansion came into view ahead of them, one that looked big even for the size of the animals that lived in it. He pulled into a large field a little ways from the house, and parked next to a group of other cars their own size. The field was mostly empty right now, likely because it was still early in the evening, but there were quite a few small cars already. It looked like this was an event that appealed to all different species in Winterhaven.
Once they were parked, Jacob got out of the car, followed by the five kits. Jack was the last one out, since as usual he had been sitting in the back seat. As soon as he jumped out of the car and felt the wintry breeze, taking in the scenery around the Lunarians' property, he sighed contentedly and shivered again. It was almost here, the event he'd been looking forward to for what felt like such a long time! Eagerly, he looked around to see if he could locate anyone he recognized, but he didn't see any familiar faces just yet.
"Alright, kits, this way to the food!" Jacob exclaimed.
He led the way towards a large area with several picnic tables—all of vastly varying sizes—where several mammals were setting up what looked like a pretty big selection of foods. Despite this, though, the area had a very different feel to it compared to community events in Bunnyburrow. Instead of the bright colored carnival filled with vendors and games he had come to expect from his hometown, Winterhaven's Fall Festival was more sparse. There were mammals who looked to be playing various games, as well as a few scattered booths that might be selling stuff, but they were significantly fewer in number than any Bunnyburrow festival. It made the event seem both less outwardly inviting, while also more intimate in a way. This was a secluded corner of the world, and Jack felt more included by just being here than he ever did back home.
Of course, the diversity in species here was also quite a bit different from Bunnyburrow. There were smaller animals like rabbits, foxes, a few squirrels, and such…but there were also bigger animals setting up on the much larger tables in the center of the setup. Among them were deer, moose, a few bears, and of course, wolves. A particular pair of wolves stood out to Jack; they looked to be around his parents' age, and despite wearing casual clothes just like the rest of the mammals, they had a certain air of sophistication about them. Perhaps it was in the way they carried themselves?
Sitting a distance away from the couple was a group of younger looking wolves, and while most of them had a very rough, rugged look, there was one who gave the same impression as the couple did. Jack guessed these must be the Lunarians, judging from the descriptions his friends had given him. Those wolves didn't look like anyone he wanted to mess with…
"Jacob!" a few unfamiliar rabbits exclaimed as they walked up to join the group. "Are these your kits?"
"Yep," Jacob said. "Mine and Amy's. She said it was ok for some of them to come stay for a while, and I finally had enough time off that I could afford to bring them up. This is…let's see: Ian, Xander, Thalia, Natalie, and Jack."
The next few moments consisted of several unfamiliar rabbits—along with a few other mammals—coming up to introduce themselves to Jack and his siblings. Jack mostly didn't say anything, but he kept track of a lot of the new names and faces in his mind. It wasn't necessarily intentional; he just tended to notice and remember a lot of random details, whether he needed to or not. Two of the mammals that stood out a lot were a pair of twin deer—Rachel and Madelyn—who both seemed very bubbly and outgoing, almost uncomfortably so. They had also seemed very intrigued by Jack's striped pattern that he shared with his father, which was a bit flattering but also started to weird him out after a little while.
"That is just the most amazing fur pattern ever!" Rachel squealed. "Why do you and your dad have it? Where did you get those stripes?"
"Are there a lot of striped rabbits where you come from?" Madelyn added.
"And can you get any of them to come visit?" Rachel said.
Eventually, they both got distracted by something else and ran off, but Jack couldn't help but wonder again about his stripes. Was there something special about them? All he really knew was that they came from his father, but he didn't know anything else about their history or if they were supposed to mean something.
"Come to think of it, though, I've never heard of any other striped rabbits anywhere," he thought. "Could it be there's really some special reason for them? That would explain why they're so rare…"
"Hey, Jacob!" exclaimed a familiar voice.
Bob came running up to them, a huge group of his kits following behind him. While Jacob hurried over to chat with him, Brian and Dave quickly found Jack and headed towards him.
"You're here!" Brian said. "Seen Winter yet?"
"No, not yet…" Jack replied. "I haven't seen Tim yet either. Do you have any idea when they're supposed to get here?"
"Well, Tim'll be here in about four minutes," Brian predicted. "His dad's always been obsessive about showing up right on time, and the Festival officially starts at 5:00. Not that anyone else really cares about the official time; it's really just more of a formality, but you can't convince Mr. Snow to take anything lightly."
"So…there's no real order to when stuff happens?" Jack asked. "I guess everyone has to get here with all of the food before we can eat, though."
"Well, to let you in on a Winterhaven secret…" Brian said, leading Jack over away from the crowd and lowering his voice. "There's kind of an unspoken rule that no one eats until Mr. and Mrs. Lunarian sit down with their plates. Not that they'd care, most likely, but everyone's always super careful not to do anything to offend them."
"Yeah, otherwise we'd be the ones getting eaten!" laughed another familiar voice.
"Tim!" Jack exclaimed.
The geeky bunny ran up to join the other three, completing their usual circle. Dave still had his earbuds in, but he was smiling and seemed to be enjoying himself, so Jack figured he was probably fine.
"My dad's already going to introduce himself to everyone and tell them all about how he works for the Lunarians," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "As if there's still anyone in this town that doesn't know that already."
"Does anyone ever talk to the Lunarians?" Jack asked. "I can't help but notice they seem to be keeping to themselves a lot."
"Well…you can't just go up and talk to them," Brian explained. "I mean…they're wolves! Not to mention they're, like, the most prestigious mammals in this whole town."
Jack frowned.
"So…because they're really rich and they're predators, no one talks to them?" he asked.
"Uh…kinda?" Tim answered.
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Jack said. "What's the point of being super rich and powerful or whatever if everyone ignores you?"
"Well, everyone doesn't ignore them," Tim explained. "As you can see, there's a lot of other wolves hanging around them. You don't wanna get too close to them, though, or they'll rip you to shreds. Believe me, I've tried to talk to Hayden before, but no one gets near him when his pack isn't around him, and they don't like to be bothered."
Jack sighed. The social drama in Winterhaven was infinitely more confusing than that in Bunnyburrow. It hadn't taken long for him to make a chart in his head of all the mammals he knew, what they thought of each other, how they were seen by society…and sometimes who harbored a secret crush on someone else. And even after spending hours talking to random mammals just to figure that out, he had still been bored. This town was never going to bore him, it seemed, but it never ceased to confuse him.
"Hey, why don't we go get some food?" Tim suggested. "The unspoken monarchs must have already been through the line, 'cause I see several other mammals over there now. I want to get over there before all of the carrot chili is gone."
"Well, we'd better head over there before my dad gets to it, then," Brian said.
"Right!" Tim agreed. "Onward, my companions!"
He took off sprinting towards the picnic tables, screaming at the top of his lungs. Jack looked at Brian and Dave, who both shrugged, and then all three of them ran after Tim. By the time they got to the picnic tables, Tim was talking to a group of white-furred squirrels.
"Why are you always screaming?" one of them asked.
"Because…it was necessary!" Tim exclaimed. "I must announce my arrival or else you mammals will not be prepared to bask in my presence!"
The squirrels gave each other weird looks, and then turned and walked away. Tim was already laughing so hard that Jack thought he might fall over.
"Do you ever carry on a normal conversation?" Brian asked, rolling his eyes.
"Absolutely not!" Tim replied vehemently. "That would be unthinkable! I cannot believe you would even dare suggest such a thing, my companion!"
"It's not really that surprising, all things considered," Brian said.
"Well!" Tim said. "I don't know if I can trust you anymore. Jack, you support me, don't you?"
"Um…sure," Jack answered.
"Aha!" Tim said, turning back to Brian. "You see? Perhaps I should knight him instead of you!"
"Since when can you knight mammals?" Brian replied. "I think you're just making this up—"
"I beg your pardon?" Tim exclaimed, his voice shooting up several octaves. "How dare you speak that way to your liege, Lord Timothy Snow! For that act of treason…I shall eat all of the carrot chili first!"
He turned and ran away again, continuing towards the nearby picnic tables where several other rabbits and other small mammals were gathering.
"Oh no, you don't!" Brian shouted, running after him.
Jack looked over at Dave.
"What do you think, Dave?" he said. "Should we go join them?"
Dave smiled and nodded, and Jack followed him at a slower pace over to the picnic tables. Tim and Brian had already caused a scene there, as they were both trying to fill their bowls with chili faster than the other and had succeeded in making a huge mess. Jack and Dave joined the line behind them just as Tim let out an unholy high-pitched gasp.
"How dare you soil my regal fur!" he exclaimed. "You will pay for that—"
"Oh come on, it's not even that much!" Brian laughed. "Here, I'll fix it."
He picked up a napkin and wiped some chili off of Tim's arm, causing Tim to recoil and gasp again.
"What now?" Brian sighed.
"You dare to lay your common paws on royalty?!" Tim shrieked.
"Uh…I guess so," Brian answered.
"Ok, cool," Tim said casually, expression returning to normal. "Wanna go find a place to sit now?"
"Yeah, sure," Brian agreed.
Dave also filled a bowl with carrot chili, so Jack followed suit and got his own bowl of it. Then, the two of them followed Tim and Brian to a smaller table that was farther away from most other mammals, likely because Tim's shrieking was sure to get them in trouble if they stayed near everyone else.
As they walked towards the table, Jack's legs trembling in the cold while his paws were warmed by the bowl he carried, he felt an odd sense of belonging, one he had never really felt back home. He hadn't even known these rabbits for that long, but he already enjoyed spending time with them. Tim might have been a little crazy, but that was what made him fun to be around. He was a breath of fresh air from all of the kits trying so hard to be like everyone else; he stood out in every crowd he was in and he embraced that. Then there was Brian, who didn't seem at all like he shared Tim's optimism, but still hung around him anyway. Even he must have recognized that this crazy bunny was a valuable friend to have.
"I wonder what they think about me?" Jack thought. "Well, Brian thinks I'm in love with Skye, and Tim probably thinks I have some kind of a death wish…"
They sat down at the table, just as Jack glanced back around at the picnic area to see that a lot more mammals were showing up now, and they just kept coming. He still didn't see Skye Winter anywhere, but he tried to calm himself. He knew she had said she was going to be here, so he shouldn't have to worry about not seeing her, right?
"Spacing out again, Jack?" Tim noticed.
"Huh?" Jack said, mind returning to the moment. "Oh, right! Sorry."
Tim and Brian chuckled.
"It's alright, man, you always look like you're doing something important when you do that," Tim noted. "Like calculating the meaning of the universe or something like that. Don't let me interrupt you."
"I'm surprised 'Lord Timothy Snow' doesn't want to interrupt…" Brian muttered.
"You—" Tim started.
"Calculating the meaning of the universe?" Jack repeated, laughing. "I don't think I can do that by just staring off into space… But thanks for having confidence in me, I guess."
"Well, you seem like the kind of buck who'd know stuff," Tim said.
"I bet his spacing out was for a different reason…" Brian guessed.
"What?" Tim said suddenly, whirling around to face him. "What reason? Tell me, I command you!"
Brian smiled knowingly while Tim slowly leaned closer and closer towards him, eyes fixed on him.
"Ok, you're creeping me out here, man…" Brian chuckled nervously.
"He's talking about Skye," Jack explained. "I think…"
"…Oh," Tim said, backing off as his expression returned to normal. "Yeah, you're supposed to meet her here, right? Have you seen her yet?"
"No…" Jack admitted sadly. "I don't suppose any of you know when she's expected to get here?"
"Nah, we keep our distance from her," Brian answered. "But I think she's pretty much always here, so I doubt it'll be any different this time."
"I still think you should be careful, though," Tim advised. "Don't do anything to make her angry, 'cause she could rip you to shreds in seconds if you do."
"Yeah, I seriously doubt that's going to happen," Jack said. "How often does someone actually get eaten around here? Are you sure you guys aren't overreacting just a little bit about how dangerous the predators supposedly are?"
Both Tim and Brian shook their heads, Tim rather energetically.
"The reason no one gets eaten is because we know not to mess with them!" Tim explained. "I mean, I guess most of the students probably wouldn't eat someone…? But you can never be too careful! Have you seen those fangs? Those aren't something to mess around with!"
Jack had to stop himself before confessing that Skye's fangs were one of the parts about her he found most intriguing. They'd probably look at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Maybe I have," he thought. "I don't even really know why I think her fangs are so cool. But I can't imagine how someone wouldn't find them cool. I know they're terrifying at the same time, but that's part of what makes them so impressive…"
Jack turned his attention back to his chili, and took a bite. It was a little hotter than he expected, but that was nice on a cold day. It tasted really good, too; he could see why Tim liked it so much.
"Wow, to think…Skye is a predator, so she probably eats meat…" he thought. "That should make me uncomfortable, shouldn't it? That's how most prey would react. But it's not like predators eat us anymore, so there's nothing to worry about. Still, is it weird that I think it's cool how she eats the flesh of other creatures? …Yeah, probably…"
"Hey, Jack, why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?" Tim asked, frowning.
"What?" Jack said suddenly, looking up from his bowl.
Both Tim and Brian laughed. Jack figured he must have been spacing out again.
"You just started…well, I don't know how to describe it…" Brian said.
"You started jittering," Tim explained. "Like you're cold or something. Guess it's probably colder here than you're used to, but it just looked a little weird. I mean, why start shivering while you're eating your hot chili?"
"Oh…" Jack said.
He still wasn't sure why he always shivered when he thought about Skye. It felt like something in between excitement and fear, like he knew being around her should be considered dangerous, but it was also exhilarating at the same time. Maybe that was why Brian had thought he secretly had a crush on her?
It was all making Jack's head spin, trying to figure it out. He wasn't used to encountering a dilemma that he simply couldn't make sense of at all, and it was hard to keep his mind from continuing to dwell on it even though he knew it would do no good.
For a few minutes, the friends ate in silence, while Jack continued looking for an answer he knew he wasn't going to find. When he was almost finished with his chili, someone else at the table spoke up.
"So, what are you and Skye gonna do when she gets here?" Tim asked curiously. "You're absolutely sure she said she was going to hang out with you at the Festival?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I heard right," Jack said, rolling his eyes a little. "And I don't really know; we didn't exactly talk much then. She just said we'd get together here and we could talk then. I guess I'll have to find some way to split up my time. I'm guessing you guys don't want to hang out with her too, right?"
Tim shook his head dramatically.
"She won't want to be around us, surely!" he replied. "I'm still surprised she wants to hang out with a rabbit at all, but…well, I'm pretty sure she wants to hang out with the exotic striped bunny, not his geek friends."
"Didn't you want to be alone with her?" Brian inquired, looking at Jack suspiciously. "We're not gonna get in the way of anything, don't worry."
"I…I guess?" Jack replied. "I mean, I don't want to just leave you guys and run off with someone else the whole time. I don't even know how it's going to go; we've never spent more than a few minutes together, and I already feel like I know you guys pretty well."
"Hey, don't worry about us!" Tim said. "We've been hanging out and causing trouble around here for a while before you came along, so we'll be fine! And we'll be here until it's over, too, so you can just come find us if stuff doesn't work out with Skye."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked uncertainly.
"Of course," Brian answered. "But hey, let us know how it goes."
He winked at Jack, and Tim glanced back and forth between them confusedly. Jack knew Brian was as sure as he could be about his theory, but Jack still didn't know. A part of him felt like it might be true…but how could he feel something like that for someone he barely even knew? All he really knew about her was that she was a predator, one who was feared by a lot of the prey at school, and she had stood up for him a few times.
Admittedly, plenty of his other siblings—as well as other mammals he knew back home—developed crushes rather easily and sometimes almost constantly, so maybe it wasn't so far-fetched. Still, it was a strange thought because Jack himself had never experienced something like that before, and had always found it bizarre how easily so many of peers developed feelings for someone.
While Jack was pondering these thoughts, he noticed Tim's eyes were widening in a look of sheer terror. He was looking directly behind Jack—wait…
"Hello, Jack," said Skye's voice from behind him. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Jack flinched, quickly jumping up and whirling around to face her. She chuckled, and Jack shifted nervously. He wished he didn't have to embarrass himself with every interaction they had.
"N-no, not...not at all," Jack said. "We were just, um, having some chili…"
He glanced back at the other rabbits, hoping for them to comment or something, but both Tim and Brian were frozen. Jack wasn't sure if Dave even knew what was going on.
"Cool," Skye said. "I think I'm gonna get some too. Haven't had much to eat today. You guys mind if I sit here?"
Tim emitted a high-pitched squeal and jumped in his seat, but still didn't say anything.
"No, that's fine!" Jack blurted out in a panic.
Tim tensed up again and made a sound like a slowly deflating tire. Brian winced.
"Alright, I'll be back in just a minute," Skye said.
Jack watched as she headed back towards the food table, out of earshot. Tim suddenly exhaled like he'd been drowning and his head flopped onto the table. Brian shook his head while his friend continued breathing heavily.
"Always gotta be dramatic, don't you?" he remarked.
Tim turned to his friend with wide, crazed eyes, and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"The pred girl...is going...to sit...here!" he shrieked in breathy gasps, shaking Brian back and forth.
"I know, I know, get off me, you lunatic!" Brian replied, pushing Tim off.
"I'm sorry, guys, I wasn't thinking!" Jack apologized. "I just...I didn't expect her to want to sit with all of us, and I didn't want her to go away…"
"Nah, I get it," Brian said. "I'd do the same thing if Sheila Frost offered to sit next to me… But, uh, I've never exactly...sat this close to a pred before…"
"Much less one who was so eager to tell us she hasn't eaten much today!" Tim shrieked.
"You guys, you're being ridiculous!" Jack said. "She's going to get chili; she's not going to eat you!"
Just as Tim opened his mouth to talk, a group of about seven bunnies came running up to their table.
"Hey, Brian! Tim!" one of them said. "Are you guys gonna join us for Snowball this time? We need you guys if we're gonna even have a chance."
"Snowball?" Jack repeated, confused. "Is that the name of a game? I guess it doesn't require snow…?"
The weather was certainly chilly and there had been a bit of snow on the ground while they were driving here, but it didn't look like enough to play some kind of snow-related sport.
"It does indeed!" Tim said, putting a hand to his chest as if he was shocked. Then he smiled. "Timothy Snow, to be specific! You guys know you can't win without me!"
Brian shook his head again.
"Who knows, maybe your bouncing the ball on your head technique will actually work this time," he said.
"So, it's a regular ball?" Jack asked. "Not a snowball?"
"No, it's just called that because...well, something to do with this being Winterhaven and how there's snow here a lot and stuff," Brian explained.
Tim frowned.
"This is why you get D's in history class," he said, facepalming. "He's mostly right, though. It's a game made up by Winterhaven residents. We always gotta do things our own way here, you know?"
"So the town made up its own game?" Jack said. "That sounds interesting. Can I play with you guys too?"
"Of course!" the bunny who'd come to tell them about the game exclaimed. "Like I said, we could use as many players as we can get."
"You play any sports back home?" Brian asked.
"Not...much," Jack admitted. "Just with my siblings a few times. I was always nervous about trying to join a team full of mammals I didn't know."
"Well, you've got us now!" Brian said cheerily. "I mean, I wouldn't expect to win or anything, since we suck, but we can turn losing into a good time!"
Tim, whose mouth was full of chili, brightened up and started gesturing at Brian. A few seconds passed and he swallowed.
"Now you're speaking my language!" he exclaimed, looking at Brian proudly. "Tell you what, we'll come join you guys in a few minutes, if you don't mind. I gotta power up with chili first."
"Sure, we're still waiting on some others to get here," the other rabbit said. "Oh, and feel free to bring any more players if you find any."
"Will do," Brian said. "See you later, Joe."
The group then turned and left, leaving Jack wondering what this game would be like. While he hadn't played sports much at home, he'd always liked the idea of it. Plus, doing something totally new and unfamiliar—when it was with mammals he knew and enjoyed hanging out with—actually sounded exciting.
He looked up from his chili to see Tim wide-eyed and staring ahead. Just then, Skye walked up and took a seat right next to Jack, setting her chili on the table.
"Hey, buns," she said casually, taking a bite of chili. "Did I miss anything?"
Tim froze in place and started making the deflating sound again, while Brian continued quietly eating his chili, his eyes occasionally darting up to glance at the fox before returning to his bowl.
"Well, actually...some other bunnies came by to invite us to play a game with them," Jack said.
Tim's eyes widened even more. Skye looked thoughtful.
"Snowball?" she guessed.
"Yeah, that's what they said," Jack confirmed. "I've...never played it before."
"It's one of those specifically Winterhaven things," she explained. "Come to think of it, I haven't played in a long time…"
"Well, Joe did say that we could invite more mammals to join our team…" Brian muttered.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Brian mumbled something so quiet that even Jack's ears couldn't make it out.
"Yikes, is that really just an instinctual fear of predators that's built in?" Jack wondered. "I know I get nervous around her too, but this seems excessive…"
"Yeah, that's what the other rabbit said," Jack answered. "Tim, is it ok with you if…?"
He trailed off, and Tim answered by nodding his head energetically, before leaning down so his face was almost in the chili and continuing to eat.
"If you guys are uncomfortable with it, you don't have to say yes," Skye said.
The table went silent for a few very awkward seconds, until Tim finally finished his chili and looked up from his bowl again. He looked at Skye and attempted to make eye contact with her, though his eyes kept darting all over the place.
"I mean, you seem like you actually might be pretty good at that sort of thing, so it's probably good if you join us!" Tim said, his voice loud and high-pitched enough that Skye flinched slightly. "I...well, do you really wanna play with a bunch of bunnies, though? I mean, I get it if we're not exactly your type."
He chuckled nervously. Jack felt like he should say something to cut the tension, but he wasn't sure what. If his friends were going to be this uncomfortable around Skye, then it might be best if she didn't play with them. But still...the opportunity to hang out with his new rabbit friends as well as the only predator who had ever shown any interest in him? He didn't want to give that up so quickly.
"Alright, if you're sure about it," Skye said. "I'll, uh...let you guys talk it over. Let me know if you change your mind; otherwise, I'll meet you in the north field."
Taking her half-eaten bowl of chili, the fox stood up and walked away, leaving the table in silence until she was out of earshot. Jack then turned back to his friends.
"Are you guys sure you can play with her?" he asked. "Because I would love it if she joined us, but if she really scares you that much…"
"Well...I think it's best if I at least try it, you know?" Tim said thoughtfully. "I've always wanted to see preds and prey get along more, and...a fox wanting to hang out with a bunch of bunnies is progress, right?"
"I don't know…" Brian said. "Maybe she just wants to get us alone so no one will hear us scream."
He said it jokingly, but it still made Jack uncomfortable. Silly as it may have been, there was still a part of his friend that feared something like that might very well happen. Plus, it wasn't going to help Tim's currently reluctant desire to try bridging the gap a little more.
"Well, if that's the case, then she has seriously underestimated the power of my scream," Tim replied. "I don't get why one of the most infamously vicious preds in Winterhaven is so keen on hanging out with us either, but to turn down a friendship because of my nerves would be against my code of honor."
Brian chuckled and shook his head.
"You're gonna get me killed one day, you know that?" he said.
Tim smiled.
"I take that to mean you're not gonna abandon me?" he said hopefully.
"Guess not," Brian sighed.
"Awesome!" Tim exclaimed, bouncing in his seat. "Dave? You gonna play with us too?"
Dave nodded.
"I guess it's settled, then," Jack said, a smile forming on his face. "Should we go meet up with the rest of them?"
(A/N) If I'm being totally honest, my main reason for inventing a made up sport for Winterhaven is because my knowledge of real world sports is very limited and I don't want to embarrass myself. But also, it gives me an opportunity to be more creative and give Winterhaven its own identity, so I'm not complaining. (though i do still have to work out how the game is played before i write the next chapter)
Hopefully part 2 of the Fall Festival will be up by next Thursday. Strong emphasis on hopefully. I might vanish for another extended period of time. Just hang in there, I'll be back...eventually. XD