Hey guys Price here and welcome to Chapter 6 of Wonder Bunny: Lance's Story! I hope you guys liked last Chapter, which I've edited due to thinking that the ending of the corresponding Chapter of Judith's story was outside, but was actually inside. It got shorter, but not too much so. I'm excited to see where this will be going, honestly, since I have absolutely no clue. Only Judith knows, and even then I'm writing something that corresponds and sometimes intersects, but is also its own story. I'll set up a catalyst for the major flashback to Lance's past at the ending of this Chapter, I swear. That way I can get into that now that I'm a bit more confident on my ability to write the scene I have planned. Anyway, that's enough of that, I think it's time to get...onto the story!
"Leaving so soon? I'd hope you'd be able to stay for a while." Lance slowly stood at the words, reaching for his 1911. A paw stopped his, and Lance turned his head to see Rek shake his head. Lance's mouth formed a thin line and he rested his paw on the sidearm but left it in the holster, then turned his head back to his friend.
A Wolf stepped from the shadows, Lance reflecting on the fact he had some horrible luck with Wolves breifly. He could see that the Wolf made Judith uneasy as the Wolf approached silently, paws in the pockets of his outfit as he came to a stop before them. Lance felt his lip twitch and a quiet growl rise up from his throat, feeling that familiar urge to protect Nick almost overriding his desire to watch the scene play out.
"We'd love to stay and chat for a bit, but unfortunately we have a late dinner we need to head off to, else a certain businessmammal won't be too happy with us." Nick said apologetically, hurriedly taking Judith's paw and proceeding to hastily walk away from the obviously uncinvinced Wolf and towards the exit.
Lance almost dashed forward as Lupindorff pulled a gun, flicking the safety off, but was stopped by somebody gripping his paw once more. Lance turned his head to see Rek glaring at him. The sound made both Nick and Judith freeze.
"Don't worry Lance." Rek whispered, Lance frowning but dipping his head nonetheless. Nobody would stop him if the Wolf shot Nick, but he would wait and see how it turned out despite his reservations.
Lance blinked in surprise when a Kangaroo stepped up to the three mammals.
"Hey, there you two are! I've been looking all over for ya. The Chief was about to blow a gasket seeing as how you both weren't at the dinner yet." Lance narrowed his eyes in suspicion, not knowing who the Kangaroo was. And if he didn't know who he was, that meant he couldn't be trusted until he proved otherwise. The Kangaroo moved between Nick and Judy and Lupindorff, who still held his gun, which he hesitantly lowered. "Ramic Wallaby, friend of these two." The Kangaroo said, jerking his thumb towards Nick and Judith.
Before Lupindorff could reply the Marsupial was vigorously shaking his paw. When he released the Wolf, Ramic turned and bounced out of the bar with Nick and Judith right behind him. Lance watched as Lupindorff approached the bar, ordering a whiskey. He glanced at Rek.
"Go on ahead and get back. I'm going to follow them, see what this 'Ramic' is up to." He said quietly, Rek frowning.
"He may not be up to anything, Lance." The darker male remarked, Lance huffing quietly so as to avoid attention.
"Maybe not, but I don't trust him. Find a Private Laura Stone and tell her I might be a little late." With that, Lance approached the door. He ignored the way Lupindorff's ear twitched in his general direction, not really caring what the Wolf did anymore.
Lance exited the bar and moved into hiding behind a supporting beam, watching as the three mammals continued walking. He glanced around, then ran after them, paws silent as they carried him. He came to a stop and slid into an alley next to a storefront, straining his ears. He managed to catch the tail end of whatever Judith was saying.
"-Nicholas Wilde. He's going to take me to the war so I can stop Ares." Lance frowned in confusion at the words, mind racing for where the name sounded familiar. His eyes widened when he finally caught on. Why did the Bunny think the Greek God of War was in the fight? Why was Nick helping her? It didn't make any sense.
Lance stiffened at the sound of laughter, then relaxed when he realized it was the Kangaroo.
"Sorry Judith. The way you seemed so excited about heading to war got me good." The Marsupial explained, Lance stiffling a chuckle.
"No that's not at all what I meant! I'm sorry." Judith exclaimed in horror, apparently not having realized that sounding excited about going to war could be taken the wrong way. Where the hell was she from that she didn't realize that?
Lance heard the Kangaroo offer to take them to a little known store that offered weapons and combat lessons, a place he knew well. He'd been there a few times to polish up his combat style. Lance stuck his head out at the sound of retreating pawsteps, seeing the three walking away. He waited, then looked around. He hurried after the three of them, keeping his head down and trying to appear as unassuming as he could.
Lance quickly stepped into an alleyway as the three stepped up to the store, aptly named 'Move Your Tail'. He ignored the even sharper jab of hurt at the blush that heated Nick and Judith's faces when the male stopped her from falling. He couldn't worry about that now. As the three stepped inside Lance moved to follow, only to be stopped by the sound of pawsteps behind him.
Lance whirled around, his sidearm drawn and hammer cocked back. The mammal he found froze,shock in their eyes. Lance glanced down and let out a breath when he saw the ragtag clothing that denoted a homeless mammal, holstering his sidearm.
"Apologies, sir. Thought you might have been somebody else." Lance said, the mammal – Lance realized he was a Panther – nodding his head.
"If I may, sir, could I pester you for some change to get something to eat?" The Panther asked, Lance smiling softly.
"You know where O'Malley's bakery is, right?" Lance asked, the Panther nodding. "Tell him Lieutenant Lance Whitney sent you. If he doesn't believe you, hand him this." Lance held a small slip of paper out to the Panther, who took it with a thankful dip of his head.
"Thank you, sir. You've saved me." The Panther said, walking past Lance quickly and turning right. Lance smiled softly again, the Panther reminding him of his and Nick's days on the streets, begging for enough money to get a single piece of bread that they would split. They'd nearly starved a few times, so Lance could sympathize with the Panther.
With a chuckle Lance stepped from the alley and approached the store, humming to himself and noticing the look of a fire next to the building. He ignored it, knowing it was probably just another homeless mammal keeping warm. He opened the door slowly, squeezing inside so as to not ring the bell and alert the others. He silently closed the door behind him, sliding along the wall until he was in a shadowy corner. He settled into the corner, watching the mammals. He barely managed to catch what Judith said.
"Bring it." Lance grinned in amusement at the words, finding her confidence amusing. Lance had personally trained with that bear a few times. The Bunny was in way over her head, or so he thought.
Lance watched them, noticing that Nick seemed to stiffen up. He grimaced at the feeling a sharp pain in his head, remembering the last time he had seen his friend stiffen up that specific way. It stirred memories best left alone.
And that does it for Chapter 6 of Wonder Bunny: Lance's Story! I hope you guys enjoyed it, because I certainly did. I wanted it to be slightly similar to Judith's latest Chapter, but not too much so. And yes, this means that next Chapter – and maybe the one after that if I continue the flashback – will come sooner than this one did. It all depends on how long I want the flashback to go on for. I was hoping the Chapter from Jude would include a bit of more action, but I'm actually curious how it goes now. Anyway, this is getting long enough, I will see you guys...next update. Word Count: 1,500