WOOOOOO! Here it is, the next chapter of Found! This one took a bit of time to get written! Also, if you haven't already heard of it, be sure to check out the spin-off mini-series based on this story! It's called Hall Monitors, and takes place in the future, following the adventures and mishaps of Lily, now in middle school, as a Hall-Monitor, who supposedly takes her duties a little too seriously...

Found (Chapter 21)

by

Elite Shade

Massive waves churned, making the ship rock violently from side to side. The rain came down in stinging torrents. The pitch-black sky would briefly be illuminated by flashes of lightning. Marcus gripped the railing of the ship, looking back at the blazing fire coming from the engine compartment. All around him he could hear screams from the crew, seeing one crewmate engulfed in flames, his screams piercing to the very soul. A huge wave smashed into the side of the ship and swept the man overboard. Marcus could still hear him screaming. He could see several crewmates in the water, their lifeboats having capsized. Tears were running down his face as he could see them looking up at him, their accusing eyes demanding answers that the boy could not give to them. Then, the fire finally reaching a fuel tank, there was an explosion...

And Marcus sat up in his bed, screaming. Zach and Vanna burst in through his bedroom door, looking terrified.

"Marcus, what's wrong, son?" Zach asked.

"We're sinking and everyone's in the water! We've got to get to the lifeboat and start helping them!" Marcus cried, his eyes wild as he looked around the darkened room in confusion.

"Marcus, Honey," Vanna said after sharing a brief worried glance with her mate. She approached and spoke with a calm voice. "You're not on the boat anymore, you're home. You were just having a nightmare."

"No! They're in the water and in pain, and it's all my fault! I have to do something!" Marcus said, trying to spring from his bed, only to be stopped by a large orange paw with black stripes. The sudden contact was enough to bring him out of his sleep haze, and the boy tearfully looked up into the tigress' eyes. His cheeks were still streaming tears that he started to wipe away.

"I-I'm s-so sorry," Marcus said with a sniff, "I-I didn't mean t-to wake you up."

"That don't matter one bit," Zach said, taking a seat next to the still shaking boy, glad to see how he was already starting to calm down. "Would you like ta talk about it, son?"

Marcus looked away. "I-it was j-just a nightmare, M-Mr.- I m-mean, Z-Zach."

"What did ya mean that it was all yer fault?" Zach pressed. Vanna frowned, and had just opened her mouth to tell Zach not to push the boy, when Marcus spoke in a whisper that was barely audible.

"Th-they wouldn't h-have been pursued i-if it wasn't for me," he said, fresh tears trickling down his cheeks. "I-I d-did something and... so many people d-died because of it. N-not j-just Captain Blackthorne and his crew either. A-all b-because of me."

Vanna and Zach absorbed that information, with Vanna still resting her paw on Marcus' shoulder, now giving him what she hoped he knew was a reassuring squeeze.

"Marcus, please know that we are here for you, and that you can tell us anything," she said. Marcus looked unsure.

"I'm afraid... that you won't believe me..." Marcus said, his voice still a whisper. Hearing him like that made Vanna and Zach's hearts ache.

"Son, we found yer lifeboat, and everythin' there matched yer description o' what happened," Zach chimed in, "plus, on top o' that, there's the fact that yer our pup. 'Course we're gunna believe ya."

Marcus seemed to be conflicted for a moment; then his shoulders sagged. "M-my... blood f-father i-is a... powerful mammal. H-he... did a lot of bad things to so many... and... I h-hated him. O-one day... I openly defied him... h-he had me p-punished," Marcus winced and shrank back in on himself a little as he said it, and both of his foster parents immediately knew that Marcus was reliving the day he got the scars on his back. "I-it was... public... and so many of the mammals he had hurt watched... and b-became even angrier. A r-riot started... but I d-don't remember much... b-because I passed out. Captain Blackthorne explained to me, when I woke up, how he and some friends of his got to me in the confusion, and whisked me away... they put me on his ship after letting a doctor treat me... and then we were off, heading to another h-hidden human city. B-but my father sent the other ship after us and..." Marcus stopped talking as he choked back a sob and shook his head. "It was my fault."

The wolf and tigress were both stunned by what they had just heard, but immediately recovered. Without thinking, Zach pulled Marcus into a hug, rubbing his back.

"From what it sounds like, all them folks made their own decisions," Zach explained. He could tell, thanks to the Hunter Intuition, that the pup sitting before him wasn't lying. "It sounds ta me like they had just had enough of yer... former... father's," just thinking of the mammal who had hurt his pup so made Zach's blood boil, but he was quick to get back to the matter at paw, "wrongdoin's. If he was as powerful as ya said, then they more er less knew the risks, and chose ta help ya anyway. None o' that is yer fault."

"B-but, I chose to... embarrass him, in public. I knew he was going to do something extreme... I just... I h-hated him so much f-for all he did..." Marcus argued.

"Son," Zach continued, "that doesn't matter. 'Cause from what y'all told us, them folks back wherever yer hidden city is, they felt the same way. That things had been buildin' up and up... and that it all explodin' like that was a given. If anyone's at fault, it's yer... it's the mammal that hurt ya."

Marcus sat there, seemingly dumbfounded. In that very moment, Vanna could see that this piece of information was a revelation to the kitten. She took a seat on the other side of Marcus, and draped an arm around his shoulder, being extra careful not to squeeze too hard. "That's absolutely correct," she said, nuzzling the top of the boy's headfur. "You are a brave, caring, sweet boy, who went through something terrible."

"... I don't... know..." Marcus said, confused.

"Well, we do," Zach said, matter-of-factly, his tail starting to wag, the speed of which picked up as he saw the corners of Marcus' mouth turn up in a small smile. "So how 'bout we stay here with you 'til ya fall asleep, and then, if'n yer comfortable with it, we can talk some more about this in the mornin'?"

Marcus wiped his eyes again and nodded. "O-okay," he said with a slight hiccup. Marcus crawled under the blanket and sheet that Vanna pulled over him. He had been surprised by her planting a gentle kiss on his forehead, but he said nothing, instead he yawned and smiled. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep and, relieved, Zach and Vanna quietly exited his room.

Dawn's eyes fluttered open from the gentle caress of the morning sunlight on her cheek. She stretched a little, snuggling into the soft fur of her mate's neck fur, his quiet snoring tickling the back of her neck. The ewe looked around to find that she and Vernon were not alone in bed. Trevor was sleeping draped over his father's side, with Lily snuggled down in between her mother and father. Dawn found Alice curled up in a ball, tucked right up against her stomach. Not for the first time, Dawn felt her heart soar from waking to find that their lambs had snuck into bed with them. Rubbing her stomach, she felt excitement at the prospect of... even more joy.

It was then that Princess Callibrie, who was laying on top of Dawn's head floof on the pillow, stirred and stretched. The reptile opened her yellow eyes and let out a snort. This seemed to be sufficient enough to rouse the sleeping Alice. The wolf pup let out a yawn, having been cuddling Princess Floppington in her arms. She was wearing her new pink pj's. Dawn was happy to see her wanting to try wearing things she clearly wanted to wear. Trevor was wearing the astronaut pj's Trent and Qali had gotten him as a gift, having heard he had a love of sci-fi.

"Morning, sweetheart," Dawn quietly said, giving her eldest daughter a squeeze.

"Mornin'," Alice mumbled, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"I take it that you and your brother and sister decided to sleep with us some time in the night?" Dawn asked, a smile on her muzzle. Alice looked embarrassed.

"Well... Lily and Trevor were feeling a little... scared... that's all..."

"Understandable," Dawn said, repressing a giggle, "it was so nice of you to escort them to us in our room."

"Well, yeah..." Alice trailed off, her tail thumping giving her away. Soon, the rest of the Bell-Hunter clan awoke.

"Is someone makin' pancakes?" a sleepy Lily asked, sitting up in her Our Mini Ostrich pajamas, the Prism Bolt themed ones.

"It's funny," Vernon said while leaning over to whisper in his mate's ear, "her sense of smell don't seem all that strong, unless sweets're involved." Dawn giggled and nodded her agreement.

"Probably yer grandma is makin' us all some pancakes fer breakfast," said, louder so his pups could hear him. Instantly, the three children froze, before all scrambling out of bed, Lily in the lead, cheering. Princess Callibrie scuttled after them, her heart-shaped pet tag glinting in the light where it dangled on the pink collar around her neck.

"Well, that's one way to wake up," Dawn giggled, cuddling closer to Vernon's neck ruff.

"It's certainly one of the best ways ta wake up, Lambchop," Vernon said, before he nuzzled his mate. Not wasting anymore time, the two quickly got out of bed. Vernon was wearing a simple white t-shirt and light blue shorts, complete with bedfur. Dawn was wearing one of Vernon's shirts, which was practically a forest green knee-length dress on her. Putting on her glasses and only pushing up her head floof a little, they, hoof in paw, headed out as well. Vernon had always felt comfortable going about in his pjs in his childhood home, and at this point in their relationship, so did Dawn. Going down the stairs, they simultaneously smiled when they could hear the happy giggles and excited chatter of their pups.

Upon entering the kitchen, they saw Trent at the table with Alice sitting next to him, excitedly talking about her soccer team. Qali was seated next to him, bouncing in her seat. Giselle, her long neck contorted to fit in the house, was bent over above and across the table, talking with Trevor about their favorite books. Lily was standing on a stool at the stove with Audrey, helping to mix up the pancake batter. Everyone was happily chatting at the table, still in their pj's, sporting differing styles of bedfur.

The exception being the, of course, well-groomed and well-dressed Xavier, already in a charcoal grey suit and red tie, despite Malcolm sitting next to him, nuzzling into the prim and proper wolf, and Zach, Vanna, and Marcus. But those three had the excuse of living down the road, so of course they'd have to get dressed first before coming over. Vernon, pulling out a seat for his mate, sat down next to Alice, giving her a headrub, which made her blush before continuing to excitedly talk about the next upcoming game for her soccer team.

"Well, of course we'll be there," Trent promised, Qali nodding enthusiastically while still bouncing in her seat. "I double-checked and made sure that it'll be on my day off, so expect to see me and Qali there to cheer y'all on."

"I'll bring some airhorns!" the arctic vixen said, making Alice and Trevor giggle.

"You wit an airhorn sounds dangerous, Fluff," Ada chimed in. Qali responded by sticking her tongue out at the hyena, who in turn just laughed her cackling laugh.

"Here we go, an extra special batch that Lily helped me to make," Audrey said with pride as she carried over a large platter with quite a few stacks of pancakes on it, steam still slowly rising off of them, the smell making everyone's mouths water.

"Good job, Princess," Vernon praised his youngest pup as she headed in their direction, everyone already loading their plates and pouring on maple syrup.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Lily reached up and gave Vernon a hug, setting his tail wagging, before rushing over to do the same with Dawn. Lily then giggled and ran over to where Ada and Yuri were sitting, and surprised the black wolf by climbing into his lap to give him a hug as well. Yuri looked caught off guard and nervous... but his tail showed his true feelings as it was wagging as well. The black wolf's yellow eyes looked over at Ada, who had a smug look on her face. He rolled his eyes, knowing that this was going to spark yet another conversation from her about how they should start a family.

"Thanks, Uncle Yuri, fer my present!" Lily ended the hug but continued to sit there in Yuri's lap. Vernon frowned a little, confused, after getting his own plate.

"What? I can't give gifts?" Yuri said with a snort and a smirk. He speared a slice from his own stack of pancakes on his fork and took a bite.

"Uncle Yuri found some glitter an' gave it ta me, despite the shortage! So me and grandma made Princess Pancakes!" It was as Lily said this that multiple sets of eyes went wide, as most of the seated mammals, including Dawn, had already taken a bite from their own stacks. The chewing quickly stopped and everyone turned to glare at Yuri, who had stopped chewing as well, having felt an odd crunch in his pancakes. Vernon was now the one smirking and let out a chuckle. The larger wolf got up and walked over to Yuri.

"Do you like it, Uncle Yuri?" Lily asked, looking up from where she was sitting in the black wolf's lap with her wide brown eyes.

"That's right, Uncle Yuri, smile and tell yer niece how good her 'Princess Pancakes' are." Vernon patted his brother on the back, and earned himself a glare.

With a hard, painful-looking swallow, Yuri nodded. "Oh... I-it's wonderful, Darlin'..." Yuri stifled a cough. Despite eating a mouthful of glitter, the smile and hug that it netted him from his youngest niece was enough to take some of the sting away.

"Hopefully you'll stay on page with the family glitter embargo from here on out?" Vernon whispered in Yuri's ear. Reluctantly, he got an irritated nod from Yuri.

"Y'know, I'd be willin' to bet that Yuri'd like ta go ahead and have the rest of the stacks on the platter there!" Wade loudly announced.

"That sounds about right," Trent chimed in.

"Yes, it would only be proper, after all," Xavier said, before reaching over and picking up the platter with the remaining pancakes on it, tipping them onto Yuri's plate. Trevor and Alice were both clamping their mouths shut to keep from laughing.

"A-are Princess Pancakes a special breakfast?" Marcus nervously asked while leaning over to whisper to Zach and Vanna.

"Well... sorta," Zach said, having already swallowed his own bite, "Yer little cousin there loves puttin' glitter on and in stuff, and yer aunt an' uncle have her convinced that the stuff's become purdy scarce, so as not ta hurt her feelin's." Marcus looked confused at that, but simply nodded, and took another bite from his stack.

Dorian, who winced as he swallowed his own bite, looked at his mate in confusion. "How'd ya let that happen, Auddey?" he said in low tones.

"I'm not sure how she got it in... musta been when I looked away fer a second, but it was literally just one second, Dori," Audrey said. The two then noticed Ulric out of the corner of their eyes in the corner. He was holding a plate with one paw, and running what looked to be a geiger counter over his own stack. Honey had already scarfed down her own pancakes, unconcerned about the bits of twinkling plastic, and was instead rolling her eyes at her mate.

"Ulric, what are you doing?" the badger asked.

"Checking to see if these are houman spores!" he said in a frantic whisper. "My current investigation has led me to believe that they are part mushroom!"

"Oh! Before I forget!" Lily gave her Uncle Yuri another quick hug, and then hopped down and ran out of the room. Acting quickly, everyone started to dispose of their pancakes in the trash; Malcolm was quick to tie off the trash bag and take outside to dump into a trash can before hurrying to take a seat next to Xavier. The slightly plump wolf had just taken a seat when Lily returned, carrying a piece of paper. She jogged around the table, Qali looking like she wanted to pounce on the paper as Lily got closer... only to cross her arms and pout when her niece continued past, and stopped before Zach, Vanna, and Marcus. The little human girl looked up at the human pre-teen boy nervously, and held out the paper.

"I made this 'cause I wanted ta welcome ya to the family," Lily said. Marcus took the paper and unfolded it. It was a picture of him dressed in a tiger-striped coat, in the pumpkin patch. To his left was the fairy princess version of Vanna that Lily had been working on previously. To his right... was Zach, also dressed as a fairy princess with a wand, in a pink puffy dress and big butterfly wings, with a pink bow attached to the tip of his tail. Looking it over, Vanna and Zach were both blushing, yet smiling.

"Awww... is that really me?" Zach asked, his pride having been stung, though he was still happy to have been included in one of his niece's pictures.

"Uh-huh! I was gunna make you a knight, but Uncle Yuri said that ya really are a fairy princess who loves the color pink," Lily excitedly said.

Zach shot Yuri another glare while the black wolf, and Ada, both cackled. The rest of the assembled family also laughed and chuckled.

"No need ta thank me, Zach," Yuri said, wiping his eyes, "I was more 'n happy ta tell Lily about how much of a purdy princess y'all are."

"Awww, so are you, Uncle Yuri," Lily said as Zach had opened his mouth to speak. Lily held up a picture for all to see. It was a photograph, showing a small black wolf pup, not even a year old, crawling on all fours, dressed in a poofy yellow princess costume, complete with bows and a tiara. "Grandma was showing me some of the funny family pictures yesterday, and I found this one hidden in the back, stuck under another couple of pictures! So see? You're a pretty princess too!"

There was silence as Yuri's eyes went wide, before everyone burst out laughing as well, even Marcus, who had seemed so lost. Vanna and Zach both noticed and smiled to one another. While Yuri grumbled to himself, he looked up at Vernon.

"Vern, y'all gotta teach yer little gal the importance of keepin' some stuff under her hat!" he hissed.

"I tried that already, and she took it too literally. The reason I lose my wallet and keys now is because, to keep them safe, Lily puts them under any hat she can find. Besides, it looks ta me like this is one secret that everyone is happy got brought to light."

"I knows I sure am!" Ada cackled. "It gives me an idea for me and my Mookie's special 'playtime' when we get back home ta Seaodda."

"That ain't happenin, Ada," Yuri said, not liking how his much larger mate simply continued to cackle at that.

Dawn found Marcus sitting by the creek. She and Vern had tentatively interacted with their new nephew, both being sure to be careful to not startle the boy. The ewe felt so much sympathy for him, being very familiar with abuse growing up as well. But, unlike her, Marcus had a support network, herself included. As was evidenced when, after the amusement of the morning's antics had died down, she and Vernon had been approached by Zach and Vanna, who had explained about Marcus' nightmare the previous night, as well as his apparent survivor's guilt. They had agreed to broach the subject of Marcus seeing a therapist with him once they got back home, making sure to know to explain it in a way so that he wouldn't come to the assumption that they thought he was crazy, but more needing additional help with sorting through and dealing with his feelings. Taking a deep breath, the ewe walked over to take a seat to her nephew's right.

"Hello there, Marcus," Dawn said, looking up at the boy with a gentle smile.

"O-oh, hello, Mrs. Hunter," he stammered, having not been told that she and her mate had decided to combine their last names.

"You can call me Auntie, if you'd like," Dawn offered, feeling awkward.

"O-oh, uhm... okay..." Marcus said, appearing just as awkward as the ewe felt.

"Marcus... there's something I'd like to talk to you about." Dawn rolled up the left sleeve of her blouse, revealing her sheared forearm. There, in the center, was a half-moon scar. "My father gave me this scar, and a few others, when I was just a lamb."

Marcus' eyes went wide, and he sat there, saying nothing, his full attention on Dawn. Taking another deep breath, Dawn pushed on.

"He was... not a good mammal. He would get mad and drink and... I and my mom would bear the brunt of his anger, especially when it got physical. This scar here was from him using his belt... the buckle caught me and, well..." Dawn trailed off. Looking up, she could see that Marcus had tears in his eyes.

"What I'm saying, Marcus, is that you are not alone. All of us Hunters are here for you to talk to."

"B-but... what i-if they don't believe me?" Marcus asked in a whisper.

Dawn smiled reassuringly, her own eyes prickling with tears that she was quick to blink away. "The Hunter intuition is great at sorting out the truth from lies." The ewe took the boy's hand in her hooves. "We're all willing to listen, and we will believe you." To Dawn's amazement, Marcus leaned down and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. She could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks landing on her head floof, and simply smiled.

"... Where I come from is... really different from this place..." Marcus said after a moment of silence. Dawn nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.

"I-it's so different that... that's why I'm afraid if I tell the entire truth, that it won't be believable... b-but, i-if you really think th-that... uhm... Z-Zach and V-Vanna will believe m-me..."

A short while later, just after the sun reached its Zenith, Dawn and Vernon were sitting on the porch swing with Zach and Vanna.

"After the initial awkwardness, we had a pleasant chat, with Vernon joining us," Dawn explained, patting her mate's knee.

"It was nice gettin' ta know my new nephew. He's still a bit skittish, but he's a good pup."

"And he was more than happy to explain some things about human health, once we explained about our concerns with Lily," Dawn explained to her brother and sister in law.

"Turns out that the docs were right, they are omnivores, so lettin' li'l Lily try my burgers didn't hurt her none, and that humans have a set of baby teeth when they're young that gradually fall out ta make room fer adult teeth, of which they only have the one set. He did get a little uncomfortable about somethin' ta do with human females around puberty, but he gave us a word that Ada said sounded familiar, and that she'll look up proper later."

"We're so happy that Marcus opened up to you both," Vanna said, beaming.

"Yeah, he's really started ta come outta his shell proper," Zach said, his tail a happy blur, "that's why later today, after everyone's finished goin' home, I gotta surprise fer him!"

"He really is a sweet lamb," Dawn said, happy to have found a connection with her new nephew.

"And... uhm... did you talk to him about... seeing a therapist?" Vanna queried, now looking a little uncomfortable. Dawn reached over and patted her paw.

"Yes. And he is open to the idea. He's mainly worried that you'll either think he's lying or crazy."

"Ah, the Hunter Nose can tell if he's fibbin'," Zach said with a wave of his paw, "and after being deputies fer awhile now, we're purdy good at spottin' crazy, and my boy ain't crazy." Vanna smiled and leaned down to plant a kiss on her mate's cheek.

"Still, we know of some great local child psychologists who have experience with... kittens that have been abused," Vanna said. There was a general nod between the four mammals there before they all heard Audrey raising her voice.

"Everyone! Gather 'round! There's somethin' y'all gotta hear!" Audrey called out, her tail looking like a helicopter blade about to allow her to achieve liftoff.

Curious, everyone started to drift over, adults and pups alike. The older she-wolf looked just so ecstatic, that she, much like Qali, was bouncing a little in place standing next to her mate. Dorian was smiling, looking a little awkward, but happy nonetheless.

"Before everyone starts packin' up to head on back home, there's a little somethin' we wanted to tell y'all," Dorian started, intending on drawing it out a bit more, until Audrey just blurted out, "WE'RE PREGNANT!"

There was a shocked silence, before Audrey continued.

"Three pups, all girls! FINALLY!" Audrey let out a howl that, had the boys and Alice not all been so surprised, would have triggered their howl reflex. Instead, there was more silence, before Vernon tentatively started to voice virtually everyone's thoughts on the matter.

"Ma... ya mean that yer actually... pregnant?"

Audrey nodded happily.

"B-but, Ma," Zach said, "a-at yer age..."

"What about my age?" Audrey asked, an edge to her voice, planting her paws on her hips.

"Uh... uh..." Zach spluttered before Xavier jumped in.

"It's just, Mother, that it's a little surprising, is all."

"I'll say!" Dorian said, having literally passed out after being given the news.

"Grandma's gunna have babies?" Lily's voice piped up.

"I sure am, Sweetpea!" Audrey said with a nod, prompting Lily to shriek with joy and run up to give Audrey, who was quick to scoop her up into her arms, a big hug. The sudden surprised tension having been broken, everyone was quick to hug Audrey and Dorian and congratulate them. It wasn't too long afterwards that everyone had to finish packing up for their trips back home.

The first to leave for the airport were Ada, Yuri, Ulric, Honey, Malcolm, and Xavier, who all got a lift in the truck, driven by Dorian to the airport, despite the three couples going on different flights. Trent and Qali had rented a car for the drive up from the tri-burrows. Dawn and Vern and the pups all shared a Zuber with Wade and Giselle, who rode with her head sticking out of the sunroof, with Vernon sitting with Princess Callibrie in her pet carrier.

It was later in the afternoon that the last of the visiting family had left, and Zach found Marcus sitting under the tall tree in their backyard. The boy was writing in a notebook when he heard the approaching pawsteps. He looked up to see Zach smiling at him, approaching with a blue duffel bag over one shoulder.

"Hey there, Marcus," Zach said, setting the duffel bag down on the grass, "I got a little surprise fer ya!"

"A surprise?" Marcus asked, confused.

"Yup! Since y'all have gotten so good at playin' catch, I figured now's the time ta introduce ya to baseball!" Zach leaned down, unzipped the duffel, and pulled out a baseball, a baseball glove, and a wooden bat, all brand new and ready for use.

"H-how do we play?"

"Well, there's quite a few rules ta the game, but fer now, how about I teach ya how to swing a bat?"

"O-okay, s-uhm... Z-Zach..."

Vanna watched from a window as Zach showed Marcus the proper way to hold the bat, and how to take a swing. The boy had seemed a little nervous about swinging what was basically a wooden club. But, as Zach talked him through it, he started taking practice swings with more confidence. Vanna smiled, her heart fluttering, seeing her mate and her kitten bonding, deciding right there on thinking up some activities for her and Marcus to bond over as well. She watched as Zach had Marcus standing, ready to swing, and walked away a bit. After a few more words and a nod from Marcus, Zach wound up a pitch. It was actually a soft underpawed throw. Marcus hit the ball, which shot straight forward and clocked Zach right in the throat. The wolf fell to his knees, coughing, as Marcus ran forward, and Vanna quickly headed outside to check on her mate.

Dorian was listening to the radio as he drove the truck back towards the direction of the ranch. He had waited until the last of his pups and their mates' flight left, in this case Ulric and Honey. As he drove along, he spied the old Bellwether Manor up over on the hill. Ever since the announcement of the mysterious new owner, local interest in the old place had skyrocketed. Giving it another glance, he saw that there were several vehicles there at the moment. On a whim, instead of continuing on back home, he turned off on another road that took him in the direction of the manor.

Pulling up, he saw that there was an army of construction mammals and professional movers, going about to and fro. Sounds of construction were already heard, along with the beeping of a large ZU-Haul truck backing up and parking. The movers lowered the ramp part and opened the back compartment, and started carrying out furniture from the house and into said truck. While that was happening, there was a backhoe digging a hole for what Dorian presumed to be a massive new septic tank. And amidst all of the hustle and bustle was a lynx in a midnight black suit with a red tie, giving directions, standing next to a black limo. Parking his truck, Dorian got out, and started to approach all of the commotion.

"The power is off, so the electricians have already gotten started on the rewiring of the property. Tomorrow is when the landscapers shall arrive to begin their work." The surprisingly deep voice of the lynx could be heard by the older law wolf as he approached. There was a distinct accent to it, one of which sounded South Africat to Dorian. It was then he saw that the mammal in question was speaking into the rolled down window of the limo. Just as he got within ten feet of the limo, the door opened.

Out stepped a mammal with a long, lanky frame. They were dressed in a pinstripe suit with a matching fedora, with black fur, combed, visible underneath. Their leather shoes were like polished black mirrors. They were holding in their left furless paw a walking cane with a silver human skull at the very top, red ruby eyes glinting in the sunlight. The mammal in question was, undoubtedly, a human. His face was angular and sharp, with skin paler than Marcus' had been.

"Excellent work, as always, Bandile," came the slippery smooth voice of the human man, an accent of his own sounding similar to someone from New Boarleans.

"Thank you, Mr. Dice," said Bandile. The two looked up at the manor before the human spoke again.

"Just look at it, my friend! This is a house with a lot of history to it... some very dark memories... but now we'll get to make some of our own!" he said, sounding thrilled. This made Dorian frown.

"Care to explain that?" he called out. The two mammals he had addressed turned around. The lynx with his soft tan color and spots, his tufted ears perked up, and yellow eyes regarded Dorian cooly. The human's steel grey eyes looked over Dorian, a twinkle of mischief in them that the sheriff did not like. He even had what appeared to be a red silk pocket square to match his tie in the coat of his suit.

"Oh, you must be Sheriff Dorian Hunter!" said the man, who stepped forward and held out his hand; the smile on his face, while wide, did not reach his eyes.

"I am Kirin Dice, and it truly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Dorian shook the mammal's hand, everything about him setting off alarm bells in the back of the law wolf's mind, not that he'd let it show.

"Nice ta finally meet y'all," Dorian said, amicable as he usually was. "You've stirred up quite a bit o' interest 'round these parts, what with bein' so elusive."

"I had figured as much. But, due to certain business constraints, I could not find the time to arrive in person any sooner. Thankfully, I have my valet, Mr. Palaver," Kirin said, gesturing to the lynx, who in turn held out his paw. The overall coolness of the feline also raised some red flags for Dorian, but he held his tongue.

"In regards to your question, I had been referring to the bad memories associated with this property, as well as my own excitement at the prospect of creating new, and significantly more happy, memories." Dorian couldn't detect any trace of a lie in what he had been told, but could feel that there was more going on. However, Dorian was willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt... even if guardedly.

"Well, that certainly would be a nice change of pace fer this place."

"Agreed, Sheriff, as I find this relocation to be a nice change of pace as well." Dorian looked Kirin Dice over with a little more scrutiny, and was struck by how young the mammal before him seemed to be.

"I hope that you don't mind my askin', but how old are ya? Ya don't seem to be that far out of yer teens to me."

Kirin let out a chuckle and waved his hand dismissively. "I don't mind at all, Sheriff, I'm actually twenty-two."

"Seems like quite a bit of money for a renovation project of this scale," Dorian said, gesturing to the manor and all the hustle and bustle of the crews going about their jobs.

"Agreed, but it is worth it to breathe some new life into such a fine home," Kirin said.

"Well, I just saw the cars and decided to pop in and say hello, I won't keep ya," Dorian said, feeling like he had gleaned all he needed for now.

"Feel free to stop by anytime, Sheriff, I do so enjoy the prospect of getting to know the folks of my new hometown better," Kirin said, still smiling that hollow smile.

"And I'm sure that we're gunna wanna know more about you too," Dorian said with a nod, just as he turned to head back to his truck. It was as he was getting in that his phone started to buzz. He pulled it out; it was a text from Rudy, informing him that Mr. Dice had arrived in town. Dorian rolled his eyes, and sent back a text informing the Northern Meadowlands Representative that he had already met up with the mammal in question.

And there you have it! FINALLY got to introduce Mr. Dice, a character who I've had in the wings for a while now. Anyways, be sure to leave a review or comment to let me know what you thought of the chapter, as it really is a great pick-me-up! And thank you for taking the time to give this new chapter a read!