Furst of all, (haha. puns...) Sorry for the late update. I had a con and a few personal projects to take care of. I'm not slacking off, i assure you.
Second of all, everyone have a wonderful Memorial day. I dont know what most of you do but alot of people around me fire off the most annoying fireworks for fun and pranks and I plan on finding a theater away from residential blah blah to see the new Pirates film. I know they are probably stretching the franchise... but i love pirates and the drunken antics of Jack Sparrow.
Anywho, Enjoy the new chapter, review, fav, follow, and boost my ego.
I'm very happy to see how many follows and favs i have so far for this story. it warms the space that use to hold my heart knowing there are so many of you out there awaiting my next chapters.
Judith let loose a yelping battle cry and lunged forth with her sword, a grin evident on her muzzle.
Nicholas could only smirk in return at her vigor, her ferocity… her valiance.
This was going to be entertaining.
Watching the false sword approach straight and true towards him, Nicholas had to give the rabbit this… she had a sure grip. A sure grip wouldn't ensure a target stood still though.
The red fox side stepped effortlessly, knowing this would be the first move, as many amateur sword users would attempt a first strike. He didn't completely avoid the strike, instead whipping the tip of his sword from its downward position, raising it to parry and redirect Judith's stabbing strike.
The practice swords made a short grinding sound of wood on wood as he let the tip glide past his shoulder and twisted on the pads of his feet to rotate his sword over his head from behind, disconnecting the glance and using his momentum to arc the blade at surprising speed towards the doe's exposed back.
Judith could see from her peripheral in that split second what he was about to do and clenched her teeth in preparation, unable to avoid anything in midair as she was.
The sword approached mercilessly…
Until Nicholas slowed at the last second and turned the sword to its flat side to slap her rump with a wooden thwack.
The bunny landed less than gracefully, nearly tumbling and falling. Once she got a semblance of her bearings, she turned a glaring gaze to Nicholas and used a now free paw to rub her behind with a growing blush.
"You suck…" she breathed.
"You wanted to spar," the fox defended, his paws splayed out. "And I'm not in the habit of striking a lady. This seemed like a fair compromise."
"My butt though? Really?" the frustrated rabbit inquired with a paw still rubbing her rump.
"Oh, come on, my lady…" Nicholas started before seeing the doe give him an angry stare, "Judith," he quickly corrected. "All I wanted to do was spare you unnecessary pain. Was that so bad? A hit to the behind sounds a sight better than your back or legs."
Judith looked as if she considered the thought, the fox's repressed snark starting to resurface after having been forgotten for years. He tried to stop it but couldn't help uttering the following line…
"And a sight better it was."
The doe blushed further and began staring daggers at the smiling fox.
"YOU! You know that was an accident!" she bellowed, leaping forward and slashing her fake sword at the fox, who defended and parried the rabbit's rapid and haphazard strikes with relative ease.
In between strikes, Nicholas decided to ask, "I've been meaning to ask… but why… were you swimming in the water… and naked I might add?"
Judith's strikes faltered for the briefest of moments but her ferocity did not.
"I was… hot," she mumbled between thrusts and strikes. "I didn't have a change of clothing so I took a chance at going… you know."
"Naked," the fox supplied with a parry and tap to the rabbit's head, causing her to groan from the pain and the unsolicited correction to her aversion of using that word.
Hearing her growl, Nicholas tried and barely succeeded in holding back a laugh at such a small mammal trying and utterly failing to growl aggressively at him. It only made her more adorable, not that he would ever tell her that… well maybe, but not now.
The red fox was using one paw to wield his blade now, using a more fencing like style to defend against the furious rabbit. her strikes were getting less powerful as her reserves of energy depleted and his ears flicked at hearing her panting.
"You're so insufferable," she belted out, poising for a strike as she tried to twirl on a foot. Nicholas took advantage of her temporary defenselessness as she drew her blade back and gave the back of her knee a tap, moving up to her arm and snapping lightly at the wrist as well. The double hit wasn't powerful, but with her weight displaced on one leg, hitting behind the knee made it buckle in reflex and the wrist hit made her paw open in surprise as she dropped the sword.
Judith was falling backward with a wide-eyed expression of shock on her muzzle. Nicholas used his free paw to wrap around her waist, catching her mid fall and directing the false blade to her throat. Said rabbit barely recognized the tip an inch from her collarbone as she looked into the fox's emerald eyes and tried her best not to swoon. An effort that was betrayed by a squeaking whimper that only made Nicholas lean in closer and smile deviously.
"You'll learn to love it," he replied without any real hitch to his breath, which slightly angered the bunny as her chest heaved with labored breaths.
"I don't suppose you would care that I want to skip any lesson teaching that?" she asked in an attempt to be snarky.
Dropping the fake sword, Nicholas leaned in close, feeling the wash of Judith's breath and seeing her nose twitch anxiously. Still supporting her in a reclined position he ran a paw over her head and slicked back her ears as he opened his muzzle…
"Frankly my doe, I don't give a lamb."
He dipped his muzzle in to kiss the stunned rabbit. She let out a surprised squeak into the fox's mouth, raising her paws up to grab at his chest, her legs going limp.
As much as she squirmed in his arms, Judith didn't resist or push him away. When their muzzles parted, her tongue made errant licks at his nose, giving it soft and short licks as her eyes gently shut. Nicholas was stunned by the turnabout and while he didn't know everything about other mammals' courting methods, he was slightly familiar with this one. In courting between rabbits, they might reach a point where they will 'groom' each other. Judith was apparently lost in such a manner at that moment as she moved lower to lick the fur underneath his chin, nipping slightly but not actually hurting him. She was now supporting herself as she stood on her toes, nuzzling her head up under her fox's.
Nicholas was still trying to get a mental grip on the situation. He'd never really had to deal with affection like this. He knew foxes did something similar, but the fact remained that he wasn't raised by a fox or in a nurturing method that favored a fox idealism. So, he followed his instincts and wrapped his paws tentatively around the doe, feeling her shiver and tense up, adding more licks to his collarbone and neck as she picked up the pace and started panting again. Her warm breath seeped deep into his fur and tickled every nerve that he had.
Suddenly, he sniffed the air and took in a scent that became dense in the air around him. It smelled like the rabbit in his arms… but far stronger than usual. He darted his gaze down and saw her eyes still closed, her chin running itself all over his neck and shoulders.
His eyes widened in realization. She was marking him. As her mate.
Fueled by a sudden urge to not be outdone, the red fox tod pulled Judith's head up under his chin, to which he rubbed all over the top of her head. She leaned back and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. Nicholas took the invitation and marked her there too, getting both sides. Her nose twitched as she breathed in and out, taking in his exotic scent.
All at once, her eyes shot open and she stumbled backward, tripping over her own large feet and rolling once before flopping painfully on her rump.
"I'm sorry!" she squealed. "I didn't mean to do that… it was… just…"
"Instinct," the tod finished for her, making it a statement, not a question. She mulled the thought over and blushed profusely, crossing her feet over each other.
After a few seconds of nothing, she nodded.
"So," Nicholas began, dropping to a knee in front of Judith, "we've confessed our love for one another, kissed in a rather passionate embrace, had our first 'fight', and now marked each other as mates." He let out a curious 'hmm' at his own list.
The doe tried to make herself smaller under the fox's loving gaze, unable to deal with him and his antics, even if she kinda liked it.
"We keep going this route like we are in such a short time and we'll be old, married, with grandkits in a year," he explained with a guffaw of laughter. "Laws of time be damned."
Judith let out a nervous chuckle and saw her marked mate holding out a paw. She took it and he pulled her up.
"I'm sorry…," she mumbled out once more. "We can try and wash the marks out…" Nicholas thumped his paw a little hard on the rabbit's head. She winced, more in surprise than in pain. He barely thumped her hard enough to cause any pain, instead shocking her into shutting up for a second.
"You think I would have returned the favor if I wanted to wash it out?" he chided in question to her. His tongue clicked in a chastising manner towards the doe as he smiled. "Bad bunny."
Her brow furrowed as she went from anxious and timid to potentially frustrated pretty quickly, at least as far as looks were concerned. Before she could utter a word in response though….
A snap of a twig made both mammals turn their heads to the source of the sound.
"You idiot, now they'll see us…" a voice in the brush said.
"It's not MY fault," another whined. "Someone put a stick there…"
"There's sticks everywhere!" a third voice whisper yelled. "It's a forest. They tend to show up a lot."
"Will you three be quiet!" a fourth voice joined in. "I was enjoying watching them 'fight'."
"Yeah, like that's happening anymore," the second voice came again. "They already know we're here."
The group of misfit mammals stepped out of the brush to a very annoyed rabbit and fox, both tapping a foot and giving them glares.
In order from the first voice, as Nicholas recognized them, to last…
Meeko shuffled his feet in the dirt, looking guilty. Nathan averted his eyes away and tried to whistle… terribly. Surprisingly, Heather was the third voice, with a silent Rose accompanying her. The fourth was evident to all, being Finnick, as recognized by the deep baritone that belonged to no other mammal.
Rose, to the surprise of all, stepped forward and spoke up in her sweet and gentle tone.
"I'm sorry we intruded on you," the vixen began. "We heard you were sparring and this group wanted to see. When we approached though… you two were…" Rose blushed at the fresh memory, "engaged in other activities… we didn't know if leaving might make you aware so we chose to stay put until you left. I promise we… well most of us… had no intentions of violating your privacy."
Both Nicholas and Judith's expressions softened at the sincerity of the potentially most sensible member of the group. The rabbit sighed first, followed by her fox, as she waddled forward and gave the shy vixen a hug.
"You are way too sweet for your own good, you know that?" the bunny doe asked Rose in rhetoric. "I can see why my sister is interested in you." Despite the red fur, everyone present could swear Rose blushed a bit with an awkward smile.
"As for the rest of you," Judith continued, barely looking the rest of the entourage but knowing they probably tense up upon hearing her tone, "I highly suspect your intentions were nowhere near as pure."
Finnick barked a laugh and said, "While I enjoyed the show… I actually came for a different reason. Bogo has something for you two when you're…. done 'sparring'."
Heather gave the small fox a good slap to the back of the head.
"Ow! Watch the ears you stupid..." Finnick started, growling low until he looked around and huffed a breath, seeing the raised eyebrows and near death glares boring into him. "Just watch the ears… please."
"Well," Nicholas piped up, "before anything else either embarrasses us or Judith here begins to consider beating all of you to a pulp, I think we'll take our leave." He then roped an arm around the bunny and led her away from the ensemble.
"Oh, we're way past considering," the doe mumbled to herself, knowing full well that the mammal with the largest ear to body ratio could hear her. Finnick grumbled something under his own breath that no one could make out and padded off on his own.
The group exchanged awkward looks and glances, unsure what to do now. Rose led Heather away, obviously knowing it was best to leave well enough alone.
Nathan turned to Meeko and waved an enthusiastic 'hello'.
"I don't mean to sound like I'm ditching you kid…" Meeko mentioned, scratching the back of his neck, "but I have to return to my original scouting duty." With that, he meandered off on his own, much like Finnick had.
Poor Nathan looked around with his tail swishing happily, until he looked around and saw he was alone once more. He whined and started to run back to the main camp.
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Nicholas and Judith approached Bogo, following the directions of a few nearby mammals who last saw him. He was outside a wagon loaded with weapons and armor. He himself had pulled it along most of the time they had traveled, purposefully giving the tigers or anyone else for that matter, a break.
The buffalo was shifting a few objects around, as if looking for something. He noticed the duo coming towards him and turned back to the wagon, pulling two satchels he had on the edge into view.
"Glad you came," he greeted them. "Though, I won't deny I wasn't expecting you for a good while since you were sparring."
Both mammals frowned.
"We were interrupted," Nicholas bluntly stated. Bogo shrugged and didn't seem to care if that was the whole story or not.
"Regardless, I have something for the two of you if you so wish to receive it." The captain handed the satchels over to the rabbit and fox.
Judith was confused but opened it, unclear to what she had received. Nicholas, on the other hand, was giddy and expectant. He knew what he was hopefully about to see. Opening the satchel, he let out a ragged gasp.
Though folded up and difficult to gauge it's look as such, the red fox knew it was his old armor and gear. He pulled the items from their refuge. The upper portion was a forest green tunic with layered padding over most of it. The shoulder, bicep, and hip areas had metal scales that were woven with chain mail but still allowed the piece to be light. Anything that wasn't dyed the forest green was an earthy brown. It allowed the fox to take advantage of natural camouflage in both night and day environments. Arm wraps were removed next with small metal plates inserted in both sides of the part that enveloped the forearm. The portion that covered the paws were without tips, allowing him to extend his claws when he wore them. Rummaging around once more, the tod pulled out the green and brown pants. They looked more form fitting than the rest of the outfit, with heavy padding on the outer portions of both thighs and shins.
"It's your old garments," the buffalo explained. "I kept a hold of them, per Honey's request, and was able to find them before leaving my estate. I would have given them to you sooner… but Leonis," he pointed to one of the lions nearby, who waved back, "was making alterations to some rabbit armor for Judith here to wear."
The bunny doe perked up and began sifting through her satchel with far less confusion and more enthusiasm than earlier.
She pulled out all the parts and smiled. It was mostly just a bland brown but she figured she could dye it as necessary at a later date. The arm wraps looked thick but still conservative, looking perfect for both extremes of weather and usable with a bow if she went that route. The chest piece was a multi-layered sleeveless tunic. There were various plate armor pieces attached to the chest and shoulder areas, spread far enough apart to give her free range of movement and block most bladed weapons from dealing effective wounds to her. The portion for the legs embarrassed her slightly. She was used to a long skirt but the tight fitting pants presented to her were much like Nicholas's, a thin stretchy material with padded armor outer leg attachments. There were also feet wraps, simple and well-padded on the bottom, Judith couldn't wait to try everything on.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you…mmm mmmm mmm," she started blathering until the fox clapped a paw over her muzzle.
"We very much appreciate everything and will wear these with pride," Nicholas responded more coherently than his babbling sparring partner. Bogo smiled gently and nodded, turning to continue fussing with the contents of the wagon.
"You might want to give your outfit some upkeep, Rouge," the buffalo said, "but it seems to be in good condition."
"Dually noted, Captain," the fox replied heartily. "Now I believe I will take this bunny here to try on her garments before she loses all sense of reason and tries to change right here for all to see."
Bogo raised an eyebrow at the fox, who tilted his head and sent him an awkward, lop-sided smile. Judith looked up and was close to staring daggers at him.
"Don't give me those looks," Nicholas sighed wearily. "I was mostly kidding."
Neither one let up on their gazes.
"Come on, my lady," voiced the tod, pulling the doe away, "Let's see how you faire in actual armor." Judith dropped her glare and giddily followed the fox, clutching her new garments like a kit with a new toy.
"One more thing," the buffalo stated mildly, patiently waiting for Nicholas to turn back and give his former Captain a curious glance. "I was trying to find this earlier but didn't until you were walking up."
Bogo reached back into the wagon and lifted a long, thin bundle. It was a cloth wrapping around something that looked to be a blade.
This time, it was the red fox's turn to be over exuberant. He darted closer and nearly impatiently took the bundle from the bull. Unwrapping with a colliding sense of care and urgency, Nicholas dropped the cloth as the handle of a sword was revealed. He gripped it and pulled the sword from the remnants of the cloth, allowing the furls to fall.
It was his old sword. One he was unable to keep after his discharge from the army. Since it was made with materials provided by the army and under the care of such… it was their property by default. Under the tutelage of the leading blacksmith, Nicholas was able to spend months constructing his own blade. This was the fruition of all his lessons and labor.
Made of steel folded upon itself over a dozen times, the fox's blade was forged by his and the captain's request to supply him with a weapon befitting his role at the time. It was a straight blade with only one bladed edge. The other side was blunt. It served him well enough to use as a means to stun opponents her never wished to kill. The blade itself had a differing shade of color between the spine and actual edge. The edge of the blade had a grain to it that seemed to mimic wood, with dark grey and even darker grey cascading down the edge. The hilt was long enough to use with two paws and then another inch of so, but wasn't so long it made wielding it one-pawed difficult should the need arise. The notched metal of the hilt was wrapped in dense cloth strands that gave it a very good grip. Connecting the blade to the hilt was something akin to a ball of steel that acted like a guard.
Since most mammals he might fight would be larger than himself and more powerful, Nicholas didn't feel the need to put a weighty and oversized guard on it that might ruin the flow of his sword skills and fluid movements, instead relying on parries and redirects to avoid his opponents strikes.
"It's best to allow you these now, since I'm sure we will face troubles in the near future," the buffalo explained. "And since I hear you are training the young rabbit here, I think she should have this." Bogo handed Judith a short sword that looked more like a long dagger, depending on the mammal that wielded it. It wasn't all that impressive, but she didn't care that much. The doe was never really entrusted with a real weapon before and would value the trust placed in her. Carefully sheathing the blade on a scabbard Bogo offered her, she and Nicholas offered their thanks once again and wandered off to other duties.
"Think you can handle that?" Nicholas asked her when they were out of earshot of most other mammals around them.
"Oh, please," scoffed Judith with an endearing smile. "I'm sure I'll be fine… I think."
The fox smirked at her and rubbed paw on her head, watching her tail shiver in delight.
"Well, we have a few days until we get to out next checkpoint to the north," he started, wondering how to best train his new mate. "I think we should start at the basics of training you."
Judith's ears perked up.
"Basics of what?" she asked, her nose twitching a little. "I thought you were training me with a blade?"
"I was but only so far as to gauge what you need to work on," the red fox tod explained, leaning in to kiss her cheek, drawing forth a blush to her face. "And you need to learn balance as well as gain some endurance."
"Hey!" the rabbit retorted, obviously offended. "I have plenty of endurance."
"You have spirit but when it comes down to something requiring you to exert yourself for a long time, like our sparring match… you lack stamina. Not an insult, I assure you, and I have a few ideas in mind."
Judith's eyes widened and eyebrows lifted in curiosity as she gently inquired, "Like what?"
Nicholas smirked devilishly.
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A red blur traversed the gaps between trees as it leapt from branch to branch, using each one like a spring board. Occasionally, the blur would bounce with all due force from the trunk of a tree and vault their way to a higher branch.
Judith followed, panting and extremely tired, but determined. Her leaps were more sporadic and less graceful.
"Wait up!" she yelled. "Just because you are used to this doesn't mean you can leave me in the dust!"
Nicholas stopped his furious movements and stilled himself on a tree trunk, holding onto a branch, gazing out towards the grey rabbit.
"I thought you said you would beat me this time?" he shouted back from a fair distance away.
The doe growled, making the fox chuckle as he heard it clear across the expanse between them.
Four days had passed and a good distance had been covered by the group of mammals heading for Animalia. In that time, Nicholas and Judith had been able to establish to most of the mammals around the entourage that their names to be spoken outside the group was Silence and Valiance. Hopps was a fairly well-known name around the regions and Rouge Rogue had a few tales attached to it. Neither wanted too many to know their real names so Silence and Valiance it was.
The group was on their way to a border city that served as a gateway into the forests. Once they arrived, the plan was to pose a small number of mammals as merchants looking for supplies. Their own were dwindling and while none wanted to leave the valued protection of the forest, Bogo and a few others had to remind everyone that their supplies were not endless.
There was only so much that could be foraged from the forest itself and scouting missions turned up less and less as the days went on. Luckily, there was no shortage of fresh water with all the streams and falls that littered the forest with its pristine beauty. Nevertheless, they needed actual stores to draw from and the gateway city of Moosebridge was the nearest city to find.
They were still a good two days' journey away from it and had plenty of time to temper their plan.
In the past four days, Judith was almost mercilessly trained by the frustratingly irritating fox. He had done nothing untoward as a mentor, but the constant training from sun up to sunset took its toll on her mental capacity to deal with his strange humor.
Most of her training thus far included morning runs and endurance exercises. This morning was a more evolved method of that training as Nicholas had shown her that as small mammals, they could go where most larger ones couldn't and use their smaller stature aligned with speed and reflexes to take advantage of the environment.
At first, he had trouble trying to resurrect his skills long out of practice as his body was recently malnourished and somewhat abused. Once he got in the groove of running and training with her, he found a rhythm that allowed him to tap into the skills that never truly left him and quickly regained a level of talent that the doe didn't think he had. He tried to tell her as well that she could likely do the same if not potentially better with her naturally strong legs as a rabbit. All she lacked was balance and experience.
She was also allowed to spar with him in a limited fashion as she bettered herself slowly, failing to land a single blow thus far. She couldn't be too frustrated at that aspect though, since the fox had years of combat experience and she barely held a weapon before.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you to go so hard on me this time!" Judith yelled back. Hopping around with relative ease, the fox found his way back towards her, landing on an adjacent, slightly higher branch and leaning against the tree with a roguish smirk, not even out of breath.
"And why would I go easy on you?" he inquired gently, but with a teasing grin. "If I did that, you would only get angry that I let up on you. Wouldn't that be true, my dear Judith?" his head tilted towards her as he cupped an ear to await the answer they both knew.
"Fair point," the bunny grumbled, clenching her fists.
The branch she rested on made a cracking noise and the doe reacted by hopping up, to be grabbed by the wrist by Nicholas. She chanced a glance downward and saw the branch give way to twist and hang awkwardly.
Pulling her up, the red fox tod put her firmly on the much stronger and thicker tree branch that they both now stood upon.
"Nice to know you're just fine hanging out," the fox jibed at her, ruffling the fur on top her head. Judith couldn't decide whether to slug him or happily mumble under her breath. Despite the odd ways he showed affection at times, she found such displays as that quite endearing in their own way. It definitely rivaled the prim and proper methods of courtship she had been taught and told stories about, denoting them as romantic and such. All these other ways that he showed his love for her seemed to add some semblance of discovery and exploratory curiosity that made these unconventional shows Nicholas made towards her all the more enticing in their exotic nature.
"At least I heard it coming," she defended, to which Nicholas nodded in all fairness and gave her a nod of recognition to her reflexive reaction.
"I think you did well today," the tod complemented his mate. "We didn't make it to our goal but I'm hungry and I'm sure there might be a few chores they'll want us to help with." Judith nodded in agreement, denoted by the fact that both their stomachs grumbled in protest to staying away from food for long.
It didn't take long to find their way back, the duo having eaten a pouch of nuts and berries to dissuade their bellies from further protest until they got back to the convoy. Finding a vantage point on a low-lying branch, the two watched the mammals walking forward in a long column, the ones at the forefront blazing a trail and clearing away any nuisances that might hinder slower, smaller, or less maneuverable mammals that trailed behind.
A few mammals saw them and waved enthusiastically. They waved back and shouted their good mornings to all. Given their display when Nicholas was nearly executed, the duo had quickly become a beloved pairing that everyone talked about in rumors and as an example.
In that spirit, Heather and Rose had become something of a subject to talk about, but mostly with mixed reception. Thankfully, no mammal wished to express their views if they happened to be insulting and respected their space.
On that note, Heather saw the two of them and seemed to be waving them down.
"I need to talk to you two," she shouted from afar. Looking to one another, Nicholas and Judith shrugged and made their way down, making a moderate rush over to the darker bunny.
"Is everything alright, Sister?" the younger doe asked with all due concern. Heather waved them off as she smiled at them. She had become quite outgoing and far kinder since leaving home and being able to openly express her love for the vixen. Turns out that while their relationship started off on rather dark circumstances, Heather had always harbored an affinity towards the sweet and gentle Rose.
"Quite alright, Judith," the elder doe replied. "Bogo just expressed a desire to see you when you could spare the time and I wanted to let you know. It didn't seem too urgent but I advise dealing with whatever it might be sooner rather than later."
"Sounds like a good idea," Nicholas conceded. "By the way, how are you and Rose doing? I can't say I've seen the both of you much these past couple days."
Heather smiled. A rare sight for the fox indeed. Judith seemed equally stunned by the image, being used to her sister merely sneering at her or giving her a condescending stare down the bridge of her nose.
"I thank you for your concern," the elder bunny politely replied. "We are doing quite well and I don't believe I truly thanked you for pushing us together. So, from me and Rose, we thank you for everything you did. And I'm also sorry for all the stress I put on you through my words and actions."
"Think nothing of it," the fox rebuked her kindly. "I've heard and suffered far worse than your icy tongue."
Heather snorted a good laugh and cupped a paw to her muzzle.
"I'm glad you aren't a vindictive mammal," she voiced. "I'm very glad and comforted in the fact that my dear sister has found a gentle soul such as yourself to keep her safe."
"Sure… gentle," Judith jibed in his direction, pushing an elbow into his side slowly and jokingly. "Anyways, we'll get going and see what Bogo needs. Thanks for telling us and let Rose know we said 'Good day' in case we don't see her."
The elder doe nodded and waved as the duo took off towards the front of the convoy.
It didn't take long to find Bogo. He was using a broad sword to hack and slash at plants and roots that hindered their progress, trying to keep the path clear for the wagons being pulled behind them.
"You called for us, Captain?" Nicholas inquired upon walking to his side, Judith in close pursuit.
"Hmm," the bull grunted, turning to them, but still focusing on making a path. "I did. I had a concern that I hoped you two could resolve, since all my scouts are already out keeping an eye out on our path ahead and watching our flanks."
"What concern would that be?" the doe asked, occasionally having to hop forward to keep up with the long strides of the bull.
"Meeko," Bogo bluntly stated, making both of the small mammals have deadpan expressions. The raccoon had caused a few notes of concern as of late, having fallen asleep on a scouting mission twice and nearly being left behind. Another time he got hungry and ate a weird mushroom, ending up running through the camp and spouting nonsense.
"What did he do now?" both the fox and rabbit voiced in sarcastic tones. The buffalo huffed in mild amusement.
"I sent him out to scout further ahead and find any source of food or water we could divert towards," the bull explained. "He was supposed to come back last night after being sent out early yesterday… but hasn't returned. I'm worried he may have gotten himself hurt or worse. He may be a bit… odd but he never outright gives me reason to doubt his abilities."
"So, you'd like us to…" the bunny began, hoping to hear a finish to her unspoken inquiry.
"I'd like you both to go further ahead and check for his well-being, please." A glint of worry reflected in Bogo's eyes as he turned to lock his with both Judith and Nicholas's eyes.
"You got it, Captain," Nicholas remarked without pause. The bunny doe nodded in agreement.
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"I don't understand how that creature could be so good at what he does but leave a trail like an elephant," Judith complained. The two mammals had been searching for nearly two hours before finding a rather strange but still quite obvious trail left by the raccoon. There was a trail of crumbs from what could only be his stash of crackers that he kept, then a dropped pouch when he ran out, followed by broken branches and paw prints in the soft, loamy forest floor.
"He's deceptively heavy?" Nicholas supplied as more an inquiry than an observation.
"I could believe that," the doe belted out, "but shouldn't he know how to be stealthy when his job is to search ahead without alerting others to his presence? Correct me if I have misunderstood the skills he bragged about most recently."
"No, you are correct," the red fox replied with his attention divided between the rabbit's rantings and examining the blatant path before them. He then heard a crunching and series of shuffling noises.
"I mean he could have just…"
"Shh!"
"Did you just…?"
"Shush you? Yes, yes I did," he responded quietly. "Now please clap the trap." The bunny reluctantly snapped her muzzle shut, glaring at the back of her fox's head with a fire in her eyes.
The fire died when her own ears perked upon hearing what she could only assume Nicholas had already heard. The two of them approached the source in silence, hiding behind the trunk of a large and dying tree.
Looking around the tree, Nicholas loudly groaned, confusing Judith.
"Come on, Meeko!" he loudly grumbled. "Haven't you eaten enough?"
The fox walked lazily over to where he saw the raccoon, sitting on a stump, shoveling food into his maw, while taking in the heat from a fire.
The doe followed him a little timidly, still a bit unnerved by the situation. Meeko turned and grinned in embarrassment.
"But she made such great food and offered me some," the raccoon mumbled while twiddling his paws together. "How could I refuse?"
"Who?" Nicholas asked. He turned to see another mammal with their back turned to them, chopping ingredients and mumbling to herself.
"I take it this bottomless pit is a friend of yours?" the mammal half asked, half complained.
"Unfortunately," the fox relented. "I apologize if he has eaten you out of all your stores."
The mammal perked her ears and turned, revealing a smoothly furred muzzle with twinges of grey fur around her eyes and nose. Nicholas sucked in a breath and tensed up.
The badger that stood before them started to smile deviously in such a manner that it almost reminded Judith of her mate's when he got playful.
"Honey?" the fox asked, nearly breathless.
She nodded slowly.
"Mother…."
Finally get to induct a cult favorite character of mine.
Oh! I forgot to mention the thing about the snack. must be dain bramage that made me forget. oh well.
My snack was a banana dipped in melted jolly ranchers.
REVIEWS!:
Fox in the hen house: Lol. I'm glad you have such a good imagination. And could Judy be described in one word as much else than Valiant? possibly but that sounded the best. hehe.
Venomheart the Dreamer: Thank you for saying so. I probably back tracked a few times trying to make it not seem like a corny moment.
GusTheBear: I'm glad you think that. and yes they are mates now. I left it open a bit since in real life, we dont always cover all our bases when figuring out details like that. but i believe i resolved that question this chapter.
judithwildehopps: Holy Carp! you scared me... lol. glad to see such enthusiastic support for my story and yes... yes they are.
Leon Banz: I'm glad you love it. and no shame in a male loving romance. being a guy myself and writing it, feels great to express my version of it.
As for Meeko and Gideon... I'll let that end remain a mystery. haha.
I'm also happy that I was able to keep the errors to a minimum. Hope you liked this chapter since you seem so eager to see it. XD
peacebringer89: Thank you for saying as much and i'm sorry if missing a week kept you on edge. haha.
It makes me feel pretty good to have others awaiting my updates like you are. not in an egotesticle sense but in the way that it drives one to keep going with them in mind.
As for jumping back in the water... that would have been the smart and rational decision. lol. I almost wrote that when i facepalmed and realized no one in that situation would act rationally. well almost no one. So, i found it would be far funnier to write that she reflexively drops and covers herself. plus it flowed well into some pretty good fluff.
Ana: Thank you very much. I'm happy you love the story and my machinations concerning their names. I cant wait to provide more.
Fannyfan: Still wonderful to see you return for more reviews and thank you for your wonderful complements.
snoopyontop: Much obliged and I greatly appreciate you saying so about my points of view writing. I cant wait to provide you with more.
SlickNick11: No need to wait. here you go. haha.
DONE!
Now then. It's late... or early? I have plans to sleep and dream of flying through the sky in a iron man esque suit that runs on mango smoothies and shoots explosive cotton balls.
Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts.