They took what?!
Nick was silent as he could be as he ascended the stairs. He remained low and kept his movements muffled with each step. Just before starting up the stairs to his tower he lowered the volume on his walkie to make sure he wasn't given away by an update from Judy.
Nick finally reached the top of the stairs and gritted his teeth. Sure the computer was a relic and not even his, but it was the principle of the matter. Plus in the process whoever was doing this had broken a window. His window!
Nick flexed his muscles as he prepared to face whoever had caused the destruction. He took in a deep breath and then jumped up so he could see inside his tower. The sun had already set and the clouds in the sky removed most of the light from the moon and stars. Nick's night vision however quickly adapted as he looked inside his tower.
The fox froze for a second and let out a sigh. The tower was empty. Nick looked around for a moment and let out a long sigh. He reached down and turned the volume to the walkie back up.
"Tower is clear, whoever was here is long gone," Nick muttered angrily into the walkie. He reached the door and slowly pushed. There was no resistance to his paw. Nick examined the door frame and rolled his eyes. "They busted open the door, must have kicked it in!" Nick grumbled as he noticed the lock had been completely destroyed.
"Damn it!" Judy came back on the radio, "Besides the computer is anything missing?"
Nick looked around at the trashed tower. A few books had been thrown to the floor. A bucket full of sand had been tipped over. Papers were strewn all over. Otherwise everything looked intact. The fox then looked over at the bed and winced as he realized what was missing.
"They took my sheets!" He groaned over the radio.
"Aw Sheet!" Judy couldn't help herself. "Sorry, now is probably not the best time for puns."
"No sheet!" Nick responded, still trying to find humor in all this.
"Any signs on who may have done it?" Judy asked, trying to get them back on task.
"No, no fur or claw marks anywhere! It could have been anyone!"
"Did you seen anybody hanging around your tower earlier or maybe someone came up to you?" Judy asked, trying to help. Nick appreciated the thought but knew it was pointless.
"No, I mean could it have been the girls from the lake, or that figure I saw earlier?" Nick asked, hoping that running the possible suspects would lead to some kind of result. "Gosh this sucks!"
"I know Nick, but we have to stay focused!" Judy said calmly, "I will call the ranger station and give them a heads up. Maybe they have reports on something like this! I mean it may not just be happening to you!"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Nick snapped. His nerves getting the better of him.
Judy responded back quickly, sounding un-phased. "No, it's not, sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
"Not unless you have some spare sheets..." Nick grumbled as he leaned down and began to gather the strewn items up.
"No, sorry, just the one pair which I am using," Judy began but then changed her tone to something a little too playful, "but I don't mind sharing them."
Nick froze as he looked at the walkie he had set down on the desk. His bright green eyes wide with an amused surprise.
"So you ever say something you instantly realize is stupid!" Judy said in a mortified tone.
"No, can you give me an example?" Nick asked playfully.
"That was so very over the line on my part! I am sorry Nick!"
"Wait, so the offer doesn't stand? Because I was already packing up to head on over to your place for a sleep over!"
The radio filled with giggling. "Yeah no, sorry bucko but you have to stay in your tower unless relieved."
"First off: Bucko?"
"I know I keep letting this happen! I don't know what is wrong with me!"
"Second: relieved? Like we get breaks?" Nick asked before tackling the bucket of sand currently laying on the floor.
"Sometimes, during the next supply run you should check out the signup sheet and see what days are available. They will sometimes send a ranger so to watch the tower so you can have a weekend off to explore the park. I have been here so long I know most of the place so I just skip those days." Judy explained.
Nick finished cleaning up the bucket and its contents and clapped his paws together. The tower, though still a little wrecked, was starting to look a little more like its old self.
"So we can go anywhere during this break?"
"What like back to the city?"
"Well yeah, I totally forgot my fur dryer and I need to look on my A game the next time you send me after some naked ladies!"
"Oh gosh!" Judy replied. "Yeah don't think that's gonna happen again!"
"Happened once already!" Nick pointed out. He did have a point. The odds of that ever happening at all was slim to none. Yet he had just dealt with it. So now anything was possible out here in the woods.
"Yeah but the chances of it happening a second time?" Judy said with a laugh.
"A fox can dream!"
"Oh so now it would be a dream come true!" Judy teased, "Could have sworn it wasn't in your job description! Oh and what about the part when you kept saying there was 3 of them and you didn't want to deal with it!"
"I was just being a gentle mammal!" Nick shot back as he sat on his now sheet less bed and examined his handy work. Looking straight ahead he noticed the window was smashed. He let out a sigh and decided it was something he could try and fix in the morning. Besides the cool breeze coming from outside the tower felt nice.
"Yeah I bet!" Judy began, "Oh please Judy don't make me go near the naked ladies! They may gang up on me! What were they anyways?"
"One cheetah, one tiger, and one….."Nick trailed off as the image of the vixen flashed in his mind. She had been quite a sight and had he not been dealing with his own demons he would have greatly enjoyed the show. The image of the lovely female fox slowly gliding out of the water though sparked something inside. Soon the image of Emma was replaced by another young vixen. She too was completely naked as she slowly rose from the water.
"Come on in Slick, the water is fine!" She said with a seductive wink. Nick felt himself starting to feel sick. His stomach knotted and his head spun slightly. He placed a paw to his head and began to rub his temple, willing the image of the vixen to leave his mind.
"Nick?" Judy's voice echoed in the small tower. "Nick you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry…kinda got lost in thought." Nick responded cautiously. "A fox…the other female was a fox..."
Though Nick hadn't revealed much about his past Judy was obviously a clever mammal and had put two and two together.
"Nick I don't want to force you to talk about it now," Her voice was calm and comforting, "But just know, I am here if you want to talk about it."
"Thanks, maybe later..." Nick said into the walkie as he slowly fell back in his sheet less bed. He looked up at the ceiling and let his mind begin to wander. Unfortunately it constantly wandered back to a particular vixen.
"So this one time a few summers back I spot this small smoke trail to the east of my tower," Judy's voice was filled with happiness as she began to regale the fox with story. Nick could tell instantly what his supervisor was up to, he appreciated her a little more. "Of course we were in a nasty dry spell so yours truly had to march out and go tell these campers what for."
"That must have been a sight! Big wolf like you stomping through the woods like that!" Nick responded when he found a break in her call.
"Wolf?" Judy asked, "What makes you think I am a wolf?"
"Just a random guess!"
"Well keep guessing!"
"Wait, what if I guess right?" Nick asked as he sat up slightly and looked out his window towards her tower. Judy's identity was still a mystery to the fox. He had already asked what she was on their first night working together. She had remained somewhat silent about it, managing to change the subject. Now though his curiosity had peaked once more.
"I will tell you to keep on guessing!" Judy shot back teasingly.
"That's not fair!" Nick said as he waved his arms about, beginning to laugh.
"Tough! I am the boss! I wear the cape! I make the whoosh noises!"
"Wait! You are wearing a cape?!"
"Not important, anyways back to my story!"
"Judy come on! Just give me a hint!" Nick begged as he watched her tower. The tower was too far for him to see into. All he could see was a bright light in the distance that signaled she was there.
"Why is it important?" Judy asked quickly.
"It's not! I just want to know!"
"Anyways, so I am stomping through the woods with my massive wolf paws! Licking my canines and wagging my super fluffy tail!"
"You aren't a wolf are you?" Nick said as he put a paw to his face.
"I could be! I could be the most ferocious wolf of all time!"
"Oh yeah...sure!" Nick said as he shook his head. She was obviously not a wolf from the way she just described herself. Or maybe she was? Maybe she gave him that little description to throw him off her trail.
"Anyways! So I am heading down one of the main trails in the area. Must have taken me an hour to get to this campsite right? So of course I am not a happy mammal! So I storm in there shouting about the fire danger and guess what I see!"
"Three naked ladies?" Nick asked.
"Try eight naked mammals!"
Nick burst out laughing at the sight of wolf Judy walking in on the campers. Her eyes going wide at the sight of all that bare fur.
"Oh my gosh, your joking!" Nick accused her. He thought walking in on some skinny dippers was bad. A whole campsite full of naked mammals though must have been a sight.
"Wish I saw! Turns out it was a naturalist club that was out here in the woods trying to practice some meditation!" Judy explained. "So here I was cursing and screaming as I storm into their camp and it's a group of naked mammals who just didn't know any better!"
"Judy stop! My sides! My sides!" Nick begged as he tried to catch his breath. The fox curled up on the bed as his laughter continued.
"Oh it gets better!" Judy said nervously. As if hesitant to keep going.
"How? How can that get better?"
"They offered to teach me meditation….said I would have to lose the clothes though..." Judy admitted as she began to giggle.
"No no no no! You are pulling my leg!"
"Paw to the sky I am telling the truth! They offered to teach me meditation if I stripped down!"
Nick froze as he slowly looked back at her tower, rubbing a tear of laughter from his eye. "Did you?"
"Did I what?"
"Did you take them up on the offer?"
There was silence over the radio before Judy came back. "Well….I mean it would be rude to turn them down I guess..."
Nick's tower began to fill with laughter as he completely lost it. His sides were sore and his breathing heavy. He hadn't felt like this in ages. It was wonderful.
"Oh gosh Judy!" Nick said as the air returned to his lungs, "I needed that! Thank you!"
"No problem Nick, just thought you would like to know you aren't the first firewatcher to come across some naked mammals!" Judy said happily. Glad to hear the fox's mood had changed.
"How many naked mammals do you think are out there right now?" Nick asked as he scanned the darkened woods outside his tower.
"Well I know of at least one…" Judy said in a guilty voice. Nick's eyes went wide as he slowly faced her tower and stood up.
"Really?"
"Aint nothing in the guide book saying I can't be!" Judy pointed out. "Plus it's a little stuffy over here. The windows are all jammed so I can't open them up to let the cool air in. Oh and if I leave the door open then all these bugs get in!"
"Well my tower is nice and ventilated right now," Nick said as he looked back at the broken window. "Bugs don't seem to bother me though. They must like you because you are so sweet"
Nick rolled his eyes as he realized how cheesy the last line was. However Judy didn't really seem to share that sentiment.
"Awwwwwwwww, Nick that was so adorable!" Judy responded.
Nick grinned at the response he got.
"I know I know!" Nick said playfully before returning to the previous topic. "So naked eh?"
"And on that note I think it's time for bed!" Judy said with a chuckle.
"Nakie bed!"
"Good night Nick!" Judy said as she let out a happy sigh.
Nick took in a deep breath as he looked back at Judy's tower. "Hey Judy…" He said, his voice sounding a little nervous.
"Yeah Nick?" Judy asked softly.
"Thanks…for…you know..." Nick responded. He wanted to thank her for helping him cheer up, for making him feel welcome, for just about all the good feelings he had since arriving. He couldn't figure out how to say it though so he just left it at that.
"Of course Nick!" Judy said happily, "I am glad you're here…with me…good night!"
"Good night..." Nick said. Not wanting the conversation to end but deciding it was best to get some sleep. He strolled over to the desk and placed the walkie back in its charger. He then flipped off the light switch and stripped his shirt and shorts off. Deciding to just sleep in his boxers. Nick looked at his rather bare bed and sighed. Wondering how he would get through the summer with no sheets. Maybe he would ask Judy about it in the morning.
Nick looked up at Judy's tower one last time. The light glowing inside switched off. One last good night wink before his friend went to bed.
"Good night Judy..." Nick whispered as he climbed into bed. The fox curled up and slowly closed his eyes. For the first time in forever he slept peacefully.
Sorry for the long wait in between posts. Lots of stuff going on between We just call them Nighthowlers, bunch of other projects, and of course still being on medical leave I have been somewhat busy writing. I am really liking this story though and I hope many of you do too! Hopefully another chapter will pop into my mind soon!
Till than hope you are all doing awesome!
-Blue