EDITED BY: DrummerMax64

Chapter Ten - Home Sweet Home

'Now arriving at… Bunnyburrow Station.'

The rattle of the train car's speaker woke Edward up from his refreshing nap, his eyes barely able to open from being so heavy. He sat back up from his laying position and threw his backpack he used as a makeshift pillow onto his lap. He was almost glad that there were hardly any passengers on the train. Other than being embarrassed, he would have felt bad about taking up nearly two-thirds of the padded seats.

Edward lethargically rubbed his eyes and stared out the window. By the look and feel of it, the train had already begun slowing down to a near crawl for its arrival at the Bunnyburrow station. Soon enough, the platform came into view. He could barely make out the few mammals standing and sitting on the benches, but the train was still moving way too quickly for him to tell.

While the train was nearing its complete stop, Edward awkwardly pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He went through the usual routine when unlocking his device—checking his text messages, looking through his email, checking his FurBook wall, and other smaller applications—and found a few things that piqued his interest.

The first was a string of texts from Charles, who brought up an excellent point that he failed to consider when making this trip: They needed more sources.

If his hunch—that these 'Nighthowlers' had a larger purpose—was indeed correct, he'd have to do a bit more digging than having a simple talk with his father. He would need to gather more evidence for his claim. And if his hunch was correct, he would need to accurately determine in what way they played into whatever was going on with the missing mammals—the savage predators. But in order to figure out who he needed to talk to, the talk with his father had to come first.

The second thing he found sat inside the inbox of his Z-mail account. Accented in bright red italics were a couple emails from his friend and colleague, Anders. The email second from the top came at around nine o'clock in the morning titled: 'List of the Affected Predators So Far.' Edward tapped his pawtip on the email, gave its description a look-over, then tapped on the attached file. Sure enough, the names of every predator were neatly listed on the spreadsheet. He skimmed over a few of the names, some familiar, some new as he attempted to put faces to the names, pausing only when he managed to find the name of Emmitt Otterton.

Besides a chilling mental image of the mammal back at Zootopia General, everything about Emmitt was listed in his specified column—age, gender, species, job. It all looked fairly accurate, not that he didn't expect it. Anders was incredibly skilled when it came to information gathering. It was probably how he landed his job at the Gazette in the first place.

Having fully skimmed through the document, Edward closed out the attachment and went back to his inbox. He went to tap the next email, but didn't even manage to read the title before he felt the train come to a halt. The doors opened to reveal the station platform and its rabbit-shaped building.

Edward promptly stood up from his seat, checked the area for any items of his he may have dropped or left behind, then slowly strode towards the exit of the train car. The moment he stepped out into the open, the rays of sunlight berated Edward's vision and forced him to raise a paw over his eyes in protection. A gust of soft wind blew through the station while the sun distracted him, rustling both his shirt and fur on his face and arms.

Once the wind died down and his eyesight adjusted to the change in light, he scouted around his vicinity for somewhere to sit, eventually managing to find a bench near the entrance to the ticket booth erected in the middle of the platform.

Edward slowly sat himself on the left side of the bench and looked at the train with a sigh. The chime of the intercom played and the doors automatically shut before the train began to depart and leave towards the Podunk station.

Edward watched as the train picked up speed and eventually went out of view. He pulled his phone back out and checked the time.

10:35 , he read to himself. If I call a Zuber, it'll be just under an hour before I get dropped off back at home. I'll be early.

The silver-furred wolf leaned backward into the wooden bench and looked up to the partially cloudy sky. He took in a breath. After a couple more seconds of contemplation, he made the request for a Zuber and began the wait for his ride's arrival. In the meantime, he tried focusing his thoughts on lighter subjects to help keep his nerves more on the calm side. Oddly enough, it was working.

He recalled a fun memory of Sharla, Charles, and him all sitting together at a bar near Savannah Central. Charles was telling a really funny story about a waterpark date gone awry, while Sharla and him chuckled helplessly as he rehashed all of the embarrassing moments that he and his date had endured. It became fact at that moment that they couldn't go for a second hearing the term 'wave pool' without the accompaniment of a gaggle of laughs. Those were good times.

Perhaps when this story blows over, we can all go out and get a drink or two, he wondered quietly.

He tried his best not to dabble too much into the thought of his story for the sake of his nerves, but it seemed natural that the afterthought led him to thinking about the impending meeting between him and his father, Alabaster.

It begged the question if he was even remotely ready for what lie ahead of him. Sure, he had all the tools he brought with him at his disposal, but was he psychologically ready to face him, his father, with the history they both shared?

Before he could find the answer to it, and after a ten minute long wait thinking in circles, his phone buzzed and vibrated in the palm of his paw with the sound of the Zuber notification. It indicated that the driver he requested earlier had successfully made it over to the Bunnyburrow train station and his driver was ready for pickup.

Edward picked himself up from the comfort of his spot on the bench and strolled with his things over to the front of the station. When he made it to the front steps, he looked all around the loop that connected the station to the main highway that stretched through practically all of the Burrows.

He was happy to find that his driver was waiting patiently outside of his car for him, even going as far as holding a small portable whiteboard with the name ' SNOW ' written in bold capital letters. Unsurprisingly, he was a tan-furred rabbit, clad in a light red hoodie and a slimming pair of black denim jeans. Covering his eyes was a pair of silver-colored aviator sunglasses, while the top of his left ear sported a white and silver-studded earring. It looked like he was typing something into his phone.

Edward thought nothing of it as he got closer to the buck. He had just finished whatever he was doing on his cell phone before his gaze had caught the wolf's, who had shyly turned his head away. Still looking at him, the rabbit lowered the sign and pulled the sunglasses away from his face.

"You Edward Snow?" he asked uncaringly.

Edward's gaze was brought back to the buck attentively, noticing the piercing brown eyes before him. He cleared his throat, "Y-yeah, I'm Edward, Edward Snow," he nodded with an anxious stutter.

"Good," the rabbit said, putting his sunglasses back on. "Climb on inside and we can get going. By the address you typed in, it's gonna be a long drive so I'd rather not waste any time." He opened the backside door to the car, then suddenly turned back to Edward, extending his paw. "Oh, and before I forget, my name is Samuel Hopps, but you can call me Sami for short."

Edward flashed him a grin and rolled his eyes. Of course it would be a Hopps, he thought. Edward shook the rabbit's paw. "Nice to meet you, Sami."

The wolf quickly weaseled his way into the backseat of the rabbit's vehicle and set his backpack onto the open seat he wasn't using. As he buckled himself in, he took in his surroundings, noticing first that this car wasn't some bunny-sized sedan, but rather a mid-mammal-sized car suitable for even a short cheetah with about a half an inch of wiggle room at the roof. For himself, Edward was considerably short for his species, and had a good six inches of room to work with—give or take.

After shutting Edward's door, Sami moved to the driver's side and expertly hopped into the driver's seat, quickly adjusting it and the pedals to accommodate a mammal his size. He fiddled with the rearview mirror for a second or two and buckled himself in before eventually shutting his door. The rabbit wasted no time in placing his phone with the GPS application open onto the mount located near the middle of the dashboard, then put the car into drive. As he pulled out of his spot in front of the station, he adhered to the directions of his GPS and turned right out of the station loop and started down the highway, westbound towards downtown Bunnyburrow. Past the town a couple miles down would be the final destination, the Snow family home.

Edward let out a sigh. He placed his head atop his paw, his arm resting on the dark plastic just before the window. He could feel the anxiety beginning to build inside of him just thinking about where he was heading. Although it was minute, he could feel the panic starting to swell. All he could do now that he was bound for home was take in the sights. That was the plan. His introverted mind was ready for some more peace and quiet.

But what he didn't expect was the voice of a rabbit whose patience had reached its limits.

"So," Sami drew out with a bland tone, "what brings you to Bunnyburrow? We don't really see too many wolves around these parts—"

"Besides the Wolfsteins and the Lupins, that is." Edward chimed in, hoping to deflect his question.

"You know them?" the rabbit perked up, his brown eyes catching a glimpse of the wolf through the reflection of the rearview mirror. He gave a light chuckle. "You must be from around here then."

"I did. I used to live here with my family before I left for college," Edward confirmed, the buck's sight once again honed in on the road ahead. Edward could already feel himself getting antsy just mentioning his family, and it only got worse as he continued. "We— they live on the far side of town at the farm, almost near the border of Deerbrook near Podunk. Because of my job and where I work in the city, I rarely come around here that often. It's been around… five or six years since my last visit, give or take."

Sami threw a semi-stunned expression Edward's way. "Why the long wait to come back?"

Edward hesitated at first—mainly because of how his anxiousness began to chill the very bones in his body. A shiver shot down his spine as he tried to control the nervous spike as best he could. He was reluctant to share his life story and make his driver's ears bleed. So instead, he gave the rabbit an obscure answer to chew on.

"Things just kept on getting in the way. Work, family, my friends, my own gripes; you know how it goes."

"I understand," Sami nodded.

It went quiet once again in the inside of the car as they continued down the highway. All the talk about Edward's family didn't pursue Sami to spark another conversation, which inevitably led to some large amounts of awkward silence.

Instead of dreading the thought of maintaining social interaction like a normal mammal, Edward attempted to sway his thoughts by looking out from the car window at the sights passing him by, spotting a familiar vacant lot and a red barn that was getting a well-deserved coat of red paint. He chuckled to himself and wondered when the next Carrot Days Festival was. It had to be soon, summer was just around the corner.

"You mind if I put on some music?" suddenly the rabbit's voice asked as he fiddled around with the audio controls in the car and the phone sitting in its mount on the dashboard connected via AUX cord to the center console.

"Not at all," Edward replied with a smile, then returned to looking out the window.

"Any preferences?"

"I'll leave it up to you."

"Alright, if you need me to change it or if it gets too annoying, just tell me and I'll turn it to something else."

"Sounds good."

The soothing rumble of jazzy tunes filled the car as the rabbit quietly hummed to the bassline. This, however, quickly caught his attention.

Edward was pleasantly surprised at two things. The first was the choice of song—'Can't Sleep Love' by the world famous acapella group, Pentafawnix, from their recent album of the same name. The second was directed at Sami and how accurately the rabbit was hitting the low notes of the song. He'd expect something like this from someone such as Charles, at least he had that rich bass tone. If only Charles could hold that tone. But, this tiny rabbit was hitting a large majority of these notes with relative ease. It was a nice distraction to say the least.

But, the distraction didn't last long. As much as he didn't want to think about Alabaster or his family, he couldn't just ignore the problems that were beginning to stack up behind the scenes. There was the bigger issue of the lack of sources for their story. What if there was more to Edward's hunch that meets the eye? If they didn't have content for the story past the interviews from the relatives of the savage predators, they could kiss their jobs goodbye. There was that to think about.

Then there was the question of how he would react around his family now that the wedding and the funeral had come and gone. He hadn't exactly seen them since he and Sharla left for college after all, and even then he wasn't too keen on talking with them after they were so thrilled that he was marrying a prey mammal. The only exception to this of course was his mother. She was so happy for him during the ceremony. One could tell that she was one the proudest parents around that day. She got to see all of her babies wed, and even got to witness the birth of Lavender's two pups.

A low sigh flowed through Edward's nose. He missed her dearly. It was hard to comprehend that going back home meant she wouldn't be there to greet him and hug him when he walked through that door. She was everything to him. She was the one who pushed him to pursue a writing career in the first place. He wouldn't be where he was without her push. How could he face his father now that she was gone?

Was she truly at peace? Edward wondered, placing his gaze up to the clouds. Charolete left everything and everyone she loved behind that day, and yet up until her dying breath she looked like the weight of the world was just as light as a feather. She was such a strong-willed mammal; he only wished he could achieve her level of confidence. She must've felt terrible that she was leaving this world so soon.

Edward thought a silent prayer for her, as another soft breath left his lungs. He had to be strong.

For now, he would try and put his focus on the task at hand. He needed his story, and he needed his job. Getting information was priority number one, and talking with his father was merely the first step. He had to be prepared for whatever lied ahead. There was still the drive to enjoy before then, and he planned on enjoying every moment of it.

Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to enjoy the sights of Bunnyburrow's farms, forests, and hills. It all looked stunning. After spending so much time in the city, he had forgotten about the blissful look of nature. It managed to calm him so much to the point where he found himself drifting in and out of sleep until a nap finally did him in.

When he woke up, he was confronted with the beginnings of Downtown Bunnyburrow.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Sami quipped.

Edward sat up in his seat and awkwardly stretched his body out. He pawed at the switch on the door until the window rolled down, peeking his head out when he could comfortably see without worry of his muzzle hitting or touching the glass.

He recognized most of the shops he and his family visited when he, Gary, and Lavender were children. They passed the candy shop, the old movie theater, the park, even Wallace and Son's . However, there was one store they passed that caught his eye. Hanging along the wall in big white bold letters was a sign with the name Gideon Grey's Real Good Bake Stuff. The inside looked packed to the brim with mammals.

Edward raised a brow. "Gideon… bakes?"

"Yep," the rabbit said, stopping the car at a traffic light. "That's Gideon's bakery. One of the top pastry chefs in the Tri-burrows last I heard."

"Really?"

"One of the best bakers in town. You know him?"

"I… used to know him back in high school."

"That explains it then. Hard to know one of your friends doing something like that, huh?"

Edward was quick to defuse that statement, "Oh, no. No, Gideon… wasn't my friend." A moment of hesitation got the words he was going to say stuck in his throat, but eventually he managed to get them out. "In my family I'm considered the 'runt of the litter,' so long story short, I pretty much got bullied on a regular basis."

"Yikes. Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine now, though," Edward muttered in an attempt to be reassuring. "I haven't heard from any of my bullies since high school, so it's not really an issue anymore. But, still, the fact that he bakes is pretty neat. Maybe I'll come down here to get a cupcake or something when I have the chance."

"Well, I don't know if your family has this covered, but if you need a ride there later on today, I might be able to join in with you. I could never pass up on a slice of his cakes."

Edward laughed lightly, "I'll let you know, Sami."

The rest of the drive through Downtown remained unchanged for the most part. The only thing that seemed different were the mammals walking the streets. There were a couple moments where Edward swore he recognized a couple of his friends from high school, even six whole years after he and Sharla graduated. Though no matter how much he wanted to peek his head out further to say hello, his anxiety kept his curiosity at bay and his head inside the safety and comfort of the moving vehicle.

After a bit of stop-and-go traffic they were able to continue out of the bustling Downtown scene and onto the last stretch of road they would take before they arrived at the Snow family farm.

Edward compulsively double-checked the contents of his bag, making sure he was as prepared as possible to face his father. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, and the uncertainty only worsened his mindset. Before long, Edward could feel the nervousness creep back into his mind while his body began to shake involuntarily. A forceful breath forced its way from his mouth. Fear had started setting in.

The GPS app gave out the final direction as Sami turned the car down the long dirt driveway. Edward could see the house in the distance through the windshield. A gulp fell down his throat. Both Lavender and Alabaster's cars were parked out front.

"And, here we are," the rabbit said as he pulled the car up to the front of the house.

By the time Sami put the car in park, Edward could fully feel the butterflies fluttering around in his chest. His heart wasn't faring too well, either. He felt like a complete mess.

Edward fumbled around with his seatbelt and backpack before looking up towards the front porch. He took another breath, then weakly grinned at his driver.

"Thank you for the ride, Sami."

"Anytime, Edward," Sami smiled back. "Hope your trip back to the Burrows goes well."

"I hope it does too."

Just before the wolf could leave, Sami reached over and handed Edward a small business card. "Don't be afraid to call me up if you ever need a ride. I'm always available."

"Thanks, I'll definitely consider calling if I'm down here."

With a short set of goodbyes, Edward opened the door and jumped out of the vehicle, the dirt from the ground collecting onto his feet as he walked along the driveway. He went ahead and stuffed the business card into his wallet for safekeeping, figuring that it might be safe to have a ride back to the station if things didn't pan out well. Once he got to the porch of the house he watched the car turn around and speed off towards the highway, the tires leaving behind a trail of smoke as dirt kicked up into the humid air.

Edward then turned towards the door of his old home. He slowly took in a breath to rid some of his nerves (even if the attempt was futile) and went up the steps, then stopped when he reached the doorway.

He opened up the protective plastic mesh screen door and gave the front door a few knocks. The wolf stepped back and shut the first door, then stood silently on the porch for Alabaster to come and greet him inside.

His gaze began to wander across the length of the porch, stopping only when he spotted the pair of rocking chairs sitting on the left side. They looked immaculate, as if they hadn't been touched in , at the thought of cleanliness, a realization hit him. He had been sleeping on both the train and the car ride. More than likely his fur looked sloppy and undone. He began to panic. He frantically attempted to pat down and fluff the parts of his fur that felt messy, wishing he had some sort of mirror to help guide him.

Why am I worrying about this anyways, Edward frowned at the thought. It's not like it will make any difference. I'm the runt of the litter. The failure of the family. I mean nothing to them—

His last thought was cut off by the sound of the door getting tugged open. Both of his arms quickly came down to their sides. He held his breath. The door was completely open. Edward tilted his head in confusion at the lack of a mammal present.

But when the light gasp of a young pup filled his ears, he understood why. He looked down to see a familiar six-year-old wolf standing before him. She was beaming from ear to ear.

"Uncle Ed!" the brown-furred wolf grinned.

She rushed over to him and gave him the biggest hug she could. But, before he could crouch down and return the favor, another pup called out from the other room.

"Uncle Ed's here?!" Then came the scampering footsteps of the other young wolf, joining in on the hug.

Edward couldn't help but flash a smile. He ruffled the tops of the pups' heads. "Hello, Mary, Theodor. It's nice to see you two again." he greeted.

"Edward?"

The taken aback voice that sounded through the foyer pointed Edward's ears in the general vicinity of the sound while his gaze was cast towards the figure standing in the middle of the living room. It was none other than the owner of this old farm home, Alabaster. It appeared that he had sneakily come from either the depths of his study in the far corner of the house or the couch in the living room. He was dressed in a red polo shirt, blue denim jeans and a blue jean jacket, a gold metal band adorning his finger.

"What's all the commotion…" Lavender asked, her sentence trailing off as she looked at both Edward and Alabaster. She then hurried over towards the kids standing next to Edward, and lightly pulled them aside. "Come on you two, we still have to finish making lunch."

"Aww, but mom, I wanna see Uncle Eddy!" Mary pouted.

"Uncle Eddy will join us in a bit, Mary. Grandpa and him are going to talk for a bit then they'll join us for some lunch."

"...Okay," another pout came before the family of three shuffled back over towards the kitchen.

That left both Alabaster and Edward standing muzzle to muzzle in the foyer in awkward silence. The sounds of quiet conversation filled the air for a moment before Alabaster got the chance to speak.

"I'm glad you could make it down here, Ed," he started in a low voice, accompanied with an out of place smile. "Why don't you set your stuff down in your room first before we go on about this story you were telling me about. Your old room should be ready, not that it needed anything in particular. Everything should be how you left it."

Edward started up the stairs without a word, the squeaky cries of the wood at his feet echoing harshly around the room. He brought his paw up to relieve the irritating itch that had formed. But, while doing so, he discovered something else. His ears were flush against the top of his head. When exactly did his body decide to show he had his tail between his legs, he began to wonder. Did he want to spell out that he was still weak?

Regardless, it seemed that the feelings he shared between him and his father wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

o o o

Unbeknownst to Edward, the wolf standing at the foot of the stairs was watching him climb every step until he finally turned around the corner. A frown formed on his muzzle before he turned tail and headed back towards the living room.

o o o

The silver wolf shuffled down the hallway and took in his surroundings. He could practically feel the nostalgia bleeding through the pink paw print-themed wallpaper and the creaky wooden flooring. He gazed at all the doors, still imagining how he, Gary, and Lavender had their room set up before. But when he looked through the open doorway of Lavender and Gary's old bedroom, he saw the makings of a little pup's room and the differences of the two sides—dolls, art supplies, and playhouses on one side, then the scattered bits of sports equipment on the other. It was like witnessing a second Gary and Lavender all over again. Only this time, these siblings were some of the kindest, most well behaved kids anyone could ask for.

He walked past the bedroom that Mary and Theo shared and stopped just before the final door at the end of the hallway. He had to wonder, would his room be the same as he left it like his father told him? He could imagine the utter disrepair that his room could be in. It was probably trashed for all he knew. All of his old things sprawled out over the floor and tabletops, his pictures of Sharla and Charles defaced and damaged. Edward's family—his father specifically—disliked his marriage to begin with, so it wasn't far from the realm of possibility.

But, the fact that they could, or rather would , invade his personal space and just deface his own property, it didn't sit well with him. Though the memory was foggy, he could remember how Gary had taken something of his that he had bought with his chore money and nearly ruined it during one of their arguments. The thought alone made him fume. His stuff was his, that was it. He couldn't stand when someone couldn't respect personal property. It was morally wrong.

It only took a few seconds after having this thought for Edward's anger to reach its limit. In a sudden motion, he clutched the doorknob and gave it a hard twist, swiftly pushing the door open with a shove.

When he stepped inside, Edward couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was like his mind couldn't decide whether to feel shocked or (wait for it…) pleasantly surprised to see the state of his space.

It was pristine. There wasn't one thing out of place in his room—his bed sheets were laid out perfectly, his desk was neat and tidy, and even the carpets looked to be cleaner than normal. It was a strange sight. Had he left his room this way before he and Sharla left for college? He couldn't recall.

Edward took a couple of steps towards the center of the room. He was completely mesmerized. He lazily threw the bag on his back onto his bed and planted himself into the chair at his desk.

A quiet exhale left his nose. Was he relaxed? No, not in the slightest. Edward was simply relieved. He was very thankful that everything was where it was supposed to be. Now the one thing he had to worry about was the one-on-one with his father, which he would have to tackle very soon. This was just the calm before the storm.

Edward looked around the room and again took in how cleanly it was until he spotted something unexpected. He grasped one of the three photographs from the left of his desk, and looked closely at the faces staring back at him.

A light sullen smile crept up on his face. He remembered this moment.

It was the day of Edward and Sharla's wedding. Mammals from all sides of the family were in attendance: Sharla's family, a small handful of friends, and notably Edward's direct family. When Charolete saw Edward and Sharla in their wedding attire—more like when she saw how beautiful Sharla's dress looked—she insisted that they all take a picture together.

So, after much bickering, the wedding photographer went ahead and obliged to the family's request. Edward remembered how hard it was to smile with Lavender and her kids, Alabaster, and Gary and his husband lurking beside him, then recalled how Charolete cracked a quick joke that got everyone to smile. It was that moment that was captured in the photograph, the one that brought the family together that one time.

But, something didn't look right.

It wasn't the picture itself that seemed off to Edward, but rather the arrangement of the pictures that looked wrong. As far as he knew, before he left for college, there were three pictures he had on his dresser at all times: one with him, Charles, and Sharla back in high school, another with him and Charolete cooking together, and finally a family photo. He hadn't touched these pictures since college, so what changed?

Then it hit him. His eyes went wide. The family photo. It wasn't the same. The old one was from almost ten years ago, back when Gary, Lavender, and him were sixteen. That photo lived in infamy on his desk if his straight face in the picture didn't give it away. When he left he couldn't stare at it for more than two seconds without getting angry, and had to place it face down to where he couldn't see any of his family's faces. And that's how he left it. Now it was face up, and the photo changed, now with an additional two members of the family.

More importantly, it sported the bright smile of a certain ewe.

Did… did da— Alabaster … replace the photo? The thought echoed in his head. He honestly considered the idea, but eventually shook it off as some wild fantasy. No, it had to have been mom. She would have been the only one to change it if anything. Alabaster couldn't have. Not a chance.

Edward placed the photograph back down on the desk and thought up a silent 'thank you' to his mother.

The silver wolf got up from his desk chair and lethargically let out a deep yawn. He walked over to the bag resting on his bed and laid out a small notebook, a fine point pen, and double-checked the storage capacity on his phone. He was glad he had the sixty-four gigabyte model, he still had around forty left. Everything for the interview was ready.

"You getting ready for something there?"

The unexpected voice made him jump as his ears flicked in its direction. He turned around to the door and found a familiar white-furred wolf leaning with a blank expression along the frame.

"I'm just making sure I have everything ready for my interview with Alabaster."

"This for work or something like that?"

"Yeah."

The two remained silent for a moment, Edward returning to checking the rest of his things.

"Why don't you call him 'dad?'" the voice behind him asked.

Edward scoffed at the senseless question, his eyes rolling before he even dared to respond. "You of all mammals should know why I don't call him that. You are my sister after all."

"You never talk to me or anything, so I wouldn't know."

"I wonder why," Edward spoke under his breath.

"Well maybe if you acted a bit more—"

"What?" he raised his tone, turning back to her. "'More like a wolf?' Was that what you were going to say?"

"Geeze, so defensive. I was going to say 'normal,' but since you brought it up, that too."

"Really? You can't be serious right now." Edward placed a paw on his hip. "Are you still trying to get under my skin after all of these years? Isn't this getting a bit old now, the fighting?" He turned back to his things. "We aren't pups anymore, Lav. These fights aren't getting us anywhere. They're tearing what little friendship we had apart. Can't we just talk like adults instead of trying to argue like pups?"

"You want to have an adult conversation? Fine." Edward could feel the regret pulling on his heart. This wasn't going to end well. "Why do you feel the need to completely throw away what makes you a wolf in the first place?"

"If I recall correctly, it was Alabaster who pretty much threw me out of the pack."

"He never 'threw you out,' Edward. You walked away. I bet you just gave up because you were just too weak and didn't have the balls to even try. Even if you couldn't howl, you could have still challenged Gary for something greater than the Omega. You had so much potential to really nail him, the smarts, his weaknesses—"

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint," Edward shrugged. "It's kind of hard to try when nearly everyone in the family is against you. Like you said, I don't have a howl like you guys do, I don't have a bite like you guys do, and I certainly don't even have the strength to make the cut as a wolf. It's not surprising that barely anyone believed in my ability as a part of the pack. It's like everybody wanted to ditch me the first chance they got. Eventually, they did."

"You ditched us , Edward." Lavender pointed at him. "You ditched us for some stupid sheep and became some gross prey-chaser. Then you went and married her? It's hard to believe that mom let you go through with it anyways—"

"I think it's time for you to leave, Lav," Edward said sternly.

"What? What's the matter? Can't take the heat, Eddy? I'm only trying to have a friendly talk with you."

Edward turned to Lavender, shooing her away from the door. He could feel his pulse starting to race. His face was flush with anger at the mention of that age-old phrase used by both of his siblings. His voice nearly screamed when he shooed her towards the hallway. "Leave."

"Typical," she scowled as she stepped away from the doorframe. "Looks like you haven't changed one bit. You're so stubborn. I do hope you enjoy your short stay with us. I doubt you'll be here for long, prey-chaser ."

Edward slammed the door shut in her face at the mention of that degrading term. He walked back over towards the bed and hunched over his things, trying to wrap his head around the question 'why?' for the moment. Why would anyone within the family mind at this point if he didn't care for the wolf ways? It wasn't like he was treated any better if he did accept them anyways, he was the runt of the litter. He was treated badly regardless.

Once he knew for sure that Lavender would be back down the stairs and towards the kitchen, Edward grabbed the pen and notebook and moved towards the foyer. He was trying desperately to make sure he put on a straight face for his interview, but due to that conversation with his sister, there was a new chip on his shoulder, a fresh wound that so easily pierced through him.

Edward let her get to him. Again. To say that he was upset was an understatement. He was tired of it. One thing was certain though: He wouldn't dare let it happen again.

He slowly stepped down the stairs and looked into the depths of the living room. The space was dimly lit, the natural light from outside the only source of light that bounced around the room. However dim it may have been, it didn't take much to clearly spot the figure sitting hunched in the chair in the corner of the living room.

Unsurprisingly, this figure sitting in the corner was none other than Alabaster. He appeared to be holding something in his paws. Edward couldn't tell exactly what the object in his paws was, but he didn't care enough to want to find out.

He walked into the living room, a silent exhale leaving Edward's nose before he stopped a short distance in front of Alabaster. Now that he stood just a few feet away from his father, Edward could recognize the familiar shape of a picture frame clasped firmly in his paws, but couldn't fully see the picture that rest inside. Alabaster's thumb stroked the glass that covered the picture, his ears slowly beginning to fall to the back of his head.

Edward crossed his arms. He was becoming impatient, and it wasn't until he cleared his throat that Alabaster finally looked up from the picture.

"Edward?" his father jumped, holding the picture close to his chest. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

While Edward tried not to roll his eyes at the suspect overdramatic reaction, Alabaster let out a sigh and placed the picture frame back on the end table beside the chair, revealing the photo of both his father and Charolete together. They looked like they were, what, in their twenties when they took that picture? His mom looked so young.

"So," Alabaster started, "you had some questions to ask me about a story you were writing?"

"Yes," Edward nodded. "It—"

"I was thinking maybe we could take a walk around the farm a bit while you ask the questions, changing the scenery a bit won't do us any harm."

Edward waited for anything else to follow, then began to put in his two cents, "Yeah, the—"

"Now that you're here, perhaps you can see what me, the pups, and Lavender have done with the place—"

"Can I say something?" Edward finally got in, irritation notable in his tone.

"Sure," Alabaster hesitantly nodded, "fire away."

Edward took a moment to take a breather, a drawn-out exhale quelling some of the nerves that chilled his body. He looked to his father and quickly gathered some confidence together before a voice crack led the charge.

"Look, I know that this interview just kinda came out of the blue and we're still dealing with mom's passing… plus you all still hate my choice in marrying Sharla. Coupled with the bad blood between us, I'll try not to overstay my welcome. That way you don't have some weak runt getting in your guys' way."

Edward turned away and headed towards the front door, but was stopped when his father's voice quietly sounded in the corner of the room. "What do you mean by that?"

The silver wolf turned back to Alabaster, dumbfounded. "You really don't know? You can't be serious. You're telling me that you haven't seen how everyone in this family— including you , might I add—have treated me throughout my entire life?"

When he noticed no change in his father's glance, he huffed. Edward balled his free paw into a fist. That pushed him over the edge.

"There wasn't one day when I felt like I was something , that I could actually amount to something in this world. You were constantly beating me down to the ground. I could never be good enough for you. To make things better, Gary and Lavender reminded me every day how much I meant to the family through passive aggressiveness and blatant insults to me directly. At some point, Gary joined the bullies in school who were picking on me and filled them on how I couldn't howl, and how I'm just the runt of the litter. There was no relief from anyone other than mom, who actually believed in me and fought for me when you didn't. Life was hell .

"Keyword, was . It wasn't until I met Sharla that I actually felt like I could make something of myself. She was the one mammal pushing me and guiding me towards the goal that I'd never thought I'd achieve: being a writer for a big news company. I know that I never and will never be good enough for you. I will never reach the unattainable heights that you set for me. So, I stopped trying and I started living my life the way I wanted too. You have no control over my life, and I'm going to love and cherish my wife and love her until death do us part, Alabaster. That's a fact."

Alabaster stared into Edward's harsh glare until he stared down towards the floor. The silver wolf let out a harsh breath and turned his back to him.

"Let's just get this interview over with. You want to talk and walk? Fine. I'll be waiting on the porch when you're ready."

Edward took a few steps towards the door. Though he didn't like confrontation and starting fights, it felt liberating to finally have a voice after being silenced for so long.

Then came the words that stopped Edward in his tracks.

"I… I can't stop thinking about Charolete."

Alabaster's tone was low and soft, the resonance in his baritone voice bouncing along the walls, and Edward couldn't help but ignore his hatred for the moment and listen.

"Every time I wake up in the morning, I think I'll see her lovely face resting on the pillow beside me. Every time I walk through the house, I think I'll smell the food she used to make. Even when I see you three around the house, I think about that time at the hospital when you three were born. She was the love of my life, Edward. My… soulmate. Life just seems empty without her."

Edward turned around to see a sullen sigh leave the older wolf's muzzle as he hunched over, grabbing the picture and staring at it once more.

"I'm not sure if she told you, but this isn't the first time I've lost someone I loved. A few months before you were born, my dad died in an accident involving a drunk driver. He was so happy that he was going to become a grandfather. When we told him the news, he broke down into tears right on the spot. I've never seen him so happy. The day he died… the moment I had to walk in to confirm that it was him, I… couldn't handle it. It was as if something else died along with him that day, and I couldn't fathom what it was until it was too late."

Alabaster looked up to Edward with glossy eyes. Edward just simply watched and listened.

"Charolete loved each and every one of her pups. However, if there was one of her pups that she loved more than anything, it would have to be you, Edward. And I can finally see why. You pushed through all of the hate that was given to you by us, then you go and chase your dream and actually achieve it with flying colors. And just when you couldn't go any higher, you do the unthinkable and marry a mammal that you love and makes you happy.

"Edward, I can say without a doubt that you are one of the strongest mammals I know, and out of you three, you've made me the most proud."

The silver wolf stood there silently. Several emotions were attempting to reveal themselves as he held back the tears that were starting to form in his eyes, his free paw clenching back into a fist and the notebook and pen in his other paw creaking and moaning from the strain.

"Life is too short to hold on to stupid grudges. There was no merit in treating you like I did. Edward… son … words can't express how sor—"

"Stop," Edward said, stopping Alabaster in his tracks. "You're telling me you're just going to make a complete one-eighty? Just like that? Without any rhyme or reason?"

"I never expected you to forgive me right off the bat," Alabaster admitted, ears seeming to go even flatter against his head. "After how harshly I treated you, no, I don't expect you to forgive me. I just need to get this off of my chest so I can finally move on from my father's passing, and grieve for Charolete. But, even if you don't forgive me, it doesn't mean that I can't say that I'm sorry."

"No," Edward said as Alabaster stood up from his chair. The elder wolf stepped on over to him, Edward taking a step back as he got closer. "No… no, no, I can't accept this Alabaster." He kept getting closer.

"Edward," Alabaster said softly, stopping in front of his son. Edward stared at him with frightened eyes.

"Stop…"

Seeing this, Alabaster took the final steps he needed before his arms wrapped around his son. Edward didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry."

"Why're… you… you…." Edward began to sniffle, finally realizing what exactly he was feeling. He let the notebook and pen fall out of his paw and wrapped his arms around Alabaster. Edward never expected a hug from him to be so comforting. He felt… safe, protected even.

Edward couldn't remember when he started crying, but the thought barely crossed his mind before his mind shut down completely.

o o o

Alabaster kept repeating those same words as he continued to comfort his son, whose head was buried into his chest. Was it strange that he was beginning to shed tears too? No. It felt right. It felt like he was a whole new wolf.

Could it be that he was finally able to let go? That had to be it.

He petted the back of Edward's head as he sobbed into his shirt. Alabaster was convinced that Charolete and Norman were both smiling down at him, at both of them.

Home sweet home , the old wolf thought to himself.