Continued from Chapter 85
Nick and Judy walked down toward the entry hall of the Hopps Compound. It was Serendipiday again, their second while married and third overall. Judy was wearing a bright green shirt, and Nick's was the loudest purple shirt he owned. As the two got near the front door, they saw a group of Judy's younger siblings fussing over a guest who had just arrived. Nick flinched as one kit ran right in front of him on their way to the front door.
"It's Terra! Terra's here!" one of the young bunnies said.
"Terra! You gonna read us a story again!?"
"Sure am!" the female kit fox replied, trying to duck and weave her way through the crowd.
"Yay! Terra reads the best stories!"
"Terra, do you have a car?"
"I do!" Terra giggled. "How do you think I get here?"
"Terra, I love your shirt!"
Terra looked down at her rainbow-colored tye-dye shirt. "You think it's good enough for a Serendipiday?"
"Yeah!" The kits continued to fuss over the kit fox as she tried to make her way to the main living area where their little book club meetup was to take place.
Judy slowly looked up at Nick with a wide, knowing smirk. Nick looked back at her with a blank expression, then sighed.
"Yes, I am a bit jealous, okay?" Nick groaned, though in good humor. "Though it was a bit annoying to have the constant attention of all of your little shrieking brothers and sisters, to see it directed to another makes me feel less special."
"You're old news, fox," Judy chuckled. Samantha Hopps poked her cream-colored head out at the commotion and walked over to the bunny and fox. She was wearing an electric blue tank top with yellow lightning bolt shapes on it. "Oh, hi Samantha. How are you doing?"
Samantha folded her arms, nodding diagonally. "Better, I think." She looked at Nick. "Looking at foxes no longer seems to make my skin crawl. I think Terra coming over every month has helped. I've even been able to talk to her a couple of times."
"That's great," Nick closed his eyes and nodded.
Samantha narrowed one eye and looked at the two. "You two have been married for just over a year and you're still doing dorky things like this?" She indicated their shirts. "Your shirts match your partners' eyes."
"Oh, you noticed," Judy giggled.
"Where's your collar?" Samantha pointed briefly at Judy's neck.
Judy shrugged. "Well, you weren't the only one who took umbrage with it last year, Sam. Decided it might be easier to leave it home this time."
"Pff," Samantha folded her arms tightly and lolled her head. "Since when have you cared about what the ignorant masses think?" Nick chuckled into his fist at this.
"I don't want to stir up trouble just for its own sake," Judy rubbed at her neck. "But... hey, I know! I should get a tie so I can look even more like this fashion-blind mammal I'm married to!"
"Judy, no," Nick laughed harder.
"Judy, yes!" Judy wiggled her brow and headed off, flagging down one of her brothers. "Hey Justin! You got a tie I can borrow? Ugliest one you have!"
"Ouch," Samantha couldn't help but smile.
"She's a pawful, but I love her," Nick sighed. "Hey, you wanna come to the festival again with us? Judy and I are going to go early and see if they need any help there. Jayce is setting up a stall this year."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Samantha held up a paw. "No offense, but last year was pretty dull. I can't believe you've gone two years in a row without winning a single thing at Serendipiday."
"Eh, I'll make out like a bandit this year," Nick smirked, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'll win a Serendipidoll so big that it'll take both Judy and I to carry it home!"
Samantha looked playfully disgusted. "Did you seriously just call it-?"
"Well everything else in this stupid holiday is named after that bunny goddess," Nick held out both of his hands palm-up. "I'm sure Karma has been taking all of my losses into account and is priming me for a big win."
"Oh, is that how that works?" Samantha chuckled. "I would have thought the canid and lapine celestials wouldn't get along."
"Stranger things have happened," Nick lazily saluted with two fingers. "Anyway, I'm going to go grab the wifey and get her to the festival before anyone else gives her some fashion advice."
"Have fun, 'loser'," Samantha smirked, and Nick was off. Samantha sighed, and turned and flinched subtly. Terra was standing right in front of her.
"Hey...!" Terra said apologetically. She was holding a storybook in both paws, looking up at Samantha. "Uh, I don't suppose you've seen Violet? She's supposed to role-play this story with me for the kits."
"I... haven't seen her," Samantha scratched her chin. "That's odd. Not like Violet to flake out on anything. Listen, I'll go get her for you."
"Thanks!" Terra grinned brightly. "Uh!" She turned and saw some kits going through her tote bag. "No no no! Get your paws off my comics!" Terra ran after the giggling kits trying to steal her comic books.
Samantha scoffed and questioned other bunnies around the house for signs of Violet, but no one had seen her. Samantha walked over to Violet's room and knocked on the door.
"Go away," Violet's voice came. Samantha refused and opened the door. It was dark inside and arranged messily, as Violet usually had it. Violet was sitting on the edge of her bed, wearing a bright yellow sweater, but lacking her glasses. She rubbed at her temples. "I see you still can't follow simple instructions, Samantha."
"What gives?" Samantha made a flippant gesture with one hand. "It's Serendipiday. Why aren't you out here doing your thing?"
"I've delegated the responsibilities to others this year," Violet muttered, looking away. Samantha squinted her eyes. It was hard to tell in the low light, but Violet almost looked like she was trembling.
"You okay?" Samantha blinked.
"No," Violet said bluntly. "I believe I forgot to take my meds this morning, and if I did manage to take them, they didn't work today. Since I can't double up on the dosage, I'm out of luck until tomorrow. I'm not having a good day."
"I... didn't know you took meds," Samantha didn't know if she should approach or retreat.
"Well, now you know," Violet rubbed her knees with her paws distractedly.
"Oh, Terra said you're supposed to help her read a book or something," Samantha jerked her thumb backward. Violet looked at Samantha incredulously. "What? C'mon, she's only over once a month."
"Can't deal with it today," Violet said in a snippy voice. "You do it."
"Me?" Samantha mentally balked at the suggestion, but her sister's strange behavior was more concerning to her. "What's your problem, anyway?"
"Generalized anxiety disorder is my problem," Violet twitched. "Worrying about everything or nothing. Unable to concentrate. Today I have a splitting headache and a bad stomachache. I don't want to deal with anything."
"Oh..." Samantha said. "Is it because you have such a stressful job?"
"No," Violet shook her head. "In fact, I was diagnosed before I became our family's organizer. I... use my malady, my penchant for worrying about things. On a good day I can look at a problem from all angles and ascertain the best solution. On bad days I seem overly picky about everyone and everything. On worse days I get like this."
"You overcome your problems and turn them into strengths," Samantha curled her fingers into a fist and gently moved it into her other hand. "I guess we have more alike than I thought."
"Don't try to flatter me," Violet mumbled, turning fully away from Samantha. "You don't know what this is like. To only be able to be a 'true' mammal when you've taken your medicine. You've been working through your own problems through meditation and exposure. I... just deal with them chemically."
Samantha frowned. "Isn't Terra going to be disappointed that she can't see you today?"
"I don't care about her," Violet snapped. "I mean... I don't feel anything for her. This whole 'book club' thing was just a transparent scheme from me to get you more comfortable around foxes. I'd say it's been working."
"I, uh..." Samantha wasn't sure what to say next. "I thought you and she had a lot in common."
"Superficially. Just go," Violet mumbled. "Either volunteer to replace me as her reading partner or don't, but I'm not going out there today."
"Okay," Samantha turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway. "Vi, you... I mean, a mammal takes medicine when something's wrong, yeah? So, when you're feeling bad like this, that can't be the 'real' you, just like someone with a sickness isn't the real them."
Violet didn't say anything for several seconds, and Samantha twisted her mouth and went to leave.
"As..." Violet started, and Samantha hesitated. "As ridiculously simple as that is, I suppose there's a grain of truth there."
"Hope you feel better, Vi," Samantha said, and gently shut her door.
"And inside the cave there was a huge dragon!" Samantha declared, reading from the book Terra had held up. She balled her fists and leaned forward, roaring. Bunnies shrieked and giggled at her effort, and Terra stifled a laugh. "'I could eat up fifty bunnies like you in a day! What are you doing in my cave!?'"
"'I made a promise to the princess!' said the handsome bunny knight," Terra picked up reading. "So the bunny knight dove into the piles of the dragon's treasure. The dragon was too scared to melt his own gold with his fire breath."
"'Come out and face me!'" Samantha said, using a bold, deep voice for the dragon.
"But the bunny knight used his speed to avoid the dragon and escaped with the one thing he needed!" Terra read. "It was the golden key that held the princess captive in the castle's dungeon where the evil vizier locked her away."
"Do I do the princess too?" Samantha narrowed her eyes. Terra nodded enthusiastically. "Okay... so the knight rescued the princess. 'You're my hero!' the princess said, embracing the knight." More bunnies laughed at Samantha attempting to do a sweet, feminine voice. She stuck her tongue out at the kits with her eyes half-lidded.
"'All in a knights work!' said the bunny knight!" Terra said. "And they lived happily ever after!"
"Wow, neat story!" One tiny critic raved.
"You're a cool dragon, Sam! You should read more often!"
"Do that princess voice again!"
"Okay kits, away with you," Samantha made a shooing motion. "There's still plenty of stuff to do on Serendipiday. And get away from there!" Samantha pointed at a couple of kits making for Terra's tote bag again, and they scattered.
"That was fun!" Terra smiled. "Thanks for subbing for me. Is Violet okay?"
"She's not feeling well today," Samantha said vaguely.
"Ah, that's a shame," Terra frowned. "Tell her I said hi." Terra gathered up her tote.
"Wait, are you leaving?" Samantha narrowed one eye. "It's Serendipiday. Are you going to the festival? You're dressed the part."
"Oh uh," Terra looked off to the side nervously. "Nah. I don't have anyone to go with and it'd be kinda weird to go by myself, you know?"
"Oh, well, uh..." Samantha rubbed behind her head. She shrugged her shoulders. "I could go with you, if you want."
"Huh? Really?" Terra smiled faintly. "Cool! I mean, okay! I mean, uh... I've never gone to a Serendipiday festival with someone before!"
"Never?" Samantha replied. "It's only like our biggest holiday. Didn't you say you grew up surrounded by bunnies?"
"Yeah, an only kit and a nearly all-bunny high school," Terra chuckled. "But I mean just because sometimes I feel like I might as well be a bunny doesn't mean I get all the perks of actually being one... I... guess I could have gone with someone, but I always was too... y'know..."
"Shy?" Samantha asked.
"Yeah..?" Terra winced. "And the family wasn't so well off, so we didn't have money to blow on going to the festival ourselves. We did go to Carrot Days though! That was... uh... decent!"
"You don't have to lie," Samantha laughed. Though she was trying to play it cool, she did feel a bit of a knot in her stomach at the prospect of spending the evening with a fox, however pleasant said fox seemed. She took a breath to steel herself. "Anyway, I'll show you a good time tonight. Lots of fun to be had at the festival."
"I'm sure there is!" Terra nodded. "This'll be fun!"
Samantha nodded; she hoped it would be.