Hey there, readers! Sorry that this chapter took so long! I just couldn't get it to come out! But finally, I was able to power through! I hope that you enjoy it!
Found (Chapter 31)
by
Elite Shade
"Oh, thank you, Timmy," Audrey said as she sat down at the kitchen table, wiping some sweat from her brow, giving her pregnant belly a rub. She smiled as she took in Tim, the teenaged human boy who had been staying with them at the ranch while he waited to be picked up by his uncle, walking in with his arms loaded down with bags of groceries, struggling a little as he set them down on the table.
"It is not a problem, Mrs. Hunter," Tim said, breathing a little heavily. He had not done much heavy lifting before coming - in part against his will - to stay with them at the ranch.
"So when was your uncle supposed to come and pick you up?"
Tim huffed once more as he set the last of the groceries down onto the kitchen counter. He then turned to address the she-wolf.
"Well... it was a little hard to make out, as it seems that he has picked up a bit of a Brayjun accent in his time living in the Lower Nocturnal District. But I believe around noon is when he was saying he was coming for me." Audrey looked at the clock on the far wall and took note that it was fifteen minutes until noon.
"In that case, how about I make you a nice lunch while we wait?" Audrey's tail started to wag as she felt the girls kicking. They'd been a bit more active lately as they grew nearer and nearer to her due date.
"You needn't go to such trouble for my sake," Tim started to say while Audrey stood back up with a slight grunt.
"Oh, hush, Timmy," Audrey said, reaching over and gently kissing the teenaged human boy on the forehead. He blushed, yet retained his composure. "It's no trouble for me at all. Besides, I still say that you need another good meal." Audrey had fussed over Tim about as much as she did over Marcus, especially when it came to meals. In her opinion, both boys needed plenty of good home cooking. Tim thanked the she-wolf and went about helping to put away the groceries. Audrey got out some freshly baked rolls and made up a turkey sandwich with one, remembering learning about humans needing vegetables as well and making up a side salad to go with the sandwich. Tim was grateful for the meal and thanked Audrey after he sat down, just before he dug in.
He had finished off the last few bites when he spotted something red coming up the gravel driveway. While Tim was not exactly a car mammal, he did recognize the make and model of the vehicle after recently watching Growlstine. It was a cherry red '57 Mammoth Fury, with old-time rock and roll floating out from the rolled down windows.
"Not exactly what I was expecting," Tim said after grabbing his dishes and setting them in the sink. He then exited out the screen door. He stopped when a large human man with a thick salt and pepper beard got out of the car, having turned off the radio and the engine. The adult human male's headfur was shaved. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt and jeans. He spotted Tim and held his arms up.
"Timmy mah boy! Y'all jus' sho' up lika weed!" the human man bellowed out with a laugh, his Brayjun accent quite thick.
Looking at the mammal before him quizzically, Tim finally recognized him. He had changed from his clean-cut appearance back in Kartakka all those years ago, but there was no doubt about it. "U-Uncle Cyrus?" Tim asked. Cyrus laughed and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his headfur.
Meanwhile at North Meadowlands Middle School...
Zach and Vanna were sitting at two chairs that had been set before the teacher's desk. The tigress was gently patting her swollen belly affectionately while her mate sat with his arms crossed, his hackles already up.
"Goofball, take it easy. Marcus' teacher said that he wasn't in any trouble," she said, attempting to soothe her mate.
"Then that just means that someone's been hasslin' our boy," Zach said with a frown, "that or that group of troublemakers has gotten him into somethin' he doesn't understand."
Vanna sighed, her ears twitching at the sound of the door opening. In strode Ms. Growliette, the female mountain lion wearing a light green sundress. She smiled at the two mammals as she took a seat across from them.
"Sorry about that, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, I got a little hung up. But it is so nice to finally meet you both."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Gowliette," Vanna said, "our kitten has told us a lot about your class."
"Well, he is just a delight to have. As you both must already know, he is a musical prodigy! Why, it seems that when he tries a new instrument, he quickly grasps the basics in almost no time at all." The mountain lioness beamed, always having loved teaching.
"Has someone been hasslin' my boy," Zach asked, looking the teacher over. Vanna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I'm sorry, Coach Hunter?"
"The way I see it, a teacher only calls the parents down ta the school ta meet with them if there's a problem," Zach explained.
"... Marcus does seem to be having a little bit of trouble around a few students-" Ms. Growliette said, before being cut off by Zach.
"I knew it! Someone is messin' with my son!" Zach's hackles were up, but he calmed down a bit when Vanna placed a paw on his shoulder.
"Nono, Coach Hunter, that isn't what I meant."
"Wait... you're not saying that Marcus has been... picking on another student, are you?" Vanna asked, now sounding worried.
"Not at all. Marcus is a sweet boy that gets along with most of his classmates. But... it seems that he is a bit more nervous around a specific species than others. I've noticed him in class and in the halls going out of his way to avoid interacting with other students of a similar species..." Ms. Growliette let what she said sink in to the couple before her.
"Oh... well... unfortunately, that does make some sense," Zach said, his tail starting to try and tuck itself while he sat there.
"Before we adopted him, he came from a place that had some very... odd notions about other species. When we first found him, he was terrified of everyone that wasn't a human," Vanna explained.
"That is unfortunate. But perhaps if he spent some more time around members of the species in question? Get to know some and interact with them? It could go a long way to helping him become more relaxed around his fellow classmates."
"Well... that could work," Zach said, wagging his tail a little. "What's the species that's got him scared?"
"That would be bunnies that Marcus seems to be the most nervous around," Ms. Growliette said. Zach and Vanna both sat there in stunned silence.
"A-are you sure?" Vanna asked.
"Bunnies?" Zach blurted out.
The Next Week...
"Thank you so much again, Dawn," Vanna said to her sister-in-law. The diminutive ewe looked up at her with a smile.
"It's no problem at all, Vanna! Vernon and I were already planning on visiting the Carrot Days festival with Nick and Judy over in Bunnyburrow with the lambs anyway, so why not have Marcus tag along? We get to spend more time with our nephew, the lambs get to spend more time with their cousin, and now Marcus gets to spend some time learning not to be afraid of bunnies. That's a win-win in my book," Dawn said, adjusting her glasses. While she had initially chuckled upon learning from Vernon about a text about Marcus' fear of bunnies from Zach, she knew that it was a serious issue for her nephew.
"Well, we really appreciate it nonetheless. I just wish that we could go too," the pregnant tigress said, rubbing her swollen belly again, feeling some movement inside. Dawn patted her own growing baby bump and grinned happily.
"I take it that Zach wasn't happy that he couldn't get out of the PTA meeting, even though he's the baseball coach?"
Vanna nodded. "He was so worried that I actually had to talk him down from making Marcus wear knee, shoulder, and chest pads as well as a helmet for the trip. I swear, he was even considering getting ahold of some bubblewrap and incorporating that somehow."
Dawn couldn't hold back the giggle this time. "Zach's still being a bit overprotective then?"
Vanna huffed and crossed her arms. "That's putting it mildly. He's starting to treat Marcus much younger than he actually is. I think it's because he's almost a teenager. Thankfully, Marcus doesn't seem to have noticed yet. Hopefully, this little alone will be enough for me and Zach to straighten this issue out, before he embarrasses our son." While the tigress and ewe talked, Vernon and Marcus were loading in the blue duffel bag that Marcus had packed clean clothes, his travel toothbrush and toothpaste, some books, and a few other things, while the younger pups were being distracted by Audrey with some fresh baked cookies.
"Ya sure that that's all, Marcus?" Vernon asked as he closed the hatch to the SUV that he and Dawn had rented for this trip.
"I am, thank you, Uncle Vernon," Marcus said, smiling nervously. "Papa had said that he wanted me to take a helmet at least, but Mama told him no."
"I see." Vernon snickered a little, but covered it by pretending to cough. He composed himself as he saw Marcus nervously pulling his tiger hoodie down over his eyes. "Aw, don't worry, Marcus. I promise that this is gunna be a fun few days. And yer gunna see that there's nuthin' to be afraid of when it comes ta bunnies."
Just as Vernon said that, a pair of arms wrapped around Marcus from behind, pulling him back with a sudden jerk. Marcus let out a surprised yelp, prompting Vernon to turn back and look. What he saw was Zach, giving Marcus a bone-crushing hug.
"Don't worry, Firefly," Zach said, making sure to use the nickname he had given his son recently, "yer Ma and I will only be a phone call away. If anythang happens, we'll speed on over, lights and sirens blazin', trang guns at the ready!"
"Zach, y'know Pa nor Vanna will let ya do any of that," Vernon said with his arms crossed. Zach's counter-argument was to simply stick his tongue out at his brother.
"Okay, maybe not, but still, we'll come and be there as soon as we can if ya need us, son." Zach squeezed the human boy tighter. Marcus smiled and hugged his father back. After a few moments, Marcus let go, and waited for Zach to do the same. A few more minutes passed and Dawn got the pups and Princess Calliebrie loaded into the car, yet Zach was still hugging Marcus, although it was slowly becoming more like clutching him.
"Zach, we need ta hit the road," Vernon said. Zach simply tightened his grip on Marcus. "Zach-" Vernon was cut off by a click. It was then he saw that Zach had used his own set of paw-cuffs on himself. "Oh come on, Zach!" That drew some more attention, with Alice and Dawn poking their heads out of the car windows, with Audrey, Dorian, and Vanna quickly approaching.
"Goofball, did you? You didn't!" Vanna said in exasperation. Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose while Audrey choked back a laugh.
"Zach, now you uncuff yerself from my Pumpkin right this minute, young mam!" Audrey was using her stern Mom voice.
"My boy is still gettin' settled here in his new home! This trip is too soon!"
"Zach, Marcus has been livin' with ya fer months now. He's as acclimated as he's likely ta get," Dorian chimed in.
Zach just squared his shoulders in defiance. "Uhm, Papa, I promise I'll be safe," Marcus said.
"It's okay, son, after yer Uncle and Auntie leave, we can go and teach ya how ta play some more video games!" Zach offered, trying to keep the sound of desperation out of his voice.
"I can't believe that I was actually right in anticipating this," Vanna said, pulling a small key ring from a pocket. "Vernon, Papa Hunter, will you two please ready yourselves at his arms?"
"Sure thing, Vanna," Vernon said as Dorian stood next to him and Zach. Zach's tail started to tuck itself between his legs, unsure of what to do next, not having thought this through. All of a sudden, he felt a painful grip on his wrists and looked to see his father and brother holding his arms tightly, while Vanna unlocked the cuffs. He tried to keep his arms around his son, but they were prised apart, and twisted behind his back. He let out a whine as Vernon and Dorian had to wrestle him to the ground. Vernon took the zip ties Vanna offered him and, in a matter of seconds, Zach lay whining on the ground, hog-tied.
"Papa," Marcus said, feeling guilty, "I'm sorry."
Vanna put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug of her own. "Your father did this to himself. This actually isn't the first time it's happened. You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie," she said as she nuzzled the top of his head. "Now, go have fun." She gave him a kiss on his forehead as Vernon held the door open for him. Marcus took a few tentative steps before turning to look at Zach on the ground, giving him the sad puppy eyes in a desperate last-ditch effort.
"Please don't worry, Papa," he said, newfound confidence in his voice. Over the last two weeks, Zach and Vanna had both begun to notice how Marcus seemed much less timid and much more sure of himself than he had when he had first moved in with them. "Uncle Vernon and Auntie Dawn will be there with me. As well as Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde," he said, not flinching this time when he spoke of Judy.
"Don't go forgettin' about yer old mam," Zach said, his tail starting to wag a little.
"'Course not!" Marcus said, lapsing a little into the Meadowlands drawl as he said it. That was something else Zach and Vanna had started to take note of recently. With one final goodbye to the rest of the present family members, Marcus got into the SUV, and soon they were driving off. Zach watched them go and felt a pang in his chest. But he then smiled, his tail a helicopter rotor that almost threatened to have his restrained form raise up off the ground.
"It's sad to see my pup go, but he's a good pup. I'm sure he'll be just fine. No sense in makin' a big deal outta thangs, after all," Zach said while still laying hog-tied on the ground. Audrey chuckled while Dorian sighed. Vanna rolled her eyes but smiled. She then grabbed the zip-ties restraining Zach, and like a handle on a piece of luggage, she picked him up, starting to carry him back to their house.
"Y'know, ya can let me outta these, Kitten," he said with a smile.
"I will the moment that Dawn texts me that they have left the Meadowlands proper. That way you can't try to call in and set up a roadblock before Papa Hunter can stop you."
"Oh c'mon, like I would try something like that!" Zach huffed.
"At this point, I wouldn't put it past you," she said back. Zach huffed again, but said nothing further.
One road trip later...
As the car passed the sign reading "Welcome to Bunnyburrow!" with the population counter that was still ticking up, Marcus had to suppress a shudder. The human boy reminded himself what his parents had said, that bunnies were harmless. Rolling hills and field after field of crops began to pass by, and Marcus started to see more and more bunnies walking around, becoming denser the closer to town that they got.
Everywhere he looked it was scores and scores of bunnies, in all sorts of different fur colors and patterns, going about their daily routines, with a few on some very tall ladders tying a big white banner that read in orange lettering, Happy 201st Carrot Days Festival! to a set of light poles. There were other mammals, like sheep and goats and even a small family of weasels out and about, but the bunnies vastly outnumbered any other mammal species. Finally, after turning down a dirt road, the car started to near a large farmhouse, with a big red barn nearby. There were fields of crops nearby, with what appeared to be a team of mostly gray bunnies working on a tractor.
They pulled up in front of the farmhouse, allowing Marcus a better view of it. It was three stories tall and painted a bright yellow. There were steps leading up to the front porch, which had a porch swing on it. A bit further up the dirt path was a skinny-looking light blue truck which had the pink bunny face logo for the Hopps Family Farm on it. What really struck Marcus about all of this was the fact that all of it was sized for smaller mammals than himself. Getting out of the car and walking a little bit to the truck, he imagined that maybe he could fit in the bed, if he hugged his knees to his chest. The door to the house itself looked large enough for him to walk through though, although he'd have to duck a little.
As Marcus went back to the car to help his uncle unpack while Dawn fussed over her lambs, the front door swung wide open. Out stepped Judy and Nick, the former now in a pink tanktop and jeans, the latter wearing his usual pawaiian shirt and khaki slacks with a very small bunny riding in his shirt pocket, wearing the fox's aviators.
"Hi, guys!" Judy called, walking down the steps. "Glad you could make it for the festival!"
"Hi, Judy!" Dawn said, securing the pink leash to Princess Callibrie's collar while holding Trevor's hoof. "We're all just so happy to be here!"
"Hi, Auntie Judy! Hi, Uncle Nick!" Lily exclaimed, running forward excitedly, only to be stopped by the pink leash attached to her harness going taut. Vernon held onto the end of it, scratching the back of his head while grabbing some more luggage. Marcus shouldered his duffel bag and grabbed a green backpack that he passed to Alice, before turning to address the approaching bunny and fox duo.
"Hi, Lily! I bet you're real excited to go exploring, huh?" Judy asked, to which Lily vehemently nodded.
"Yeah! I can't wait ta see more of Bunnyburrow and solve some of its mysteries!" Lily was hopping up and down as she said it.
"Maybe a walk down the road and back will help her burn off some of that excess energy," Nick snarked to Vernon, making the larger canid frown. Thankfully, Lily was too busy chatting with Judy and presenting her with a drawing to notice.
"My little princess just has a bit of a bad habit of wanderin' off and gettin' into thangs, that's all. She'll grow outta it soon enough, and this way we know she's safe," he responded just loud enough for the fox to hear.
"Uhm," Marcus said as he approached Judy, looking awkward but trying to power through. "Th-thank you fer invitin' me to come along as well, O-Officer Hopps." His newfound drawl slipped in as he spoke.
"First Lily, and now Marcus, I'm starting to think with how quickly they're picking up the Meadowlands accent that their species invented it," Nick snarked, plucking the baby bunny from his pocket. Vernon rolled his eyes in response.
"Aw, it was no trouble, Marcus," Judy said, reaching up a bit to pat Marcus on the leg. He held firm and kept himself from shying away, having recently learned that bunnies were social mammals and enjoyed physical contact.
Just then, Judy's ear twitched, and she turned to look at the door to her family house. Marcus followed her gaze, his eyes going wide. Standing there in the doorway was a veritable army of small bunny kits, of varying ages, staring intently at the newcomers. Judy looked at the kerfluffle and quickly grabbed Nick by his necktie, pulling him to stand in front of Marcus. "Hey everybody! Look! It's Uncle Nick again!" she said in a desperate attempt to distract the young ones. But they had already swarmed Nick like they usually did whenever he came by for a visit. Now they were looking at the taller mammal in the tiger coat standing right behind him. With a cheer, the bunnies rushed out like a flood of fluff and, before Marcus could react, they were scaling his legs to examine and sniff this newcomer.
"What is it?" a little girl bunny asked as she climbed onto his shin.
"I think this is one of those humans!" a bunny boy said from where he sat perched on Marcus' shoulder.
"The fur on his head is so soft!" another little girl bunny said with a giggle as she laid on top of Marcus' head, tugging on his brown locks. Marcus stood stock still, nervous not only because there was a literal swarm of bunnies climbing all over him, but also nervous about accidentally moving a muscle and somehow hurting some of them.
"Oh, cheese and crackers," Judy said, trying to corral her younger siblings and nieces and nephews. Dawn looked worriedly to her nephew and contemplated how to extricate him from his predicament without hurting anyone's feelings. Just then, a throat cleared and there was silence. The bunnies all turned and looked in the direction of the farmhouse door, where stood an older matronly bunny female wearing jeans and a white blouse with a pink and white apron on.
"That's enough, everyone," Bonnie said with a gentle scold. "You know better than to go climbing onto guests like playground equipment. Climb down from Marcus right this moment and apologize to him." Without a word of protest, all the young kits scrambled down from the now disheveled human boy, turning to face him.
"We're sorry," they all chorused, before scampering off back into the house or scattering to go play in the fields. Bonnie sighed as she approached, smiling at the new mammals.
"I'm sorry about that. The kerfluffle can get a bit rambunctious," Bonnie said. "I'm Bonnie, Judy's mom, and welcome to our home."
"A pleasure to meet ya, Bonnie," Vernon said while stepping to Marcus' side and putting an arm around his shoulder. That brought the shocked boy out of his stupor. "I'm Vern, this is my honey-lamb, Dawn, and these are our pups Alice, Trevor, and Lily. And this here's our nephew, Marcus."
"Thanks fer havin' us," Marcus said, feeling better with his uncle standing right beside him.
"Come on in! Judy, would you and Nicholas mind showing them to the guest rooms?"
"Sure thing, Mom!" Judy said, reaching over to pet the Kowmodo dragon. Princess Callibrie murred and thumped her tail as she flicked her tongue out repeatedly, taking in the new scents and tastes of the area. A number of bunny kits had climbed onto her back for a ride, and she didn't seem to mind. Marcus felt at ease at how kind Bonnie was, reminding him a bit of his new grandma from his mother's side. He grabbed a few more pieces of luggage and walked in with his family.
He and Vernon both had to duck underneath the door frame to enter... and again to dodge a chandelier. The inside was a bright orange thanks to the wallpaper, with hardwood flooring. To the right, Marcus saw what appeared to be a massive kitchen with long bench-like tables. To the left was an equally massive living room. Before them were large sets of stairs, The ones to the left leading up, and the ones to the right leading down. Next to the right-most stairs was a set of metallic double-doors that opened to reveal a handful of bunnies exiting an elevator, with casual muzak playing from the speakers inside.
And everywhere there were bunnies, bunnies, and more bunnies, all moving about in different flows of foot traffic, some of which did slow as they took in the sight of the larger species that had just entered, most notably Vernon and Marcus. Some seemed nervous and hastened away, most just seemed curious and lingered to get better looks. Marcus gulped and followed Vernon right behind Nick and Judy, heading up the stairs to their left. The stairs leading up to the next story were wide enough for larger mammals, which Judy was quick to explain.
"Us bunnies tend to burrow deep when establishing our homes, especially as our families grow larger, so most bunny households in the area have guest bedrooms for larger species in mind, upstairs." Judy was chipper as she said this, taking every opportunity to look back at Marcus and see how he was doing. He had turned a ghostly white when the kerfluffle swarmed him, and he appeared a little uneasy now, but he seemed to be taking things in stride. In truth, when she had heard from Dawn about the boy's fear of bunnies, she had been curious.
While not knowing the poor kit as much as she has gotten to know her honorary nieces and nephew, Alice, Trevor, and Lily, she still was resolved to find out what it was about bunnies that scared him, and put his fears at ease. It was then that she remembered hearing about a documentary about the secret human city of Kartakka, which had gained some notoriety lately due to the reports of the revolution that had occurred just before the humans all around the world had revealed themselves. She made a mental note to check both her Nutflix and Howlu accounts for it, to help give her a better understanding.
"And here we are, the family guest suites of Casa De Hopps," Nick said, the baby bunny now riding atop his head and squealing in delight. He waved his arms to indicate three sets of connected rooms. There was a large light blue room with a bed large enough for Dawn and Vern. The middle room had two twin-sized beds for the pups to share. And the third room had a single bed just big enough for Marcus.
This is going to be an interesting weekend, the fox thought to himself.
And there you have it, folks! Please consider leaving a comment or review!
