Distilled Dreams

Part One: Fermentation

Chapter Five

-Judy Age 8 & Nick Age 9-

Vivian scrubbed hard at the stainless steel walls of one of her two fermentation tanks getting it ready for the first batch she was going to make in this one. The other tank already held a rye based mash they she would be running though the still once it was done fermenting. With each tank she could ferment a hair over four hundred gallons of wort, soft cider, or pretty much any liquid with enough sugar in it for the yeast to eat and covert to alcohol. As long as the final product at the end of fermentation was over eight percent alcohol by volume each tank would be enough to fill a fifty three gallon cask at sixty percent alcohol by volume once it was distilled down.

Once stored she knew that fifty three gallons would began shrink. Evaporating into the angel's share or absorbed into the wood of the casks. After two years of aging she expected there to be only forty-five gallons left in the cast, after five years it would be forty, and at twelve years it would be thirty-one if she was lucky. Every gallon would make five standard bottles (750mL) if she was careful while bottling of cast strength sixty percent or seven and a half bottles diluted to forty percent. It was quite a bit of work and lots of time but Vivian was looking forward to it.

Pausing in her scrubbing she stretched out her back and looked over to the corner of the barn. Nick was busy washing apple after apple from the eight thousand pound pile the O'Hares had dropped off yesterday. It had been a week since Nick had fought with Gideon over him scratching Judy at he Carrot Days Festival. Vivian had mixed feeling about punishing Nick for the fight since he was defending Judy. In the end she decided on having him scrub the apples by hand for using his claws and teeth in the fight but not the fight itself. Before the apples had arrived he had been with Johnathan helping make Gideon a new pair of overall to replace the pair he had clawed up.

Vivian remembered the look of gratitude in Holly's eyes when she had taken Nick over to the Grey Den so he could formally apologize to Gideon and give him the new overalls. She had feared that Nick would growl at Gideon and bite out a less then sincere apology since he had gotten so attached to Judy. One look at Gideon's half healed cuts, bandages over a couple of the deeper wounds, and visibly mended clothes though and Nick's ears, tail, and head drooped in shame. Gideon's posture nearly matched Nicks as he thanked Nick and then apologized for his own actions in hurting Judy. Neither Vivian or Holly thought those two would become friends in the near future after what happened but the two vixen where no longer worried they would be enemy's.

The week since the fight had also brought a rather strange collection of visitors to the Den. Jack O'Hare had been by when the apples where delivered from his families orchards. Not all of the apples had come from his orchards he had explained. Despite the relative viscous nature of the fight between the two fox kits apparently there was a positive reaction to the Wildes once the story of how the fight started circulated and Gideon had started going around apologizing to those he had been bullying. Since Jack had been one of those who made sure that the true story of how the fight started went though the gossip mill several family's whose kits had been bullied over the years had asked him if there was anything they could do to show their gratitude for the fox family that raised a boy willing to fight his own kind to defend a bunny. Nearly half of the load of apples had been gifts from various farms and Johnathan's shop had a line of customers when he first opened.

Several other families had turned up at the front door to welcome the Wildes to the the area. Thanks to their welcome baskets Vivian wouldn't need to worry about buying any jams or jellies for the next three to five years it seemed even if they ate it with every meal and every snack. She had to turn down one family who wanted to given them a few colonies of bees and their accompanying framed beehive boxes. It had taken a bit to convene them she wouldn't have time to take care of them properly and it would be years before they got enough land cultivated to need the little pollinators. Eventually they saw her point and told her the offer would stand and she had only to ask if they ended up wanting a hive or if they found a wild swarm they would be happy to capture it for them. She made a mental note to call on them if she ever got the hankering to make mead or needed honey for anything else after they returned with a dozen large glass jars full of raw honey and she had taken a taste from the jars.

"Hello?" a male voiced called from outside the barn.

"Hello!" Vivian called back, "Give me a moment and I'll be right down!" She set the scrub brush down and pulled off the rubber gloves she had been using. A few nimble steps and she was off the rolling step ladder she needed to reach the top of the fermenting tanks. Dressed in knee high yellow rubber boots and an equally yellow rubber apron most of her fur was still dry despite needing to practically crawl into the tank while scrubbing to make sure every last nook and cranny was clean and sterile. She stopped when she saw who it was and tilted her head in confusion. Stu Hopps was standing in the door way his head bare while he worried his baseball cap in his hands. "Mr. Hopps," Vivian replied coolly. She had not forgotten how he had scared Nick and how he had tried handing out anti-fox products to his kits after they had bought the land. "What brings you by? Bonny was here earlier but she left around ten and Judy wasn't going to be over today since Nick was going to be working on his punishment for the fight."

"Ah no I saw them both before I came over," Stu said eyes looking around the barn for the first time. Looking into the corner he gave a low whistle, "That is a mighty big pile of apples."

Vivian didn't spare the pile a glance anymore after it had first been offloaded. Knowing there was going to be a pile of around twenty-four thousand individual apples was one thing. Physically seeing it...she had needed a moment to take it in. Now all she saw was he work that needed to be done to turn it into cider. While she hadn't be part of pressing any cider in her old job she had squeezed enough lemonade and orange juice to know it took a lot of fruit to get the juice she would need. "Yes it should fill one of these up once its all pressed," Vivian said gesturing to the stainless steel tanks flanking her like sentinels where she stood, "If it all goes well I will be sending of my first shipment off to Zootopia by the end of the month." Silence dragged on while Stu kept worrying his hat. "Well there is still much to do before we can start pressing tomorrow. Was there a reason you wanted to drop by?"

"Ah yes...could we talk outside for a moment?" Stu asked glancing towards the corner where Nick was washing apples. He gulped when Vivian brushed past him to wait outside only to see her stiffen and glance around rapidly looking for something. "Something the matter?" Stu asked his ears starting to swivel around seeking out what had made Vivian so alert.

"Trying to spot where you have your young hidden with the pitchforks and fox-spray," Vivian answered with a glare moving to lean against the barn.

"...Pitchforks and fox-spray?" Stu asked in confusion.

"Oh is it just the fox-tasers and fox-horns then?" Vivian asked. It was a bit too satisfying for Vivian when she saw Stu's expression shift from confusion to understanding. A quick flash of anger that rapidly was replaced by shame followed.

"How did...I didn't...I wouldn't...," Stu let out a long breath and hung his head still looking anywhere but at her, "Bonnie must have told you..."

"Look me in the eye when you are talking to me," Vivian snapped her voice full of the commanding tone that only mothers and drill instructors seemed to truly master. He followed her orders without thought and looked her in the eyes. "Yes she did tell me about that. Bonnie has been coming over quite a bit since the day Judy asked Nick to play with her and her siblings. Hell she was over the same day that you yelled at my 'filthy pelt' son trying to apologize for your actions. She tried to come over right after it happened but Johnathan and I had finally had a chance to be alone together after a month of trying to take care of Nicky after he was beaten and muzzled by prey kits for daring to join a pack of Junior Ranger Scouts."

Stu blanched horrified. Bonnie and most of the warren hadn't been talking with him much and he did not know about what had happened to Nick. "I...I didn't know that..." he started only to be interrupted by Vivian.

"As this is the longest conversation we have had since moving in I don't find that surprising. From what I have heard from Bonnie you didn't seem to eager to give us a chance to to talk before tasering us." Vivian snapped.

"I am sorry I realize that I overreacted now..." Stu tried to say.

"She and I have had a fair number of chances to talk and get to know each other over the last few weeks you know," Vivian said with an evil smirk beginning to grow. "We have even began to swap stories about each others mates."

Stu's ears filled in red before seeming to drain of all color. He was firmly in a no win situation and was starting to look for a way out. "Hopefully nothing too bad..."

"Oh nothing like that," Vivian waved Stu's words away as if unimportant still grinning, "Just a bit about how she was punishing you for what you did. The small punishment she gave you wasn't even over when you quickly came to the wrong conclusion about the kits playing tag." Vivian tsked a few times shaking her head moving her gaze down to Stu's crotch before returning to his eyes. "It was like you where in a race to get off to the wrong conclusion without think about how others are enjoying themselves." Vivian pushed herself away from the barn and slowly stalked to Stu. "She also told me how she was going to ease up on your punishment if you came over yourself to apologies."

Stu was frozen in terror at the vixen stalking towards him. It took every last shred of control he had to keep his bladder from emptying when Vivian leaned in to talk directly into his ear. He could count every one of her teeth as she spoke from the corner of his eye. "If you are just over here to act nice to the bitch pelt so you can get you dick wet turn around and walk away. I've had enough mammals try that to last me a life time. Walk away and serve your punishment and I'll at least have a little respect for you for sticking to your beliefs and taking your lumps. If you apologize and I find out you are lying to me or if you hurt my son in anyway again..."

Stu jumped and nearly lost control of his bladder when Vivian nose buried itself into his neck and took several long deep inhales. She drew her head back so he could again see her teeth as she whispered into his ear, "I have your scent now. I will find you no matter how far or how fast you run. I swear by the sun and moon, by the earth and stars, by blood and bone I will give you a true reason to fear a mother vixen avenging her own before I eat your still beating heart from your chest."

Stu felt the front of his overalls grow warm and wet as his body shifted it's effort from keeping his bladder under control to staying conscious as Vivian took a few steps back her nose wrinkling at the smell. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as if trying to speak before he found a little steel in his spine. "I...I...cheese and crackers...I came over to apologized not be threatened!"

"We moved here to raise our son not be threatened before we even set foot on our land by you. Your daughter had to all but drag my son out of the blackberry patch when she invited him over to play. She did not do so so you could threaten him." Vivian replied coolly locking his eyes once more. "I am not going to stop being friends with Bonnie for your sake. I am not going to separate Nick and Judy for your sake. So are you you going to walk away or apologize?"

With all the pride Stu could muster with overalls soaked though with urine he bowed low from the waist. "As patriarch of the Hopps Warren I offer you my deepest apology. I share the bounty of my fields with your Warr...err...Den freely as a show of how deeply I regret my actions." He stayed bowed. He could feel Vivian's eyes on the back of his head. Every time his heart beat in the silence he felt like he could feel cold teeth closing around it.

"Huh..." Vivian chuckled breaking the serious tone she had been using throughout her talk with Stu, "Looks like I won the bet. Oh stand up straight. Your offer is kind but the sweat of your Warren watered the ground so your kin could thrive I will not take what you've grown with your own paws for you and yours. Not that three foxes could put much of a dent in your harvest. Unless you let Nick loose in the blueberry patches..."

"Wha.." Stu said standing in confusion. Half from Vivian claiming to win a bet and half from her knowing the formal response to the older rabbit customs.

"Bonnie was curious about fox customs after Holly's apology and I was curious about rabbit ones so we traded questions." Vivian explained, "As for the bet...well Bonnie bet you would faint after I threatened you. Now come on. Bonnie gave me a clean set of your clothes and some of your fur cleaner for you. I have them in the guest bathroom so you can shower to get the smell of fear and piss off of you before you apologize to Nicky."

Stu followed Vivian silently though a side entrance and she lead the though a few hallways the promised bathroom. "So you bet I would piss myself?" Stu asked when Vivian oped the door to show a small private bathroom rather then the communal one Stu was had been expecting.

"No. I just bet you wouldn't faint. We both agreed you would piss yourself when I said I would eat your still beating heart." Vivian said with a sly smile.

"Oh," Stu said his ears drooping as he moved in the bathroom and went to close the door.

Vivian held her paw against the closing door keeping it open. "Before we bury the hatchet and work towards getting to know each other I should tell you something," Vivian gave Stu a look that sent a chill down his spine, "To a fox an oath to the sun and moon, the earth and stars, and blood and bone is not an idle one or one given in jest. I will follow through on my promise if I am forced to." Vivian let go of the door and walked away calling over her shoulder before she got too far. "The switch to turn the tank less water heater on is the red one. Its on a timer so if you are in there for more then fifteen minutes its going to get really cold really fast."


Nick washed an apple and set it to the side only to pick up another one and repeat. Over and over and over again. The little radio Vivian had tuned to an oldies station helped drive away the silence that seemed to hang around the barn. Neither Nick or Vivian talked much to each other while they worked throughout the day. Nick thinking about how the fight had gotten out of hand with every apple he scrubbed as punishment and Vivian focused on making sure everything was perfect for her first batches. Mr. Hopps stopping by to talk with Vivian then returning a while later to apologize directly to Nick had been the only really interesting thing to break up the monotony of the day.

"Well you've been working hard Nicky," Vivian said moving to stand next to him and pluck an apple from the unwashed pile and began to clean it. She had finished scrubbing the tank and hosing it down to get rid of any trace of the sanitizer and soaps that she used. "Have you been thinking about why I've been making you scrub these by hand for your part in the fight instead of using the fruit washer?"

"Yes Mom," Nick said not stopping in washing the apples. If this was his punishment he was not going to stop until every last apple was clean.

"And?" Vivian prompted bumping her hip against her son.

"I did the right thing in a wrong way," Nick said while his tail fell towards the ground picking up a new apple to wash. "I don't feel bad about protecting Judy after she got clawed but seeing how far I went...I feel bad about that."

Vivian took the apple that Nick was washing with a smile. "Good boy. Now if we keep washing these by hand we wont be ready to press all of this by tomorrow. Help me get the washer going and we can get the rest done tonight."

Nick's tail wagged. He was getting tired of washing apples. "Yes Mom!"


"Paws clear?" Vivian asks Nick and Judy with her hand resting near the controls for the cider press. "Yes Mom!" "Yes Mrs. Wilde!" Judy and Nick said together holding their paws up in the air for Vivian to see. Vivian chuckled at seeing the wide grins on both of their faces and their juice stained fur while flipping the safety switch, turning a key, and pressing the start button to get the press moving. She would have been happy with an older model that looked like a wooden bucket but Mr. Big had sent a smaller sized stainless steel industrial model instead. It was used but was still in good condition it having been the primary press in a different operation until they had upgraded to a larger sized model and put this one in storage.

The motor whorled to life. The hopper that Judy and Nick had filled opened at the bottom feeding its load of apples into the attached grinder. The grinder spat out a slurry of apple paste into a second hopper lined with a filter cloth bag with a large steel plate looming over it. When the last of the apple slurry had fallen into the hopper Vivian folded the filter bag shut before twisting a second key and pressed another button. The looming steel plate of the press slowly descended upon the bag of ground apple slurry. The trickle of cloudy apple juice that had been dripping out of the output spout became a flood as the pressure from the plate and the press squeezed every last drop out of the slurry it could. The torrent of juice poured into a collection tub before tapering off until only a few errant drops came from the press. Vivian pressed the last button and the press plate climbed back into the air.

"I'll get a fresh bag!" Judy said hopping off to where a small pile of them waited. They had already fed the hopper several time and Nick and Judy had been trading off jobs that they could do around the machine.

"I'll pump out the tub," Nick said dipping the end of a hose into the tub. Checking to make sure it was in the lowest point he rushed over to a hand pump and started to turn the crank. Slowly a stream of golden liquid traveled through the tubing and into the fermenting tank.

"I guess I will take out the old bag of pomace...again," Vivian said hefting the filter bag from the press and carrying it over to a tractor flatbed and the growing pile of other spent bags. Stu had ended up asking if Vivian didn't have a use for it if he could have it. He could add it into his compost piles to make a better fertilizer for his crops. Vivian had turned down his offer to pay for it instead asking for some of his kits time in harvesting the wild growing berries on their land and trimming bushes back into something at least resembling order when they had time over the next few months. Even now he was gleefully in the blackberry bramble that had been plaguing the edge of his property finding and cutting back new growth and the original vines.

Vivian looked back at the two kits helping her as she stretched her back out. They had started early in the day and if they kept up the pace they where doing should be finished late in the afternoon today. She glanced at the sun and her watch. "Let's take a quick break kits! Get some water or have some juice and some snacks." Vivian called out not wanting to overwork the kits despite how much they grumbled about stopping. This was new and exciting to them after all. She smiled as they ran to the little fridge where she had put the first ten gallons of soft cider they pressed after heat pasteurizing it. She had little choice but to use Campdem tablets in the fermentation tank to kill off any wild yeast and bacteria. Bring nearly four hundred gallons of juice to one-hundred and forty-five degrees then holding it there for half an hour would not be efficient but one tablet per gallon then let it sit for a day before adding the yeast was. She was holding back at least five gallons to use to pitch the yeast and add in the various spices she was using but the rest was a treat for the family. Vivian nearly had to wipe the drool from her chin at the thought of cider that tasted like a fresh apple pie. No reason not to test the perfect ratio of spices now Vivian thought moving to the fridge to get her own cup of soft cider as the kits took their food outside to eat in the grass. She was just starting to sip after mixing in a pinch of this and a spoonful of that when she hear shouting outside. "What now?" Vivian asked the empty barn setting her cup down and going outside.


Nick and Judy walked out of the barn to a patch of grass under a tree to take a short break. Bushes dotted the ground around the tree adding little wind breaks for the kits as well as places to hide behind. Their snack didn't last long and the soft cider lasted only a hair longer. Too full of sugar and excitement to be tired from the work they had already put in they started to chase each other around the tree and the bushes.

"I'm gonna get you!" Nick shouted as Judy laughed hopping away. Slowing down, speeding up, suddenly reversing direction...no matter what Nick tried Judy stayed a hop ahead of him.

"Nope! Cannot catch me!" Judy taunted as she dodged Nicks paw by jumping against the trunk of the tree with enough force to somersault over the top of his head.

"Come on that's not fair!" Nick complained coming to a stop panting. "There's no way I can jump like that."

"Not my problem you don't have legs like mine," Judy said smiling as she twisted her leg back and forth before rising on her toes showing her legs and feet off.

"Well I suppose I could always try this," Nick said tucking in his shirt and getting down on all fours crouching.

"Uh...Nick what are you doing?" Judy asked taking a half step closer. Nick didn't answer just stared at Judy his tail slowly swishing back and forth. Judy tried to take a full step back as Nick's body tensed and muscles flexed. Between one blink and the next Nick jumped towards Judy arms outstretched and a smile on his face. Judy knew she wouldn't be able to get away. She was caught flat footed while she still had one foot in the air.

"I got yo...oof!" Nick started to say as a red and yellow blur smashed into him. He and the blur tumbled end over end a few times in the grass before he landed on his back with a weight pressing down on him. He had to blink a few times to clear the dizziness from his head as his eyes focused. A young red vixen only a little older then he was he guessed on size was straddling his waist keeping him pinned to the ground. Her yellow summer dress was a little too big and hung with one of her shoulders bare to the world.

"Hi," she leaned in and took a quick but deep breath of the fur surrounding his neck scenting him. "You smell good. Like apples," she said with a wide smile before her head darted forward licking a patch of fur still damp with the fresh pressed cider. "You taste like apples too! I love apples!" Her tail wagged happily as she turned her head in the direction of the Den's front door, "MA! PA! THEY ARE AROUND BACK OR THE YOUNG TODD IS! HE SMELLS GOOD!" She turned back to face Nick with the smile on her face, "What's your name?"

"WHO ARE YOU!" Judy shouted running over ignoring the confused look on the vixens face and the slight tilting of the head.

"Meadow...Meadow Hood," Meadow said as Judy stopped next to the two foxes. She leaned in sill pinning Nick to the ground and sniffed at Judy's fur. Her tongue darted out again and licked a damp patch of her fur. "You taste like apples too!" A bit of confusion leaked into Meadows face, "Both of you kinda smell like each other."

"Hello the Wilde Den!" A cheery voice called out as two adult red foxes walked along the path towards the barn. "We hope this isn't a bad time to get to know..." The todd started to call out as they got closer to the barn. Vivian turned to them after a moment of looking around for the the source of the shouting.

"MEADOW GLADE HOOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The vixen walking with the todd shouted her eyes on her daughter straddling a young todd while a rabbit doe stood watching. "GET OFF OF HIM!"

All eyes turned to watch as Meadow blinked looking between Nick, her parents, Nick's mother, and Judy before suddenly jumping off of Nick. She took several steps away towards her parents while smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress eyes locked on the ground. Her tail hung limply with a slight curl around herself in embarrassment as her ears darkened. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking and just got excited at meeting another red fox and a todd at that..." Her parents walked up to stand behind her leaving several yards between them and where Vivian walked over to Nick and Judy.

"I am okay...just got my breath knocked out of me when Meadow pinned me...and scented me...and licked my fur..." Nick muttered to no one in particular running his paws over the fur Meadow had licked. He kept his eyes to the ground trying to hide the red spreading in his ears at being pinned by a vixen.

"Well that's one way to make an introduction..." the vixen behind Meadow muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. Her head snapped up realizing she had spoken her thoughts out loud. "Umm...sorry. We are the Hood clan our territory is nearby your own. I am Marian, my mate is Robin, and our apparently overly frisky daughter here is Meadow." She gestured to a basket that Robin was holding in his free paw at his side. "We bring a welcoming gift from our Clan's stores."

Vivian looked over the Hoods with careful eyes. It was a formal greeting from older times when fox Clans settled near one another. It was a rare occurrence in those days for Clans to have territory nearly touching. The established Clan waited for a while for the new Clan to settle and establish a permanent den or move on before introducing themselves with a small gift. Generally the new Clan would host the established Clan for the day as they talked about the area, the territory each would have, and how they would share something vital like a water source or a particularly rich food source. Now with deeded land and property lines it was more of a formality.

Vivian felt a brief pang of jealousy towards Marian. She was leaner then Vivian and her close fitting summer dress making her curvy vixen figure stand out even more. As for Robin she barely spared a glance beyond noting he seemed to be wearing a forest green tunic that fell to below his knees. A handsome enough todd she supposed but an odd quirk of foxes who had life-mated kept her from taking any interest in his looks. Vivian focused more on the young vixen Meadow who had pinned her son and scented him. A bit older then Nick going by size and had the look that she would take heavily after her mother in looks when grown. Her dress was brand new but a size or two too large so it would last past the next growth spurt she would likely have soon.

"Well meet Marian, Robin, and Meadow of the Hood Clan. I am Vivian, my mate Johnathan is in town at his tailor shop, my son Nicholas," Vivian smirk as Nick turned to her about to complain about his full name, "Who prefers to be called Nick and our guest Judy of the Hopps Warren next door. We thank you for the gift. Nicky be a dear?" Vivian said nudging her son. Nick walked over to where the Hoods stood waiting to be official invited to stay near the Wilde Den. Marian smiled and nudged her mate who handed the basket to Meadow to give to Nick. It was a sign of trust and peace, or the willingness to establish trust and peace, between Clans to allow kits to take and give formal gifts on behalf of the Clan. Nick took the basket and made a hasty retreat to Vivian when Meadow tried to scent him again. Vivian chuckled looking in the basket and blinked in surprise. It was full of chicken eggs and a few carefully wrapped packages of fresh raw chicken.

"We raise chickens. Free range as they wander quite a bit over our land," Robin said catching the look of surprise on Vivian's face. "We have enough coups and nesting boxes they like returning to so we can collect the eggs for ourselves and what we sell locally. When hens get too old to lay or we miss too many eggs outside of the nesting boxes and need to thin the flock we have some meat to sell as well."

"Thank you," Vivian said thinking of all she could make with some fresh meat and the eggs. They had been buying eggs and frozen meat from the store and what she had been buying where marked up a fair amount from what she was use to.. "I don't suppose we would be able to buy eggs from you regularly and..."

"Yes we can sell the eggs to you directly for less then what we sell them to the stores at. A special fox discount. Well it's more a local discount since we give the same rate to the other predator families that buy from us too. We can let you know when we are going to thin the flock but that is generally first come first serve. Although," Marian said with a smile looking at Meadow who kept glancing at Nick before looking away, "Meadow here has been running that news and taking down the orders this year so I have the feeling there will be some left by the time she comes by."

"Thank you again," Vivian said looking between the kits. Nick and Meadow kept trading off at looking at each other. When their eyes did meet they both looked away. Judy's foot lightly tapped as she looked between the two foxes. She looked concerned and to Vivian at least a little jealous. "I would like to invite you to stay for the day but I am afraid you came over at an odd time for us. We are in the middle of an apple pressing.."

"Mom can we help!" Meadow said her tail wagging rapidly, "It smells so good and the bit I tasted off Nick's and Judy's fur tasted sooo good!"

Robin's eyes drew together as he looked down at his daughter. "Did you ask either one of them before doing that?!"

"...no..." Meadow whispered as her excitement fled and her tail dropped.

Robin rubbed his paw against the side of his head. "Meadow...I've told you before you cannot go around doing that. You need to grow out of that habit before you are older and it gets you into trouble." He dropped his paw. "Nick, Judy, Vivian I am sorry for my little one's actions. She has been a bit frisky this year and has been forgetting her manners. We have some apple trees on our land and know our way around a press if you would like some help." Before Vivian could protest asking a guest for help he continued, "Call it making amends for Meadow's behavior here."

"Well..." Vivian slowly said buying herself time to think it over. On one paw the help, especially from Marian and Robin, would speed everything along but on the other it was a bit rude asking guests to help with the chores. "If you truly don't mind the help would be appreciated. Even with my two little assistants here I figure it would take most of the day to finish."

"Most of the day?" Marian said in confusion looking around for a hidden orchard. "How many apples do you have?"

"Maybe you should come with me before agreeing to help," Vivian said with a grin taking everyone into the barn.

The Hoods blinked at the sudden change from the the brighter light outside to the well lit but darker barn. As their eyes adjusted and looked around they froze still and stood staring and the small mountain of apples and the shining stainless steal equipment the barn held.

"That...that's a lot of apples." Marian said looking at the apples left to process.

"I'm...well I am not familiar with a press like that." Robin added looking at the small industrial sized press and grinder.

"OH MY GODS! IT SMELLS SO GOOD IN HERE!" Meadow shouted trying to move towards the fermentation tank and press where the scent of fresh crushed and juiced apples was the strongest only to be held back by her parents. Meadow looked up to her parents with pleading eyes. Vivian had retrieved her cup and took a small sip leaning against the fermentation tank.

"So..." Vivian said sipping from her cup, "Still want to help?" Marian and Robin looked at each other before nodding. With a smile Vivian finished off her cup and started to direct everyone to work. Everyone gathered around the apple pile and began loading the hopper. With so many paws helping the machine was quickly full and pressing. They worked in silence for a while as the Hoods slowly got use to the work.

"What are you going to do with all of the pomace?" Robin asked hauling a spent filter bag over to the pile.

"This batch I am giving to the Hopps for their compost in exchange fore some of his families help getting the land here cleaned up a little," Vivian said as she put a new filter bag in place. "We bit off more then we could chew with just the three of use on this land. Especially with Johnathan in his shop and me working out here. Without the help it would have taken us years of slowly clearing it in a spare moment here and there."

"Ah yes keeping the new growth under control is nearly a full time job in itself," Marian said dropping apples off into the hopper while the kits worked the hand pump to move the juice to the fermentation tank. "Some days it fells like I am a gardener who happens to find eggs along the way. Thanks to all the chicken manure our land is particularly fertile too."

"I love eggs but I don't think I could do that for a living," Vivian said shacking her head at the thought of hunting after nests day after day.

Marian laughed gesturing around her at everything in the barn, "After today I don't think I will ever look at a glass of cider the same again. I couldn't imagine do this for a living. We've pressed our own cider before but nothing like this." She gently knocked on the fermentation tank they where filling. "How big are these anyway?"

"Four hundred gallons give or take. Enough to fill twenty-five half-barrel kegs or a single cask if I run it though the still once its done fermenting." Vivian replied turning the press on seeing the three kits had finished with the pump and were now by the by the apple pile loading baskets to haul to the hopper.

"That seems like a lot to make," Robin said stretching his arms while the machine ran. "Selling it in town? I don't think the local pub even makes anything themselves."

"Maybe," Vivian shrugged, "I plan on sending twenty kegs off to my investor in Zootopia who helped me start this up out here. I use to work for him at a brewery and distillery he owned and when he learned we where going to be moving he offered to invest in opening my own. I know he plans on bottling some and putting some of the kegs in a couple of the bars he owns as a special of the day to get the name out there. I'll take some to the pub as a sample to see if they would like to buy a couple of the kegs I am keeping. At least one of these is going to be staying right here. We have quite a bit of room in our kitchen's refrigerators."

"Any plans on bottling some here?" Robin asked his tail slowly wagging. Vivian had given them all some of the soft cider she had mixed spices into and used them all as test subjects to test the mix. Everyone had been eager to get more from that pitcher at every opportunity they could. "We couldn't store an entire keg ourselves but knowing there was a cold one of these waiting at the end of the day..."

Vivian chuckled, "Trust me I understand. Knowing a cold one is waiting for you once you are done makes the day go by faster." Vivian tapped her paw against her muzzle in thought. "I am afraid I don't have any bottles right now but I have a few growlers I could fill for you. Consider it a gift in return for the eggs and an extra thanks for the help today."

"Any time you need some help just let us know," Marian said with a wink, "Especially if you have something new you want to test out." With laughter and ideal chatter everyone got back to work. The quicker everything was pressed the sooner Vivian could really get started on brewing.


Johnathan all but licked his plate after dinner and probably would have if not for the Hoods joining them. He had expected to come home to Vivian, Nick, and Judy still hard at work pressing the mountain of apples before lending what help he could. Instead he had come home to find the pile of apples gone, the press and grinder partially dissembled, hosed down of the worst of the apple juice, and the small parts soaking waiting to be scrubbed clean as well as the fermentation tank sealed shut. He had also followed his nose inside the Den to a wonderful smelling dinner and company.

"A tailor shop huh," Robin said as everyone was finishing their last few bites of food. "With how many rabbits are here even if only one in a thousand visit it will do well."

"Very true," Johnathan answered with pride as he refiled his cup with the soft cider Vivian had brought into the house. "Between the clients I still have in the city and the new ones I am gaining it won't be long before I'll need to hire an assistant or two just to keep up. I couldn't help but notice the tunic you are wearing. It has the look of something that was hand made. I am not sure if I've ever made something like that before."

Robin looked down and brushed a paw against the tunic. "I have a cousin in Foxburg who makes them for me. Its something easy to slip into when going into town or we are expecting company." Vivian and Johnathan shared a quick look that Robin and Marian noticed. "Ah I suppose it hasn't come up yet. Well...we are naturalists on our own land...we have planted a few more trees and bushes that give us the extra privacy. Unless the winter is particularly hard once our winter fur comes in it is enough to keep us warm and we can enjoy the lifestyle for the entire year."

"Oh," Vivian said with a slight blush creeping along her skin. She glanced over at Meadow and Nick before continuing, "Umm...all of you." Marian nodded slightly knowing what Vivian was thinking.

Johnathan glanced to the three kits who had been silent for most of the meal. Judy seemed to be keeping closer to Nick while Meadow kept steeling glances at Nick while her tail wagged softly. He caught Marian's and Robin's slight frown of worry as they looked at the kits. "Nick why don't you and Judy show Meadow around. I swear with as much as Judy is over she knows the Den better then I do."

"Okay Dad," Nick said taking his plate and the girls plates over to the sink before leading them off into the hallways.

"Not sure how we are going to explain this to Nicky," Vivian said gathering up the rest of the plates once the kits had disappeared around a corner. Marian stood to help along with Johnathan and Robin who went to the sink to start to wash what was already there.

"We will be having a talk with Meadow when we get home. She is good about staying clothed outside of our property lines but undresses pretty quick once she gets back over the line. If she and Nick start to spend time together on our land I'll make sure she knows to stay clothed as will we." Marian said trying to reassure Vivian and Johnathan. Meadow didn't have many friends among the prey population and besides Gideon there where no other foxes close to her age in town.

"Thank you. We will try and explain it to Nick tonight. I suppose its a good thing to explain that particular lifestyle early," Johnathan said handing a washed plate to Robin to dry and set in the rack. "I am glad he isn't yet old enough to have vixens on the mind otherwise I would worry a bit about him being a peeping todd once he found out come winter."

Robin grimaced slightly while his tail bushed at the thought of someone spying on his daughter. Then again he remembered when vixens first started to overwhelm his thoughts to the point that his parents had all but locked him up on his first winter mating season to stop him from sniffing after every vixen tail he came across. He shared a look of understanding with Johnathan. The first winter mating season todds went though was generally the strongest and the worst. "True. It is hard to control those mating instincts when you haven't been though them yet. I thinks its safe to assume neither of us would want any winter play dates on either of their first years."

"Yes I think we can all agree on that," Vivian chimed in to Marian's nodding.

"Well on to other topics," Marian said leaning against the counter with Vivian as their mates finished washing the dishes. "Are you going to be enrolling Nick in school?"

Vivian glanced in confusion, "Yes we where going to sign him up for the next school year. What little is left this year we can cover at home."

"I would reconsider that," Robin said with a scowl.

"Why?" Vivian asked.

"The schools here where built for rabbits. They have a few class rooms in trailers for larger mammals and mixed species classes but they are over crowded and the teachers they assign to those classes are generally not very good." Marian explained. "Meadow scored higher them most of the rabbit population on one of those state tests and we got called in so the superintendent could spend an hour trying to get us to admit she cheated somehow. We asked the predator families with kits that buy our eggs and apparently there is still fairly strong anti-predator feeling among the staff that has been rubbing off on some of the more impressionable students."

"We started to home school her the next year. When there are state tests and the end of the year testing she still goes into the school to take them but her every day work books and teaching materials we get from and send back to Zootopia." Robin added in. "We can get you the contact information we have for them if you would like. The program is quite good. It was set up by one of the educational charities that Big International funds for rural areas and disadvantaged species. Meadow was able to work ahead even."

Vivian and Johnathan shared a look. They had hoped that Nick would have been able to attend school and make more friends but if the education he got would be substandard. "Hmmm...if you wouldn't mind giving us the contact information we would like to look into it as a back up. We where going to tour the school when they started to enroll for the new year." Vivian said. She didn't need the information as she already knew who to call but didn't want to seem rude or reveal their connections. Gran-mama had sent along the work books Nick would need to finish to complete the rest of this school year and was one of the mammals that headed the educational charities that Big International funded.

"We will send it over with the first order of eggs since you are not in a rush to enroll him right away," Robin said finishing drying the last dish and wiping his paws off. "Besides the school there isn't too much else that is worrisome. Might hear some names thrown around by the more anti-pred families but they never do much besides grumble."

"Yes we had a welcome speech from Jack O'Hare and the Sheriff when we arrived and stopped by to pick up the business licenses. He mentioned those folks kept to themselves for the most part and I doubt they are creative enough to come up with something we haven't hear before." Johnathan explained leaving out that Jack and the Wildes where both part of the Family.

"Jack O'Hare is defiantly one of the better rabbits around here at keeping the peace as is Sheriff Blackwoole. If we had more like them in this world..." Marian trailed off. Nearly every fox had experienced the hatred directed at their species at least once in their life. Many had scared to prove it and the ones that didn't have physical scars had mental ones instead.

"We know," Johnathan said quietly and quickly told them about Nick's past. Marian and Robin stood in silence for a moment reflecting on their own personal memories after hearing about Nick's experience. They didn't say how sorry they where or express shock that it happened. They just nodded in understanding.

"Well Meadow seems to have taken a shine to Nick," Marian said changing the mood and the topic. "I am sure she wouldn't mind spending some time with Nick. They could study together if you ended up homeschooling him."

"She might have some competition with Judy," Vivian said with a smile. It seemed like Marian was already trying to play matchmaker with Nick and Meadow. "She and Nick have grown close since they first met."

A series of expressions crossed Marian's face before settling on disbelief. "That would be an odd pairing. Not just that they would be a pred/prey couple, or that ancestrally foxes ate bunnies just think of the size difference when they m..."

Johnathan cleared his throat loudly interrupting Marian. "Perhaps we can wait until they are much, much older before trying to play matchmaker between the kits. Who knows if they will have an interest in each other other than friendship. Besides that is an image I do not want stuck in my head every time I look at the two of them."

"...and the knot." Marian had kept talking softly as Johnathan talked with only the last few words being able to be heard. Despite themselves everyone seemed to get the same look of thoughtfulness then a mixed set of reactions to the mental image of a bunny getting knotted.

"We're back," Nick said coming back into the kitchen. He looked around at the odd looks the adults had on their faces. "Whats going on?"

"Nothing dear," Vivian said snapping out of her thoughts first with a rapid shack of her head. The others just mumbled a collection of excuses and looked in any direction other than Judy's.

"Well its getting late and we have a bit of a walk to get back to our place," Robin said leaning down to scoop Meadow up onto his shoulders to her tired giggles. "Thank you for inviting us to spend the day together. We will have to do this again sometime. Remember if you are paying in cider we will be happy to help in the next pressing."

"Thank you for the help and the ingredients to make a wonderful dinner," Vivian replied with a smile. "After seeing that apple pile any help I can get to speed things up will be generously compensated in the future. By the next time we are able to do a pressing there should be a decent stock of hard cider waiting for us at the end of the day."

"Looking forward to to that," Marian said with a grin as the group walked though the house to a side door.

"Bye Nick! Bye Judy! Lets play together sometime!" Meadow shouted as they left turned around and waving from her fathers back.

"Bye!" Nick shouted back waving. He tail gave a single nervous flick. Judy just waved a few times. She had to concentrate to keep her foot from tapping as Meadow slowly slipped from sight.

"An interesting family," Vivian said looking down at Judy. Vivian thought she had the look of a jealous girlfriend after her boyfriend had hugged a female friend. "Well Judy its getting late why don't I walk you home while Johnathan spends sometime with Nick."

"Okay Mrs. Wilde," Judy said halfheartedly kicking some dirt off the ground with her foot.

"Come on Nicky lets get you ready for bed. We have some father and son things to talk about todd to todd," Johnathan said guiding Nick back inside by the shoulder.


Vivian and Judy walked in silence until the Den was out of even a rabbits earshot before Judy let out a sniffle and wiped at her eyes. "Whats the matter Judy dear?" Vivian said coming to a stop and kneeling down to be at eye level with Judy.

"It's nothing..." Judy started to say trying to put on a cheerful face.

"Its not nothing dear. Even when you got clawed I don't remember you crying. Is it about Meadow?" Vivian asked using her paw to wipe away one of Judy's tears.

"Nick is my friend..." Judy mumbled. "She just jumped all over him and kept trying to drag him off with her."

"Oh Judy," Vivian hesitated before continuing, "I don't think Meadow has many friends herself. She is home schooled you know. Their family mostly keeps to themselves too and keeps busy with their egg farm."

"Yeah," Judy said looking at the grass while her ears drooped. "Mom and Dad said to stay away from their land when ever possible. Mom always said it was because they randomly would be killing their chickens for meat. Dad just said they where foxes."

"Well they are foxes and they do cull their flocks when they need to so that might be a little much for a kit to see," Vivian said trying to stall for time as she tip toed around another reason, "They also enjoy their privacy. That privacy lets them be...a little more natural then they could be otherwise."

"What do you mean Mrs. Wilde? Why cannot they be more natural around others? Meadow was nice enough I suppose she just kept clinging to Nick."

'If that's not the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is,' Vivian though before speaking. "Not everyone views what they do as natural Judy dear...they...prefer to feel the breeze though their fur if you know what I mean. They respect how others feel by wearing clothes when they have to leave their property."

"Oh..." Judy said her eyes wide and her ears growing red. "But if Nick and I went over there to play would they..."

"No...not unless Nicky and yourself felt comfortable enough to do the same. They told Johnathan and I when they know company is coming that doesn't follow the same naturalist views they stay clothed out of curtsy and keep clothes close by for unexpected visitors. As for her clinging to Nick perhaps she was just a little overly excited about having another fox close to her age she could play with. I imaging your father wasn't the only one to tell their kits to keep away from her and her family."

"I guess so," Judy said thinking hard over the last few hours. While Meadow had mostly focused on Nick she never tried to push Judy away and tried to include her in the conversation. She had just asked the same questions of Nick that Judy had, minus the fox specific ones like how soft their tails where, and she had nothing to add to that conversation. With one final scrub of her eyes her expression settled into a more natural look of cheerfulness. "I should try and be her friend too. Everyone needs a friend."

"That they do Judy dear," Vivian said standing and brushing off her dress. "That being said can I count of you to help me keep Nicky's head on straight around her when they get a bit older. With as many older siblings as you have you probably understand what I am asking.

Judy made a face between amusement and discomfort. She had overhear plenty of conversations among the older siblings to understand. "Don't worry Mrs. Wilde I will."

"I am sure you will," Vivian said holding out her paw for Judy to take. 'And I will need to remember to keep an eye on you and him once you both get a bit older,' Vivian thought as they walked on towards the Hopps Warren.


"Son they don't like to wear clothes when they are alone and on their property," Johnathan had decided to be blunt after getting Nick to take a shower to get the last of the apple juice in is fur out and get ready for bed. "I didn't ask why...they could be doing it to honor our ancestral heritage, they could just like the way it feels to have the breeze blow through their fur, or one day they just decided to save money on new pants." Blunt didn't mean he couldn't try to lighten it with humor.

"Oh! That makes sense now," Nick said with a look like a puzzle piece just fit perfectly in place, "Meadow kept adjusting her dress complaining how it felt on her and how she wished she could just take it off. I though she just didn't like the dress or it was too loose but that didn't feel right."

Johnathan leaned back from here he sat on the edge of Nicks bed. "Well that's a good instinct you are getting there. I may have to have a talk with your mother about less blueberries in your diet we don't want those gut felling to get any bigger." Johnathan grinned at his joke gently poking Nick's stomach. "Get it? Gut instinct?" Nick just tilted his head at his father waiting out the grinning from the bad dad joke. "Oh you're no fun tonight. What has your tail in a twist?"

"Why was Judy acting so strange around Meadow?" Nick asked drawing his tail close to him and gently running his claws through it working nonexistent tangles out of the fur, "I don't think it because she is a fox otherwise why is she nice to me?"

"Well..." Johnathan said scratching his chin less bluntly this time, "Perhaps she was afraid you would stop spending time with her if you and Meadow became friends. Friendships are generally easier to start within ones own species and between mammals who share the same food requirements."

"But we are already friends..." Nick said in confusion.

Johnathan looked around and listened carefully before leaning in to whisper to Nick. "Nick I will let you in on a little secret. Just between us todds so don't tell your mother..." Johnathan waiting until Nick nodded his understanding and leaned in closer to hear. "Sometimes when there are two vixens in the same room as you that are interested in you as a...friend, or a doe and vixen in this case, something can happen that doesn't make sense to us todds. Sometimes all we can do is let them sort things out among themselves and hope we don't get caught in the middle and lose them both. Never make promises to either one that you cannot keep."

"What about the times that they cannot work it out among themselves?" Nick asked.

Johnathan studied his son's face carefully before making a decision. Straightening back up and returning to a normal volume of speaking he answered his son. "Either I or your mother will tell you once you get old enough. Don't be in a rush to grow up Nicky my boy otherwise you will regret it as an adult. Now off to sleep you had a busy day today."


A/N: Another chapter for you all. Yes I named the family Hood back in chapter 2 so did anyone really expect I wouldn't use the names Robin and Marian. A nearby fox family who are naturalist is an idea I have read in other fan-fictions but with Nick seeming so unaffected by the Oasis in the movie I figure him knowing about the lifestyle as he grew up would explain that away. So yeah I am stealing that particular idea and hopefully am able to spin it in my own way.

As some of you may have noticed already I ended up deciding to do side stories for my OCs I mentioned in my last authors note. The OCs stores will be running parallel with the main story for the most part while connecting back onto the main story when they are needed again. It is also giving me a chance to flesh out my little slice of AU without bogging down the main story too much. At the moment there are two side stories; Distilled Dreams Side Stories: A Bandit to Steal a Bunny's Heart featuring Rocky Rodgers and Audrey Thumperson and Distilled Dreams Side Story: The Black Sheep of the Family featuring Rosette Blackwoole. A Bandit to Steal a Bunny's Heart is far less dark then the other two and will stick to being a romance story between the bunny and the 'coon while helping fill in the details about Zootopia. The Black Sheep of the Family going to be exploring the Family side of things so it will be darker.

Not much in the way of questions have popped up and besides officially announcing the side stories I cannot think of anything to add or clarify. Oh yeah I am fairly certain that the various math in this chapter is correct like how many apples are needed and how much of an 8% solution you need to distill down to 53 gallons of a 60% solution. The evaporation rate in the aging process I found reading about Pappy Van Winkle 23 year aged bourbon. I have pressed my own cider before but only a few gallons and I can tell you it definitely takes a lot of apples.

As always thanks for reading and leaving reviews and comments.