(A/N) Finished this one just in time!
This chapter ended up longer than I expected, which is uh...why I didn't post last week. I was actually up to about 5,000 words which is where I usually average them, but there were still things I wanted to happen before it ended! But I'm glad I waited, because I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
Tim led the way towards the north field, Jack, Brian, and Dave following behind him. The path led up a hill and through some trees, so out of the way that Jack briefly wondered whether or not Tim knew where he was going. But sure enough, they arrived at a sizable field where a big group of rabbits, squirrels, and some other small mammals were hanging out. Skye, the lone predator in the group, hurried over to them once she saw them.
"You're here!" she said. "Do you still want me to play with you guys? I think most everyone else is here already."
Jack glanced at his friends, all of whom seemed nervous. Tim had a look of pure defiance on his face, though; he wasn't going to back down now.
"Yeah, of course we still want you!" Tim exclaimed, his whole body shivering. "That is, well...unless everyone thinks it's an unfair advantage…"
"Aw, that's nice of you to say," Skye chuckled. "I already checked with them and they said it's ok. Foxes are pretty much the size limit, though."
"Th-that's great!" Tim said, his voice a little higher pitched than usual. "Well, uh, if everyone else is here, then...let's go get started, I guess, right?"
"Perfect!" Skye agreed. "Come on, then, let's go!"
She took off in the direction of the other mammals, Jack and the others following. Jack was already starting to feel shivers of his own, as he almost always did when Skye was around.
"Is that just how our bodies react to being around predators?" he wondered. "But it doesn't feel like fear to me. It seems different than what Tim and Brian were feeling…"
Whatever their cause, there was no denying the shivers were there. By the time they caught up with Skye and the other mammals on their team, Jack was already shaking his paws to let out the nervous energy. It would definitely feel good to move soon.
"Alright, so you're all on our team?" one rabbit asked, who Jack recognized as Joe. "I think that's just about everyone, so we can probably get started soon. Wait...you don't know the rules yet, do you?"
He was looking at Jack, who suddenly remembered he didn't know the rules.
"Yeah, I'm new to this," he said.
"No worries," Joe assured him. "It's really not that hard to learn. Pretty simple game."
"Basically you just try to keep the ball off the ground and get it into the goal on the other side," Brian explained, pointing at what looked like a basketball hoop tied to a tree.
"That looks...really high up," Jack observed.
The rest of the group laughed.
"Yeah, we like to make it a bit more challenging," Joe explained.
"The thing is," Brian continued, "every time someone on your team hits the ball, it's another point. But if the ball hits the ground or someone picks it up before you get it to the goal, then we don't get any of the points."
"Yeah, plus if the other team gets it into their goal without it touching the ground, they get all of our points too," Joe said.
"So, it's basically about keeping the ball in the air to build up points?" Jack said. "And you're not allowed to pick it up?"
"Only after someone scores a goal," Brian answered. "Then someone picks it up to start the next round. But if you pick it up in the middle, it's just like if it hit the ground, and you lose all the points."
"Hmm, that's interesting," Jack remarked. "Is that why they named it Snowball? Since the points build up kind of like rolling a snowball through snow as it gets bigger?"
The others looked at him confusedly, realization on some of their faces.
"Wait, that's genius!" Tim exclaimed. "Joe, is that true? How did I never know?"
"I don't know; I've never heard that before," Joe laughed. "Makes sense, though. I think you're gonna be a fast learner, Jack."
In a few minutes, all of the mammals on the field gathered, and Joe had everyone split up into their teams. Jack and all of his friends were on Joe's team, which had one less player than the opposing team. Joe seemed fine with this, which Jack supposed could have been because Skye was on their team. Either that or he was just really confident in his other teammates' abilities.
The ball they were playing with was a little bigger than the bunny-sized basketballs and soccer balls Jack remembered from Bunnyburrow, and it was solid white, true to its name. Jack wasn't sure if someone in Winterhaven had made it specifically for this game, or if it was just a random ball that happened to work well. It was also pretty light, which was a relief because the idea of keeping something as heavy as a basketball off the ground without picking it up sounded impossible.
Once they had separated into teams, the teams headed to opposite sides of the field. There was one other rabbit sitting on the side of the field, who Joe explained was there to keep score.
Joe started the game by tossing the ball into the air, and the rest of the team ran after it along with him. It soon became clear why they needed so many players, because keeping the ball off the ground the whole time was much easier said than done.
There were twelve players on their team, and they began to spread out around Joe as he tried to get the ball to the other side. Whenever he would hit the ball too far, one of their teammates was sure to jump in and launch it back up before it could hit the ground.
Before long, though, the opposing team rushed into the mix and chaos ensued. Without having team uniforms or anything to differentiate them, Jack had a bit of trouble at first figuring out who was on which team. He could recognize Joe, as well as Tim, Brian, Dave, and Skye, but he was currently unfamiliar with the rest of the team. Until he could familiarize himself with the others' faces, he settled for watching which way they seemed to be heading on the field.
The first score went to Jack's team, and judging from the scorekeeper who kept screaming the scores at the top of her lungs, they had built up 23 points by the time they made the goal. A good number of those points had come from Jack, accidentally, as he tried repeatedly to hit the ball high enough to score. Luckily, Joe had jumped in to assist.
From there on out, the game was pretty balanced for a while. The other team scored more often, but Jack's team usually had more points when they scored. This was in part thanks to Tim's method of bouncing the ball off his head, which he was surprisingly pretty good at. Plus, Dave usually jogged beside him and hit the ball back into the air when Tim missed.
The other mammals who turned out to be quite valuable to the team was Skye. For one thing, she was bigger than all the other players and strong enough to hit the ball higher than anyone else could, which also made it hard for the other team to jump in and steal it. Especially since most of the prey mammals—on both teams—tried to keep their distance from her. She couldn't match the speed of the rabbits, but that was an area where most of the other players could step in.
Jack made plenty of his own embarrassing mistakes, including a few times where he fell onto the ground but mostly where the ball fell on the ground. Despite this, the game was still enjoyable, and he even discovered that he seemed to be one of the fastest ones on his team. Plus, from Tim's unusual playing style to the scorekeeper screaming numbers all through the game, there was plenty to keep him entertained.
Apparently, there wasn't just one way to determine when the game ended, but this group had decided that it ended after about half an hour. When the scorekeeper announced the game was over, Jack's team was only four points ahead.
"Whew!" Joe exclaimed. "Great job, team!"
"Wow, we actually won?" Brian remarked. "Maybe we don't suck as much as I thought."
"Oh, shut up, Brian!" Tim shot back. "Of course we don't suck; we're awesome!"
Jack hurried over to rejoin Tim, Brian, and Dave, while Skye approached from the other side. Jack noticed Tim and Brian both tense up a little when they saw her.
"Is it a bad idea to try to hang out with them all at once?" he thought. "I know Tim said it was ok, but they all seem really uncomfortable…"
"So…" Brian started. "You guys wanna go back to the...uh, the place where the tables are and stuff?"
Tim facepalmed and shook his head.
"You fool, that title is not worthy of being applied to the land of our esteemed monarchs!" he exclaimed.
Skye snorted a laugh and smiled slightly, though Jack wasn't sure if anyone else noticed.
"Whatever, man," Brian said. "I just want to get there before all the food is gone."
"And while you're eating way too much, I'm gonna get to the pumpkin cider stand before it's all gone," Tim replied.
"You guys have that here too?" Jack asked, a little surprised.
"Yeah, well, it's the Fall Festival and there are rabbit girls here, so you know how it goes," Brian said. "I don't get the hype over it, though…"
"Know who else likes it?" Tim said. "Sheila Frost."
Brian stared at him.
"Really?" he asked.
"You didn't know?" Tim exclaimed. "Dude, are you even trying with her? Come on, clearly you need my help!"
He grabbed Brian's paw and turned to run, Brian reluctantly following. Dave started after them at a regular pace.
"Do you, um...want to go with them?" Jack asked Skye nervously.
"Sure, why not?" she replied. "I haven't had that pumpkin cider in so long, I almost forgot it existed."
"Really?" Jack said. "But you've been coming to this for a long time, right?"
They started back in the same direction as Tim, Brian, and Dave, taking their time. Most of the other players from the game had already dispersed, so they were more or less alone.
"I've been...at the Festival every year, at least as long as I can remember," Skye answered. "But I haven't really participated in much for a while now. Last year, I don't even think I stayed for the hayride, and that was always my favorite part when I was younger…"
She sighed heavily, looking almost sad, though it was hard to tell for sure. She had been so energetic all through the game, and seemed so carefree. Now she looked tired, like the world was too much for her.
"Should I ask her about that?" Jack wondered. "Is she trying to open up to me, or...should I just leave it alone? I don't want to push her away…"
"What about you?" Skye asked, before he could make a decision. "What do you think of the Fall Festival? Something you would come back to?"
"Yes, definitely!" Jack blurted out, a little louder than he'd intended. "I-I mean—"
"No need to explain, I think I can tell you're enjoying yourself," Skye chuckled, smiling again. "Was there anything like this in...where is it you're from, again?"
"Bunnyburrow," Jack said. "There were big events a lot, but they were...different than this. A lot busier, I guess. And I didn't know a lot of mammals there, either. Maybe I would've had more fun if I did, I don't know."
He looked around at the woods on either side of them, taking a moment to appreciate the scenery. Bunnyburrow was in the countryside too, but there was a lot more farmland and not as many forests and hills. Additionally, none of the festivals and carnivals back home would have offered any isolated areas like this. If he'd met Skye there, it probably would have been a challenge to just find a place quiet enough to talk.
"I get the feeling you prefer the quiet," Skye said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jack agreed. "I never really thought about it before."
"I get that, too," Skye said. "Talking to most mammals is exhausting. I'd much rather stay inside and work on my dad's car. Easier to understand."
"Really?" Jack chuckled. "I guess I can get that. Except I don't know anything about how cars work. I think some of my older brothers tried to teach me one time, but according to them I kept getting distracted by other stuff."
"Probably too...mundane for someone adventurous like you," Skye guessed. "I need to give my brain a rest sometimes, though. And I don't really...get along...with most of the mammals at school, so it's nice to have something to keep me busy."
That struck Jack as odd, since it seemed to him like she was pretty 'in' with the other foxes. Of course, she definitely didn't get along with Zack. Maybe most predators were just too competitive to get along well? No, that would be too simple of an answer…
Before Jack could ask her about it, though, they arrived back at the field where the picnic tables were located, and where most of the other mammals were hanging out. Jacob spotted them and came running over to meet them.
"Hey, Jack!" he exclaimed jovially. "Been wondering where you went off to! New friend you haven't introduced me to?"
"Oh, right!" Jack said. "This is Skye Winter. We, um...met at school."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Skye!" Jacob replied. "Just wanted to let you guys know that they're gonna start the hayride in about an hour or so, so try not to wander too far off!"
"Thanks," Skye said. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Savage. Do you know if the pumpkin cider stand is here again this year? That's where Jack and I were going next."
"Oh, sure!" Jacob said, looking around for a moment before pointing to a spot across the field. "It's right over there. I think your friend Tim has already gotten in line, from the looks of it."
"That's where it'll be, then," Jack laughed.
"You kits head over there and have fun," Jacob said. "I'll be hanging out here if you need me for anything. Say, you don't happen to know where Thalia's headed off to, do you?"
"Um...no?" Jack replied.
"Figured not," Jacob said. "Well, I'd better make sure I keep track of her… Alright, you guys go before the pumpkin cider is all gone!"
He started back towards the cars, where some of the other adults—including Bob—were talking. Jack started in the direction of the cider stand, Skye walking beside him.
"Your dad is really unusual for a rabbit," she remarked.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "The stripes?"
"Well, that too, I guess," she chuckled. "No, just...he wasn't nervous talking to me at all. And he didn't seem to mind that you've made friends with a predator. That was...unexpectedly pleasant."
Jack hadn't even thought of that, but she was definitely right; Jacob hadn't even mentioned that Skye was a fox, much less been frightened of her.
"Maybe it's because he's been here for a while?" Jack guessed. "He kinda seems to know everyone."
Skye shook her head.
"Everyone else but you and your siblings have been here for a while," she said. "And even most of the adult prey mammals I've met have treated me differently."
"Differently how?" Jack asked. "Are they rude to you?"
"Not always…" Skye said thoughtfully. "Some of them probably don't even know they're acting different. I can't believe I've never really talked to your dad before, though. I guess I didn't expect he'd be so pleasant."
They had just come up to the back of the line leading up to the pumpkin cider stand, which was a good length already and—true to what Brian had said—was mostly taken up by girls. Tim, Brian, and Dave were just a little bit ahead of them, and Tim turned back and waved energetically when he saw them.
"Hey, you're here!" he exclaimed. "What took you so long?"
"My dad came over and wanted to meet Skye," Jack said. "And ask about where Thalia is. I have no idea where she's wandered off to."
Luckily, the line moved pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before Tim, Brian, and Dave made it to the front. A few more mammals and it was Jack and Skye's turn. They stepped up to find the stand was being run by a deer and two bunnies, and had two counters with different heights. Jack and Skye walked up to the shorter one, where the two bunnies greeted them cheerfully. They were both does, too.
"Hello!" one of them said, waving. "That'll be one for each of you?"
"Yes," Jack said. "Wait, um...how much is it?"
"Oh, the first one doesn't cost you anything," the other bunny assured him. "Pretty sure you two haven't been through the line yet… I would recognize you."
"For sure!" the other agreed. "Those are very unusual stripes. Say, are you related to Jacob Savage?"
"He's my father," Jack answered.
"I knew it!" the doe replied. "Alright, so two of the small cups, right?"
"That's right," Skye said.
The bunny proceeded to fill up two cups—which actually looked quite large, contrary to what she had said—and handed them to Jack and Skye. The drink looked and smelled just like he remembered from home; clearly some things were universal even here in Winterhaven. Taking a sip, he found that it tasted just like he expected too, if not even better. Then again, it had been a while since he'd had it last, so maybe he'd just forgotten how much he liked it.
"Wow!" Skye said, her eyes widening. "I forgot it was this good. I wonder if they've just perfected their recipe…"
The two turned away from the cider stand and headed towards Tim, Brian, and Dave, all of whom were standing at the edge of the woods. They looked up when they saw Jack and Skye approach, Tim waving enthusiastically again.
"So?" he said. "Wh-what do you guys think?"
Jack was caught off guard by his friend's stutter, forgetting for a moment that he was still nervous around Skye.
"It's very good," Skye said, taking another sip. "Hmm, I'm gonna have to drink it slowly, though. I don't really have enough money to spend it on excessive amounts of pumpkin cider."
"They must really count on that if they give everyone a free cup first, don't they?" Jack said, thinking out loud.
"Oh, they know who they're marketing to!" Tim laughed. "Over the years I've gotten pretty good at talking my dad into giving me extra cash, so I usually go back a few times. And of course Brian's one true love…"
"Hey, you don't have to tell everyone!" Brian said.
Tim shrugged.
"Everyone here already knows," he said. "It's the only reason you went through the line, wasn't it?"
"And she wasn't even there…" Brian said sadly.
"Just wait around there, she'll be back a bunch of times!" Tim assured him.
"How is it you know Sheila Frost better than I do?" Brian lamented.
"I know everyone better than you, because you never talk to people," Tim answered.
He turned and started walking across the field, Brian hurrying after him.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To look for secrets around the property, duh," Tim replied. "You guys coming?"
"Um…" Jack started.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna go anywhere we're not allowed to!" Tim clarified. "But there's a lot of space to wander around here, and this is one of the only times the Lunarians let other mammals on the property."
Skye shrugged.
"Sounds like it could be interesting," she agreed.
"Great!" Tim exclaimed. "Come on, companions!"
He continued heading off in a seemingly random direction, away from where most of the mammals were gathered, and the others followed. They reached another path into the woods, and Tim started leading them down it.
"Have you actually been on any of these paths before?" Jack asked.
"Oh yeah, he does this every year," Brian replied.
"Are we even sure we're supposed to be here?" Skye inquired.
"Well…" Tim started nervously. "No one's ever said we couldn't come this way. And they've always been pretty clear on the places we're not allowed to go, so I figure this is fine."
"Yeah, that sounds like a brilliant idea!" Brian exclaimed sarcastically. "Are you trying to get Hayden to eat us?"
"Dude, Hayden's cool, he's not gonna eat you," Tim replied. "Plus, you don't have to come along if you don't want to."
Brian just sighed and shook his head, continuing to follow after Tim along with the rest of them. Jack wasn't entirely sure what they were out here for, but he couldn't help but appreciate the scenery as they walked along. Tim would occasionally say something about how he recognized a part of the path, but for the most part they walked in silence for a while.
Eventually, the path split into a fork, and Tim led them down the left fork. A little ways ahead, the path led them into another clearing, though this one was much smaller than the one they'd played Snowball in.
"The Secret Place!" Tim announced, turning around to face the group. "Dunno what it's here for, but it seems pretty cool, doesn't it?"
"Not really that secret, since we come here literally every year," Brian said, unimpressed.
Tim glared at him and folded his arms.
"Well, our new friends haven't seen it yet," he said. "What do you guys think?"
Jack walked forward a little and looked around at the area. It didn't look like anything special, just another random clearing in the woods. Then again, he couldn't help but wonder what it was here for. Even if the clearing itself was natural, the Lunarians must have some use for it if the path led here, right?
"What are we supposed to see, exactly?" Skye asked.
"W-well...nothing specific, I guess," Tim said. "Just this place out here for seemingly no reason. Kinda suspicious, don't you think?"
Skye examined the area herself for a few seconds, not looking surprised.
"Pretty sure this is just one of those places wolves come to howl," she said. "Not really all that unusual."
Tim's eyes widened.
"Wait, how do you know that?" he asked. "And why would they have a random field to go howl in, of all things?"
"Don't ask me, I'm not a wolf," Skye answered. "It's just one of those things they do. From what I hear, they like to be out in nature when they do it, but it's easier to gather a lot of wolves if you have a big field like this. You've never heard of this before?"
"Well...no, actually," Tim admitted, frowning. "That...makes sense, though. Can't believe I didn't think of it…"
"Guys, how long are we gonna stay out here?" Brian interjected suddenly. "It's getting dark, and we're gonna miss the hayride if we don't get back soon. Plus, I don't wanna go missing out here before I get to talk to Sheila."
"Yikes, Brian, you don't have to be so panicky," Tim said. "Yeah, we can head back now. Come on, guys, the path loops back over here."
He led them across the small clearing to another path that looked more or less like the first one. Sure enough, it was a short walk from there back to the Lunarians' massive front yard. Jack couldn't help but chuckle softly when he realized Tim had intentionally led them down the longer path.
They didn't talk much on the way back, which meant Jack's mind was free to wander and he found himself thinking about what Skye had said. It made perfect sense as an explanation, and he supposed that her being a predator was likely the reason she knew more about wolf culture than Jack and his friends, even if she wasn't a wolf herself.
He wondered if Tim was mildly disappointed. He seemed less talkative on the way back, perhaps because the answer to his 'secret' was not as exciting as he was hoping for. Though it also made Jack wonder if he was reading too much into the mysteries he was curious about. Maybe there really wasn't some exciting reason for his and his father's stripes, or their family history in Winterhaven. Maybe Skye Winter wasn't as dangerous as Tim thought.
He was also pretty sure that Brian in particular was uncomfortable with them being out there alone with Skye, but he was impressed that he, Tim, and Dave had been brave enough to go anyway.
Pretty soon after they made it back to the main field, Natalie came running up to them, a small group of does with her.
"Hey, there you are!" she exclaimed. "Dad's been wondering where you got off to. They're going to start the hayride before too long, if you want to come."
"Of course!" Tim replied. "As if Lord Timothy Snow would ever miss the royal procession of our esteemed lupine monarchs!"
Natalie gave him a look that was somewhere between confused and concerned.
"...Ok, then," she said. "Guess we'll see you there."
"Ignore him," one of the other does said. "He's always like that."
"I heard that remark, Courtney!" Tim shouted. "How dare you speak in such a disrespectful way towards—"
"Yeah, whatever," Courtney said.
She and the others turned and walked away, Natalie along with them.
"We should probably go find Dave and Brian's dad," Tim said. "He'll know when the hayrides are gonna leave."
He led them the rest of the way to where Bob was indeed overseeing the hayrides. Jacob was there as well, along with several of the other adults. A good number of kits were already hanging out there too, including Ian and Xander, who were both already seated on the hay.
"Hey, little bro!" Ian exclaimed upon seeing Jack, jumping down from the hay and walking towards them. "We're not gonna start until it gets a little darker, but you guys can hang out here if you want to."
"You're Jack's brother?" Tim asked.
"Yep," Ian confirmed. "Ian Savage. I got selected to help supervise this operation, along with Xander over here, but he's been on his laptop the whole time."
"I'm currently trying to map out the route," Xander clarified.
The next half hour or so luckily went by pretty fast, as Tim and Ian had taken to each other pretty quickly, and the rest of the group mostly elected to sit and listen to them, occasionally jumping in. It was hard for Jack not to realize how much more natural Ian was at conversing; despite Tim also taking to him almost instantly, Jack had never been able to keep up with his energetic friend.
Dave, of course, didn't say a word, but neither did Skye. She had taken a seat a bit down from Jack, away from everyone else, and proceeded to sit in silence. She was only made to join the conversation a little while later when Ian asked her to introduce herself.
"Oh...me?" Skye said, looking up. "I'm...Skye Winter."
"They met 'cause Jack's locker is with the preds for some reason," Tim explained.
"Oh, right," Ian chuckled. "They only had four lockers left in our usual spots. Jack was pretty eager to take the 'special' one, from what I remember. So...you guys know each other pretty well?"
"Well, we kind of...just met not that long ago," Skye answered.
"Yeah, and we've only seen each other by the lockers before, until today," Jack explained.
Ian nodded, and turned his attention back to Tim and Brian. A few minutes later, Bob showed up to ask him and Xander for help with something else, so the two disembarked and headed off. For a few minutes, Jack and his friends were alone, but before long more mammals started climbing on to join them. Most of them were fairly small species, since they were the optimal size for this trailer. Jack was pretty sure he had seen a few bigger ones somewhere in the field, so he guessed Bob wasn't the only mammal who would be driving one.
It was also dark by now, the last light from the sun fading behind the trees, so he guessed it wouldn't be long now.
Once the trailer started to fill up, Jack and his friends scooted closer together. He sat in between Skye and Tim, who had Dave and Brian on his other side. As the other mammals boarded—most of them prey—they generally kept their distance from Skye. By the time Natalie and her friends got on, there wasn't much space left, but the group of does managed to cram in on the opposite side from Jack's group. Natalie noticed her brother and waved.
Finally, Bob returned, though Ian and Xander were nowhere to be seen. He climbed up onto the trailer and smiled.
"Is everybody ready?" he asked, grinning wide. "We're just about to get going if everyone else is. A few of the others have already gone, and we don't wanna wait too long."
"Let us be off into the night!" Tim exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.
His proclamation was followed by cries of approval from most of the others, though Jack was pretty sure he heard one or two telling him to shut up.
"Awesome!" Bob said. "In that case, I'll just get—"
"Wait!" another voice called. "Wait! I'm coming too!"
The voice belonged to a white doe who had dyed hot pink markings on her fur and looked like she was probably close to the same age as Jack, or maybe a year or so older. She was holding a cup that Jack guessed had pumpkin cider in it.
"Cutting it kind of close, Sheila," Bob said.
"I know!" the newcomer replied. "Just had to make sure I got some more before they close down! I'm ready now."
She then hurried over to the spot on Skye's other side and sat down, taking a sip of her cider.
"'Sup," she said simply. "Never seen you guys here before."
Bob was already getting off the trailer and heading around to get in his truck.
"Hey, Sheila!" Tim exclaimed, eyes widening as he smiled brightly.
Sheila rolled her eyes.
"You again?" she remarked, then turned to Jack and Skye. "You guys know each other?"
"Yeah, I knew Tim when I used to live here, a long time ago," Jack answered. "And I met Skye—and Brian and Dave—when I started school here."
Sheila narrowed her eyes like she was suspicious of this information.
"Interesting," she said, before turning her attention back to the pumpkin cider.
"Is this the same Sheila that Brian was talking about?" Jack guessed. "She does seem to like that cider, after all, but…"
He couldn't quantify it exactly, but something about the doe struck him as really odd. He wasn't even particularly surprised by the pink markings, even though such a thing would have been much rarer back home. But without much reason to justify it, he didn't dwell on it too long.
Soon enough, Bob's truck started up and they began to move. Tim pretended to wobble around and shrieked, causing many of the rabbits to pull their ears down. Brian just shook his head.
They went down a path that Jack didn't recognize; it wasn't the one Tim had led them down earlier. As dark as it was, he couldn't make out much of their surroundings, except that they seemed to be on a cleared path with trees on either side. The road was bumpy too, as the trailer jumped around a little as they moved.
"Alright, guys, be on the lookout for secrets!" Tim said, clapping his paws. "Last year that Narcissist Ned kept distracting everyone and we didn't find anything!"
"Who on Earth is Narcissist Ned?" Jack asked.
Brian violently shook his head in response.
"That's because he's, like, hot, and you're a loser!" shouted a doe from the other side of the trailer.
"Shut up, Courtney, no one cares!" Tim called back.
"He's a moron who recycles the same two or three lines on endless repeat," Sheila said flatly.
At this point, they were well into the woods, the only visible lights aside from the moon coming from Bob's truck and several of the kids' phones. Tim was already standing up on the hay and peering off into the distance, as if looking for something in particular.
"Do you understand any of what they're talking about?" Jack asked Skye quietly.
"Not really, no," Skye whispered back. "Prey animals aren't really enthusiastic about talking to me most of the time."
"I guess that Ned guy is probably a bunny, then?" Jack guessed, mostly thinking out loud.
"Probably," Skye agreed. "He's definitely not a predator. Never heard any prey around here call a pred 'hot,' that's for sure…"
"Wait, really?" Jack blurted out in surprise.
Skye chuckled, smiling a little.
"What, does that surprise you?" she asked.
"Well...I mean…" Jack started, at a loss for words.
The statement had definitely surprised him, but now he wasn't quite sure why. He was well aware that there was a significant divide between predators and prey, so shouldn't it make sense that one group wouldn't see the other in a positive light?
"Hey, striped bunny!"
"Huh…?"
Jack looked up, confused for a moment, until Natalie's friend Courtney spoke again.
"Are you and pred girl, like, friends or something?" she asked, practically shouting as she was on the opposite side of the trailer.
"Uh...yeah?" Jack replied. "Why are you...asking?"
Courtney and the other does sitting with her giggled, further adding to Jack's confusion. If anything, he almost expected her to warn him about the dangers of predators or something like that, given what he knew about the other prey here. This response didn't make sense to him at all.
"Is she giggling because she thinks I'm going to get eaten?" Jack thought. "Maybe I can ask Natalie to explain later…"
"Jealous of us, Courtney?" Tim laughed. "Why don't you come over here and join us? We're having a lot of fun!"
"Yeah, no thanks," Courtney shot back, giving him a look of disgust. "I'm not planning on ending the night in someone's stomach."
"What?!" Jack exclaimed.
He knew most prey here weren't fond of predators, but he hadn't expected her to say that. He glanced from Courtney, to Skye, to Tim, but none of them said anything.
"Wait, are you…" Jack started. "Are you actually saying that—"
"Jack, honestly, you don't have to," Skye whispered, now looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"Cheese and crackers, Stripes!" Courtney laughed. "What are you so upset about?*
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but a clawed paw on his shoulder stopped him. He glanced over at Skye, who gently shook her head. Reluctantly, Jack sighed and relaxed back onto the hay.
He was just about to turn and ask Tim to explain Courtney's behavior, when the trailer suddenly came to a stop. Jack looked around, confused. They weren't back at the Lunarians' yard yet; in fact, they seemed to be out in the middle of the woods.
"Uh…" he started.
"Courtney, you fool!" Tim exclaimed, throwing his paws up.
"What did I do?" Courtney shot back.
"Your remarks were so lame that they killed Bob's truck!" Tim replied.
Sheila rolled her eyes.
"That's pretty pathetic, after it survived you all this time," she said.
"You guys, this isn't funny!" Courtney cried.
"I dunno," Brian said. "Seems kinda funny to me."
Courtney continued lamenting their situation, and several others joined in the conversation or talked amongst themselves, but Jack tuned out for a moment.
Clearly this didn't usually happen, or the rest of the mammals wouldn't be surprised by it. Maybe Bob knew what he was doing, but Jack had an uneasy feeling that this wasn't intentional.
Thankfully, it was barely a minute before Bob climbed out of the truck and came back onto the trailer.
"Hey, Dad!" Brian called. "What are we stopping for?"
"It was making weird noises and just stopped on me outta nowhere!" Bob exclaimed. "Tried to start it up again, but, uh…"
"Wait, are you saying we're stuck out here?!" Courtney shrieked, jumping out of her seat.
"Now, now, let's not panic!" Bob said. "I'm sure I can fix it, but I just gotta let you kits know what's going on! Everyone just hang in there for a little bit; this shouldn't take too long."
"Oh, unbelievable," one of the rabbits said.
"What are we supposed to do until then?" another asked.
"And how long is it going to take?" Courtney demanded, still sounding panicked.
"I don't know yet, I don't know!" Bob replied. "Hopefully not too long. I got my flashlight and my tools in the front, so I should be able to fix whatever's gone wrong pretty quick. Just hang in there!"
He turned and jumped back down from the trailer, heading back to the front of the truck. An awkward silence followed, none of the kits knowing quite what to make of the situation. Jack himself was just now noticing how dark it was out here, how eerie the forest looked…
"Alright, well, this'll be a perfect opportunity for all of us to have a bonding experience!" Tim shouted cheerily. "Who wants to—"
"That was a repulsively cheesy and unnecessarily wordy statement," Sheila remarked.
Tim folded his arms.
"Unnecessarily wordy?" he shot back. "Did you hear what you just said?!"
"Whatever," Sheila said, turning her attention back to her phone.
"You guys!" Courtney shrieked. "What if he can't get it fixed? Are we just going to—"
"If he can't get it fixed, he'll probably just call someone else to come pick us up," a male rabbit Jack didn't recognize cut in. "We're not really in the middle of nowhere; the Lunarians know all of these roads perfectly well."
"Oh, the wolves know how to find us!" Courtney said. "Thanks, that makes me feel so much better!"
"If you don't like wolves, then why did you even come to this event?" Jack asked, starting to get impatient.
The whole trailer went silent for a moment, and Jack wondered briefly if he'd missed something obvious. But with the way Courtney talked, it sounded like she didn't trust the wolves not to eat them. In that case, coming here didn't make much sense at all.
"Everyone comes to the Fall Festival, Stripes," Courtney finally answered. "Besides, just because the wolves own this place doesn't mean I have to go near them! It's a lot different being out here in the dark, off the beaten path, than being in the yard with practically the whole town!"
Jack wasn't sure how to respond to that. For a moment, he wondered if he was the stupid one. How did he know the wolves in this town wouldn't take advantage of a bunch of small prey like them, if they had the chance? His gut instinct was to say Courtney was paranoid, but then again, he knew very little about the Lunarians.
"Oh, I'm sure it won't matter," Skye said casually. "By the time they get here, I'll probably have eaten a good number of you."
Courtney shrieked and jumped back, despite being nowhere near Skye. The arctic fox just chuckled, while some of the other mammals shifted uncomfortably. Jack laughed nervously. She was just joking...right?
Tim was frozen in place, his eyes wide, while Brian had started whistling inconspicuously. Finally, Sheila laughed too.
"Wow, what's the matter with you guys?" she said disdainfully. "Can't take a bit of dark humor every now and then?"
She took a sip of her pumpkin cider, not looking worried in the slightest.
"It's not funny!" Courtney replied. "What if she really does try to eat us? We could—"
"Alright, kids, I've got some bad news!" Bob announced, climbing back up onto the trailer.
He looked around at the others for a moment, then frowned, seemingly sensing the tension.
"Yikes, what happened while I was gone?" he said with an awkward chuckle. "Anyway, uh...turns out it's been a good long while since old Bob here worked on a vehicle, and…"
Brian facepalmed.
"I told you Nate should have come along on this one!" he said. "At least he knows how to…"
"Well, if you're so full of opinions, why don't you try?" Bob shot back.
Brian held up his paws.
"Alright, I surrender," he said. "Won't make any more comments."
"Sir?" Skye said, standing up all of a sudden. "I...um...I have some experience working with cars. If you...need any help…"
"Hmm…" Bob said thoughtfully, while Courtney was getting visibly worked up in the background. "I could definitely use a paw out here! If you're up for it, go on ahead, uh...remind me your name again?"
"Skye," she answered. "Skye Winter."
"Come on, then, Skye Winter!" Bob said with a smile. "Let's go save my truck!"
(A/N) The Fall Festival still isn't over?!
I actually got the rules for Snowball from this other story I wrote on my computer, which had a game that was basically identical. No reason to try to make up something completely new, right? XD Especially when I don't know much about sports. And I know even less about cars, which is why all the talk about fixing Bob's truck is very vague. I don't even know enough to make an educated guess about how that would work.
I have a bunch of things I want to say, but I think it would be better to let the story speak for itself, so I'm gonna stop now. Hope to be back as soon as possible!