Author's Note: This chapter is part of the r/Zootopia Anthology Volume: II. I cannot provide a link here at FF because of their policies.

At a glance, it was tough to place just what kind of mammal she was. A canid, certainly, but what kind?

Her name was Cinderella Reddish. She was told the name meant "little crimson embers", and she supposed this referred to her eyes. Cindy's fur was a rich variety of grays that swept here and there across her coat. She displayed other hints of color as well; black was mixed in with her tail, the front sides of her limbs, and on her ear tips. White was on the underside of her muzzle and on her tail tip. On her neck and upper back were subtle orange arches, and the underside of her limbs contained orange accents as well.

But on her face, there were "embers" in her eyes. They were a yellowish-brown, lively and fiery, and they were bordered by dabs of vivid orange fur. Her brother claimed that the small marks on her eyes made her look like a superhero. Then again, he was obsessed with superheros.

But what kind of mammal was she? Her being thirteen didn't help a casual observer; she was still a growing girl and her size could have reflected a number of mammals. Was she a small wolf? She got that often. Jackal? Coyote? Fox?

Well, yes indeed, the latter was what she was. All one had to do was ask her, and she'd tell you that she was a red fox.

On one particular day, Cindy was walking home with two of her friends. The fox had a spring in her step, as she'd finally secured permission to have her friends come over after school.

"You two are going to love my house," Cindy said proudly as she walked. She was joined by her two best friends: an unremarkable-looking woodchuck male named Rick, and a piebald black and white cow, Ellie. "It's really pretty big!"

"I'm excited!" Ellie exclaimed, and she certainly sounded it. "You're always talking about how much you like your home."

"Yeah, well," Cindy let her eyes move slightly away from Ellie as she responded, "just so you know, my family is a little strange."

"Aren't all families?" Rick shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's mostly my brother," Cindy rolled her eyes. "You know, little brothers and all..."

"Only child," Rick replied, thrusting a thumb at his chest.

"I've got an older brother," Ellie giggled hesitantly, "like, six years older."

"Well, just don't let the little twerp annoy you," Cindy said sternly, but then lightened up as she approached the steps to her house. "Here we are!"

"Wow, it is pretty big," Ellie said with reverence. Cindy opened the door and let them enter.

"Mom!" Cindy called out as she closed the door. "I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen, sweetheart!" The affectionate voice came back. The three young teenagers went into the kitchen where Cindy's mother, Vivian Reddish, was washing dishes. She was clearly a red fox, or just "a fox" as some knew them, as they were the most common type. She was aging well and had pretty cobalt blue eyes. Her face was kind, but reflected surprise when she saw the cow and woodchuck. "O-oh! You brought your friends today!"

"Yes; you said I could!" Cindy replied, her voice immediately getting a little defensive. "I've been talking about this for weeks?"

"Oh, of course, of course!" Vivian giggled with a pinch of nervousness. "It's just-"

"It's just what?" Cindy shot back.

"It's just that I had made plans tonight for us all to go see some family friends," Vivian looked embarrassed, "and um, I don't know if there's room for your friends..."

"Well uh, personally," Rick placed his paw on his chest, "my mother gets worried if I'm not home by the evening."

"Yeah, and my parents don't like it when I'm out late, either," Ellie shook her head.

"See? No problem," Cindy added affirmatively.

Vivian laughed gently. "Okay then. You three have fun. Oh, do you want any snacks?" The red fox caught herself, holding an index finger up. "Oh, um, scratch that; I don't have anything here for herbivores... sorry about that!"

"It's okay; I'm not hungry," Ellie said.

"I'm fine," Rick nodded.

"Okay, let's go up to my room," Cindy said, turning on her heel. "It's up the stairs near the living room and on the-"

"Whoa!" Ellie breathed out as soon as she got to the living room. Arranged somewhat haphazardly were several paintings. Some were portraits of mammals and some were landscapes, all painted with a distinctive color style that used contrasting colors to vividly accentuate natural ones. "These paintings are amazing! So pretty!"

"You like it?" Cindy smiled. "That's my dad's stuff."

"Your father painted all this?" Rick blinked. "Remarkable..."

"Are there any more paintings in here?" Ellie asked perkily, walking to a door and starting to swing it open.

"Wuh-wait!" Cindy held her paw out, but the door was already flung open.

Inside the room was a modestly-sized painting studio with newspaper on the floor near the easel. Seated at this easel was a fox of mostly gray and jet-black fur. His name was Avery Pawsfeld. His yellow-brown eyes were very nearly the shade of his daughter's, and they showed that he was momentarily startled from the intrusion. He was wearing a loose white undershirt with some paint splotches on it and some cargo shorts.

"Oh, hello!" Avery greeted cheerfully to the three, a brush in one paw. "I take it these are your friends, Cindy?"

"Hi, Daddy," Cindy winced, waving her paw, "sorry about this. My friends don't know to knock before they come into your studio."

Avery smiled. "That's okay, sweetheart."

"Wow, you painted all of these?" Ellie looked around, enthralled.

"Ah, I did indeed," Avery's smile turned bashful.

"Cool!" Ellie raved. "Oh! Cindy, you know how I want to be a celebrity interviewer when I'm an adult?" She smiled brightly and darted her eyes and head toward Avery twice before staring at Cindy meaningfully.

"Uh, right?" Cindy looked confused for a moment before understanding passed onto her face. "Wait, what? You want to interview my dad?"

"Just if I get a homework assignment as an excuse!" Ellie whined, placing her hooves together in supplication. "C'mon, please?"

"He's not really a celebrity; he's my dad," Cindy shrugged.

"Wow, ouch Cindy," Rick chuckled into a paw, "he's right there."

"No, she's right, I'm not a celebrity," Avery's smile was gentle. "But! If you need an interviewee, I'd be glad to help."

"See? Okay, now let's leave Daddy alone during his art time, okay?" Cindy started to push Ellie and Rick out of the studio. "Sorry, Daddy!"

"I said it was okay, sugar," Avery chuckled as Cindy closed the door.

"He's so nice!" Ellie tapped her hooves together twice.

Cindy smiled and nodded with a measure of pride. "Now, let's get up to my room. Time's a-wasting! We've got a big Agents of T story to get through in celebration of my two best friends coming over to my house for the very first time!"

"So, what type of fox is your dad?" Ellie asked with interest as the three mammals made their way up the stairs.

"He's a silver fox," Cindy explained.

"Like, an attractive older mammal?" One of Rick's eyebrows piqued.

"He sure is!" Ellie added in jovially.

"No, no!" Cindy waved her hands. "It's a kind of red fox, just with dark fur, okay? That's all it is!" She rolled her eyes toward her door and opened it, flinching at what she saw inside. "Oh for the love of-"

Inside her room, seated at the tea table, was her brother Alex. He definitely looked like his father's son, as he had a great deal of black fur for a fox. He also had vivid orange fur near his ears and on his sides; it was easier to tell he had come from a red fox.

"Alex!" Cindy shouted. She pointed decisively out of her room. "Out!"

"What?" Alex innocently blinked his big blue eyes that matched his mother's in hue. "I wanna play Agents of T with you."

"Not today, Alex!" Cindy frowned. "You and your characters were in the last story!"

"Ugh, fine, jeez," Alex got up and shoved his paws into his pockets.

"You didn't take any of the figures, did you?" Cindy looked at him suspiciously. "No deus ex machina!"

"I don't even know what that means," Alex showed his empty hands. "All your characters and the action figures you've stolen from me are there, fair and square." Alex darted his tongue out at his sister with half-lidded eyes.

"Good, thank you," Cindy said rather insincerely as Alex made his way out.

"That was kinda mean, Cindy," Ellie observed with a cautious look on her face.

"Yeah, didn't he just want to play with us?" Rick scratched his head.

"C'mon, guys," Cindy's brow turned up as she held her hands out to plead for understanding, "He gets to play with me all the time. I just... I wanted to have my friends over once without everything screwing up. Will you guys please just play Agents of T with me?"

"Sure," Rick said, putting down his backpack and taking a pangolin figure out of it. "Ready to go." Ellie nodded her agreement and reclined at the table.

"Awesome!" Cindy dropped down onto her haunches at the head of the table and clapped her paws together, rubbing them. "Let's begin the story."

A couple of hours later, the three mammals began to head downstairs, all with bright expressions on their faces. The sun was bright as well as it filtered in through the windows; the afternoon was getting along.

"Wow, that was so fun!" Ellie said enthusiastically. "I can't believe Mrs. Pangolin was an alien spy that needed fuel distilled from tea to power her spaceship!"

"Yes, that would explain why my own pangolin character was unsuccessful in his attempts to charm her," Rick ran a claw along his lower lip thoughtfully.

"But is she really evil, or is she just trying to get home?" Ellie considered, tilting her head. "Does she value the lives of Earth mammals differently because of where she came from?"

"Good questions," Cindy smiled in satisfaction, "I guess you'll just have to wait for the sequel!"

"I'd love to come back over!" Ellie responded immediately.

"Yeah, I'm down," Rick nodded.

A few seconds later, the front door opened and a female gray fox named Catherine Marengo entered the house. She had warm brown eyes and was just about Cindy's height; a good bit smaller than Vivian or Avery. Her fur had mixes of oranges, grays, blacks, and whites; all typical of a gray fox. The fox took off her coat and hung it up in the closet near the front door.

"Oh, Cindy darling!" Catherine burst out loudly. "You did manage to bring your friends over!"

"Yeah!" Cindy smiled, her tail beating a little in excitement. She indicated her friends with one paw. "This is Ellie and Rick. Guys, this is my mom." Rick and Ellie both blinked and looked at the smaller fox, then back at Cindy. A careful ear might have picked up that Cindy used a slight short "a" sound in the pronunciation of "mom", as opposed to a short "o", but both of her friends seemed confused.

"I thought..." Ellie held up a hoof hesitantly near her chest, "I thought we already met your mom."

"Yeah, we met my mom, we didn't meet my mom," Cindy said, indicating Catherine with both paws. Rick started to hear the differences in the vowel sounds, but didn't understand the portent. Catherine began to look slightly nervous.

"Umh..." Ellie looked concerned about causing offense. "Cindy, are you adopted?"

"What!? No!" Cindy snapped back.

"Easy, Cindy," Catherine suggested, holding a paw up in caution as she made her way over to her.

"Which is... um, your um... birth mom?" Rick's face scrunched up. "I- I dunno... is that rude?"

"No, it's not r-" Catherine smiled gently at Rick.

"The're both my birth mother!" Cindy balled her fists.

"Cindy, take it easy!" Catherine winced. "It's not that important-"

"Of course it is!" Cindy insisted, turning to Catherine. "You and mom are both my birth mother! That's what you told me, right!? That's how it worked!"

"But it doesn't-" Rick was about to explain his understanding of basic anatomy, but bit his lip to stifle himself.

"Shh, don't get upset, Cindy," Catherine approached her daughter and hugged her. Cindy took in a shuddering gasp, hugging back after a small delay. "Don't get upset." She pat her back, and looked at her daughter's friends. "I'll just give you two the short version, okay? Avery and Vivian are her parents as far as genetics are concerned. But, I carried her, gave birth to her, and nursed her. So in some ways, Vivian and I are both Cindy's mother."

"Whoa, that's possible?" Rick looked interested. Cindy looked cautiously at the woodchuck. "Huh... is Alex like that too?"

"No no, Vivian carried Alex," Catherine smiled, letting Cindy go. "So... physically, I'm less of his mother than I am to Cindy, but..."

"But we don't think like that!" Cindy said defiantly, placing her paws on her chest. "Alex and I have three parents!"

"I just have my mother," Rick shrugged. "She worries about me a lot."

"I have a mom and dad," Ellie smiled weakly. "They... don't get along so well."

"Is everything okay in here?" Vivian poked her head in from another room.

"Sure is, Vivian," Catherine smiled.

"Hey um, do you think you could walk me to the subway station, Cindy?" Ellie smiled weakly. "I gotta be getting home."

"Yh-you aren't weirded out or anything by my family, are you?" Cindy asked, suddenly desperate.

"Of course not!" Ellie's smile became more genuine. "I wanna come back. This is a nice place, and I've still got to interview your dad!"

"Pardon me?" Catherine huffed in amusement.

"I should be getting back as well," Rick grumbled, looking at his phone, "Mom's already sent me two texts expressing her concern."

"Can I take them to the subway, moms?" Cindy asked.

"Well..." Vivian's eyes squinted as she mulled this over, "Cathy...?"

"Maybe I should go with you, in case anyone tries to steal any of you cuties," Catherine smirked.

"Thanks, Cathy," Vivian looked relieved, holding up her phone, "I'm still trying to iron out the details with the Wilde-Hopps family tonight."

"Gotcha," Catherine said, opening the front door. "C'mon kiddos, let's get to the subway."

"Who are the 'Wilde-Hopps'?" Cindy looked confused as they made their way down the front steps.

"Family friends; we haven't seen them since you and Alex were very little," Cindy had an easy smile as the three mammals walked along the sidewalk. She leaned in and added, in a loud whisper: "Nick Wilde-Hopps was your mother's ex."

Ellie gasped in delight. "Ooh! Scandalous!" Rick chuckled at the cow's reaction.

"Whaaat?" Cindy squinted her eyes. "Mom had a boyfriend before you two?"

"Mhm," Catherine chuckled as the three headed down the steps to the subway. "But that's a story for another time."

The five foxes entered the modest, general-purpose restaurant that catered to those of all dietary needs. Alex blinked as his eyes quickly got used to the low light inside.

"We're meeting who...?" Alex sounded a bit nervous.

"Ah, over there!" Catherine pointed at a table past the female hyena greeter, who nodded at them to let them through. Cindy didn't know what she expected, but an average looking green-eyed red fox along with a gray bunny with purple eyes wasn't exactly it.

"Hey! You all made it!" The bunny waved her paw, and the fox gave a casual salute of a greeting. Judy placed her paws together apologetically and her brow went up. "So sorry we've been out of touch lately...!"

"Oh, no worries at all," Vivian bat her paw dismissively. "I know things must be busy with you two."

"Right, and we can get to that later, but..." Judy's smile became huge and toothy and she squealed. "Wow! Look at you two, you've both grown so much!" Judy approached Cindy and smiled at her. The young teenager was just a hair taller than Judy, and Alex was about half a head shorter. "Alexander and Cinderella... it's been so long!"

"Hi, um, I don't remember you?" Cindy winced.

"Of course, you two were just little kits when we first met," Judy giggled. "I'm Judy Wilde-Hopps, ZPD detective!"

"Whoa, cool!" Alex remarked. "A bunny detective?"

"The first one! But don't forget about her husband, Nick Wilde-Hopps," the fox came up with a grin and adjusted his tie, which sat on a very casual Pawaiian shirt. "First detective fox on the force."

"Wow, neat," Cindy blinked twice at hearing this. "I thought police were, um... bigger."

"Most are," Nick chuckled.

Avery counted the places at the table. "Eight? There's five of us, two of you..."

"Three of us," Nick corrected, grinning. "C'mon out, Larry." Nick moved his left shoulder up and down and an eastern gray squirrel appeared from behind Nick's back, perching on his shoulder.

"I wondered if they could smell me," the squirrel grinned. Several of the Reddish family's jaws dropped.

"A squirrel!" Cindy observed. "I mean... obviously, but, uh, y'know..." Cindy giggled.

Catherine squealed loudly and the rest of the mammals flinched or cringed, with Judy covering her ears. "A squirrel!? Did you two adopt!?"

"We sure did," Nick nodded. "Little Larry here gets most of our free time, and even some time we have to take out on loan."

"Dad..." Larry rolled his cobalt blue eyes. "Hey, can we eat now? I'm hungry."

"Okay, okay," Nick said. "Jeez, we've only just gotten here."

"Can I sit next to Larry!?" Alex asked with a whip of his tail. "Um, Larry, how old are you!?"

"Twelve," Larry replied.

"I'm eleven!" Alex shot back, then looked up at Vivian. "Can I sit next to him?"

"That's up to them, dear," Vivian messed with his head fur with her paw.

"I dunno Lare-bear, that kit looks pretty wild to me," Nick smirked, turning his head in his son's direction.

"I'll sit with him!" Larry said with a nod. Alex pumped both fists, then they all were seated.

The conversations wore on for quite awhile even as they ordered their food. Judy was enthusiastic to catch up with the three foxes, and Nick and Vivian seemed like old friends.

"So Larry," Catherine nodded toward him, "do you want to be in the ZPD when you grow up?"

"Nope," Larry chuckled, "race car driver."

"Oh, I see," Catherine replied, "I suppose the police gene doesn't run in the family."

"Uh, I'm adopted?" Larry chuckled with a wry expression.

"Larry, c'mon, you're our son just the same," Nick grinned, then looked at Catherine, "sorry, Cat-"
"I told you not to call me 'Cat'," she interrupted.
"I just don't know where he gets that snark from," Nick continued undeterred, "I think it's from his mother."

"Uh huh, as if, buster," Judy turned a curious look up to her husband.

"I see you haven't changed, Nick," Vivian laughed pleasantly, "not that you needed to."

"So how's everyone? Still at the Grand Zootopia Library, Cat?" Nick asked. Catherine glared at him.

"She is," Avery offered, chuckling.

"Might as well get used to whatever 'Nick-name' Nick gives you," Judy smirked. "Once he gets one on you, it's really hard to shake it off."

"Isn't that right, Lare-bear?" Nick pursued.

"Yup," Larry answered simply, popping the "p" at the end.

"It'd be really cool if you were a race car driver," Alex said, grinning down at the squirrel, "I wonder if I could pick up a race car that a squirrel could fit in!" Larry shrugged in reply, but returned Alex's grin.

"And how's Miss Cinderella doing?" Judy smiled at the teenage fox.

"Oh, pretty good," Cindy smiled pleasantly.

"Ah!" Catherine frowned. "You know better than that, Cindy."

"Oh, sorry," Cindy laughed. "Pretty well."

"Better," Catherine closed her eyes and nodded, then smiled broadly. "She's into stories, and she tells the most- um, what's the word..."

"Unusual?" Avery scratched his head.
"Imaginative?" Vivian offered.

"Esoteric stories," Catherine decided, giggling. "She's definitely my daughter."

"That's so sweet!" Judy replied.

"What are you into?" Larry looked up at Alex.

"Superhero stuff!" Alex said excitedly. "Comic books, movies, all of it!"

"Hey, have you seen The Furlanx yet?" Larry wondered.

"Oh no, no!" Alex smiled, his tail wagging. "Is it good? Wait, don't tell me! Spoilers!" Alex covered his ears.

Larry chuckled. "You should see it. I liked it."

The meal dragged on, and it began to reach its conclusion.

"Ah, it's been nice to catch up with the Reddishes again," Nick smiled, patting himself on the stomach.

"What, um..." Cindy began, looking between Nick and Vivian. "What happened between you two?"

"Oh, grown-up stuff," Vivian said dreamily. "A desire for companionship, a fundamental misunderstanding, and an amicable parting."

"Yup, that's about it," Nick nodded, nudging Judy. "Fortunately, I managed to get with the mammal that I'm meant to be with."

"A bunny?" Alex seemed confused.

"Alex..." Avery warned gently.

"I'm just curious!" Alex whined defensively.

"Yup, a bunny," Nick threw his arm around Judy. "I feel like Serendipity herself shoved this little treasure in my direction."

"Mm, you romantic goofball," Judy smiled serenely with her eyes nearly shut.

"Bleah," Catherine rolled her eyes, "The bunny Celestial? Vivian, this 'goofball' may have lasted a little while with you, but he sure wouldn't have with me."

"Hence the break-up," Vivian giggled with a nod.

"We should do this again sometime," Judy said, scrambling for the check when it arrived, smirking at Avery, who's paw was almost there. "Ah ah, too slow." She giggled. "No, I got it. I insist."

"By saying we should meet again," Nick pondered, "do you mean that, or do you mean 'we're never actually going to see each other again'?"

"No, we totally should!" Judy claimed, nodding enthusiastically. "We need to take more time out for our friends. Larry's old enough to where he's not such a handful anymore, after all."

"Mom, I'm right here," Larry chuckled.

"What do you say, Viv?" Nick shrugged. "We still pals?"

"Of course, Nick," Vivian smiled. "And I'm sure the kits would all get along, as well."

"Yeah!" Alex nodded. "Right, Larry?"

"You seem cool," Larry shrugged with a half-smile. Alex looked happy, his tail thrashing.

The two families said their goodbyes. Some of the foxes hugged each other, and the bunny. The kits were fussed over and more promises were made.

On the way out of the restaurant, Cindy found herself thinking about what her friend Ellie had said. It was something about her evil character Mrs. Pangolin, and wondering if she valued the lives of others less just because of where they came from. Cindy thought of the fox, bunny, and squirrel family, and how they were very different than their own family of five foxes with varying coats, but how they were also kind of the same.

Cindy smiled in a sort of satisfaction.

"Had a good day, sweetheart?" Avery smiled down at her.

The fox nodded. She was getting the idea for a redemption arc for Mrs. Pangolin.