Hi, all! I know it's been a while! I've been a bit busy, but I went on the mission trip a couple of weeks ago. The one that helped inspire Lucas. It was so much fun and so rewarding! We built a playground, put in a baseball field, threw a carnival; it was the best week of my life! I'm on meds now, too. And since I am a huge nerd and convey that through Lucas and Ashira, expect anime and Japanese-mythology references. Please enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 12: Ewelina
After wondering about his foster sister, Ewelina, and receiving nasty glares from a ram that Ashira later identified as Harrison, Lucas was happy to be out of geometry. Once school ended, he, Ashira, Hunter and Joey met up by their lockers. Their plan was to have a group study session in the park. Lucas had never been to the park in downtown Savannah Central before. Best of all, he was going with his friends. And Ashira…!
"No Kivuli today?" Ashira asked Hunter, nudging him playfully.
"Nope. He said he was busy today," the buck replied in disappointment. "But since I'm surrounded by friends, it's okay. What about you, Joey? No practice today?"
"Nah, mate. Coach had a meeting," the kangaroo informed his friends. "It'll be nice to have a day off. What about you two?"
"I don't have anything going on and Mom and Dad said okay," Lucas informed his companions sheepishly. He had to find some extracurriculars or some afterschool activities soon. Perhaps he would ask Ashira what she was interested in. Deep down, he really wanted to look into a graphic novel club. That would be fun. The heroes in comics and graphic novels were always so remarkable and unique.
"Granny says she wants Rina and me to stay out for a while. I think she's up to something fun and kooky again," Ashira notified her pals.
"Your grandma is so cool," Hunter remarked. "She's like a little kid."
"Well, she's got the stature for it," Ashira pointed out. Lucas found himself trying to imagine what Ashira's grandmother was like. From how she was described, it seemed like she was a little ball of energy. In his wondering, he almost didn't notice Ashira gazing into his eyes. The ruby eyed vixen asked, "You okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I was just trying to imagine what your grandma was like," Lucas sheepishly admitted.
"She's fun, but the coolest one in my family is my oldest sister Inari! Rina and I both really look up to her!" Ashira informed the male.
"How many siblings do you have again?" Lucas asked, trying to keep track of the family members Ashira talked about.
"I'm the youngest of five," she answered, tail wagging. "My mom's proud of all of us, but Inari's really made something of herself as a city planner. She also likes to do liquor sales. My brother, Kitsu, the next oldest, is pretty quiet and usually tame. He's a martial arts and sword instructor. Sometimes he has trouble controlling his anger. Especially when Granny gives him a hard time. Though, he does teach really well. The middle child is Suiko. She's a year and a half older than Rina and graduated last year. She's trying to earn some money before going to school, so she's a cleaner for some high-class mammal. Then there's my sister, Rina. She's almost eighteen. Between her face, body and pleasant demeanor, some would argue that she's the heart throb of her class. She wants to pursue a career in criminal justice."
"Your family sounds really interesting! What does your mom do?" Lucas asked out of curiosity.
"She's a banker. She can be a little ditzy, but super pleasant to be around and great with numbers," Ashira claimed. "And you're an only child with two cop parents, right?"
"Yeah. Well, I did use to have a bunch of foster siblings, but…I haven't really seen any of them since I was dumped at the orphanage… I miss some of them a whole lot…" Lucas sighed.
"It's hard having to part with mammals you care about… I can't even imagine how that must feel. The ones who helped you through the rough times are who knows where now…" Hunter muttered sympathetically.
"Maybe you'll see some of them soon, mate. It's a smaller world than it looks," Joey said reassuringly, hoping to lift the fox's spirits with a bit of hope.
"I guess you have a point, Joey," Lucas acknowledged, knowing well that such an opportunity couldn't be forced and was purely based on chance. He took a deep breath and hoped Ewelina was well and happy before getting back to being excited for the group study.
"We'd better get going," Ashira announced. The males heeded her suggestion and the four of them left the school. They started down the sidewalk towards the nearest city bus stop. It was a temperate day that wielded a gentle breeze that played with their fur. Ashira started humming an upbeat tune that struck Lucas's memory.
"Ashira, is that the opening of…?" Lucas started to ask.
"Oh my gosh, you know?!" Ashira exclaimed giddily, grabbing Lucas by the collar of his hoodie.
"How could I not? That series was awesome!" Lucas replied.
"Wow. Both of them are into animated series," Hunter chuckled. "This couldn't be a better coincidence."
Both foxes looked at Hunter quizzically and the deer's response was to flash Lucas a congratulatory wink. The male fox felt his face heat up and he adjusted his glasses, praying Ashira didn't catch that wink or the implications that came with it. He glanced at her and she looked just as flustered. Was it because she felt put on the spot? Was it something different?
He didn't have too much time to think about it as the bus soon arrived. The two foxes, the deer and the kangaroo boarded it and were soon on route to the park. When they arrived, Lucas saw a squad car and figured that a pair of Zootopia's finest was on their beat in the area. When the four of them got off the bus and headed into the park, Lucas saw that he was right, but it didn't come without a surprise waiting for him.
"Oh, Lucas!" Judy called out as she waved. Nick shook his head in embarrassment of the attracted attention.
"Mom? Dad?" Lucas called out, perplexed to see his adoptive parents there. "What are you doing here?"
"This area was our assignment today," Nick informed his son, smiling coolly. "You're not getting into trouble, are you?"
"N-no," Lucas gave a short response.
"We're here for a group study session and hangout, Mr. and Mrs. Wilde," Ashira clarified.
"Oh, that's so nice! Well, we won't be in your way. Bogo said to patrol this end of the park on paw, so we'll be around if you need a couple of cops. I just…hope it won't come to that," Judy informed the teenagers. "You all have a nice time now."
"Thank you!" the four of them thanked the Wilde duo as the latter group continued their patrol.
As the four adolescent mammals sat under a tree and began pulling out their books, Lucas glanced up and saw two female sheep, one adult and one child. The adult was pushing the child in a wheelchair. The younger sheep looked to be about twelve years old. Lucas's heart stopped. No way… It couldn't be!
Lucas stood suddenly, startling his friends. Taking shaky steps, he walked forward and called out, "Ewelina!"
The sheep stopped. The adult took a partial side step so the younger one could turn her head and get the source of the voice in her peripheral vision. The young sheep gripped the wheels of her wheel chair, spun herself around and started wheeling towards him with tears in her eyes. Lucas started running towards her. When he got to the point where they would collide, he got to his knees and caught her in his arms, chair in all. The sheep exclaimed, "Lucas, it is you!" The two were in a tight embrace.
"Ewelina, I'm so glad you're okay!" Lucas wept joyfully. "You got adopted?"
"Yeah, soon after the incident. You did, too?" Ewelina responded.
"Yeah. Just recently," Lucas stated.
"Well, then, why don't we live up to our promise?" Ewelina suggested to her old foster brother. "You know, the one we made if we ever met after becoming more than someone's foster children?"
"Right! Um…You go first," Lucas urged, recalling this promise.
"Okay! Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Ewelina Ramsey," Ewelina introduced herself to Lucas.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Lucas Wilde!" Lucas introduced himself. "I suppose I should introduce you to my friends." To his surprise, his friends had come over to see what the fuss was about. It made his life easier, though, because he didn't have to worry about how Ewelina's wheelchair would handle the grass under the tree. He gestured to Hunter first and went along, "This is Hunter. And that's Joey. And this is Ashira."
"Hi, there!" Hunter greeted warmly.
"Hello," Joey greeted.
"It's nice to meet you, Ewelina!" Ashira exclaimed joyfully, wiping a tear from her eye.
Ewelina whispered in Lucas's ear, "She's pretty."
"Yeah," Lucas softly agreed, tail wagging. In spite of the odds, fate brought him to his old foster sister and one of the few friends he had before his new life.
"Oh, this is my mom!" Ewelina said and waved over the older sheep.
"Hi, there! I'm Mrs. Ramsey," Mrs. Ramsey introduced herself, shaking each teen's paw (or hoof in Hunter's case).
"We have a lot to catch up on! I wish we could do it today, but Mom and I were going to meet my brother on the other side of the park. Umm… Oh! Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?" Ewelina asked.
"Oh, I do! Let me get them for you!" Ashira volunteered and dashed to her things under the tree. She tore a page from one of her notebooks and snatched up a pen and darted back over to Ewelina, giving them to her. Ewelina accepted the pen and paper. She used the pen to transcribe an address and phone number onto the paper. She gave Lucas the paper and tried to give Ashira her pen back, but the vixen declined. "I want you to have it. It'd come in handy in the future."
"Really? You mean it?" Ewelina asked excitedly.
"Absolutely! It's all yours!" Ashira responded, smiling kindly.
"Thank you so much!" Ewelina thanked her.
"Come on, Ewelina. We should go now," Mrs. Ramsey said, gripping the handles of the wheelchair. "It was nice meeting you all."
"Bye, Lucas," Ewelina bid the male fox farewell as she was wheeled away.
Lucas waved, feeling thankful that one of the few good things to come of his suffering was back in his life again. On top of that, he felt a lot closer to Ashira.
Judy and Nick were watching from afar. Judy looked up at Nick and said, "I'm happy for him. And the mother seemed nice, too."
"I was…happy and surprised with how calm they both were around him and Ashira. It makes me think times have changed for the better," Nick opened up, meeting Judy's eyes.
"They have," Judy assured as she held his paw. "And you and I are going to keep making them better. Better for Lucas and his friends and that little sheep."
"So…when are we going to visit the mastermind?" Nick asked, his tone changing from happy and hopeful to dark and serious.
"We can go later if you want," Judy said. Nick gave her a nod, signaling that he would like that.