A side-story (side-prequel?) to Vixen's Mark
"Welcome home, sweetie!" the pleasant feminine voice of Terra's mother called out as she heard the teenage kit fox and her father enter their small Bunnyburrow house.
"Mrph," Terra grunted in response, slinging off her backpack and putting it on the the couch, which she flung herself onto as well. She sighed, the hint of pain and tenderness lurking in her teeth. The kit fox folded her paws in a grumpy manner.
"Busy day, huh," Terra's mother smiled, though it was seasoned with a tiny bit of sympathy.
"First day of high school and I had to get my braces tightened," Terra huffed, showing her teeth, pointing at them, but not daring to touch them.
"I'll pack something extra soft for your lunch tomorrow, sugar," her mother said kindly.
"Last time I got my braces tightened, I burst into tears from biting into a sandwich," Terra complained, holding her arms up into the air, then letting them fall over her face. "Blegh. I don't need any help standing out at Eastburrow, that's for sure."
"What's she mean, Cecil?" Terra's mother asked her husband.
Cecil came over and gave a small kiss to his wife's cheek. "Well, uh, we do live in Bunnyburrow, Ariel. Eastburrow High is something like eighty-five percent bunnies, beyond even just having the prey majority."
"I'm prob'ly the only kit fox in the whole school," Terra went on.
"So, ah, you haven't made any friends yet?" Ariel narrowed one of her eyes, continuing to look at her moping daughter with a gentle expression.
"No, c'mon," Terra shook her head, sitting up and looking over the back of the couch at her mother. "First of all, I'm a shy nerd. Second of all, this is just the first day. Third of all... uh... what's third, dad?"
"Bunnies?" Cecil shrugged. He chuckled. "They do like forming into their own groups. And since they're the majority there, Terra's probably going to be the odd one out of everywhere."
"Thaanks, dad..." Terra slumped back against the couch.
"Is it too late to get her into another school?" Ariel winced, walking toward the kitchen.
"We don't have the kind of money to send her to a private school, you know that, hon..." Cecil winced. "She's not being harassed or anything."
"Not yet," Ariel muttered, rolling her eyes towards a pot, opening the pot up. She sniffed at it. "Hm." Ariel added some seasonings and stirred the pot. Cecil reflexively sniffed at the pleasant aroma coming from the pot. Ariel pointed the stirring spoon at Cecil. "You know I didn't have the best time at school here in Bunnyburrow."
"Things have changed at least a little bit since we were kits," Cecil shrugged. "All we can do is hope for the best and offer support if Terra's struggling with someone or something."
"What's that smell?" Terra blinked, wandering into the kitchen, lured by the scent of soup. "Is that your famous tomato soup?"
"Mm hm, my five-star recipe," Ariel said proudly, smirking.
"Just one of the benefits of being married to a chef," Cecil tried to nuzzle Ariel's cheek, but she pushed him away playfully.
"C'mon, Cecil," Ariel laughed. "Not in front of the kit fox kit."
Terra rolled her eyes. "It's fine, you goobers." Her expression softened. "Thanks for making soup for dinner. My teeth really hurt, so..."
"It's not just for you," Ariel said, tilting her head toward Terra with a hint of prissiness. "Your grandfather Brownfurred is coming over today."
"Oh, no way!" Terra brightened, her tail tip wagging a little. "Cool."
"So that's definitely on, then?" Cecil chuckled. "Dad loves to flake on his engagements."
"He's on his way now, from what I know," Ariel offered Cecil a sip of the soup. "What do you think? Is it amazing, or is it incredible?"
"Both, yes," Cecil responded, kissing his wife's cheek. He grinned at his daughter, who was quickly starting to catch up to her parents in height. "It's certainly not 'Terra-ble'."
"Honestly, dad?" Terra looked crestfallen, her shoulders sagging. "Sometimes I just think you named me Terra to make dumb dad-jokes at me."
"Of course not," Cecil claimed, closing his eyes and holding up a finger. "We named you Terra because kit foxes have the lovely colors of the earth. Sandy oranges, dusty grays, and snowy whites."
"Uh huh," Ariel smirked. "I think it was definitely for the puns." She nudged Cecil with her hip, and Cecil chuckled.
"They are pretty Terra-fic, aren't they?" Cecil added. Terra cringed, her eyes closed.
"Daddy...!" the teenage kit fox whined.
"She's right, honey," Ariel suddenly looked scolding. "With your father coming over, we aren't going to be wanting for goofiness in this house, so maybe you could dial it back a bit."
"That's definitely true," Cecil put his hands into his pockets. "Okay, no Ter- er, awful jokes."
"Can I have that in writing?" Terra asked, but then the doorbell rang, and then rang about seven more times in rapid succession.
"Oh, it's grampa!" Terra giggled, rushing to the door. As she opened the door, there was a brown bunny standing there, about half a head smaller than Terra. He continued poking at the doorbell and Terra half-lidded her eyes at him.
"Oh, hello, dear!" the bunny said, smiling brightly. "Looks like your doorbell still works!" He pressed it a few more times.
"Grampa... get in here," Terra affectionately dragged the bunny into the house while rolling her eyes. The bunny's face only slightly seemed aged and he had light brown eyes which still glinted with mischief.
"Hey dad," Cecil waved from the kitchen at his father.
"Hey son!" the bunny, Harvey Brownfurred, called back. He turned to Terra, smiling up at her. "And how's my little toasted marshmallow?"
"I'm okay, grampa," Terra placed her paw on her other wrist and nodded.
"Good! You're my favorite little kit fox granddaughter after all," Harvey said, giving her a hug. "Wouldn't want you to be upset!"
"Mm, I'm okay," Terra reiterated while hugging back, though her voice sounded less firm. Harvey didn't pick up on this and released her. "Also, I'm your only kit fox granddaughter."
"Besides the point!" Harvey insisted with his arms out.
"We're having Ariel's famous tomato soup tonight, dad," Cecil said.
"Heck, I know that!" Harvey waved his arm dismissively. "What did you think I was coming over for?" Cecil chuckled at this.
"It's not just for you, dad," Ariel said in a playfully scolding voice. "Terra just had her braces tightened."
"Oh, did she now?" Harvey adjusted his glasses, squinting at Terra, who showed him her teeth. "Criminy! How long're they gonna keep your teeth in jail, princess?"
"Hopefully not all of high school," Terra muttered.
"Mm, high school, huh?" Harvey huffed. "I thought you were just starting middle school."
"Grampa..." Terra laughed.
"Is it going okay?" Harvey suddenly sounded serious.
"It's... fine," Terra nodded. "There's a lot of bunnies, though."
"Egh, bunnies," Harvey made a disgusted face and leaned it in to Terra. "No good varmints, the lot of em." He made a very serious face, but Terra couldn't help but burst into a laugh.
"Dad..." Cecil rolled his eyes.
"'Dad' what!?" Ariel looked at Cecil incredulously, setting the table with some bowls of soup. "You got your sense of humor from him, after all."
"All right, soup!" Harvey chuckled. "One of the great pleasures of this world. Besides the loving embrace of-"
"Yeah, let's stop right there," Cecil deadpanned.
"Of your closest family members," Harvey finished with an air of superiority.
"I can't imagine the sentence was going to end like that," Ariel laughed. "Anyway, dinner's on. There's bread too, because I know you'll want to soak up every last drop of the soup."
"Excellent!" said Harvey. The three kit foxes and one bunny sat down to dinner. After taking a few spoonfuls of soup, to which he "mmm"ed loudly, Harvey looked back to Terra. "So are any bunnies giving you trouble?"
"No, not yet anyway," Terra shook her head, carefully sipping her soup while trying to avoid having her spoon crash against her teeth. "I actually like bunnies, it's just I don't think they like me back."
"Bagh!" Harvey dramatically waved his hand. "Don't you worry about the bunnies who try to exclude you; they aren't worth making friends with anyway!"
"Mm..." Terra nodded. She turned her head to her father. "Daddy, how was it growing up with grampa?"
"Well..." Cecil looked contemplative. "I can say that your grandparents provided a very loving household for me." He shrugged. "I was very grateful to have parents that loved me so much." Harvey smiled.
"So..." Terra looked to Harvey next. "What made you decide to adopt a kit fox, anyway?"
"Well, your grandmother and I wanted a fairly typical bunny family," Harvey scratched his chin. "I think we were aiming for two dozen kits. But at just ten, she had to have a hysterectomy because-"
"Uh, you can spare her the details, dad," Cecil winced, and Ariel looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Right, right," Harvey nodded, coughing. "Anyway, we were thinking about adopting a couple. But when we got there, we saw just this cutest little kit fox waiting to be adopted too. We thought we could take him in, so we did! And I think it was a great decision." Cecil rubbed at his temple with one hand, but managed to smile.
"Not all ten of my siblings were fans of me," Cecil admitted, shrugging. "Sometimes I did feel like an outcast because I was outnumbered."
"What!?" Harvey looked upset. "I told those kits to make you feel welcome!"
"Well you can't just force acceptance onto someone," Ariel noted with a frown.
"Eh, three of my siblings became my closest pals anyway," Cecil smiled. "Pred and prey... we have more in common than we think. Especially omnivores like foxes. Had to get used to a lot of vegetables."
"Your dad used to sneak out sometimes to grab bug burgers!" Harvey recalled, chuckling. Terra laughed. She liked veggies, but she didn't know what she'd do without her weekly bug burger.
"School isn't like family though, Terra," Ariel warned. "You're not always going to find lasting friendships there. It might be fine if you just keep your head down and move through high school as quick as it'll come. Focus on your studies."
"Heck, Ariel!" Harvey frowned. "How's the girl gonna get any friends in the future unless she practices during her formative years? The girl's already so shy!"
"Um, could you excuse me?" Terra asked, putting her spoon down and pulling away from the table. Even the hint of argument in the family was enough to unsettle her stomach. "I'm getting a tummy ache..."
"Not from my soup, I hope," Ariel tilted her head. Terra shook her head.
"I'll come back down soon, I just... need a minute," Terra suggested.
"Gotta go read some of those comic books?" Harvey asked with a smirk.
"They're um... graphic novels, grampa," Terra laughed very, very lightly, heading to her room.
"Kits these days are always so uptight about terminology," Harvey shook his head. Cecil frowned after his daughter, but decided to respect her space and let her be.
Terra sat on her bed and hugged her pillow to her chest. She felt emotions swelling up in her. She never knew quite why her mother didn't like high school, but the thought worried her. She hoped she wouldn't go through the same thing; that she just could get through her high school years without any major problems.
Terra whined very quietly into her pillow. Why'd she have to be a kit fox? She was barely taller than some bunnies, and some were even taller than her. She didn't have the naturally intimidating aura as some other predators did, and yet she still was a predator, as some others were keen to remind her. She felt like she had all the disadvantages of being a predator with none of the benefits.
Setting her pillow back down, Terra hoped she'd find somewhere to belong in her school. Even though she was shy. Even though she was a predator. Even though she might be the only kit fox in the whole school. Even though bunnies tended to form cliques and ostracize outsiders.
Terra's breath was shuddering. She didn't feel very optimistic about her chances. She managed to fight off tears and took another few minutes to calm down.
Getting up slowly, she decided to go back to the door. She carefully peeked out, listening for signs of an argument, and hearing none, she decided to rejoin her family, she walked close to the table, hesitating at her place.
"You okay, honey?" Cecil looked up at her.
"I am," Terra looked off to the side. "I hope I will be..."
"Aw, you mean at school? I'm sure you'll be fine, lil' toasted marshmallow," Harvey swiped his paw. "And if you aren't, just let me know, and I'll beat up anyone troublin' you with my cane!"
"You don't even use a cane, dad," Ariel half-lid her eyes.
"Doesn't mean I can't own one!" Harvey laughed.
Terra let loose a small smile. Her family was silly, but she loved them. She hoped she could lean on them to get through her high school years. She walked over to put her paws on her grandfather's shoulders and gave a long sigh, smiling and deciding to bury her worry for another day.