Matt was sitting in a chair at the nurse's office. Monica was checking his wound. Matt's nose stopped twitching but his ears were still down. Everything happened so fast. His mind was still processing everything. The bunny winced as Monica cleaned his wound.
"Sorry." She said and continued her job.
"Good news. You won't be needing stitches but…" She picked up a razor. "We still need to shave the fur in that area to make sure that wounds will stay clean."
Matt looked at his forearm. Only 2 claws cut his skin. Wounds were not deep but rather long. He sighed and held his arm up for easy access. Electric razor was buzzing and soon the area around the wounds was shaved. It was quickly covered with a bandage.
"You should buy an ointment that will help your wounds heal. It's still too early to tell if they will be visible." She tried to cheer him up.
"It should be fine, they are rather thin so fur should grow over them." She said with a smile but it was quickly followed by her ears lowering. She massaged her arm and avoided his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I should have warned you about him. There was information in his file that he's a scratcher." She looked at him.
"It was just a busy day and I assumed that he would stay in his room." She looked at him with her big blue eyes.
"No problem. I understand." He said that but his body was tense. He kept his arms close to his body for comfort and his ears still hung low.
"I still can't believe that they put the fox in the bunny orphanage." His voice was filled with concern and shock.
"Yeah. It's weird. Normally we get herbivores when it comes to troublemakers. It's our first predator and he's a fox. The staff's worried but we'll get used to it." Both bunnies were uncomfortable talking about it.
"In some ways, we're lucky that we got a feral fox. I've read his file. Normally troublemakers like to stick together to cause chaos. Because of his condition, the bad kids didn't want to hang out with him. So he ended up being a loner. It's much better for us than the kit looking for trouble." She tried to sound casual about it.
"It's my first time seeing a feral up close. Of course, I saw them on tv but never in person. Is it rare?" His inner curiosity was showing up.
Monica sat in her chair. "Yeah. It's a manageable condition. He just needs a lot of physical therapy. He could comfortably walk with a cane. Some ferals can walk without it. Their gait is just different. It takes a lot of work to get to that point. Sadly the city isn't willing to pay for any of that."
Matt's ears shot up and his eyes went wide. "Really?!"
He had mixed feelings about the fox but still, the city should provide for orphans in need.
"Yeah. It's categorized as a quality of life improvement. Because of that resources are allocated to other kits with more severe conditions." She frowned. Monica had been dealing with the bureaucracy for a long time and she still was finding out new things that annoyed her. "To be fair to them, he can move around on all four just fine. You saw how fast he ran away."
Most mammals were able to comfortably walk on all fours. It just wasn't proper behavior. There were also so many advantages to walking on 2 legs. The simple ability to keep something in hand while walking was a big deal. It allowed for use of tools and weapons in motion. It was also much more convenient in the modern world since cell phones were invented. Kids sometimes like to play on all fours but they rather quickly grow out of it. They realize that they can't hold their favorite toy while they walk on all fours. Matt tried to imagine how his life would look if he had to walk on all fours all the time. Just going shopping would be annoying and people would not like to be around him.
"Yeah, I see the logic in that." He had to admit.
"But it still seems cruel to not give him a chance to walk on two feet." He sighed. "It also makes him unadoptable."
Matt knew a lot of statistics. Foxes rarely got adopted. In those rare cases when a couple wanted a fox, the kit had to be perfect. Most foxes spent their whole life in the foster system and just left when they were old enough. They stayed in awkward silence. It was a sad reality of the fox's life.
"I guess we should get back. We don't want kits to be worried about us."
When Matt got back to the picnic he assured everyone that it was fine. That it was just an accident. It was so sweet that those kits were worried about him. He tried to get to know every kit in the orphanage. Bunnies were rather good with names because they had big families. They insisted that he would play a few games with them.
"""
"I told you that it isn't a problem." Matt was sitting on his bed in an oversized t-shirt and boxer briefs. It was an early Saturday morning. He was rubbing his eyes trying to wake up.
"See you soon." He ended the call and fell back on the bed to rest for a few more seconds. After a minute or two, he groaned and made an effort to get up and make his bed.
He didn't have a lot of time so he went to his wardrobe to pick up some comfortable clothes. He lay them on the bed and rushed towards the bathroom for a quick shower. He owned a two-bedroom apartment with a large living room and an open kitchen. The apartment was meant for mammals that were a little bigger than him but it did not take that much effort to downsize it. It meant a lot more space for him. Only the kitchen needed to be remodeled. He did not mind a bigger bathroom. Another bedroom was a guest room with a nice big bed and a desk. Whenever he did not have guests over, he was using it as an office. Mammals were always surprised to see that he picked a smaller bedroom to be his. Matt did not need a lot of space and it would be easier to just move out the desk when he would get his kits.
He took a quick cold shower to wake up. He always enjoyed staying in the fur drier but that day he did not have time. He brushed his teeth and put on contact lenses. After that, it was a dash to the bedroom to put on the clothes and fresh bandages over his wounds. He wore a comfortable gray t-shirt and brown shorts. He ate a quick breakfast and made sure that the apartment was clean.
Doorbell rang. He opened the door and saw Tom, his hare friend from work. His wife Martha was standing next to him. They were holding their kits in their arms. "Please come in." He smiled politely and stepped aside to let them through. The whole family had gray fur that was standard for hares. "Nice to see you again." He smiled at his friend and his family.
"Mr. Matt!" Kits shouted happily to see him and as soon as they were put down 4-year-old kits went to hug him. He picked up Anna, Brian, and Connor to hug them. Both boys were wearing blue t-shirts and black shorts. Anna was wearing a pink t-shirt and a white skirt. He set them down and smiled.
"I left coloring books for you in the living room. You can start working on them. I need to talk with your parents." Kits nodded and rushed towards the table in the living room.
"Here you have a change of clothes for them and their PJs," Said Tom as he was handing Matt the bag. Tom noticed the bandage but the questions could wait.
"Sorry again for dropping them on you out of the blue." Said Martha but at the same time, she was nervously checking her phone.
"It isn't a problem." Matt took a toilet sit for kits from Tom. "I didn't have anything planned for this weekend and you have an emergency."
"We really appreciate it." Said Tom and shook his hand.
"We'll treat you to a nice dinner when we get back." Said Martha as she hugged him. "We'll be back tomorrow afternoon."
Matt nodded. "We'll be fine so don't worry. Have a safe trip and see you tomorrow."
"""
Matt was sitting on the couch reading a book and watching over kits as they were coloring. Brian went for a superhero-themed book, Anna preferred plants and Connor picked one with lizards. Matt knew that kits were trying to convince their parents to buy them a lizard. Apple slices were on a plate nearby for them to eat.
Matt heard the sound of something scraping on the wood. He looked from his book to kits. Anna was rubbing her pencil on her front teeth and nibbling it gently, not strong enough to do damage. He put down the book and went to the bathroom. He came back with 2 wooden cylinders of different colors and presented them to Anna. "Would you like pine wood or cherry wood?"
The girl looked up at him and seemed to realize that she was nibbling at the pencil. Something that she should not do. Matt with a smile showed her that she was not in trouble and held wooden cylinders in front of her.
"Cherry!" She squeaked and Matt gave her a darker cylinder.
She bit it and continued coloring. She was grinding her front teeth on the cherry wood. He got them an educational coloring book. Every white area had a dot in a color that that area should be. So the child could match it and see what the thing really looks like.
"I think that there's a cherry flower in the book. Can I see it?" He asked and waited for permission to take the book.
Anna was a quiet kid so she just pushed the book towards him. He noticed that she was trying to stay in lines but colors did not match dots in the area. Soon he found a page with a cherry flower and showed it to her.
"This is a cherry flower." It was a picture with a branch that had a few cherry flowers on it.
"Those flowers grow on trees that your wood is from." She pulled the cylinder out of her mouth and looked at it. She looked amazed.
"I want to see a flower tree." She said with a shine in her eyes. Kits were raised in the city so they didn't have a chance to see fruit trees.
"I'll tell your parents about it. There are few of them in the city." She smiled and nodded. She quickly went back to chewing and coloring. He looked over at the boys' coloring books. They didn't follow lines and added extra stuff on the page. Brian added some laser beams and explosions to his superhero. Connor was copying it, adding the same things to his lizard.
"What are you doing?"
Brian lifted his book. "Hero fighting a bad guy."
It was matched with Connor lifting his book. "And the lizard is fighting a bad guy."
They looked at each other and smiled
"So they are a team. Do they have adventures together?" He asked with a smile and was bombarded with stories about a flying hero, the lizard that was driving a car. and how they fought bad guys. Matt already knew that it was going to happen. Boys liked to tell crazy stories and he liked to listen to them from time to time. Matt overacted his shock and surprise when the boys told him something they found amazing. He was asking questions about their heroes and they were eager to answer them.
He looked at the clock and noticed that dinner time was coming up. He still needed to do some shopping. He was not expecting guests so his fridge was rather empty.
"Ok kits. Who does want to go shopping with me?" Matt of course could not leave kits unattended. However, they would be more willing to work with him if they would think that it was their idea. Their heads turned towards him and they were excited to go. Matt grabbed his wallet, phone, keys, and shopping bag. Kits were waiting for him in the hallway.
"Ok. Remember the rules. You stick close to me. Do not run. If you get lost, stay in one place and I will find you. Do not go with strangers. Do you understand?" Then he gave kits his business cards. "If some stranger asks you what is wrong, you can give them that card"
Kits were not really listening but he hoped that something would stay in their heads. There was a grocery store near his building so it was a short trip. Kits should make it without a problem. He grabbed the boys' hands and Anna took Connor's hand as they left the apartment.
It was not a long walk but it took a long time. Four-year-old kits weren't the fastest mammals on the planet and they were easily distracted. They had time so he let them check an interesting flower or watch some interesting mammal go by. He was pleased to see that they kept holding hands.
The grocery store was rather big so kits got excited when he got a shopping cart and put them in it. The shop was meant for small to medium mammals. Most mammals in the area were herbivores. There was only a small section for predators.
Matt already knew what he was going to get. He was going to make vegetable soup. It was healthy and perfect for growing kits. He already knew the layout of that place so was going from shelf to shelf collecting ingredients. He waved to a few mammals from his building that he was familiar with. Mammals smiled as kits were trying to convince him to buy some cookies. He caved in and bought some sugar-free cookies that they would get after dinner.
In line to the check up he was tickling and poking kits. They were laughing and were brightening everyone's day. At the check-up, a nice older sheep smiled at him.
"You have lovely kits." She said. Most mammals could tell the difference between hare and bunny but he did not mind.
"I'm just babysitting." He was packing his groceries as kits were playing with each other in the cart.
"Well in that case you'll make a wonderful father one day." She complimented him and Matt was beaming with pride.
"Thank you very much." His eyes were shining.
On their way back Anna got tired so he picked her up. It was not a problem. She was a small bunny so he held her close to his chest and could comfortably carry his groceries. Their adventure was tiring for kits so as soon as they got home, he got them to take a nap.
The rest of the day went by rather fast. He made a traditional vegetable soup. Kits were eating it without fussing which was a great success. Of course, they got their promised cookies after dinner. They still had some energy to burn so they went to the playground that was attached to the building and played with squirrels while Matt was watching over them. After that, they had supper and were getting ready for bed.
He watched as bunny kits were sleeping in a big king-size bed in the guest bedroom. They were hugging each other. Young bunnies like to sleep together so that was the reason for him getting one big bed. I was expecting to get kits at an age when they still prefer sleeping together. He left doors ajar so in case of any trouble they could easily get to him. He went to his own bedroom smiling. It was a great day.
The next day also went by very fast. He woke up early and prepared sandwiches for kits. They had a quick breakfast, watched cartoons together, and around the afternoon their parents arrived. It was earlier than he expected but that probably meant that everything went fine.
"Thank you once again." Said Tom as he picked up the bag and a toilet seat. Nearby Martha was getting kits ready to leave. Kits were talking about adventures that they had with Mr. Matt.
"I told you it wasn't a problem. They are wonderful kits and it is a pleasure to have them around. I had a lot of experience from helping out with my siblings." He smiled and was curious about his friend's trip. "So is everything fine with your aunt?"
"Yeah. It was a heart attack but they caught it early so she should be fine. We just wanted to visit her to make sure that she was fine." Tom sighed and his ears lowered.
"She just scared us but my uncle will take good care of her." Tom smiled softly.
"Ok, we'll be going so you can enjoy what is left of your weekend. We still need to set up that dinner that we promised you." Tom extended his hand. Matt shook it.
"We'll talk about it at work." Matt turned to kits and waved to them. "Bye."
"Bye, Mr. Matt." They said together and Martha gave him a quick hug.
"We'll babysit for you when you'll have your kits. I am sure that you'll want some free time for date nights." She teased. Matt looked at Tom who just shrugged.
"Good luck with the adoption process." She said as they left.
Matt looked around his empty apartment which was so alive a few seconds ago. Cartoons were still playing. He smiled bitterly. It was his perfect weekend and it ended. He switched channels to a news station and prepared dinner for just himself.
"""
"So how was the event at the orphanage?" Emma asked. They had a quick break while the software was processing data.
"It was very interesting. B6's were adopted before the event and I have a sneaky suspicion that Hoppers are working on the paperwork for B4's." He liked telling the good news. "It was a good year for the orphanage so most of those kits should find a home soon."
Emma giggled.
"I'm still shocked that you can remember the names of those kits." Sheep was thinking. "I have trouble remembering the names of my distant relatives."
Matt shrugged.
"I think it's a bunny thing." He looked towards Tom for support. "We're family-oriented and have large families so we learn to remember names at an early age. It just stays with us."
Tom shook his head. "I'm horrible with names but I'm from a small family so your theory can still be true."
"On the topic of curiosities." Owen finished writing an email and turned towards them. "What has happened to you?"
Gopher pointed at the bandaged forearm.
Matt lowered his ears and bit his lower lip. He was wondering if he should tell them the truth. However, that reaction got Emma's full attention and there was a shadow of worry on her face.
"I was scratched by a fox." As on cue, everyone glanced towards Liam. Liam narrowed his eyes and gasped annoyed.
"I'm a hyena." That made them turn away embarrassed by their reaction. Liam folded his ears against his head and looked tense. "Em… Can you tell us what happened?"
Matt lifted his ears curiously and looked at Liam. The hyena took that information far worse than Matt expected.
"It was an accident. He got scared and instinctively slashed at me." Liam exhaled and relaxed.
"How did you get in a fox's slashing range?" Tom sounded confused.
"He's the new kit at the orphanage. Since the orphanage is doing well they decided to transfer him from the overcrowded one." Matt explained.
"Whose brilliant idea was it to put a fox in the bunny orphanage?" At that point, Tom sounded annoyed.
"They were going to get a predator that the other orphanage didn't want and Monica said that they were rather lucky because they got a rather calm one." He was defending the kit. "He's handicapped so other predators didn't want him around. The fox ended up as a loner. I just spooked him. It was just an accident." He tried to convince them.
He could tell that his friends were not satisfied with that answer and Liam got quiet. He wanted to continue but a female deer approached their section.
"Mr. Parker would like to see you now." Ms. Pamela said.
Matt was confused but quickly went to his boss' office. Mr. Parker was sitting at his desk. The beaver had a stern expression.
"Please sit down." He pointed to the chair in front of the desk. Matt sat and Mr. Parker gave him a piece of paper. "Can you explain this?"
Matt blinked a few times as he read the title of the printed-out email that his boss got from the MR department: 'Anonymous complaint about speciest behavior.'
