Chapter 2: Discounted
Judy didn't get a wink of sleep.
It was apparent in every feature and movement of her small frame.
The sluggish actions, the dry mouth, and certainly red eyes. And thought that's what she saw of herself in the broken, full-body mirror of the rundown bathroom in the abandoned warehouse that she now called home, it wasn't the only figure that was competing for a look at how life was currently treating them.
In fact, the reason for her current look was currently smiling and making – trying to, at least – funny faces in the mirror as though it were a funhouse.
"Ou sha-ry is, Juyyy." said Skye, currently attempting to see her own tonsils in the dim light.
The doe only smiled in return.
More annoyed than scared by being next to the fox, Judy considered what she had gone through last night and why she was so tired.
It wasn't because of the cold air, cold ground, or the fact that she was homeless – both former and recent dwellings were about the same – well, not much anyways, but that was a large part of it.
It also wasn't because she was huddled next to foxes last night. They took some time getting used to, but were decent folks from what she could tell so far.
None of that bothered her. She wouldn't let it.
With a working toilet and faucet, who could be?
It was, however, because Skye was such a wild sleeper!
The snoring, the rolling, the twitching and kicking, the tail swishing. Skye was a worse sleeper than any of the bunnies she had to room with in a cramped house before. Judy was surprised she hadn't gone crazy and the whole ordeal left her wondering if Nick was some kind of fox with the patience of a saint.
Though, last night when the silly little thought of Saint Nick came to her mind, she chuckled at it a bit. It wasn't funny, however, when she was almost punted onto a plywood pile; Skye peacefully mumbling and cradling her doll in blissful REM sleep.
Stretching and rubbing her sore shoulder from the kick, she returned her focus to her form and that of the vixen's.
Despite both of them having ruffled fur and ragged, hand-me-down clothes – Skye's came with last night's soup stains as well – Judy wouldn't say that they looked bad. Rough around the edges, yes, but certainly not... well, like the poor mammals that they were.
While mulling over this, there was a knock on the door, tearing them away from their routine.
"You two almost done in there?" came the voice of Nick, hurried as it was calm.
Thankful that neither Skye nor Nick seemed to adhere to their stereotypes. This left the doe feeling a bit better about leaving Jack alone with the tod. He was still a bit shy, of course, but not exactly timid.
"Just a sec," she called back.
Just as she went to grab her lantern, Skye had taken to bending the tips of her floppy, bunny ears, giggling and fascinated by how they worked.
Startled and pulling away as her ears were sensitive, Judy raised a brow at the smiling fox. "What are you doing?"
She rocked on her heels, going back to staring at the mirror. "Bunnies don't let us get this close." Judy could understand why. With their own run-in with a fox years ago, she and Jack tried to avoid them as much as possible. But here they were.
"Oh! And Jack's ears are bendier." Skye added, mimicking the motion by curling her ears over with her paws.
How (and why) she came to this knowledge was far beyond anything the bunny could think of.
Seeing enough, Judy padded her way out of the room, the vixen following shortly after.
Making their way to the breakroom, Judy soaked in the aesthetic of their new home. It was a junk heap of a rundown warehouse, sure, but it felt warm and cozy. In retrospect, where they came from felt like a junk heap but appeared warm and welcoming.
So much for burrow laws.
Opening the door, the doe was greeted with a rather unusual sight: Jack patiently sitting at a rickety old folding table and talking to a fox - Nick, rather.
After waking up, Nick told her and Jack that he'd have food ready for them soon. She was a bit reserved as Jack didn't take well to being near strangers, or on his own. However, he seemed anywhere from neutral to lively here, waving for Judy to pad her way to a folding chair.
The setup was okay. She noticed how the whole thing was propped up using a few stray pieces of plywood and newspapers. As she took her seat next to Jack, Skye swooped in, her doll by her side as she eagerly awaited what they'd have today.
"Breakfast's up," Nick called, having taken to the counter opposite them. On it were a few items: water bottles, their can opener, and a stack of paper plates and napkins.
Done with making each plate, he walked over, serving them each with an unreadable expression before seating himself.
Both the bunnies' excitement had quickly died down to horrid astonishment. They didn't expect much, but this was below the bottom line.
A few yards below, in fact.
It was a couple of jaggedly cut apple and orange slices, a half piece of bread, and a little peanut butter.
A far cry from the meals they used try to have at home, but with considerably less confrontation when either she or Jack sat down to eat. At least here, they weren't being nearly chased away.
Still, it was something. Judy dove in with about the same reserved voracity as Jack. Taking little nibbles, savouring the somewhat bland flavour while trying their best not to think of more food.
Skye and Nick, however, had already finished their plates, the latter already up and making his way into the hall.
The vixen, however, appeared distraught, as if there was something completely wrong with the world. She raced over to the counter, scrambling to find any leftovers all while her stomach grumbled. Finding none, she turned to the two rabbits, eyeing their plates carefully.
With a pained whine and Mushy held close, she rushed out, following Nick, presumably.
The sour look on her muzzle made Judy wonder what was going on with her – aside from hunger. She seemed so cheerful earlier.
It didn't take long for them to hear the ensuing conversation. Bunny ears heard everything.
"Is this all we had left?" Judy could hear her voice, pleading and desperate. And from the swivel of Jack's ears, he could hear it too.
It was followed closely by a huff. "Well, we would have had more if someone patched the wall and not eaten the last bit of jelly."
Biting down on her last apple slice, Judy felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach.
Thing was, she and Jack were rabbits. They took up less space and were easier to feed, but that didn't account for two foxes. Those extra cans of soup last night and their breakfast now would have kept them sated a bit more had the bunnies not broke in.
Casting a lowly glance down on their empty plates was proof enough of how they were both blessed by finding the place and imposing on other mammals by being there.
Neither was happy about that, they had to do something.
After finishing their meals and putting the plates where Nick had stacked them, the two rabbits made their way back to the commons area of the warehouse. Nick busied himself with rummaging through a few papers while Skye bobbed her head and hummed in anticipation.
"We're out of food," said the tod, smoothing his paw over a binder. With his back turned to Skye and the unseen duo, he opened and read from it, a soft smile growing on his lips. "Good thing we have bunnies."
"What?" Judy whispered, taking a step back.
Was this all a ruse? A way of catching them off-guard? She didn't want to believe it, but the signs could point it out to be true; they were homeless and in the middle of nowhere, after all.
By the time she had thought over this, both foxes turned to them – their presence finally known.
Seeing their horrified expressions, Nick facepawed. "Ugh for the love of- We don't eat rabbits, rabbits!" he all but shouted, walking towards the pile, waving his arms in reserved frustration. "I mean, Skye'd eat just about anything covered in raspberries or ketchup, but this isn't the dark ages."
Nodding and wagging her tail in agreement, Skye followed through. "Yeah! The last folks we stayed with took our food and we had to leave."
Again, it felt like a punch to the gut. Judy had to apologize. "T-that's not what we were-"
"Save it. It doesn't really matter." Nick interrupted, closing his binder and letting his shoulders fall in disappointment. "We need you to help us with some grocery shopping."
"Grocery shopping?" the doe repeated.
She hadn't done that in a while, even when part of the old household. They'd usually have to resort to grabbing what they could and storing it in places for later, but with the proposition of actually shopping, it came with both a sense of freedom and a bit of despair.
With the little they had, they couldn't afford much.
As if hearing her thoughts, Nick fished through his pockets, a small smile forming when he found a few bucks. Counting them, he asked, "We have twenty bucks. You got any to add?"
Again, she tensed. If they were out of food, then Nick and Skye really had shared half of what they had with them.
He kept his word.
With him doing so, Judy had no choice but to do so as well. She was an honest doe, she refused to lie. Not when she had a goal for the future, and honour to uphold.
It didn't stop her from despairingly making her way to her stuff. In one of the pockets of her backpack, she kept all the money they scraped and scrounged for months. Loose pennies, couch quarters, hiding it in places where no family would find it.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled out the small matchbox that it was in and held it out to him.
"Twenty," she nearly cried, clutching onto it as the fox went wide-eyed. "Sorry, we don't have much."
She didn't know what to say, really. Even less when Nick trotted over and eased it out of her paw, gawking and grinning.
He went to work, counting it all out along with his money and, with a smirk that she didn't expect on his shaggy muzzle, he chuckled, "Looks like we have enough to get us through the week."
Skye cheered, Jack tilted his head, and Judy stared at him like he had grown a second head.
Without a follow-up explanation on how he figured out how to get food for four mammals for a week so cheaply, he made his way to the hole in the front door.
Behind him, like his own shadow, was Skye. She set her beloved doll down by Jack's bag and followed the tod out.
Eyeing the two, Judy gave Jack a shrug and trailed behind them. The buck not too far behind.
The city was a lot different from what they had experienced yesterday. Busier as well.
Cracking sidewalks in repair, the honks of cars trying to alert each other and pedestrians, and the overall flow of foot traffic were the calming ambiance.
Judy didn't know what it was that made her feel so estranged yesterday, but she felt like part of it may have had to do with being so protective of their luggage. Today, however, it was a bit more relaxing.
Though tired and not knowing where they were going, she felt more at ease.
Cool, crisp breezes brushed against her fur, while the warm sunlight encompassed them. It was almost electric in the feel, one she had long since abandoned due to strife.
And from the rise in temperature, she had taken off her jacket, opting to tie it around her waist if she needed it for later. Though the foxes ahead seemed to be faring better with denser coats.
Jack must've been feeling it too. He smiled as he walked beside her, yellow eyes curiously trailing everywhere around them like they used to do in the countryside.
Judy didn't know it, but she was smiling wider.
They had walked a bit away from their new home, and it felt good to say that, but caused a bit of anxiety as well. More so of if their stuff would be there or if they'd come back.
With Nick leading them and Skye bounding every which way, they were a bit of an odd-looking group. Not that anyone on the sidewalks or streets paid them any attention. Even less so for the larger mammals that they had to weave and bob away from as they barely came up to heel height for a rhino.
Before long, they crossed a street to a nearby parking lot and shopping mall. Ahead of them, a store sign came into view, countless mammals pouring in and out of the storefront.
"Well, here we are," Nick announced, slowing his pace and turning to walk backward in dramatic flair as if he were showcasing the whole store.
Not expecting this to be the place, Judy raised a brow. "Wallabymart?"
Nick hummed, making his way over to a shopping cart and pulling out one just over his size. "I can't think of a better place to go shopping with our spending limit of forty bucks, bunny."
The tod was right. They had money, they just needed to spend it wisely. This wasn't the supermarket back at the burrows.
But how the fox expected to stretch forty bucks was still bugging her. And Wallabymart, though with good prices, wasn't going to allow them to spend outside their limits.
Skye's enthusiasm seemed to disagree.
"I'm gonna try all the samples!" she shouted gleefully. Taking the cart from Nick's paws, she raced back to Jack and Judy. When just beside them, she picked up the startled buck, placing him in the cart without either warning or apology.
"Skye, don't forget this." Nick stopped her, only for a moment. He passed her a sheet of paper with items and numbers neatly written on it. She was thrilled just looking at it before she pocketed it and smiled.
"C'mon Jack! They serve crackers early in the morning!" And off she went like lightning, Jack hanging on for dear life in the basket of the shopping cart.
Taken aback by the vixen's antics, Judy made a mental note to keep her guard up. It would only be a matter of time before Skye tried to use her as a crash test bunny.
She glanced up at Nick, but he raised his paws in defense. "Before you ask, bunny. Yes. She's always like that."
He gave her a smirk and twirled around to view the aisles. "Now come on. We have a few things to pick up."
Making their way into the store gave Judy a chilling sense of accomplishment. She hadn't been to any store in quite a while. So the hustle and bustle of customers zipping by was refreshing.
Though their cart was off somewhere near samples of various foodstuffs, it was just nice to be seen in public without everybody already knowing who you were. Knowing what you were.
Shaking it off as she'd likely appear to be just some mammal out for a day of shopping, Judy followed behind Nick, easing into a steady pace of her own as she scanned the store for later visits.
It was as wide and spacious as she had seen on the many commercials at home. Full of anxious mammals getting food, clothing, electronics, and toys of all kinds. She had to strafe here and there, hugging the aisles and displays whenever a much larger mammal made their way by.
A shame it would be if she were to make a mistake that could cost her what she didn't have.
As Nick hummed and turned down the cereal aisle, Judy's tail twitched a little. A little pep in her step, she raced after him, coming to a halt when she bumped into him.
He flinched a little. A worried, slightly annoyed smirk tugged on his muzzle. "You okay there, bunny?"
Dazed and trying to shake off her embarrassment, Judy tried to sound apologetic in her excuse as to why she ran, but, just out of the corner of her eye, the whole 'talking' thing just died.
"Carro's!" she shouted, bouncing over to a box of cereal about her height on a shelf.
She couldn't believe it. It was her favourite cereal brand, one that tasted like the food it was named after, albeit crispier. Even the little carrot-shaped puffs being pulled out of the ground by a cartoon bunny made the whole thing seem surreal.
And it was the last box to boot!
The small joy was disrupted by a low whistle. Nick, standing beside her, hiked a thumb towards the shelf.
"That's a hefty penny for a small box," he informed, the doe trailing towards the tag as well.
It was nearly five dollars. Five dollars that they all had to stretch.
So, with a disappointed sigh, Judy reshelved it, taking a sour glance below, dreading the thing that she'd likely have to choose.
She gulped. "You... mean..."
Nick hummed his answer, a morose tone, even for him.
It was one of those bags. The off, off-brand thing at the bottom of the shelf that was as cheap in price as it probably was in flavor. The bunny on its plastic display was as crudely drawn as the carrot flying away from its paws.
Reluctantly, Judy grabbed it. It was still cereal. Nick grabbed a bag as well, something 'berrylicious', much to her wonder.
Cereal obtained, Nick slung his bag over his shoulder, making his way to the produce section. The rows of green veggies and ripened fruits were a slice of home and heaven to Judy's senses.
Watching Nick wander, she did the same; meandering through as if drawn by an invisible force. She stopped when she came to an orange pile, gawking at the beauty of the vegetable she loved. Baby ones in bags, huge ones as big as her, there were dozens of them. The rich colour, the crunchy texture... the taste! She had to have a bunch, she just had to-
How much does it cost? After a quick check of three dollars a pound, she relented.
-make due with what she had... she opted for a small mixed bag of carrots and parsnips – Jack's favourite – tagged at just over a dollar.
Taking her prizes in paw, she toddled over to see what Nick was up to. He was currently looming over the bins of berries, inspecting a mixed container in his paw. Setting her stuff down, he finally noticed her, a brow raised.
"Carrots?" Was all he said, but that was enough for her to glare at him.
"Don't call me that," she warned.
Nick only chucked, "Fine. I won't call you that, Carrots."
Shaking her head under the sound of his laughter, she should have seen it coming. It wasn't demeaning, perse, but a bit annoying. Bunnies being called carrot farmers and all.
But eh, what could she really say? They were getting along, shopping, and trying to find bargains.
Laugh dying down, Nick held out the mixed berries cheerfully. "We're almost done here. Just a few more things and we're good to go."
Judy nodded, watching the fox's eyes dance over the little container of blueberries and raspberries. An odd combination for sure. But when she took a closer look at the berry box, she cringed, a chill running down her spine while memories rushed and surged back.
It had 'Hopps Family Farm' on the label. She could feel embers kindling in the pit of her stomach.
She twitched, "You sure you want that brand?"
The question was so sudden, so unlike her to ask or throw out when it should have been 'that's the best one there is'. Well, it should have been... would have been.
Scoffing, Nick held the box closer, right at her snout. "They're pretty good. Cheap, too."
He was right. Theirs was the cheapest you could find around. However, Judy was adamant.
Scouring the berry bushels for mixed packets, she went over the names she knew. Leveret, Lopton, Thumper... Skippy's!
Taking the slightly pricier - ten cents made a lot of a difference - box and giving it to the fox, she told him, "Try these."
A bit skeptical at first, Nick did as Judy informed. He picked a blueberry, ripe and glistening, and slowly chewed it as if some connoisseur.
Twitching her nose at his verdict, Judy hoped she was right. The Skipps were nice folks.
His reaction was a bit delayed, but definitely not sour. "Mmm... these are really good," he stated, placing the Hopps' box back and checking his book with an affirming nod. "You eat these often?"
Judy shrugged. "You could say that."
As she said this, a blur of white and silver came into view along with a chirping yelp. She had to hop back as a cart came zooming by, the fox steering it trying to stop it with both paws and skidding to a crash into one of the nearby produce shelves.
Thankfully, the cart didn't tip over, just some of the items and the terrified bunny that flipped over the children's seat and landed with a crunch into a bag of rice.
Not missing a beat, the vixen hopped from behind the handlebars, saluting with a pawful of crackers. "We're back!"
Nick gave her a thumbs up, eyeing the haul that they got. "Perfect timing,"
When Judy took a look at all the groceries they brought along with them, it was like looking at a food mountain – so similar to the harvests back home.
There were canned goods, packs of instant noodles, small bags of chips, a styrofoam cooler, matches, juice boxes, and snack crackers.
The amount of food they had should have been reason to practically binky right in the middle of the store, however, her worry got the best of her. "How are we gonna pay for all of this?" she asked, taking a step back to question the true motive of the foxes.
We are gonna pay for all of this, right?
Taking his pen and paper and writing everything down that he saw in the cart, he tutted, "Relax, Carrots. We can afford all of this without a four-digit discount if that's what you're thinking."
Ears standing up, the doe waved her paws in defense. "T-that's not what I meant!"
Hearing the laughs of the two vulpines come back, Judy felt her cheeks flush at some joke she obviously missed. Her only solace being Jack who – after recovering and hopping down and fixing his beanie – looked as confused as she did.
Satisfied, Nick waved them on, Skye taking the effort to pull the cart away from a falling pile of kiwi's to which all of them had to help; Nick taking the time to push the front wheels while Jack and Judy saved the produce.
Everything stable, they all took the cart to the checkout lane, opting to wait in a slightly longer line as Nick thumbed through his binder.
Inching closer and closer behind a pack of wolves and their pups – each of them trying to convince their parents that they needed the candy on the shelf – it was finally their turn. Skye took her time in seeing if there was any candy that she needed as well.
Unfortunately, Nick shook his head. She pouted.
At the register, they all helped in unloading. There was so much there that Judy kept telling herself that it was impossible for them to get it all, that it was a ruse of some kind.
It wasn't until the cashier, a melancholy serval, was swiping everything that Nick gave Judy a grin. "So... you wanted to know how we're gonna pay for everything, right?"
With the price of a hundred and twenty dollars flashing on the register, it was as if the machinery itself was taunting her. She waited for him to say or do anything.
What he did next took her by complete surprise. He leafed through his binder, taking a few pieces of torn magazine paper out, and flashed them at her. Her worries were shot down.
"Extreme couponing!" he announced, handing nearly the entire clip of trimmings and handing them to the mammal at the counter.
She watched in complete shock as the price became lower and lower.
120... 98... 83... 75... 63... 55...
The number plummeting from various things like the cereal they purchased to the mixed berries they got made her heart flutter.
Once it reached about a dollar over their spending limit, her face contorted. Coming that far only to have to put a few items back was disheartening, but they still had everything they needed.
Or so she thought.
"Oh, wait... one more!" the tod announced, having found a last little snipping for mixed carrots of all things.
Sighing, the cashier told them their new price. "Thirty-nine eighty-five."
Judy's jaw dropped as the fox paid the bill with everything they all owned.
The frugal fox had ensured that they'd feast for days. They wouldn't starve with the little they had. The little they scraped from that old, broken home. And the best part? It was theirs. Well, half of it, anyway.
Food secure, they took effort in wheeling the cart out of the store and moving on back to their home.
Walking out of the store with a grin she couldn't contain, Judy tried her best not to binky all the way there.
She only got as far as the edge of the parking lot.
Nick wondered what she was doing, but Skye joined her in her victory dance.
[A/N]
Huge thank you to Qalcove, the artist behind the cover art. Check her out on Deviant Art!
So now, it continues.
HUGE update for the 5 NaZoWriMo stories is that each of them will now be 17 chapters instead of 12. I felt as though 12 just wasn't enough and in the 20's was a bit too far. So each one got 5 more chapters for either hilarity, or endearing storyline. I hope you all enjoy it. ^^
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Till Next Time
-DLW
