I had been badly stalled with what and how to tell what was coming next in all this, so punted it over to Selaxes for a go. He in turn wrote the bulk of the text, only to have me retype it due to file compatability issues after. I, of course, couldn't help cruelly despoiling his prose with my own drivelish additions. The results are a real tag-team effort. Hope you like it after such a long dry spell.
The visits from the Coyote were one of the highlights of not only the bunny kits, but also of their mother and grandmother, Bonny Hopps, finding that she had something of a soft spot for the young female. With the school situation finally having been resolved in Bunnyburrow and the older Hopps children returning to something closer to normal, there was far less bustle in the warren, allowing for more and more enjoyable visits.
It wasn't uncommon for Celeste Whitefoot to appear a little after lunch for a bit of playtime, giving the smaller kits time with their Fluffy One before helping put the youngest down for their nap time. She had made arrangement with Pablo for split shifts, allowing her to cover full hours morning and night with the fluffle time in between.
Just as she got a pot of tea on he table and a plate of fresh out of the oven oatmeal cookies set down, the Coyote appeared, smiling as she normally did after time with the bunnies, a smudge of baby powder on her muzzle and a twinkle in her eye. Bonny smothered a laugh with her paw as she spied little Abigail, both arms wrapped around the Coyote's thick tail, her face buried in the brush and making happy cooing sounds.
"Abby," Bonny chided gently. "Don't you think you've abused poor Celeste's tail enough for the day?"
"But Mommas! Its soooo fluffy!" The kit mumbled in delight. "An' I jus' wants a little bit wif jus' me and Celestes..."
"Abigail Sherri-Lynn Hopps, I will get my spoon!" Bonny warned in a gentile but firm tone.
With an 'Eeeep!' of surprise, never having earned the dreaded spoon swat but having seen plenty of her siblings and even her grown-up brother-in-law get it once, Abigail ran from the kitchen, her ears streaming behind her.
Celeste couldn't help the amused smile at the bunny kit's reaction and turned to Bonny. "I really don't mind." She told the older Doe.
"Oh, I know," Bonny said as she poured them both a cup of tea before sitting down. "Neither did Riina or Nicholas until they both had to suffer candy and kit drool in their fur." She dropped a bit of honey into the herbal brew and stirred while Celeste opted for sugar. "So, what was the long face about when you showed up today? Things at Pablo's are alright, aren't they?"
The Coyote's ears perked up before laying back. "Oh, they're fine, or as much as can be expected. Work will be getting hectic with everyone coming to get their tractors and such winterized."
The Doe raised an eyebrow as she regarded the other female over the rim of her cup. "And?"
"uhmm?"
"Celeste, I know that look." Bonny said with a softening of her hazel eyes. "What else is bothering you?"
The Coyote couldn't help but let her shoulders slump a little and her tail droop to the floor beneath her chair. "It...it's Paul."
"That young Wolf you've been seeing?" Bonny inquired, "What's wrong?"
A small frown and almost whine sounded from Celeste's throat before she answered softly. "I ... he wants more..." She sputtered. "As in getting serious, like mated."
"Mated? Really?" The Rabbit reacted in some surprise. "I take it that's not what you're looking for?"
Celeste shook her head empathically, her eyes widened. "I like Paul, I really do. But... it's just..." She sighed. "He has this arbitrary sense as to how things ought to be done. Like, there is an instinctual timetable or set of rules. And by that reckoning, we ought to getting ready for some next steps."
She waited for Bonny to say something, perhaps to tell her what she wanted to hear, but the Doe only looked at her with caring patience. Hiding her trepidation behind another swallow of tea, Celeste pressed on.
"I asked Mrs. Huntsgreen about it after our last date and ... um...She said Paul's young and..." The Coyote's ears turned several shades of pink before settling into the darkest possible blush. "She said that Paul is, um, you know how Mrs. Huntsgreen is... um.."
"She's to the point, dear," Bonny said with a smile. "She's a tough old Wolf who's more than happy to speak her mind as bluntly as she can." Bonny flashed to any number of rather candid conversations she'd had with the stately silver She-wolf. "That and she plays a mean game of bridge. Likely told you Paul's got his motor revved and is looking for more than some small tail time?"
Celeste grimaced. "A bit more, actually. You know how wolves, in their own way are as socially dependent as you Rabbits. Less cuddly, but just as needing of social comfort. So the guys at Pablo's have their own informal pack. But, traditionally a pack would be a family, senior parents with maybe a sibling or so, then often their adult offspring to help care for the cubs. But that means the other adults are usually deferring cubs of their own."
Bonny was fascinated with that news, as well as how easily Celeste could revert from such a shy little girl to rather clinical lecturer. She knew that Celeste and Jeremy had had a more intellectual side to their relationship, but heretofore, she hadn't seen that side of her.
"Pablo's pack is all young bachelors, and without a father figure to defer reproduction rights to, they are all keen on making cubs and becoming the new father. So, Paul is both a horny young male," Then she turned embarrassed little girl again, "And cub-maker wannabe." And then finally frustrated young adult. "And with his arbitrary notions of rules and schedules, it's just terrible."
Bonny almost chuckled with that. "Poor boy sound like just another rather naive young soul. Not like that's happened to any dumb Buck." Said with a firm bit of been there, done that.
"And now you don't know what to do?" At that Celeste made a dismayed shrug, to which Bonny reached across the short distance and patted her paw before gently stroking the fur on the Coyote's arm. "Has anyone ever asked you what it was that you want? What you'd like to do, or the things that mattered to you?"
"N-no. Not since Jeremy, and it was only thoughts of the moment, not the future."
The Doe smiled warmly. "I didn't think so," Bonny said before looking at the arm that shed touched and got up, going to a small cabinet near the door that lead to the rest of the Hopps' warren. Without even thinking twice about it, she pulled out a brush and turned back to the Coyote and began working methodically but with a gentile patience on Celeste's fur. "And just what is it that you want?"
The medium bristled brush felt so good as it was dragged through the canid's fur that Celeste couldn't help but shiver a little with the sensation. "Wha... What are you doing Mrs. Hopps?" She asked quietly, a little confused by the casual grooming, not sure what to think of it, but also liking the feel of the attention.
"I'm brushing your fur," The Doe said matter-of-factly. "Whenever any of my children had something they needed to talk about, especially when they were nervous about it, I found a good grooming helped. Besides, you could use a good brush out after dealing with the fluffle."
Celeste couldn't argue as Bonny was on the third stroke of the brush and had to admit that the attention was soothing. She leaned into the action and found herself opening up, her normally guarded thoughts tumbling out. She told Bonny how she felt a growing connection to Bunnyburrow, to put down roots, have a place of her own, maybe even run, or even own her own shop. Most of all she wanted to live her life the way she wanted to, not the way someone else might dictate. Finally the Coyote admitted that, maybe some day, a real mate with her own cubs might be nice, but she really didn't feel the need to hurry that moment along.
"Then date, go out and have fun," Bonny told the Coyote with a smile and Celeste couldn't withhold her own little smirk at that, given the rabbity vigor into how much and how varied they liked their dating. Bonny began to work on Celeste's neck ruff. "As you yourself suggested, there's no law that says you have to settle down before you're ready. And if Paul or anyone else can't deal with that then they aren't worth your time."
The Doe saw how the other female leaned into the brush strokes and felt a surge of warmth. Jeremy had told her and her Stuart that Celeste had grown up without a Mother. As far as she was concerned, Bonny was more than happy to fulfill that role as best she could. After all, what was one more to her extended family? Besides, Nicholas and Riina had shown her just how special the predators that attached themselves to her growing clan could be.
"I suspect there are a lot of behavior and traditions that we don't share, but that should never prevent you from feeling like you can't come here, any time you need." the last said with extra emphasis. "That's what family is all about, after all. Or pack or whatever you'd like to call us."
Celeste Clearly didn't catch the full import of Bonny's statement, "Well, you know I never really had much a notion of normal Latrans behavior was, except from what I read in books." A little eye roll. "And though my Uncle taught me the Old Tongue, he only showed me the smallest glimpses of Coyote culture out of the Territories." A flicker of regret at that. "So I'm sort of tabula rasa for much of that, so fitting in shouldn't be..."
Bonny had finished with Celeste's neck and was going to go for her tail, plenty of fluffle damage to address there, when it suddenly went into a vigorous flail.
Celeste's face and ears were in a state of delighted shock as she regarded the old Doe, "I... you mean...?"
"Well, I might not be the best at it, but Nicholas does call me 'mom', and you're just as important to this family as he is." Bonny declared with a matronly affectionate scratch to the canid's ear, similar to what Nicholas and Riina enjoyed, and was pleased to she Celeste also react to the bit of attention.
When Bonny finally got to the Coyote's tail, it was to Celeste describing what she wanted for her own shop.
"You know the old full service station across from the QwikiGas? It had two hydraulic lifts and a grease pit. Even though it's been closed for a good while now, the building is in good shape. It's be perfect for a car service center."
When the Grizzly Gas closed, it forced everyone to go all the way to Black Brook and beyond for even the simplest service if they didn't have their own family shade tree mechanic on hand. Pablo's really wasn't stocked to deal with regular cars and such, beyond the simplest of oil changes or some such.
"I don't know if I could own it, but I'd sure like to run it. And beyond car service and repair, I'd like to co-ordinate with the local High School. They barely have anything you could call 'shop' anymore. Pablo's has a deal to get a few kits' paws greasy with heavy equipment, and I'd to do the same for cars."
Celeste's tone became more wistful. "Yeah, and if I could get some real machine shop equipment, I could better work on all the vintage stuff that's rolling around still. Sure, for enough money you can get repair parts for almost anything via the interwebs, but I could repair or fabricate any number of parts easier. And custom work, maybe some performance work too. Those Sylvans can only go so far with their home builds."
The Sylvans were the family of Deer who were the lead gearheads in the county. While several had gone pro, the rest and the pack of other motor maniacs were very much improvisionists.
"See?" Bonny said as she finished brushing the canid's thick tail fur. "You have a goal that sounds perfect for you. I think you need to do exactly that because its what you want."
"Who's doing what they want?" Jenny Hopps asked as she bounced into the kitchen, snagging a pawful of oatmeal cookies. "Wow!" the young Doe said as she flopped into a chair. "Getting the full mom treatment, huh? I guess that makes you an official Hopps adoptee, Celeste."
"Behave," Bonny chided as she gave her Daughter a light smack with her brush. "And what are you looking so smug about?"
Jenny indeed looked far too happy but took her time nibbling on a cookie before answering. "Well, I found out that Celeste and I have the same taste in music and just discovered that a band we both like is playing in the city..."
The Coyote tilted her head quizzically. Isn't it a bit far to just to go see a concert?"
"It's two hours by the express, we crash there, then catch it back, and you do have the day off tomorrow anyway, so no fuss, no muss." The Bunny said as she reached into small shoulder bag. "I mean, I could take one of my other sisters along to see Apawkalyptyka, but would they appreciate it?"
Celeste's eyes grew rather large, the two of them were both singularly enamored with the quartet that took classical music and gave it a metal edge. It was one of her favorite bands to listen to when she was working, the Tiger, Badger, Otter, and Red Deer provided just the right sound to get her motivated and into whatever task she was involved in. Jenny had introduced her via old CDs she'd found back when they had just formed as a band while at Zootopia University.
"Are you sure?" Celeste asked, her tail once more churning the air beneath her chair.
Jenny smiled and plucked another cookie from the plate. "Absolutely! Got to have my bestie with me, right? And you're practically family..." The Doe gave a pleading look to Celeste, the pup was still a bit uncertain about going out on any kind of bold trip to the big city. "C'mon. Don't make me go on my own."
Celeste looked from Bonny and Jenny and back for encouragement. "I guess I should pack an overnight bag then?" And a cautious smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
"Yes!" Jenny exclaimed. "Let me go grab some things and then we can go get your stuff before heading off."
"Why don't I just meet you there? I got my truck and it'd save us some time." The Coyote offered as she stood. There was a moment of surprise when Bonny held her arms open in an obvious invitation, and Celeste accepted, her eyes closed in the bliss of maternal affection. "Thank you." She whispered, shivering at the motherly nuzzle to the side of her head.
"Anytime, Celeste," Bonny answered, her arms tightened for a moment before releasing the canid. "You two go have some fun, okay? And call if anything happens! Oh! And where are you two staying? I don't know if I want my girls 'crashing' at just any strange mammal's place. Heavens knows what might happen."
"Oh, we'll be staying with strange mammals alright, Mom." Jenny said with a wicked grin. "I mean, you can't get much stranger than Judy and Nick, right?"
Bonny sat back and smiled for the two off on their adventure. She was delighted that Celeste was finally getting the chance to be a normal girl out on the town. Finding that life was more than a mechanic's manual or library shelf.
True, it had not been an awful life before, though Bonny needed to stretch to concede that. It would have been a crushing existence of isolation for any bunny, but the pup had managed well enough. Then Jeremy had brought her out into a wider world.
That brought a warm, though slightly bittersweet thought. Celeste and Jeremy had shared some very gentle intimate times together, a lucky and rare opportunity for the both of them. It was all too easy for a girl's first time to go - less than perfect. Bonny had been lucky with her Stuart, but know of all too many others who had not been so fortunate. And now away from Paul, she likely missed a harsh disappointment. The Wolf was likely not a bad sort, but seemed to have been unwittingly selfish in his expectations.
She was still thinking of Celeste and her future that night as she and her Stuart began to settle in for the night. Things must have gone well out in the fields that day as he wasn't unloading on her over the details. It was a routine that had gone for octades and she looked forward to the little soothing attentions she could give him while he did so. Not that she would ever withhold her care, but he noticed her concentration and could tell that she had her own something on her mind.
"So, Bonnymylove, what's up?"
"I had a little heart to heart with Celeste today." Her tone was just a tad hesitant.
"So, we've got a Coyote in the fold now too?" Stuart chuckled. "I'm not entirely blind to all the goings ons. After all the foxes, that sweet little pup will be hardly a ripple. Especially with how much the little ones love her." He let loose a sigh. "Who would a' thunk it?"
He then gave his Sweet Bonny a more critical eye, "So, what's really on your mind?"
Bonny smile, her Stuart knew her all too well. "I was thinking about how you wanted to expand our family portfolio, with some business investments and such."
